BUCKINGHAM LEADS LATE FOR SECOND EAST BAY STORMPAY.COM DLMS WIN

 
Shannon Buckingham of Morristown, TN in the #44 S&S Millwright Barry Wright dives under Derrick Rainey of Powder Springs, GA in the #87 Dixon Hauling and Grading Rocket in turn four on lap 49 on Saturday night during the 50-lap StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series 50-lap main event at East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa, FL.  Buckingham would lead the last lap of the race to post his second win in three nights.  (Mike Blevins Photo)

                TAMPA, FL – For the second time in three days, Shannon Buckingham of Morristown, TN led the last two laps of a StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series event at East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa, FL.  Buckingham drove his S&S Millwright Barry Wright to his second win of the season on Saturday night to collect the $3,000 top prize.

                After also winning at East Bay on Thursday night, Buckingham brought his three-day earnings to $5,700.  Just like Thursday night’s win, Buckingham sat back in second spot on Saturday night, and let lapped traffic assist him with two laps to go in taking the victory.

                Buckingham passed Derrick Rainey of Powder Springs, GA for the lead coming off the fourth turn for the white flag of the 50-lap race.  Rainey led 33 laps of the race, and got caught behind a lapped car going into turn three on lap 49, which opened the door of opportunity for Buckingham, who dove to the inside, and threw a successful slider on Rainey.

                “I didn’t have as strong a race car as Derrick did, but when the lapped car slowed his momentum, I wanted to be in a position to try and make a move,” Buckingham said.  “I’ve got to thank my Dad Tom Buckingham for this win.  He worked on the car all day to get us here tonight.”

                Rainey had to settle for second in the Dixon Hauling and Grading Rocket, and Frank Ingram of Woodstock, GA extended his StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series point lead with a third-place finish in the Universal Concrete Rocket.

                Randy Korte of Highland, IL moved up to the fourth spot in the Servpro of S.E. Tampa Rocket when the apparent fourth-place finisher Shan Smith of Dade City , FL in the Seckman Fire Sprinklers TNT was light at the scales after the race.  Polesitter Keith Nosbisch of Valrico, FL finished fifth in the Adams Used Auto Parts Rocket after leading the first 15 laps of the race.

                Robert Stutts of Murfreesboro, TN was sixth in the Bob Parks Realty Barry Wright and was the Rookie of the Race.  Jack Nosbisch Jr. of Riverview, FL took the seventh spot in the Adams Used Auto Parts Rocket, and David Schmauss of Tampa, FL finished eighth in the Cardinal Paint and Body Warrior.  Chris Tays of Corinth, MS was ninth in the Bud Goley Trucking Rocket.

                David Gentry of Lewisburg, TN started 21^st and finished 10^th which earned the defending StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series National Champion the NeSmith Chevrolet Hard Charger of the Race Award.

                Keith Nosbisch was the fast qualifier among the 46 entrants with a lap around the 1/3-mile clay oval in 16.254 seconds, and led the field down for the green flag from the pole position.  Keith Nosbisch took the lead in turn one followed by Buckingham from the third starting spot, Smith, Stutts, and Tays, who started on the outside of the front row.

                It appeared early in the race that Tays missed the set up, as he dropped back to the eighth spot by lap three.  While Tays was falling back, three drivers in the field were on the move.

                Gentry moved up from the 21^st starting spot to 12^th by lap 15, and Anthony White of Clinton , TN had advanced his Trade Mark Metals DWB from 19^th to 10^th by lap nine.  But the man getting the most attention was Rainey, who started tenth.  Rainey stepped the to outside groove on lap 12, and began picking off positions.

                Rainey had moved up to the third spot on lap 15, stayed up on the top of the race track, and passed both Buckingham and Keith Nosbisch on lap 16 to take the lead.

                The first caution flag was waved on lap 17 when Jay Blair of Angie , LA hit the first turn wall with his Parish Disposal Mastersbilt.  After visiting the pits for repairs, Blair was able to continue.  Rainey led Keith Nosbisch, Buckingham, Smith, Korte, Stutts, Ingram, Jack Nosbisch Jr., White, and Tays down for the restart.

                Ingram passed Stutts for the sixth spot on the restart.  Rainey set sail, and had opened up a half straightaway lead over Keith Nosbisch by the time he began lapping cars on lap 24.  The field was slowed by a second caution flag on lap 28 when Josh Peacock of Dover , FL stalled the Peacock Farms Rocket on the front straightaway.

                Rainey pulled away on the restart, while Buckingham went after Keith Nosbisch for the second spot.  Buckingham passed Keith Nosbisch coming off the fourth turn on lap 28.  Carnell Parker III of Clarksville, TN spun the CPM Racing Mastersbilt in turn two on lap 32 to bring out the third caution flag of the race.

