INGRAM TAKES FIRST STORMPAY.COM DLMS WIN AT WHYNOT

               MERIDIAN, MS – Frank Ingram of Woodstock, GA stayed in a race-long battle for the lead and drove his Universal Concrete Rocket to victory on Saturday night in the 50-lap $3,000-to-win StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series National Touring event at Whynot Motorsports Park.  Ingram swapped the lead three times with Wiley Williams of Stonewall, MS.

                Williams’ Tuxedo Auto Warrior was powered by a GM Performance 602 steel-head engine that tried to make up for a 50 horsepower disadvantage with a 150-pound weight break over the GM Performance aluminum-head that Ingram used.

                “I heard during the driver introductions that he (Williams) had a 602,” Ingram said.  “That was one strong 602 engine because we were both flat out all the way around the race track.  He’d mess up, and I’d take the lead, and then I’d mess up, and he’d take the lead.  After I got the lead back for the second time, I tried not to mess up.”

                Ingram said it was important for him to keep his momentum of running the track at full throttle late in the race through lapped traffic, as Mike Boland of Cuba, AL was closing in during the last few laps.  With ten laps to go, Ingram had a full straightaway lead over Boland.  While Ingram carefully tried to work through lapped traffic, Boland closed to within a few car lengths.

                On lap 48, Ingram shot the gap between two lapped cars, and pulled away from Boland for the win, his first of the season, and he also took over the point lead.

                Boland had to settle for second in the Ware Construction Trak Star, and third went to Jay Blair of Angie, LA in the Parrish Disposal Mastersbilt, who moved into the third spot in the StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series National point standings.  Terry Mosley of Gilbertown, AL was fourth in the Mid Star Timber Rocket and was the Rookie of the Race.

                The defending StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series National Champion David Gentry of Lewisburg , TN made a late race charge to finish fifth in the Dixon Plumbing Mastersbilt.  Gentry entered the race with an eight-point advantage over Ingram in the points chase, but left Whynot Motorsports Park just two points behind Ingram.

                Johnny Stokes of Columbus, MS started 14^th in the NeSmith Chevrolet Mastersbilt and finished sixth to earn the NeSmith Chevrolet Hard Charger of the Race Award.  After leading 19 laps, Williams faded late in the race to finish seventh.  William Thomas of Phenix City, AL took the eighth spot in the J.W. Miller Land and Timber Scorpion.

                The defending StormPay.com Weekly Racing Series West Region Champion Lucky Keeton of Toomsuba, AL was ninth in the Charlotte’s Toy GRT, and Neil Baggett of Shannon, MS rounded out the top ten in the Excell Motors Mastersbilt.

                Boland started off the evening by taking fast time honors among the 37 entrants with a lap around the 3/8-mile clay oval in 13.885 seconds and also earning the pole position for the main event.  Williams was second quick at 13.890 seconds to start the big show on the outside of the front row.  Williams took the lead at the start, but the caution was out before the leaders got to turn four.

                A total of eight cars piled up on the backstretch.  Six restarted, and two were done for the night.  On the complete restart, it was Williams once again taking the lead over Boland, Ingram, Mosley, and Larry Boutwell of Baker, FL in the McCloud Construction TNT.  Chris Tays of Corinth, MS got by Boutwell for fifth on lap two.

                Boland began to look inside Williams for the lead on lap seven, but that battle was slowed by the caution flag when Chip Brindle of Chatsworth, GA spun the Brindle Brothers Auto Parts GRT in turn four.  Williams took off on the restart, but in his wake there was a three-car battle for second being waged among Boland, Ingram, and Mosley.

                Ingram got inside Boland on lap eight, and on the 11^th lap, Ingram took the second position from Boland.  On the next lap, Ingram was looking inside Williams for the lead, and on lap 14, Ingram was the new leader of the race.

                Just after Ingram took the lead, he began to negotiate lapped traffic.  Ingram got caught just enough behind a lapped car that he had to crack the throttle for a split second, but that was all Williams needed to retake the lead on lap 16, and bring Boland with him up into the second spot. 

                A multi-car spin in turn two on lap 18 slowed the field under caution for a third time.  Williams led Boland, Ingram, Mosley, Blair, Thomas, Stokes, Tays, and Boutwell down for the restart.  As the field raced down the backstretch, a multi-car crash ensued, sending Robert Stutts of Murfreesboro , TN up-side-down in the Bob Parks Realty Rocket.

