NeSMITH CHEVROLET WEEKLY RACING SERIES WEEK 21 PREVIEW

               CARTERSVILLE, GA – Week 21 of the 2010 NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series season marks the beginning of the “stretch drive” to determine the West and East Champions as the point battles will begin to come into focus in the seven weeks of competition that remain.  Week 21 will have eight events at seven tracks on the schedule.

               NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Week 21 East Region action will begin on Friday night at Penton Raceway in Penton, AL.  Saturday night East Region races will be held at East Alabama Motor Speedway in Phenix City, AL, Flomaton Speedway in Flomaton, AL, New Senoia Raceway in Senoia, GA, and Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, AL.

               There will be three races at two tracks in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series West Region on Saturday night.  Jackson Motor Speedway in Jackson, MS will host a pair of feature races, and Greenville Speedway in Greenville , MS will also be in action.

               One of the factors that will come into play in determining the Regional Champions will be bonus points that drivers receive for competing in NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Touring events during the Weekly Racing Series season.  Drivers receive 25 points for participating in each event, and can earn a maximum of 150 bonus points,

               There are three NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS National Touring events on the schedule before the Weekly Racing Series season ends on October 3, so eligible drivers can still earn 75 bonus points.  Those events will be on September 3-4 at Whynot Motorsports Park in Meridian , MS , September 5 at Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus , MS , and on September 17-18 at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga , AL .

               Two other factors that will come into play are races completed and the “netting” of points.  Each driver’s Regional point total consists of their best 16 finishes plus bonus points.  When drivers reach the 16-race mark, they begin netting points by replacing their lowest event point total among their best 16 with a higher one. 

A perfect NeSmith Chevrolet WRS Regional point score is 950 that reflects 16 50-point wins and 150 bonus points.  A win with a car count of eight or more is worth 50 points with a one-point drop for each position down to the tenth spot.  Drivers that finish tenth on back receive 41 points.  A win with a car count of seven or less is worth 40 points.  Drivers that attempt to compete, but fail to make the main event receive 25 points.

Chase Edge of Lafayette, AL is the NeSmith Chevrolet WRS East Region point leader with 906 points based on his best 16 finishes including 125 bonus points.  Edge has a 52-point lead over Ryan King of Anniston , AL , who has 854 points based on his best 16 finishes including 125 bonus points.  Despite having a big lead at this point of the season, Edge has yet to “seal the deal.”

There are five drivers in the top ten of the East Region standings that have reached the 16-race mark and are now netting points.  Those drivers are Edge, King, third-place Richie Stephens of Phenix City , AL , fourth-place Dana Eiland of Salem , AL , and tenth-place Craig Scott of Newnan , GA.  

Four East Region top ten drivers, fifth-place Kevin Maher of McDavid, FL, sixth-place Josh Huss of Flomaton, AL, eighth-place Paul Walters of Valley, AL and ninth-place Chris Griffin of Flomaton, AL, each have 15 starts and can still earn full points in one more weekly event in an effort to move up the standings.

Terrance Nowell of Phenix City, AL could turn out to be Edge’s closest competition for the East Region title.  Nowell is seventh in the East Region standings with 749 points in 14 starts that includes 75 bonus points.  Nowell can still collect full points in two more races, and collect an additional 75 bonus points to reach the maximum of 150.

Edge, King and Nowell are the only three drivers in the top ten of the East Region that are eligible to receive the maximum amount of 150 bonus points.  The other seven drivers in the East Region top ten will be leaving bonus points on the table, and that could hamper their efforts in competing for the East Region Championship.

Three drivers in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series West Region are still in the running for a perfect season.  West Region point leader Johnny Stokes of Columbus, MS, three-time West Region Champion Lucky Keeton of Toomsuba , MS , and Wesley Greene of Winona , MS can still reach the 950 point mark.

Stokes has 943 points based on his best 16 finishes, seven points away from a perfect season.  Stokes has 12 wins, but one of those wins was a 40-point win.  Stokes is now in a position in that he has to finish first or second in 50-point races in order to net points.  Five more 50-point wins would give Stokes a perfect score.  Stokes has earned all of his 150 bonus points.

Keeton is second with 887 points based on his best 16 finishes including 100 bonus points.  If Keeton can earn the 50 bonus points available to him, he could potentially be just six points behind Stokes.  Keeton has eight 50-point wins, so he needs eight more wins and his 100 bonus points for a perfect season.  Keeton has to finish third or higher in his next two starts to net points.

Although Greene is 20^th in the West Region standings, he has eight 50-point wins in ten starts with 589 points that includes 100 bonus points.  Greene would have to win another eight races and collect 50 more bonus points to capture a perfect season.

The tie-breaker for Regional points is number of wins that includes 40-point wins, number of second-place finishes, etc.  Stokes may have to get an extra 50-point win for a perfect score, but with the tie-breaker, that 40-point win may be an important one to have in the pocket of his driving suit.

The NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Dirt Late Models are powered by the economical GM Performance Crate Engines that are built and sealed at the factory to prevent any expensive modifications.  The 400 horsepower aluminum-head 604 engine costs $5,295 and the 350 horsepower steel-head 602 engine costs $3,295 and gets a 150 pound weight break.

These engines are in stock for free next day delivery anywhere in the Southeastern United States at NeSmith Chevrolet in Claxton , GA , the nation’s number one GM Powertrain Dealer.  To place an order, call Tim Bland toll-free at 1-877-497-3624.  There is no waiting for an engine at NeSmith Chevrolet.  You can buy it today, and race it tomorrow.

For a complete rundown of the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series point standings in the East and West Regions, and links to the NeSmith Chevrolet WRS tracks’ web sites, visit the NeSmith Racing web site at www.nesmithracing.com.  Also visit the series on Facebook at NeSmith Racing.  Becoming a fan of the NeSmith Racing Facebook page will make you eligible for special prizes that will be given away each month.

NeSMITH CHEVROLET WEEKLY RACING SERIES WEEK 21 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

EAST REGION:

August 20:

PENTON RACEWAY – PENTON , AL

August 21:

EAST ALABAMA MOTOR SPEEDWAY – PHENIX CITY , AL
FLOMATON SPEEDWAY – FLOMATON, AL
NEW SENOIA RACEWAY – SENOIA, GA
TALLADEGA SHORT TRACK – EASTABOGA, AL

WEST REGION:

August 21:

GREENVILLE SPEEDWAY – GREENVILLE , MS
JACKSON MOTOR SPEEDWAY – JACKSON, MS (Twin Features)

NeSmith Chevrolet, Buick, GMC of Claxton, GA is the Title Sponsor of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series.  NeSmith Chevrolet, Buick, GMC is the nation’s number one GM Powertrain Dealer four years running, and is also the nation’s number one volume dealer of Chevrolet, Buick, and GMC cars, trucks, SUVs and vans with free delivery anywhere in the Southeast.  GM Performance Parts is an Official Sponsor of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series and Hard Charger Award sponsor.  Hoosier Race Tire is the Official Tire Sponsor of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series.  VP Racing Fuel is the Official Racing Fuel of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series.  NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Contingency Sponsors for 2010 are Dominator Race Products, Race Car Engineering, KRC , Joe Gibbs Driven, Maximum Signs and Graphics, Mike Custom Tanks, Shorty’s Shock Service, Warrior Race Cars , Trak-Star Race Cars, GRT Race Cars, TNT Race Cars, and Rocket Chassis.