TAMPA, FL – Shannon Buckingham of Morristown, TN was just about to settle for second-place with two laps to go in the StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series 40-lap main event on Thursday night at East Bay Raceway Park, but instead, he drove his S&S Millwright Barry Wright into the winner’s circle.

                 Anthony White of Clinton, TN looked like an easy winner in the Trade Mark Meats DWB, as he held a five car-length lead over Buckingham looking at the two laps to go signal coming off the fourth turn on lap 38.  White was trying to lap the Dixon Plumbing Mastersbilt driven by David Gentry of Lewisburg, TN.

 White and the defending StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series National Champion Gentry got together coming off turn four, and both ended up in the front straightaway wall to bring out the caution flag.  White was forced to pit with a flat right front tire, and had to go to the end of the cars on the lead lap for the restart.

 Buckingham took over the lead, and then held off Jay Blair of Angie, LA in the Parish Disposal Mastersbilt to take the win.  Although he felt bad for White, he didn’t hesitate picking up the $2,500 winner’s check in celebration.

 “I hated to see what happened to Anthony because he had us covered, but I’ve lost a few the way he did tonight, so we’ll take the win,” Buckingham said.  “We were just riding along in a position to take advantage of something if it happened, it did, and we’re here in victory lane.”

                  Following Buckingham and Blair home in the third spot was Keith Nosbisch of Valrico, FL in the Adams Used Auto Parts Rocket, while his brother and teammate Jack Nosbisch of Riverview, FL took the fourth spot in the Adams Used Auto Parts Rocket. 

 David Schmauss of Tampa, FL in the Cardinal Paint and Body Warrior ended up in the fifth spot after the apparent fifth-place finisher Randy Korte of Highland, IL was light at the scales in the Servpro of S.E. Tampa Rocket.  Schmauss started 18^th and earned the NeSmith Chevrolet Hard Charger of the Race Award.

 Kip Cochran of Franklin, NC finished sixth in the Parker Brothers Concrete Warrior, and Josh Peacock of Dover, FL was seventh in the Peacock Farms Rocket.  Shan Smith of Dade City, FL took the eighth spot in the Seckman Fire Sprinklers TNT.

 Frank Ingram of Woodstock, GA took over the StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series National Touring point lead with a ninth-place effort in the Universal Concrete Rocket.  Ingram now holds a six-point lead over Derrick Rainey of Powder Springs , GA , who finished 11^th in the Dixon Hauling and Grading Rocket.  Rusty Hoge of Ooltewah, TN rounded out the top ten in the H&H Powersports GRT.

 Jack Nosbisch was the fast qualifier among the 52 entrants with a lap around the 1/3-mile clay oval in 16.330 seconds.  That earned him the pole position for the main event, and he led Marshall Austin Jr. of Plant City, FL, White, Devin Dixon of Tampa, FL, and Buckingham after lap one.

 Dixon spun his New Homes of Tampa Bay Rocket in turn three on lap two, and collected Robbie Harvey of Lake, MS in the G&M Trucking GRT.  Both drivers were done for the evening, as Jack Nosbisch, Austin, White, Buckingham, and Gentry lined up in the first five spots for the restart.

 Passing was at premium early in the race, as Gentry went to the outside on the restart to pass Buckingham and Austin to move up to third, while White drove past Austin for the second spot.  On lap three, White closed in on Jack Nosbisch, and took the lead coming off the fourth turn.  Also on lap three, Buckingham and Austin drove past the high riding Gentry coming off turn four.

 The caution flag waved for the second time in the race on lap four when Austin spun his Servpro of S.E. Tampa Rocket in turn two, collecting Erik McKinney of Felton , DE in the Vending Technology Rocket.

 White led the field down for the restart followed by Jack Nosbisch, Buckingham, Gentry, Blair, Keith Nosbisch, Jeff Fields of Aragon, GA in the Summerville Junkyard Mastersbilt, Korte, Cochran, and Peacock.  Buckingham passed Jack Nosbisch for second on the restart, while Blair and Keith Nosbisch passed Gentry for the fourth and fifth spots respectively.

 Blair was on the move, as he passed Jack Nosbisch for the third spot on lap six.  In the meantime, Gentry was falling back through the pack.  By lap ten, the track dried out and everyone was looking to grab a spot on the black inside groove.

