Alexander and Bolen stage classic duel in Nashville

Photo Courtesy of Odell Turner/PBO Media Productions

By Rob Spires/Ken Ten PR

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

Ken-Ten Race at KMS

gates open at 12:00 o'clock for the late models and practice starts at 1:00 o'clock till 3:00 o'clock for late models

let's go racing

general admission only $10.00 for adults

6 to 12 $3.00 and under 5 free

general admission gate opens at 3:00 o'clock

practice starts at 3:30 qualify at 5:30 and the races start at 7:30 o'clock

pit gate opens at 2:00 o'clock

Day captures first career Ken Ten victory at Nashville

Photo Courtesy of PBO Media Productions

By Rob Spires/ Ken Ten PR

Nashville, Tenn., (July 17)- Local favorite Mark Day proved that home-track knowledge is tough to beat as he took a convincing victory in the Ken Ten Nashville 125 at Fairgrounds Speedway. Day, a Clarksville, Tenn., native who had a tough night in his last Ken Ten outing at Beech Bend Raceway Park, came back with a vengeance at Nashville. He began the night by capturing the ARBodies fast time award in qualifying. However, in the post qualifying re-draw, Day pulled a six. That was his only low spot of the night.

“I wasn’t too worried when we drew the six, because I knew we had a good car,” Day said. “At the start we were too loose to get around them on the outside, but I knew if we just rode a bit that it would come to us,” he added.

As Day was biding his time, others were racing with much more intensity. The first caution of the night occurred on lap 14 when Martin Belcher, from Brooks Ken., made hard contact with the inside wall on the backstretch. Belcher was unhurt, but his night was over.

A major pileup occurred on the ensuing restart. The field became bunched up coming to the green flag, and the ensuing melee left the cars of Tony Conway, Tony Ussery, Jerrod Foley, and Terry Smith piled up along the inside wall.  Though all drivers walked away from their cars, the race had to be halted while the track crew cleaned off the racing surface.

The green flew again on lap 37, and five laps later, Day took his familiar spot at the front of the field.

“We were really good after the red flag. I was able to get on the outside and the car stuck. I knew we were going to be tough to beat once we got out front,” Day said.

Day remained at the front of the field until the lap 75 break, at which point the top six once again redrew their starting positions for the final sprint. This draw was much better than the first for Day, as he pulled a two, meaning he would line up on the outside of the front row.

“That worked out for us,” Day said “because I would have chosen to start on the outside anyway.”

During the break, teams were warned that the race would have to be cut short, as events at the track have an 11:30 p.m. curfew. This added even more urgency for the drivers, as they would only be given a five lap warning before the race would be considered complete.

Daniel Bolden, the winner of last year’s Nashville Ken Ten race, drew a one, putting him at the head of the field at the restart. That lead was short lived, however, as Day rocked around him to once again take the top spot. The field was slowed briefly for a spin by series point leader Tim Hollis. With the time constraints in mind, officials hurried to get the field properly lined up and back to racing. However, on the ensuing restart, cars once again bunched up, and an accident that took out Chad Willis, Davey Coble, and Blake Hillard brought out the red flag yet again, effectively bringing an end to the race. The checkered flag was displayed with 90 of the scheduled 125 laps completed.

Initally, scoring was reverted back to the previous lap; however, it was later determined that the cars involved in the final incident would be put to the rear of the lead lap in the final rundown.

“We’re happy to get the win,” Day said. “We were prepared to go the full 125 laps, but anything can happen late in the race, so we’ll take it.”

The next Ken Ten race on the schedule is at the Kentucky Motor Speedway near Owensboro. This will be Ken Ten’s first visit to the track this season.

