Tazewell Speedway
Turner gets first Chevy Series win at Tazewell
TAZEWELL, Tenn. (Sept. 22) — Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, Ga., threw caution to the wind and rode the treacherous guardrails around the high banks of Tazewell Speedway to claim his first Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series victory in Sunday’s West Chevrolet 50. | Video
After a brush with the turn-two guardrail on a lap-nine restart knocked him back to the third spot, Turner recovered, stayed on the high side of the track and drove around the outside of both second-place William Thomas of Phenix City, Ala., and leader Tim Busha of Boaz, Ala., on lap 28 to take the lead. He avoided any further scrapes with the guardrail to lead the remaining distance for a $3,000 payday.
“That was a hard hit on the restart, but the car felt good, so we just kept digging,” Turner said. “Our car worked the best on the high side right up against the guardrail, so as long as it didn’t reach out and grab us, we were good.
“The Chevrolet Performance CT 525 engine was a good fit for this racetrack because I could run flat out through turns three and four. It was a pretty awesome ride from where I was sitting, and I hope the fans saw a good show tonight.”
Busha made several attempts to challenge Turner for the lead by diving to the bottom of the track in the corners, but Turner had enough momentum to keep the point. Busha had to settle for second, while Thomas, the series points leader who won four of the first-year tour’s first five races, kept pace with Turner and Busha for the entire race and finished third.
National Dirt Late Model Hall Famer Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, Tenn., started tenth and finished fourth, while his teammate Brad Hall of Knoxville, Tenn., charged from the 13th starting spot to finish fifth.
Thomas holds a 44-point lead over Johnson in the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series point standings after the first six races. Thomas has four wins and two third-place finishes to total 588 points to 544 points for Johnson. Turner’s win allowed him to close to within four points of Johnson from the third spot with 540 points. Busha moved up to fourth in the standings with 528 points.
The series wraps up its inaugural season with the $6,000-to-win Dega 100 at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Ala., on Oct. 12.
West Chevrolet 50: (1) Matthew Turner, (2) Tim Busha, (3) William Thomas, (4) Ronnie Johnson, (5) Brad Hall, (6) David Brannon, (7) Brent Barrett, (8) Adam Martin, (9) Mark Dowdy, (10) Steve Kirk, (11) Brad Smith, (12) Ted Lackey, (13) Ross Martin. Scratched: Richie Stephens, Brian Courtney, Chase Edge, Adam Beeler, Frank Wilson, Billy Thomas, Carlton Freeman. Fast qualifier (among 20 cars): Busha, 11.594 seconds.