 The third caution flag of the race was unfurled on lap 14 when Fields spun in turn three with Dorsey Strickland of Gibsonton, FL in the Top Notch Home Repair Warrior, and Freddie Carpenter of Parkersburg, WV in the Last Lap Performance Parts Rocket.  Gentry headed to the pits under the caution, and returned to tail of the pack for the restart.  This would come into play at the end of the race.

 White set sail on the restart followed by Buckingham, Blair, Jack and Keith Nosbisch, Korte, Cochran, Schmauss, Peacock, and Ingram.  The field stayed glued to the inside groove for the next 20 laps, but as White approached the lapped cars in front of him, he had to make a decision – try to go high around them, or stay on the fast bottom groove.

 On lap 36, White stepped to the outside to lap Austin , and in doing so, began to pull away from Buckingham.  As White approached Gentry, the latter was racing on the outside groove.  On lap 38, White went to the inside of Gentry coming off the fourth turn.  As the pair came off the fourth turn, contact was made, and both cars spun down the front stretch.

 Gentry was able to continue, but White was forced to the pits with a flat right front tire.  Both drivers finished the race with Gentry taking the 13^th spot, and White finishing 14^th.  With a clear race track in front of him, Buckingham took over the lead and led the last two laps for the win.

 In preliminary action, Keith Nosbisch, Rainey, Korte, and Cochran won the four 12-lap Qualifying Races.  Jim Till of Greenville, AL in the GEI Trak Star was declared the winner of the ten-lap Adams Used Auto Parts Strawberry Dash Presented By Prevatt Farms after the apparent winner, Steve Gillman of Plant City, FL, was light at the scales in the Top Notch Home Repair Rayburn.

 The StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series returns to East Bay Raceway Park on Friday night for another complete show highlighted by a $2,500-to-win main event.

 OFFICIAL RESULTS OF ROUND THREE AT EAST BAY RACEWAY PARK IN TAMPA , FL ON 2/22/07 :

 POS       STRT     CAR #    DRIVER                                HOMETOWN                      LAPS     $ WON 

1.             5              44           Shannon Buckingham       Morristown , TN                   40           $2,500
2.             8              2x            Jay Blair                               Angie , LA                              40           $1,250
3.             11           02           Keith Nosbisch                    Valrico, FL                           40           $850
4.             1              12           Jack Nosbisch                     Riverview, FL                       40           $700
5.             18           105         David Schmauss                  Tampa , FL                             40           $750
6.             14           29           Kip Cochran                         Franklin , NC                         40           $550
7.             15           21p         Josh Peacock                       Dover , FL                              40           $500
8.             22           17ss       Shan Smith                           Dade City , FL                        40           $450
9.             17           F9           Frank Ingram                      Woodstock , GA                    40           $400
10.          19           21           Rusty Hoge                           Ooltewah, TN                       40           $375
11.          12           87           Derrick Rainey                   Powder Springs, GA           40           $350
12.          9              V75        Erik McKinney                     Felton, DE                             40           $300
13.          7              56           David Gentry                        Lewisburg, TN                     40           $380
14.          3              2              Anthony White                    Clinton , TN                            40           $260
15.          21           75           Carnell Parker III               Clarksville , TN                    40           $250
16.          2              42           Marshall Austin Jr.            Plant City , FL                       39           $240
17.          16           c4            Freddie Carpenter               Parkersburg, WV               39           $220
18.          10           16           Jeff Fields                             Aragon, GA                          39           $200
19.          20           03           Dorsey Strickland              Gibsonton, FL                       39           $200
20.          24           25           Michael Keener (R)            Temple , GA                           34           $200
21.          23           10           Matthew Turner                  Dawsonville, GA                  13           $200
22.          4              2d            Devin Dixon                          Tampa , FL                             1              $200
23.          6              28           Robbie Harvey                      Lake , MS                              1              $200
24.          13           42k         Randy Korte                         Highland , IL                          DQ-LT   $200

ENTRIES:  52
PROVISIONALS:  Turner and Keener
LEAD CHANGES:  2
LAP LEADERS:  J. Nosbisch, 1-2; White, 3-38; Buckingham, 39-40
LAPS LED:  White, 36; Buckingham, 2; J. Nosbisch, 2
NeSMITH CHEVROLET HARD CHARGER:  Schmauss (started 18^th and finished 5^th)
ROOKIE OF THE RACE:  Keener
CAUTIONS:  4

QUALIFYING (Top 10 Qualifiers Transfer To Main Event):