Smoky Mountain Speedway
Weaver steers new No. 116 to victory in Maryville
From correspondent reports
Weaver celebrates in Maryville. (dt52photos.com)
MARYVILLE, Tenn. (Aug. 2) — Making his debut in a Mike Hill-owned car, Randy Weaver of Crossville, Tenn., outdueled Anthony White of Clinton, Tenn., early, then cruised the rest of the 40-lapper at Mountain Raceway Park for his first Advance Auto Parts Thunder Series victory in nearly a year. White and Weaver ran side-by-side early, but White's car began smoking and he eventually dropped out on the 14th lap with apparent engine problems. | Slideshow
Weaver ran virtually unchallenged the rest of the the way to outran hometown driver Tommy Kerr. Bobby Giffin of Maryville was third followed by Billy Ogle Jr. of Knoxville, Tenn. Joe Armes, piloting the D&R Motorsports entry formerly driven by Weaver, ralllied to finish fifth.
Notes: Weaver's new ride is sponsored by Glenn's Auto Parts, Jerr-Dan and PPM Racing Products. ... Weaver's last AAPTS victory came Aug. 18, 2007, at Dixie Speedway in Woodstock, Ga. ... Car owner Mike Hill has driven his own car in recent years. ... Veteran crew chief Junior Weisgarber served as Weaver's crew chief. ... Besides the lap-14 caution for Anthony White, a lap-nine caution appeared for David Payne's flat tire and Dale Huskey smacked the first-turn wall for a lap-34 yellow. ... Roger Best took the seventh spot from Mark Vineyard on the final lap. ... The top four qualifiers were within seven-hundredths of a second. ... Among drivers failing to make the feature: Brett Wyatt, Doug Smith and Ronnie Payne.
AAPTS @ Mountain Raceway Park: (1) Randy Weaver, (2) Tommy Kerr, (3) Bobby Giffin, (4) Billy Ogle Jr., (5) Joe Armes, (6) Rick Rogers, (7) Roger Best, (8) Mark Vineyard, (9) Chad Ogle, (10) Mark Douglas, (11) Mike Weeks, (12) Steve Smith, (13) Jeff Wolfenbarger, (14) Stacy Boles, (15) April Farmer, (16) Dan Tipton, (17) Frank Merritt, (18) Danny Yoder, (19) David Payne, (20) Dale Huskey, (21) David Crabtree, (22) Junior Brown, (23) Anthony White, (24) Bill Howe. Fast qualifier (among 32 cars): White, 17.01 seconds. Dash winners: Weaver, Ogle. Consolation winners: Best, Armes. Provisional starters: Tipton, Farmer.
