Smoky Mountain Speedway
Smoky Mountain victory pays Madden $5,000
By Richard Allen
tennesseeracer.com
Chris Madden waves in victory lane. (Chad Wells)
MARYVILLE, Tenn. (June 15) — Two-time series champion Chris Madden of Gray Court, S.C., completed a sweep of the weekend’s Southern All Star Dirt Racing Series action with a $5,000 victory in the tour’s visit to Smoky Mountain Speedway. | Slideshow
Assuming the lead when Vic Hill of Mosheim, Tenn., broke on lap 18, Madden, who earned $5,200 for his victory in Friday’s Scott Sexton Memorial at Volunteer Speedway, led the remaining distance for his 42nd career Southern All Stars victory.
Former series champion Billy Ogle Jr. of Knoxville, Tenn., followed Madden to the finish in second with his Blount Racing teammate, Tommy Kerr of Maryville, taking third. Steve Casebolt of Richmond, Ind., was fourth, while Mark Douglas of Knoxville, Tenn., rounded out the race’s top five finishers.
At the start of the feature, Hill jumped to the early lead over Ogle, Madden, McDowell and Casebolt. But four cautions during the first 12 laps of the race kept the pace slowed and the field bunched together.
Hill again pulled out to a relatively comfortable lead after a lap-12 restart and looked to have the car to beat. But that all changed on lap 18 when a rock went through the radiator of the Hill’s No. 1 machine and ended his night prematurely.
Hill’s misfortune proved to be Madden’s good luck. By that time, he had moved himself into second place and was in prime position to take advantage. After a lap 19 yellow flag, the race ran clean for the rest of the 40 lap distance.
Madden opened up nearly a straightaway lead over Ogle, Kerr and Casebolt. Those three drivers staged a fierce battle for second as Madden knifed his way through traffic and maintained his advantage en route to victory.
Notes: Madden’s Bloomquist Race Car is powered by a Clements Racing Engine with sponsorship from Hamrick’s of Gaffney, Henderson Amusement, KC Transport, Swiftco, Allstar Performance, Century Plastics, Cushman Body and Paint, East Coast Entertainment and Xtreme Customs and Cycles. ... Madden’s two weekend victories were his second and third of the season overall; the other was a $5,000 Ultimate Series triumph at County Line Raceway in Elm City, N.C. ... Southern All Stars competitors return to action June 22 with the $4,200-to-win B.J. Parker Memorial at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Ala.
SAS @ Smoky Mountain: (1) Chris Madden, (2) Billy Ogle Jr., (3) Tommy Kerr, (4) Steve Casebolt, (5) Mark Douglas, (6) Stacy Boles, (7) Mark Vineyard, (8) Chad Ogle, (9) Mike Weeks, (10) Josh Henry, (11) Mark Rosner, (12) Bret Holmes, (13) Matthew Turner, (14) Bobby Giffin, (15) Ellery Leake, (16) Vic Hill, (17) Michael Asberry, (18) Riley Hickman, (19) Dale McDowell, (20) Skip Arp, (21) David Crabtree, (22) Bryan Hendrix. Fast qualifier (among 24 cars): Ogle, 15.282 seconds. Consolation winners: Hickman, Vineyard.