Final Results:
1. Mark Day
2. Clay Alexander
3. Daniel Bolden
4. Michael House
5. Sterling Marlin
6. Johnny Brazier
7. Josh Weston
8. Dakota Stroup
9. Mason Mingus
10. Jeff Berg
11. TW Fisher
12. Chad Willis
13. Davey Coble
14. Blake Hillard
15. Roger Parker
16. Brian Royalty
17. Kyle Fletcher
18. Ryan Isaacs
19. Jason Jones
20. Tim Hollis
21. Jerrod Foley
22. Terry Smith
23. Tony Ussery
24. Tony Conway
25. Martin Belcher
26. Tony Sawyer

Point Standings:
1.  Tim Hollis- 336
2. Brian Royalty- 312
3. Mason Mingus- 292
4. Davey Coble- 282
5. Roger Parker- 266
6.  Chad Willis- 218
7. Josh Weston- 212
7. Jason Jones- 212
9. Dr. Jeff Berg- 192
10. Mark Day- 174

Sanders wins amid controversy at Beech Bend Raceway Park

Photo Courtesy of PBO Media Productions

By Rob Spires/ Ken Ten PR

Bowling Green, Ken. (July 2)-The fireworks came a couple nights early as the Ken Ten Pro Late Model series invaded Beech Bend Speedway in Bowling Green, Ken., on Friday for the Independence Day Twin 50s. Sammy Sanders has been a fixture in the winner’s circle at Beech Bend in recent years, and Friday’s races were no exception. The Mt. Juliet, Tenn., driver made easy work of the field en route to capturing both checkered flags on the night.

Sanders began his night by winning the AR Bodies fast time award in qualifying. Due to the redraw for starting positions, Sanders found himself on the inside of the second row as the cars came to the green flag to start the first feature. From there, it only took Sanders until the third lap to work his way around pole sitter Chris Harmon.

The first feature was only slowed by two brief cautions. The first was for a Danny Smith spin in turn 3 on lap 13, while the second occurred on lap 17 when Mason Mingus and Davey Coble made contact in turn 4. Both drivers were sent to the rear of the field for their part in the incident.

Sanders, unfazed by the cautions, or ensuing double file restarts, won the first feature by almost a full straightaway over second place Chris Harmon and third place Brian Cherry.

“I had to do some hard racing with Harmon on the restarts, but we were fortunate enough to stay ahead of him and keep the lead,” Sanders said.

If the first feature was somewhat docile, the second was anything but. All lead lap cars from the first 50 lapper were inverted for the second, putting Coble on the pole, and Sanders in the 11th position as the cars came to the green flag. Coble was able to stretch a bit of a lead at the start, but the action was intense behind him.

While Coble was fighting off contenders on restarts following minor spins, Sanders was carving his way through the field. By lap 25, he had worked his way up to the third position. A spin by Jay Parrish on lap 29 tightened the field up once again. As the cars entered turn 1 on the restart, Sanders made contact with second place driver Mason Mingus, sending Mingus for a spin. Under Ken Ten rules, if two cars make contact bringing out a caution, both cars are sent to the rear of the field. However, Beech Bend officials determined that since the incident had occurred on a restart and the cars had not made a full lap, both drivers would be allowed to keep their original positions.

After being put back into the third position, Sanders was able to make easy work of Coble and Mingus to take his familiar position at the top of the leader board. Mingus and Coble, along with Brian Cherry battled behind Sanders. On the 43rd lap, Cherry made contact with Mingus sending him spinning. Both drivers were sent to the rear of the field; however, Mingus refused to comply with the ruling. Track officials pulled Mingus’ scorecard and the Brentwood, Tenn., driver pulled his car off the track and into the garage area.

The rest of the race was easy sailing for Sanders and he made it a clean sweep of the night by setting the quick time in qualifying and taking both ends of the twin 50 lap features. Coble was able to cross the line in second, and Harmon finished third.

“That was an exciting race,” Sanders said of the second feature. “This is a bottom groove track for most of the guys, so we were able to make some passes on the outside. I hate that I got into [Mingus]. I thought I had a line, and he thought he was clear. I circled to the rear, but they sent me back to the front. That wasn’t my call,” Sanders said.

“[Sanders] spun [Mingus], he should have been sent to the rear,” said a frustrated Coble after the race. “I’m not mad at Sammy, but the track didn’t make the right call,” he added.

Controversy aside, it was an exciting way for fans to kick off their Fourth of July weekend. The next race, at Nashville’s Fairgrounds Speedway, is sure to be equally exciting. Sanders is a former champion at the historic 5/8 mile track, and Coble is coming off a strong run in an independent race at the track earlier this month.  Be sure to catch all the action on July 17.

Race 1 Final Results:
1. Sammy Sanders
2. Chris Harmon
3. Brian Cherry
4. Danny Smith
5. Roger Parker
6. Hunter Willis
7. Tom Schuette
8. Brian Royalty
9. Mason Mingus
10. Jay Parrish
11. Davey Coble
12. Tim Hollis
13. Chris Workman
14. Keith Montgomery
15. Dennis White
16. Mark Oliver
17. Mark Day
18. Jason Jones
19. Chad Willis
20. Wayne Jones

Race 2 Final Results:
1. Sammy Sanders
2. Davey Coble
3. Chris Harmon
4. Chad Willis
5. Tim Hollis
6. Hunter Willis
7. Brian Cherry
8. Jay Parrish
9. Keith Montgomery
10. Chris Workman
11. Mason Mingus
12. Brian Royalty
13. Danny Smith
14. Ton Schuette
15. Mark Oliver
16. Roger Parker
17. Dennis White
18. Jason Jones
19. Wayne Jones
20. Mark Day

Point Standings:
1. Tim Hollis- 292
2. Brian Royalty- 252
3. Davey Coble- 210
4. Mason Mingus- 204
5. Roger Parker- 202
6. Hunter Willis- 170
7. Jason Jones- 164
8. Chad Willis- 142
9. Sammy Sanders- 124
 10. Josh Weston- 116
10. Robbie Brown- 116
12. Chris Harmon- 114
13. Damon Ecoff- 112
13. Jason Jones- 112
15. Dr. Jeff Berg- 108
16. Wayne Jones- 106
17. Tony Conway- 104
18. Brian Cherry- 102
19. Marty Taylor- 100
20. Gregg Carby- 96
20. Will Kimmel- 96
20. Martin Belcher- 96
23. Blake Hillard-92
24. Danny Smith- 90
25. Chris Workman- 88
25. Mike Masters- 88
25. Jared Smith- 88
28. Jay Parrish- 86
29. Tom Schuette- 82
30. Steve Brock- 80
30. Ryan Isaacs- 80
32. Keith Montgomery- 76
32. Jerrod Foley- 76
32. Kevin Willis- 76
35. Jason Fuller- 72
36. Mike Bargo- 68
37, Mark Oliver- 62
38. Dennis White- 60
39. Mark Day- 50

THE KEN-TEN PRO LATE MODEL SERIES HITS CORBIN SPEEDWAY

 Photo Courtesy of Odell Turner/PBO Media Productions

Parker takes the win in Ken Ten opener
By Rob Spires/ Ken Ten PR

CORBIN, Ken. (June 5)- A hot day at the track turned into a hot night of action as the Ken Ten Pro Late Model series opened its 2010 season with the Some Gave All 100 presented by American Mortgage Lenders at Corbin Speedway. Roger Parker, from nearby London, Ken., took the victory from the pole, leading all 100 laps of the race. That stat is misleading; however, as Parker never had more than a three-car-length lead, and had to hold off multiple challengers en route to victory.

“This was an unbelievable race,” Parker said. “The Ken Ten series brings a good group of cars every time, so it’s a career highlight to be able to beat those guys.”

Davey Coble, from Madison, Tenn., had the AR Bodies quick qualifying time of the night, but pulled a 2 in the re-draw for starting positions, putting him on the outside of the front row. As the green flag dropped, Coble was able to move around Parker to take the lead down the backstretch. That lead disappeared, however, when Coble got loose in turn 4 of the tight quarter-mile track. Parker slipped into the lead as several cars worked their way under Coble.

On lap 17, Blake Hillard went for a spin in turn 3. As the cars slowed for the caution, the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place cars of Chad Willis, Robbie Brown, and Coble all made contact on the backstretch. The incident ended Willis’ night, though it did give him the AR Bodies hard luck award. Brown and Coble only received cosmetic damage, and continued in the race.

