Brownstown Bullring
Rambo rules Fayetteville, gets ninth Clash win
By Thomas Pope
DirtonDirt.com correspondent
Dennis Franklin heads to victory at Fayetteville. (Gene Lefler)
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (Sept. 28) — Dennis Franklin of Gaffney, S.C., continued his march toward his third Carolina Clash Super Late Model Series championship in he tour’s event Saturday night at Fayetteville Motor Speedway with his ninth series victory of the season and his sixth in the tour’s past seven races.
Franklin, who claimed back-to-back series titles in 2010-2011, charged from the fourth starting spot to take the lead from polesitter Johnny Pursley on the start of Saturday’s 40-lap feature and never looked back. He ran unchallenged in earning $4,000 for his second victory of the season at Fayetteville’s 4/10-mile oval.
Mike Gault, also of Gaffney, was second at the finish, while Steve Blackburn Greensboro, N.C., settled for third after briefly chasing Franklin in the second position. Scott Shirey of Swansea, S.C. and Shawn Beasley of Raeford, N.C., rounded out the race’s top five finishers.
“(Johnny) Pursley drove it down in there 'til he seen Elvis, I think,” Franklin said of his move from fourth to first on the opening lap. “He washed up and I said, 'Well, I'm going to the bottom and I hope there's no caution.' After I got the lead, I rode there for a while. I knew Blackburn was coming one time and then I put the hammer down.”
Blackburn was chasing his first career series victory as he ran down Franklin during the race’s middle portions. But he couldn’t recover after getting shuffled back on a mid-race restart.
“That one long run we got, I was coming to (Franklin),” Blackburn said. “When the cautions come out, they put you double file, then you've got to battle and you've got guys turning into your door and everything else. He gets on out there and just stays; we're two-by-two battling and he's out there by himself.”
Notes: Franklin’s Barry Wright Race Car is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and sponsored by AES Racing. ... Franklin’s 32nd-career series victory is second to only Ricky Weeks (35) on the tour’s all-time wins list. ... Franklin has won at seven different tracks on this year’s tour: Carolina Speedway, Fayetteville, I-77 Speedway, Cherokee Speedway, Lancaster Speedway, Friendship Motor Speedway and Wythe Raceway. ... Ricky Weeks and Tim Allen, Franklin’s closest challengers in the series points chase, finished 19th and 21st respectively. ... The tour returns to Fayetteville to wrap up the season Oct. 19.
Carolina Clash @ Fayetteville: (1) Dennis Franklin (2) Mike Gault, (3) Steve Blackburn, (4) Shawn Beasley, (5) Scott Shirey, (6) Dustin Mitchell, (7) Johnny Pursley, (8) Chris Blackwell, (9) Dale Hammond, (10) Scott Neighbors, (11) Craig Shuffield, (12) Michael Marlowe, (13) Kevin Wilson, (14) Cody Shaw, (15) Chuck Smith, (16) Kyle Pierce, (17) Travis Hair, (18) Damon Kotke, (19) Ricky Weeks, (20) Anthony Sanders, (21) Tim Allen, (22) Ronnie Hoover, (23) Shawn Harrell, (24) Christian Joyner. Fast qualifier (among 29 cars): Pursley, 17.412 seconds. Consolation winners: Hoover, Kotke.