                Stutts and the five other drivers involved in the crash were uninjured.  When the field went back to green after the lengthy red flag period, Ingram got busy on the bottom groove of Whynot Motorsports Park .

                Ingram passed Boland for the second spot on lap 21, and then he got back inside of Williams to battle for the lead on lap 22.  Ingram raced under Williams in turn three to take the lead on lap 22.  At the halfway point, Ingram led Williams, Boland, Mosley, Blair, Thomas, Keeton, Tays, Gentry, and Stokes.

 
Frank Ingram of Woodstock, GA in the #F9 Universal Concrete Rocket shoots under Mike Boland of Cuba, AL to take over the second spot in the StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series National Touring race on Saturday night at Whynot Motorsports Park in Meridian, MS.  Ingram would go on to take his first win the season, and also take over the point lead.  (Mike Blevins Photo)

               The second half of the race saw wholesale position changes behind the leader.  Boland raced Williams for second side-by-side on lap 28, and Blair got by Mosley for fourth on lap 29.  Boland made his pass on Williams for second stick on lap 31, and Blair passed Williams for the third spot on lap 32.

               The last ten laps of the race saw Gentry and Stokes work their way from ninth and tenth respectively to finish fifth and sixth respectively.  Gentry came from the 12^th starting spot after winning the second 15-lap heat race.  Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA won the first 15-lap heat race in the Turner Excavating Hicks.

               The next two events for the StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series National Tour will be on Friday, May 25 at Cookeville Speedway in Cookeville, TN for a 40-lap $2,500-to-win event, and then on Saturday, May 26 at North Georgia Speedway in Chatsworth, GA for a 50-lap $3,000-to-win event.

OFFICIAL RESULTS OF ROUND 8 AT WHYNOT MOTORSPORTS PARK IN MERIDIAN , MS ON 5/5/07 :

POS       STRT     CAR #   DRIVER                             HOMETOWN                   LAPS     $ WON 

1.            4             F9          Frank Ingram                   Woodstock , GA                50           $3,000
2.            1             4             Mike Boland                     Cuba , AL                             50           $1,500
3.            9             2x           Jay Blair                            Angie , LA                            50           $1,250
4.            5             1t           Terry Mosley (R)             Gilbertown , AL                 50           $1,100
5.            12           56           David Gentry                    Lewisburg, TN                  50           $1,100
6.            14           1             Johnny Stokes                   Columbus, MS                  50           $950
7.            2             4w          Wiley Williams                Stonewall, MS                  50           $750
8.            6             22w       William Thomas                             Phenix City , AL                 50           $700
9.            13           22           Lucky Keeton                    Toomsuba, MS                  49           $650
10.          17           18c         Neil Baggett                      Shannon, MS                     49           $600
11.          8             8             Chris Tays                         Corinth , MS                      49           $550
12.          16           44c         Curtis Cline                      Douglasville, GA             49           $500
13.          20           34           Brandon Keeton                              Toomsuba, MS                  49           $450
14.          18           07           Talbert Goldman             Meridian , MS                   49           $400
15.          15           06           Bill Flowers                     Bremen , GA                      49           $350
16.          23           87           Derrick Rainey                 Powder Springs, GA       49           $300
17.          10           38c         Chip Brindle (R)              Chatsworth , GA                               44           $280
18.          3             58           Larry Boutwell                Baker, FL                          41           $250
19.          11           10           Matthew Turner                              Dawsonville, GA                             22               $250
20.          21           27           Larry Murphy                   Meridian , MS                   22           $250
21.          7             302        Robert Stutts                    Murfreesboro , TN            18           $250
22.          24           16           Jeff Fields                          Aragon, GA                       18           $250
23.          19           21           Rusty Hoge                        Ooltewah, TN                    1             $250
24.          22           22s         Jamey Smith                     Purvis, MS                         1             $250

ENTRIES:  37
PROVISIONALS:  Rainey and Fields
LEAD CHANGES:  3
LAP LEADERS:  Williams, 1-13; Ingram, 14-15; Williams, 16-21; Ingram, 22-50
LAPS LED:  Ingram, 31; Williams, 19
NeSMITH CHEVROLET HARD CHARGER:  Stokes (started 14^th and finished 6^th)
ROOKIE OF THE RACE:  Mosley
CAUTIONS:  5 (1 Red)

QUALIFYING: