Petty slides into victory lane at Central Arkansas Motor Speedway

6/25/2022

Legends Late Model Series

Petty slides into victory lane at Central Arkansas Motor Speedway

(PLUMMERVILLE, AR) June 24th, 2022 – Chandler Petty made it 2 for 2 in GRT Legends Late Model Series competition taking the win tonight at the Central Arkansas Motor Speedway. Last week a favorable invert put him on the pole for the (25) lap A Main at Batesville Motor Speedway, this weekend, not so much, that same invert put him starting 6th and he had to earn every bit of it on the way.

Early on it was the outside front row starter Derrick Nichols who took the point and led the field for the first few circuits. A caution on lap 3 sent #4PLAY Ben Waggoner careening off the turn 1 wall – he would not continue. On the restart Nichols got out front and in short order, Petty and a fast-moving Steven Crocker had made their way into second and third respectively.

Caution flew again on lap 8 for a stalled Dustin Holmes as his #8 machine had lost power on the front straight. On the restart it was Nichols, Crocker, Petty, 5th starting Geoff Aitken, and Ross Farmer. Petty made quick work of Crocker with a nice slide job and on lap 9 took the point from Nichols and never looked back. The race’s final caution, came for a stopped Nathan Stewart on lap 16 – Crocker had gotten by Nichols at that point and had one last chance at Petty but he was not to be denied his second win in as many weeks.

“I tell you man, that invert had us work for that one early. It allowed you to see people make mistakes and you could figure out where to make the pass though. The track had some character so everyone really had to move around a bit to make something happen. Once we had some green flag laps I had some real good racing with Nichols there – that was fun” said Petty in victory lane. Chandler will roll into the $3,023 to win Fowler/Blankenship Memorial next week at Centerville Super Speedway as the “Eckie’s DCR Racing & Parts Marked Man” point leader and will adorn the fluorescent red spoiler.

“Man, I want to thank my wife Vanessa, my dad (Brian), and my guys Dane Terry, and Taylor Barnett. They all help me get this thing ready and make changes through the night. I need to thank PRP Suspension, Black Diamond Race Cars, and Stuckey Enterprises – they help us get up and down the road,” said Petty.

Second place went to Jonesboro, Arkansas driver Steven Crocker and his Noel Industries/Steve Heath Race Engines/Kryptonite #33. Last week at BMS a bit of bad luck with a driveshaft kept him sidelined for the feature but this week a strong heat race finish and some patience paid off for him with a solid runner up finish. Crocker rolled off 8th and worked his way forward even passing eventual race winner Petty. Sitting in second on lap 6 he forced Petty to the cushion in turns 1-2 if he wanted to pass him – Petty took the bait but battled back off turn two and literally backed it into turn 3 on the bottom, in the literal dust, and the slider off turn 4, give the advantage to Petty. Crocker had to lift as he was running out of room as they approached the flagstand and Petty completed the pass on Nichols, for the race lead, just a few laps later.

“Man, that was a heck of a race. I had a lot of fun. We just missed it a little bit there on the setup. I want to give a shoutout to Steve Heath – man he builds an awesome engine and we couldn’t do this without him. This Kryptonite chassis is fast and we will make the adjustments and hopefully be there at the end next week at Centerville,” said Crocker.

Third spot went to the Warren, Arkansas driver Derrick Nichols, who led the first 9 laps from his outside row one starting spot and just didn’t have the handle on the car he needed to seal the deal. “Man, I want to first thank my Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. I knew we didn’t have the car we needed when we went into that first turn but I set it up there on the cushion and tried to make the best of it. We had some good laps there and then it just got tight on me. I got to thank my dad David, this is his car, Kuntz and Company for an awesome engine and Derrick Nichols Forest Management – we do this for fun and we had a good time tonight. Looking forward to next week and trying for the $3,023 to win at Centerville,” said Nichols.

Last week’s runner up, Geoff Aitken of Pottsville and Alan Brown of Little Rock rounded out the top five.

Next up for the stars and cars of the GRT Legends Late Model Series presented by Super Clean is the highly anticipated $3,023 to win $132 to start Jimmy Don Fowler/David Blankenship Memorial held at the Centerville Super Speedway. Families of both local racers will be on hand and will present the winner's trophy and check and a special throwback wrap, aimed to honor both #LocalLegends, will adorn the #16 of Geoff Aitken. Gates will open at 6pm, the draw closes at 8:30 and racing gets underway at 9 pm. There will be racing in FWD Stingers, LeadSleds, USRA BMods, and Arkansas Factory Stocks and a huge fireworks show at intermission. Granstand admission for adults is $20, Kids 6-12 $6 and 5 Under FREE. Pit passes are $36.

For more information on the Legends Late Model Series, you can find them on the web at www.legendslatemodels.com or on Facebook @LegendsLateModels

For more information about the SuperClean family of products and to find the retailer nearest you, visit their website at www.superclean.com or on Facebook @SuperCleanBrands

A Feature 25 Laps | 00:22:13.756 | GRT Race Cars

R5-Chandler Petty[6]; 2. 33-Steven Crocker[8]; 3. 13N-Derrick Nichols[2]; 4. 16-Geoff Aitken[5]; 5. 48-Alan Brown[9]; 6. 32P-Ross Farmer[1]; 7. 007-Scotty Freeman[10]; 8. (DNF) 11-Nathan Stewart[12]; 9. (DNF) 29-Boyd Black[15]; 10. (DNF) 38-Roberty Myers[7]; 11. (DNF) 8-Dustin Holmes[3]; 12. (DNF) 66-Tim Baker[14]; 13. (DNF) 4PLAYB-Ben Waggoner[4]; 14. (DNS) 7W-Wesley Wise; 15. (DNS) 28S-Mike Cook

Heat 1 10 Laps | 00:02:23.000 | John R. Nelson Trucking & Excavating