County racing tradition continues at Fairgrounds
By Joe Williams, for the Williamson Herald
news@williamsonherald.com
In the 51 years of auto racing at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds there has never been a season when a driver from Williamson County did not finish in the top five in points in at least one division.
This year won’t break that streak.
Almost half-way through the 2009 season, eleven drivers are either solidly in the top five or closing in the vaulted spot, including one division leader and another just six points out of the top spot.
Fairview’s Bobby Buttrey carries the county’s banner highest, notching his third win in seven races Saturday night in a dog fight with fellow up-and-comer Daniel Bolden of Cane Ridge. Saturday’s win was especially sweet for Buttrey, whose sponsors Big Machine Records, Carl Black Chevrolet and 98 WSIX-FM sponsored the night’s activities.
Buttrey now holds a 48-point lead over Bolden. Brentwood’s Stacey Crain is only 2 points out of third place after finishing fifth Saturday night. Clint Crowell’s seventh-place finish was his sixth top 10 finish in six races so far, leaving him eighth in points.
In the Late Model Division, Mark Montgomery of Spring Hill ran as high as third before settling for seventh, leaving him seventh in points.
Cody Buford notched another top run in the Sportsman Division on the high-banked “big” track, leaving him sixth in points and closing on a top five position.
On the quarter-mile track, Greg Gresham continues to battle with Ricky McIllwain in the Dwarf Division. Tied for the points lead going into Saturday’s action, McIllwain picked up the win with Gresham hot on his bumper, leaving the Franklin driver just 6 points out of first place.
Gene Holt and C.J. Adams both hold top 10-point spots after posting third- and seventh-place finishes respectively Saturday night. Both have missed races this season, Holt with a late start and Adams with a wicked crash, leaving them in a hole points-wise.
The other hot young gun at Nashville is Tyler Cordell of Thompson’s Station, who continued his near domination of the Legends Division with another win Saturday night.
Action continues at the historic Fairgrounds Speedway at Nashville Saturday night with racing beginning at 5:30 p.m. For more information see www.fairgroundsspeedwayatnashville.com.
For drag race enthusiasts, Nashville Superspeedway’s Delk Performance Friday Night Adrenaline Drags continue tomorrow night. Running a one-eighth mile stretch of the long pit road, the Superspeedway’s program is designed as a grass-roots series for everything from family sedans to pro stock dragsters to motorcycles and ATV’s. Practice passes begin at 6:30 p.m., with the first head-to-head elimination round beginning at 8:15. For more information on the track’s program, see www.nashvillesupersppedway.com.
Posted on: 6/25/2009
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