Volunteer Speedway
Ball wins at Volunteer as Llewellyn takes titles
By Robert Walden
Volunteer Speedway
Dale Ball won his return after a two-month layoff. (Randall Perry rpmphotos.net)
BULLS GAP, Tenn. (Sept. 29) — Dale Ball of Johnson City, Tenn., led flag-to-flag to capture his first-ever Fastrak Racing Series victory on the same night that Knoxville, Tenn., driver John Llewellyn wrapped up the lucrative points titles on the tour's Mideast and Southern regions.
Llewellyn, who was fifth behind Ball, Allen Champ, Shanon Buckingham and Jerry Broyles, accomplished his task of finishing ahead of Lee Cooper and David McCoy in the feature for a pair of regional titles worth $5,000 apiece.
Ball, 46, had been out of action for a couple of months after an accident while riding his horse, but he quickly got back to speed. "We had a really good car tonight, but we also caught some lucky breaks too," he said. "We were quite fortunate in the draw among the top six qualifiers to get the outside front-row starting spot. I guess that’s what you call the luck of the draw working in your favor.
“Besides being selected to start on the front row, another lucky break for us was when Shane (Roberts) got put to the rear of the field when we started the race single-file. When you can start all alone out front it definitely works to your advantage, because it’s so tough to pass in these (crate-engine) cars because every competitor has the same powerplant under the hood."
Buckingham was fast-qualifier among 35 Fastrak entries with a fast lap of 13.672 seconds, but he started sixth after the redraw with Roberts and Ball on the front row.
Ball used his front-row starting berth to his advantage. The 46-year-old veteran driver had been out of racing since June following an accident while riding his horse.
The first attempt to start the race was quickly red-flagged for a multicar wreck at the end of the front straightaway entering the first turn that involved 15 of the 24 starters, with several machines suffering extensive damage. The second try to get the race under green also produced another multicar tangle just past the flagstand. For the third attempt to go green, and with only 16 of the original 24 qualifiers still on the track, the race began single-file.
Roberts was moved to the rear of the field for a Fastrak race procedure rules violation, thus putting Ball out front on the point followed by Broyles, Bobby Mays, Champ and Buckingham. With the green flag waving, Ball was hounded initially by Broyles, who had Mays glued to his rear bumper. Champ was also being pressured for the fourth spot by Buckingham, who got his car sideways between turns one and two on lap 10 while sticking his nose underneath Champ wanting the position. Before he reeled his mount back in, Llewellyn sped past to move into fifth dropping Buckingham back to sixth.
Ball pulled out to an eight-length advantage over Broyles and Mays. Mays was working Broyles over trying to take away second place, and on lap 11 racing off the fourth turn he completed the pass for position. Just three circuits later Broyles dropped back another spot, as Champ passed him to move into third.
Mays, the Volunteer crate division points leader and a winner of five 2007 features, closed to Ball’s rear bumper by lap 20. Looking to the outside and also sneaking peeks to the inside, Mays was applying heat on Ball for the point. Racing down the backstretch into the third turn on lap 25, Mays looked to the inside of the race leader Ball entering the corner.
With Ball protecting his ground and Mays wanting the lead, between turns three and four contact was made. In a racing incident Mays’ right-front tire/wheel touched Ball’s left-rear wheel with Mays spinning at the exit of the fourth turn. With right-front suspension damage Mays’ strong run ended as he slowly pulled into the pits.
The top five going back green were Ball, Champ, Broyles, Buckingham and Llewellyn. With only 13 cars remaining, out front Ball had a clear view. But he also had a hard-charging Champ riding in his rear-view mirror. Champ appeared to have a quicker car as he began sizing Ball up for the right moment to make a pass for the lead.
Getting a good run on the inside of Ball racing off turn two on lap 35, it appeared Champ might make his move at the opposite end of the track. But between turns three and four, all at once Champ’s car just shot up the track from down on the inside. Having to get out of the throttle to reel his mount back in, he lost valuable real estate to Ball. However, in just two laps he once again closed back in on Ball.
With Ball and Champ having pulled out to comfortable margin over Broyles and Buckingham, Buckingham worked around Broyles to take away the third spot on lap 41 racing into the first turn. But as the laps wound down, Ball held off Champ and Buckingham for the $2,000 victory.
Notebook
Ball's Alan Poyner-owned Warrior Race Car is sponsored by Smith Brothers Harley-Davidson of Johnson City, Alan Poyner Enterprises, Mainline Communications, Jim Schweitzer Inc., Broyles Tire, Twin D Auto & Truck Sales, Tri-City Rubber & Gasket Co., Advance Auto Parts, Bilstein Shocks, Steve “The Man” Williams and Bill Curl Racing Engines. ... Among drivers failing to make the feature lineup: Tony Trent, Wendell Petty, Ricky Moore and Brad Dyer. ... Kerry Jones won Volunteer's Super Late Model feature.
Volunteer Speedway: (1) Dale Ball, (2) Allen Champ, (3) Shanon Buckingham, (4) Jerry Broyles, (5) John Llewellyn, (6) Lee Cooper, (7) Vic Chandler, (8) Shane Roberts, (9) Chris Chandler, (10) Jason Trammell, (11) Joey McCoy, (12) Anthony Arnwine, (13) A.J. Watson, (14) Bobby Mays, (15) Jason Lawrence, (16) Greg Burchett, (17) Jensen Ford, (18) Luke Laney, (19) Warren McMahan, (20) Matt Long, (21) Brad Kenyon, (22) Chuck Laney, (23) Todd Brooks, (24) David McCoy.
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