Photo Courtesy of Odell Turner/PBO Media Productions
Nashville, Tenn., (Sept. 4)-Nashville race fans have come to expect a good show whenever the Ken Ten Pro Late Model Series comes to town, and Saturday’s 125 lapper was no exception. All of the elements of a good race were there: close racing, spectacular crashes, a battle for the win, and a local favorite taking the checkered flag. Clay Alexander continued his domination of the 2010 season at the Fairgrounds Speedway, but it was far from a cake walk.
John Bolen, from Jasper, Ala., set the AR Bodies fast time in qualifying; however, local hero Sterling Marlin grabbed the pole in the re-draw. Marlin paced the field in the early laps, but on lap 5, as he went to the outside of Roger Holder to put him a lap down, Holder’s car shot up the track and sandwiched Marlin into the backstretch wall. The damage to Marlin’s car was too severe to continue, and his car was towed back to the pit area. Series officials also parked Holder for the remainder of the race due to his involvement in the incident.
Alabama’s Johnny Brazier escaped the incident and led until his car suddenly slowed on lap 31. Alexander, who had been pressuring Brazier, had nowhere to go and got into Brazier sending him spinning in turn 2. More cars tangled as the field scrambled to get on the brakes and find a clear bit of racetrack. Once the dust had settled, nine cars lay crippled on the backstretch. Nashville driver Davey Coble had the wildest ride of all as his car got up on its side and rode the top of the backstretch guardrail before finally coming to a stop. Coble was awake and alert at the scene, but the track’s rescue crew opted to transport him to Vanderbilt Hospital for precautionary measures.
With the leaders all being involved in various incidents, the door was opened for some fresh faces to pace the field. Dakota Stroup briefly led before being overtaken by Bolen. While the lead was being traded up front, Alexander was quickly working his way through the pack. With the aid of cautions for minor spins, by lap 60 Alexander was stalking Bolen for the lead. Going in to turn 1 on lap 64, Alexnader shot to the outside of Bolen to move into first place, which he held until the lap 75 break.
Before the race, polesitter Bolen rolled a five to determine how many positions would be inverted after the break. This put Greg Boone to the point for the first time of the evening. On the restart, Boone was quickly overtaken by Michael House. Likewise, House was quickly overtaken by Bolen.
A caution for a minor spin closed up the field and on the restart Bolen and Alexander distanced themselves from the rest of the field. The duo staged an intense battle lap after lap, until yet another caution was thrown. On the restart, Alexander was able to work the outside line around Bolen for what would be the final lead change of the event. The lead changes may have been over, but the action was not, as Bolen stalked Alexander for the last 20 laps of the race. At times, Bolen’s car appeared to be quicker than Alexander’s; he just could not find a way around the Franklin, Tenn., driver.
“I might have been a little bit quicker, but I didn’t want to wreck him. That’s not the way I race,” said Bolen.
“I wanted to keep tight to the bottom,” Alexander said. “I like it down there, and I didn’t want to give [Bolen] the opportunity to get under me…This was a great win for our team.” Alexander is sponsored by Alexander Automotive, Red Line Oil, and Aramark.
The next event on the Ken Ten schedule is a return to Kentucky Motor Speedway in Whitesville, Ken., on Oct. 9. Sammy Sanders won at the series’ first visit to the track in 2010.
Final Results:
1.#84 Clay Alexander - 125 laps
2. #2 John Bolen - 125 laps
3. #84 Michael House - 125 laps
4. #2 Ryan Gifford - 125 laps
5. #71 Johnny Brazier - 125 laps
6. #121 Greg Boone - 125 laps
7. #98 Mason Mingus - 125 laps
8. #04 Jerrod Foley - 125 laps
9. #28 Tom Schuette - 125 laps
10. #47 Dakota Stroup - 124 laps
11. #4 Ryan Issacs - 122 laps
12. #97 Josh Weston - 122 laps
13. #11 Stacey Crain - 119 laps
14. #41 Jimmy Dowdy - 114 laps
15. #09 Daniel Bolden - 101 laps
16. #8 Mark Day - 74 laps
17. #19 Chad Willis - 31 laps
18. #14 Davey Coble - 30 laps
19. #2 Mike Pruitt - 30 laps
20. #32 Travis Trotter - 30 laps
21. #30 Bobby Knox, Jr. - 30 laps
22. #05 Nathan Davis - 30 laps
23. #61 T. W. Fisher - 11 laps
24. #7 Tony Ussery - 6 laps
25. #40 Sterling Marlin - 4 laps
26. #9 Roger Holder - 4 laps
Point Standings:
1. Mason Mingus- 504
2. Tim Hollis- 436
3. Chad Willis- 386
4. Davey Coble- 334
5. Ryan Isaacs- 316
6. Brian Royalty- 312
7. Josh Weston- 288
8. Roger Parker- 266
9. Hunter Willis- 250
10. Sammy Sanders- 248
11. Clay Alexander- 236
12. Mark Day- 234
13. Michael House- 220
14. Jason Jones- 212
15. Jerrod Foley- 208
16. Johnny Brazier- 204
17. Marty Taylor- 196
18. Dr. Jeff Berg- 192
19. Daniel Bolden- 176
19. Dakota Stroup- 176
21. Tom Schuette- 170
22. Blake Hillard-160
23. Tony Conway- 132
24. Sterling Marlin- 128
25. John Bolen- 120
26. Robbie Brown- 116
27. Chris Harmon- 114
28. TW Fisher- 112
28. Damon Ecoff- 112
30. John Hayden- 108
30. Ryan Gifford- 108
32. Wayne Jones- 106
33. Brian Cherry- 102
34. Greg Moore- 100
35. Gregg Carby- 96
35. Will Kimmel- 96
35. Martin Belcher- 96
38. Eric Centers- 92
39. Danny Smith- 90
40. Josh Clemons- 88
40. Chris Workman- 88
40. Mike Masters- 88
40. Jared Smith- 88
44. Jay Parrish- 86
45. Kraig Hall- 84
46. Steve Brock- 80
47. Keith Montgomery- 76
47. Kevin Willis- 76
49. Stacey Crain- 72
49. Jason Fuller- 72
51. Jimmy Dowdy- 68
51. Mike Bargo- 68
53. Mark Oliver- 62
54. Tony Ussery- 60
54. Dennis White- 60
56. Kyle Fletcher- 56
57. Mike Pruitt- 48
58. Travis Trotter- 44
59. Bobby Knox, Jr.- 40
60. Nathan Davis- 36
60. Terry Smith- 36
62. Martin Belcher- 24
63. Roger Holder- 20
63. Tony Sawyer- 20
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