David Kerr notches first Thunder & Lightning victory
By Markus Hankins
April 27th, 2014
Seymour, TN – Another beautiful Saturday night of racing excitement is complete at the Tennessee’s Action Track! To kick off the night, Seymour, TN’s own Ryan King would tour the speedway the fastest, laying down a lap of 14.168 to claim the fast qualifier honors. The first feature of the night was Mini Stock, where we did have a rollover on the frontstretch, but the driver was OK. In the end, it was Jason Gregory taking the win. In post-race tech, the top 4 cars were checked, and all cleared. Next was the Sportsman division, where Wayne Rader threaded the needle, moving from 3rd to 1st on lap 9 to claim the lead and eventual win. Street Stock was next, where it appeared for a moment that Bradly Lewelling was on his way to back-to-back wins, however Dale Watson would power into the lead on lap 15, leading the final 4 laps to claim the win. Thunder & Lightning was up next where David Kerr would pick up his first (of we’re sure many) career win in Thunder & Lightning. Closing out the night, it was Adam Beeler out of Halls, TN who would dominate the NeSmith feature.
Join us this Friday night, May 2nd, as we play host to Night 1 of the USCS Thunder in the Smokies! This 2-night special is in conjunction with Smoky Mountain Speedway, where the series well head off to on Saturday night. This means 411 Motor Speedway’s gates will be closed on Saturday because we’re racing on Friday! You’ll see action in the USCS Sprint Car Series, as well as support from the NeSmith Late Model, Sportsman, and Mini Stock divisions gunning for $1,000, $500, and $400 feature wins in each division. Full payouts are posted on the website. The total purse is $9,120 for all support divisions, so that’s a real nice chunk of change. NeSmith will pay $100 to start, with Sportsman getting $75 and Mini Stock getting $50. This will be a night you won’t want to miss!
All gates will open on Friday May 2nd at 4:00p ET, with the drivers meeting scheduled for 6:00p ET and hotlaps immediately following. Adult Grandstand tickets will be $15, with kids 6-11 $5 and 5 & under free. Tier parking will be $25 per person, regardless of age. Adult Pit Passes will be $35, with kids 11 & under $15 with signed waiver. See you on Friday evening!
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Mini Stock
Mike Townsend and Jason Gregory would lead the field to the green flag in Mini Stock. Gregory would quickly capture the race lead, with Carter on his heels. The first of 3 cautions would fly on lap 3 as Josh Davis would go around. On the restart, Gregory would again pull off two with the lead, as Rocky McNabb began making some noise. The feature’s 2nd caution flew on lap 4 as Bryant Idles and Mike Townsend made contact off 4, and Idles stopped in turn 2 and sped away as the caution flew. That would put him to the rear as he was the caution car. The 3rd and final caution flew on the next lap, when several cars got together off 4 which ended with Jeff Thatcher going on a single barrel roll back on 4 wheels. He would even drive away from the scene and into the infield. On the restart, it was again Gregory taking the lead, where he showed the way through the final 15 laps to claim the win. Carter and McNabb rounded out your top 3. The top 4 finishers were teched, and all drivers were cleared.
Cautions: 3 –- Laps 3, 4, 5
Leaders: 1 –- 21-Gregory 1-20
Time of Race: 16 minutes 11 seconds
Sportsman
The Sportsman feature saw Terry Poore and James Cole showing the way off 4, but in turn 2, James Cole would go around to bring out the caution on lap 0. With no laps on the board, per track rules, the order went back to the original lineup. On the restart, James Cole would make contact with Poore down the frontstretch. Josh Beal would go around moments later, keeping things on lap 0. Due to the aggressiveness of the drivers, race control went to a single-file start. This time, they’d make it to lap 2 when Beal would again go for a loop in 2. On lap 4, caution flew once again as Beal would go around off 4. This would be strike 3 on Beal, ending his night. The final caution flew on lap 7 as Brandon Gardner would go for the spin cycle. In the final 13 laps, we saw Poore show the way, until lap 9 when Wayne Rader would steal away the lead, leading from lap 10 through the checkers, taking the win over Poore and Kip Sawyer.
Cautions: 5 –- Laps 0, 0, 2, 4, 7
Leaders: 2 -– 2-Poore 1-9; 01-Hux 10-20
Time of Race: 14 minutes 40 seconds
Street Stock
Dale Watson and Bradly Lewelling would lead the field off 4 for the green flag, with Lewelling quickly taking the lead away from Watson off 2. The first caution wouldn’t fly until lap 5 as Bret Banks went on the spin cycle in 4. The second caution of the night flew on lap 7 as Eric Fisher stalled on the frontstretch. Banks would loop again in 4 just after the caution flew, but the caution car was Fisher, so Banks retained his position in relation to where he was running on the last completed lap. On the restart, Watson would hound Lewelling as he showed the way, until Watson finally made his charge on lap 15 to power into the lead and never look back, as he would lead from lap 16 through to the checkers over Lewelling and David Price finishing up in 3rd from his 6th starting spot.
Cautions: 2 –- Laps 5, 7
Leaders: 2 –- 1B-Lewelling 1-15; 11-Watson 16-20
Time of Race: 11 minutes 54 seconds
Thunder & Lightning
Only 4 cars were signed in in Thunder & Lightning, with David Kerr and Steve Owens Jr starting outside. This division would only get hotlaps due to the low car count. At the start, Owens challenged for the lead, when down the backstretch he would drop off the pace and pull to the infield in 4. Kerr would show the way over Chase King, when the lone caution of this feature flew on lap 4 as King went around off 2. King would quickly go to work chasing Kerr down the backstretch on the restart, where Kerr held off the challenges of King, claiming his first-ever Thunder & Lightning feature win, leading all 15 laps over King and Tommy Huston.
Cautions: 1 -– Lap 4
Leaders: 1 –- 14-Kerr 1-15
Time of Race: 5 minutes 10 seconds
NeSmith Late Model
Earlier in the evening during qualifying, Ryan King out of Seymour, TN would lay down the fastest lap with his lap of 14.168. Adam Beeler out of Halls, TN would join him on the outside front row with his lap of 14.322. It was all Beeler from the jump of the green flag, as he would pull out ahead of King. King would battle back, not losing touch with Beeler just yet, but the battle behind raged on. The first caution flew on lap 12 as Brad Coffey would go around on his own in turn 2. During this caution, it appeared as though Coffey would protest the call. However, race control would tell him on the raceceiver that he was the caution car, at which time Coffey would head to the pits. That set up a restart, where Rusty Ballenger out of Seymour, TN and Jake Teague would do battle. The 2nd caution flew on lap 17 for debris in turn 1. That set up the final 13 lap run to the checkers, with Beeler schooling the field in his march to victory lane. King would fade to finish in the 4th spot, while 6th-place starter Ballenger claimed the 2nd spot. Coming home in 3rd was Teague from the 4th starting spot. Rounding out the top 5 was Gatlinburg, TN’s Pierce McCarter from the 7th starting position.
Cautions: 2 — Laps 12, 17
Leaders: 1 — 66-Beeler 1-30
Time of Race: 12 minutes 14 seconds