                Ingram had passed Korte for the fifth spot before the caution flag came out, and on the restart, got around Smith to move up to the fourth position.  White made a move to pass Jack Nosbisch Jr. for eighth on lap 35.  Before White could move any further through the pack, he suddenly slowed on lap 40 and coasted to a stop on the front straightaway for the fourth caution flag.

                On the restart, Ingram got busy again when he passed Keith Nosbisch for the third spot.  He was able to get right on Buckingham’s back bumper when the fifth and final caution flag came out on lap 41 when four cars tangled coming off the fourth turn.

                Korte moved into the top five with a pass on Keith Nosbisch after the restart, while Rainey tried to pull away from Buckingham.  Rainey had been running the high line for most of the race with much success, but Buckingham was running the bottom, and was beginning to gain on the leader in the closing laps of the race.

                The leaders approached the lapped car of Robbie Harvey of Lake MS in the G&M Trucking GRT on lap 48.  Harvey adhered to the move over flag, and went to the high side to give the leaders room on the bottom.  When Harvey went high in turn three on lap 49, that slowed Rainey’s momentum just enough to give Buckingham the opportunity to throw a slide job on the leader.

                Buckingham followed Rainey into turn three up high, but when Rainey lifted, Buckingham turned hard left, and went to the bottom of the track.  Rainey passed Harvey, but Buckingham slid up in front of Rainey coming off the fourth turn with the white flag signaling one lap to go in front of them.  Buckingham then sped away for his second win in three nights at East Bay Raceway Park .

                In preliminary action, the three 12-lap Qualifying Races were won by Korte, Freddie Carpenter of Parkersburg , WV in the Last Lap Performance Parts Rocket, and Ingram.  The two 10-lap B-Mains were won by White and Blair.

David Livingston of Blair, NE in the Olson & Stewart Construction Mastersbilt won the 10-lap Adams Used Auto Parts Strawberry Dash Presented By Prevatt Farms.  Livingston earned the Promoter’s Choice 25^th Provisional starting spot in the main event.

The next event for the StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series National Tour will be a two-day $5,000-to-win event on March 16-17 at Deep South Speedway in Loxley, AL.

 OFFICIAL FINISH OF ROUND FIVE AT EAST BAY RACEWAY PARK IN TAMPA , FL ON 2/24/07 :

 POS       STRT     CAR #    DRIVER                                HOMETOWN                      LAPS     $ WON 
1.             3              44           Shannon Buckingham       Morristown , TN                   50           $3,000
2.             10           87           Derrick Rainey                   Powder Springs, GA           50           $1,500
3.             9              F9           Frank Ingram                      Woodstock , GA                    50           $1,250
4.             7              42           Randy Korte                         Highland , IL                         50           $1,100
5.             1              02           Keith Nosbisch                    Valrico, FL                           50           $1,000
6.             6              302         Robert Stutts (R)                Murfreesboro , TN               50           $850
7.             11           12           Jack Nosbisch Jr.               Riverview, FL                       50           $750
8.             14           105         David Schmauss                  Tampa , FL                             50           $700
9.             2              8              Chris Tays                           Corinth , MS                         50           $650
10.          21           56           David Gentry                        Lewisburg, TN                     50           $800
11.          16           38c         Chip Brindle (R)                  Chatsworth , GA                    50           $550
12.          15           95           Jon Callaway                        Harrington, DE                    50           $500
13.          20           2x            Jay Blair                               Angie , LA                              50           $450
14.          23           10           Matthew Turner                  Dawsonville, GA                  50           $400
15.          8              c4            Freddie Carpenter               Parkersburg, WV               50           $350
16.          22           33           Jeff Mathews                        Seffner, FL                           50           $300
17.          13           16           Jeff Fields                             Aragon, GA                          50           $280
18.          5              28           Robbie Harvey                      Lake , MS                              49           $250
19.          17           15z         Peydon Pelphrey                 Winchester , KY                    48           $250
20.          19           2              Anthony White                    Clinton , TN                            39           $250
21.          25           12L         David Livingston                 Blair, NE                               34           $250
22.          12           75           Carnell Parker III               Clarksville , TN                    31           $250
23.          18           21p         Josh Peacock                       Dover , FL                              26           $250
24.          24           25           Michael Keener (R)            Temple , GA                           21           $250
25.          4              17ss       Shan Smith                           Dade City , FL                        DQ-LT   $250

ENTRIES:  46
PROVISIONALS:  Turner and Keener
PROMOTER’S CHOICE PROVISIONAL:  Livingston
LEAD CHANGES:  2
LAP LEADERS:  K. Nosbisch, 1-15; Rainey, 16-48; Buckingham, 49-50
LAPS LED:  Rainey, 33; K. Nosbisch, 15; Buckingham, 2
NeSMITH CHEVROLET HARD CHARGER:  Gentry (started 21^st and finished 10^th)
ROOKIE OF THE RACE:  Stutts
CAUTIONS:  5  

QUALIFYING (Top 6 Transfer To Main Event):