North Alabama Speedway
Burroughs wins Bama finale as Ragan gets title
By Robert Holman
DirtonDirt.com correspondent
Jay Brinkley leans in to talk with Anthony Burroughs at North Alabama. (Robert Holman)
TUSCUMBIA, Ala. (Nov. 21) — Fittingly, the race for the Bama Super Series championship came down to the last race of the season. With the only two drivers able to claim the title racing for a win on the track, Anthony Burroughs won the battle; Chris Ragan won the war.
Burroughs, of Athens, Ala., won the finale on the 10-race Long Lewis Ford Bama Super Series at North Alabama Speedway on Saturday night, tying Ragan for his third series victory of the season.
Burroughs, the only person within striking distance of series leader Ragan heading into the final points race, did all he could in his effort to leapfrog the Ramer, Tenn., driver in the final standings. Burroughs set quick time among the 26 drivers on hand for the $2,500-to-win finale and won the race, but he couldn’t put quite enough distance between himself and Ragan to overcome a 60-point deficit in the standings.
“We went into it knowing that we had missed some opportunities earlier in the season,” said Burroughs. “We had mechanical issues the second race of the season and they didn’t have provisionals, so didn’t even make that race.
“We kind of took the Mark Martin approach. I knew I had to be the fastest guy qualifying, the fastest guy in practice and hopefully win the race.”
With Burroughs winning the feature, Ragan, meanwhile, did exactly what he needed to do to assure himself of his first-ever touring title, albeit a mini-tour at two of his favorite tracks — Moulton (Ala.) Speedway and North Alabama. While finishing second, Ragan stayed close enough to Burroughs to claim the series championship by a comfortable 55 points.
“(Chris) is a good racer and I knew he’d have to have a little trouble for us to win (the championship),” added Burroughs. “This is kind of my home track, too, so I felt pretty comfortable as well. We weren’t really that good in the second practice session, but we came in and made some changes and the car was real good.”
Alabama native Jamie Flannagan finished ahead of Tennessee drivers Jay Brinkley and Eric Hickerson to complete the top five in Saturday’s main event.
Notes: Burroughs pilots a BHL Motorsports-prepared MasterSbilt by Stuckey with a Wall2Wall engine. He has sponsorship from Mississippi One-Call, ABC Cash Register, and Greene’s Vinyl Products. Burroughs won previous BSS races at North Alabama Speedway on June 26 and July 24. Ragan won two series events at North Alabama (May 15, Aug. 21) and one at Moulton Speedway (June 27). ... Seven of the 10 BSS events were held at North Alabama Speedway, while three were held at Moulton Speedway. ... Daniel Miller and Marcus Minga failed to qualify for the feature. ... Ragan was also crowned the 2009 North Alabama Speedway track champion. ... Mark Sartain outran Daniel Miller to win the companion Crate Late Model feature. ...Jay Brinkley, who has wrapped up the Southern Regional Racing Series title with one race remaining, finished third in the final Bama Super Series points standings. Brandon King and Daniel Miller completed the top five in points.
Long Lewis Ford Bama Super Series @ North Alabama: (1) Anthony Burroughs (2) Chris Ragan (3) Jamie Flannagan (4) Jay Brinkley (5) Eric Hickerson (6) Michael McKleroy (7) Billy Moyer Jr. (8) Kyle Beard (9) Jamie Elam (10) Brandon King (11) Chad Winkles (12) Ben Kittrell (13) Mark Dodson (14) Tony Simmons (15) Ross Camponova (16) Mark Fields (17) Bradley Price (18) Josh Putnam (19) Justin Carter (20) Jerry Owens (21) Mark Gant (22) Charles Zimmerman (23) Donald Johns (24) Jeff Wells. Fast qualifier (among 26 cars): Burroughs, 13.705.