As the cars lined up for the restart, Brian Royalty inherited 2nd position, pulling alongside Parker. On the restart Royalty challenged Parker, moving up to his door, before eventually having to relinquish the position and fall into second.

Royalty put up ferocious challenges on each of the next two restarts, but each time Parker was able to use the inside line to his advantage and slide in front of Royalty to maintain the lead.

As the cars worked through turn 2 on a lap-66 restart, the 3rd place car of Brown made contact with Royalty, sending him spinning into the infield. Brown was put at the rear of the field for his part in the incident. Jason Jones inherited the 2nd position as the next in a line of drivers to challenge Parker.

On the restart, Jones was able to hold Pace with Parker for the first lap, but got loose in turn 2 the next time around and caught Parker in the right-rear quarter panel. Both drivers got out of shape, but were able to keep their cars pointed in the right direction, though Jones did fall out of contention as he fought to keep his car under control.

While the leaders were beating on each other, Brown was quickly working his way back to the front. With the help of cautions for a couple of minor incidents, Brown found himself in 2nd as the race neared conclusion.

On the final restart of the race, on lap 82, Brown was lined up next to Parker and battled on his outside for numerous laps, but as it had all night, the inside line proved to be the quick way around the track, and Parker was able to withstand yet another challenge.

Parker managed to briefly stretch his lead, but by lap 98 Brown had caught up to his rear bumper. However, Parker proved to be too strong and Brown had to settle for 2nd, one-car-length behind Parker. Jones, Coble, and Tim Hollis rounded out the top five. Seventh place finisher Gregg Carby gained six positions during the race and won the whiplashgear.com hard charger award.

“These double-file restarts were intense,” said an ecstatic Parker following the race. “It was all I could do to hold them off. Every time something would happen to one of them, another one would come along that was just as tough. After (Jones) got into me, something wasn’t quite right, but we were still good enough to hold them off.”

Parker was quick to point out that his efforts as the driver were only a part of the puzzle and that his crew was the reason that he was able to win the race.

“My crew is awesome, they deserve all the credit,” he said. “I especially want to thank Steve Brock, my brother Benny Parker, and Ritchie Alexander,” Parker said.

The next stop for the Ken Ten series is the high banks of the Salem Speedway in Indiana, where the action is sure to be just as intense as what Corbin Speedway fans were treated to in the opening round!

Final Results:
1. Roger Parker
2. Robbie Brown
3. Jason Jones
4. Davey Coble
5. Tim Hollis
6. Marty Taylor
7. Gregg Carby
8. Blake Hillard
9. Mike Masters
10. Brian Royalty
11. Steve Brock
12. Jerrod Foley
13. Hunter Willis
14. Mike Bargo
15. Chad Willis
16. Wayne Jones

Point Standings:
1. Roger Parker- 120
2. Robbie Brown- 116
3. Jason Jones- 112
3. Davey Coble- 112
5. Tim Hollis- 104
6. Marty Taylor- 100
7. Gregg Carby- 96
8. Blake Hillard- 92
9. Mike Masters- 88
10. Brian Royalty- 84

POSTED 9-2-09 THE KEN-TEN PRO LATE MODEL SERIES INVADES CORBIN SPEEDWAY

The Ken-Ten Pro Late Model Series will invade the 1/4 mile asphalt at Corbin Speedway in Corbin, KY. this Saturday, September 5, 2009. See Bowling Green driver Sammy Sanders, current points leader, take on an action packed field of cars. And don't forget Corbin's own #17 Josh Brock. Brock is the top rookie and second in the overall points. Don't over look Corbin locals such as #5 Russell Smith, #8 Jason Jones, #22 Mike Bargo, #24 Brian Royalty, #99 Robbie Brown and more. Plus young guns #14 Davey Coble and #98 Mason Mingus. Other Bowling Green driver that will be a threat are #31 Josh Byrns, #99 Chad Willis and others. Make plans to visit Corbin Speedway this Saturday for a night of action packed racing.