East Alabama Motor Speedway
East Alabama sweep pays Johnson $15,000
By Todd Turner
DirtonDirt.com chief writer
Ronnie Johnson makes the winning pass in the crate race. (DirtonDirt.com)
PHENIX CITY, Ala. (March 1) — Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, Tenn., watched Dale McDowell sweep two features at last weekend's Bama Bash while Johnson settled for a pair of second-place finishes. It was Johnson's turn to sweep a week later at East Alabama Motor Speedway's 23rd annual Jimmy Thomas Memorial. Jimmy Thomas Memorial notebook | Slideshow
Duplicating McDowell's $15,000 payday, Johnson won a pair of Late Model division features — sportsman ($5,000) and crates ($10,000) — for his best single-night performance since his $10,000 UDTRA victory at Rome (Ga.) Speedway on July 26, 2002.
Johnson overtook hometown driver Terrance Nowell with 15 laps remaining in the 50-lap sportsman feature, then took the lead from Royce Bray on the 15th lap of the 100-lap crate feature en route to his victories.
"Last week I saw Dale win both those races, and I had a good car then. It's probably a good thing he wasn't here," Johnson said in victory lane with a laugh. "You just can't believe how much it means to me to have raced as long as I have and still be able to do this and still be successful. ... A lot of it has to do with the people that believe in me, the people that help me, the people that work on my car."
While Nowell gave Johnson all he could handle in the sportsman feature, the Hall of Famer simply blew away the 25-car field in the crate feature. Starting outside the front row, Johnson built a half-track lead by the 60th lap and lapped all but three competitors in rolling to victory.
Hometown driver William Thomas finished a half-straightaway behind in second in the crate feature while Bray, the Hull, Ga., who dropped as far back as fifth, ended up third. Frankie Beard of Hartwell, Ga., who restarted on the tail after a lap-six caution, rebounded to finish fourth in a race plagued by a dozen cautions.
Derrick Rainey of Powder Springs, Ga., the crate division's fast qualifier, closed in on Johnson with 20 laps remaining, but faded over the next six laps before tangling with the lapped car of Stacey Roberts and slapping the frontstretch wall.
While Rainey took the second spot from Bray on the 39th lap and began closing on Johnson amid lapped traffic, Johnson turned up the wick just after the race's midpoint and suddenly was a half-lap up on everyone.
"I probably could've slowed down a little bit, but I had a good rhythm going," the two-time Dirt Track World Champion said. "I had an amazing car tonight, and you don't always get that, so when you get it, you try to take advantage of it. I appreciate all the lapped cars, all the guys racing me clean."
Thomas started seventh and picked his way up to third before the lap-67 caution. He inherited the second spot upon Rainey's departure but had nothing for Johnson over the final 14 laps.
"I'd like to congratulate Ronnie Johnson for winning," the 20-year-old Thomas said. "It seems like I've run second to him a bunch. Maybe one day we'll be able to get ahead of him."
Bray, who worked back up to third at the finish, felt his tires go away on the 3/8-mile oval that allowed racing in the high, low and middle grooves. "We just went a little too soft on tires and Ronnie's got about five million laps around here, so he beat us," Bray said. "He outsmarted us tonight."
Notebook
Johnson's Warrior Race Car is sponsored by Miller Bros. Coal, Austin Trucking and Goddard Performance Parts. ... "It means a lot to me to win a race in the honor of Jimmy Thomas," Johnson said of the EAMS founder. ... Seven cautions over the first 10 laps stymied the beginning of the race. ... The most serious of 12 race stoppages was when Bobby Joe Eiland went over the turn-three banking on the 71st lap, drawing a brief red flag. Eiland wasn't injured. ... Jordy Nipper was fifth and the fastest car one lap down when he got into the frontstretch wall and went over the turn-one banking on the 94th lap for the final caution. ... Polesitter Richie Stephens got off to a poor start and was fifth after just three laps. The two-time EAMS champ in lower divisions spun on the sixth lap and was never a contender. ... East Alabama's regular season begins March 15. Crate Late Models, sanctioned by the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Series, are the top class at EAMS.
Finish: (1) Ronnie Johnson, (2) William Thomas, (3) Royce Bray, (4) Frankie Beard, (5) Terrance Nowell, (6) Jason Hiett, (7) Jeff Fields, (8) Jeff Fortner, (9) Hunter Peacock, (10) Jake Knowles, (11) John Llewellyn, (12) Henry Carter, (13) Mike Parkerson, (14) Jordy Nipper, (15) Derrick Rainey, (16) Richie Stephens, (17) Stacey Roberts, (18) Bobby Eiland, (19) Dana Eiland, (20) Keith Freeman, (21) Clayton Turner, (22) Larry Harrod, (23) Jeff Smith, (24) Ed Dixon, (25) Jody Summerville. Fast qualifier (among 45 cars): Rainey, 16.68 seconds. Heat race winners: Stephens, Bray, Johnson, Nipper. Consolation winners: Eiland, Hiett. Provisional starter: Dixon
