Photo Credit: Todd Reinerio
By Robert Walden
Volunteer Speedway Media/Public Relations
BULLS GAP, Tenn. (June 3, 2017) — Volunteer Speedway held an exciting five division racing program Saturday night with Chase King of Seymour winning the Steel Head Late Model feature, while Gary Crittenden of Mohawk captured his first-ever Crate Late Model victory at “The Gap.”
Heath Alvey of Dandridge recorded the Sportsman Late Model victory, while Wayne Rader of Parrottsville won in Modified Street, with Richie Overholser of Corryton winning the Classic feature.
Chase King set fast-time in Steel Head Late Model qualifying at 13.306 seconds to earn the pole position for the 30-lap main event. King and John Tweed led the 18-car field to green from the front row, and working the second lap a multicar wreck between turns one and two collected Tweed, Jason Trammell, Clyde Overholt and Josh Fields, eliminating each with damage.
Going back green off the restart, King smashed the loud pedal to power out ahead over Trevor Sise, Greg Estes, Jason Cardwell and Bobby Mays. While King was putting some distance between his machine and closest challengers, the battle behind him involving Sise, Estes, Cardwell, Mays, Austin Neely, Layne Clifton and Chris Chandler was intense.
Seeing both Estes and Cardwell were running either on the bottom or through middle of the corners, Mays decided to move up the banking in an attempt to get around them. The decision proved to be a good one for Mays, as he rolled in on the high side racing into the third turn on lap 10 and passed first Cardwell and then Estes on the outside to move into third in the running order. But just six circuits later, Mays suddenly slowed with a flat left-rear tire to bring the caution out, thus erasing King’s commanding advantage over Sise.
Back under green racing conditions, King was up-on-the-wheel hustling his ride around the high banks, once again pulling away leading Sise and Cardwell. The 24-year-old King would go on to capture his second straight Steel Head Late Model victory over Sise, Cardwell, Henry and Estes.
Adam Tolliver laid down the fastest time in Crate Late Model qualifying at 13.758 to earn pole position for the 30-lap feature, but Crittenden rocketed out to the lead at drop of the green flag over Tolliver and Tim Byrd. Fighting an ill-handling ride, Tolliver began to lose positions as Byrd, Ross White and Josh Henry quickly got by him. Caution waved on lap 8 when Tolliver spun in the fourth turn.
Off the restart Crittenden powered back out ahead leading White and Byrd. While Crittenden was hooked-up-and-hauling out front in putting real estate over his closest challengers, the battle for position in the top five was heated. Henry worked his way around Byrd for third on lap 12, and Greg Huskey passed Byrd to take over the fourth spot on lap 17.
But there would be no denying Crittenden his first-ever win at Volunteer Speedway as he cruised to victory over White, Henry, Huskey and Byrd.
Guinn was fastest in Sportsman Late Model qualifying at 13.746 to earn pole position for the 20-lap feature. Guinn and Zach Sise battled over the opening two circuits side-by-side for the lead, and as they raced off the second corner they tangled on the backstretch with Guinn slamming hard into the inside wall. With Guinn’s race ending prematurely hooked to the wrecker hauling him back into the pits, Sise was sent to the rear of the field for restart.
Chris Coffey inherited the lead, followed by Heath Alvey, Floyd Self, Tyler Smith and Jason Sizemore. Back under green and Coffey had Alvey glued to his rear bumper in battle for the lead, but making a charge from the back towards the front was Sise.
Alvey kept sticking nose of his car under Coffey racing up off the corners, but lap-after-lap Coffey held off Alvey’s advances. But racing down the backstretch into the third turn on lap 14, Coffey got out of shape up high in the banking exiting the fourth turn and Coffey passed him for the lead and never looked back on the way to recording his division-leading third feature win over Coffey, Sise, Self and Sizemore.
Rader was quickest in Modified Street qualifying at 14.718, and along with fellow front-row starter Brett Miller they led the 16-car field to green. Miller grabbed lead over Rader, Shannon Emery, Brad Davis and Austin Atkins back around at the stripe completing the opening lap, with Chris Rickett, Jeffrey Melton, Michael Woods and Parker Estes making it a nine-car battle for position.
Miller was being pressured for the lead by Rader on each lap as they raced off the corner down the straightway, while behind them Atkins got around Davis for the fourth spot on lap 4 between turns one and two. Woods spun in the fourth turn on lap 8 to bring out the caution.
Off the double-file restart Miller led Rader and Emery, while Rickett passed Atkins for fourth place. Action heated up between Emery and Rickett in their battle for third, with Rickett finally taking the spot on lap 11. Miller, looking for his second straight win, appeared headed to victory. But at end of the backstretch entering the third turn on lap 18, his engine erupted leaving a smoke cloud hovering over the track to bring the caution flag out.
With a green-white-checkered to determine the race winner, Rader (whose last victory at Volunteer Speedway was back in 2005 when he captured an Open Wheel Modified win) held Rickett, Atkins, Emery and Davis off for the victory.
Richie Overholser and Will Carey won the two Classic heat races to determine starting lineup for the 20-lap feature. Overholser grabbed the lead at start and throughout the race held off challenges from Carey and Eli Keck en route to capturing his second consecutive victory. Josh Chesney and John Stevens rounded out the top five finishers.
VOLUNTEER SPEEDWAY – BULLS GAP, TN – SATURDAY, JUNE 3, 2017 – OFFICIAL RESULTS
STEEL HEAD LATE MODEL (30 laps)
1. Chase King #44
2. Trevor Sise #73
3. Jason Cardwell #07
4. Josh Henry #B00
5. Greg Estes #31
6. Layne Clifton #23
7. Bobby Mays #25
8. Chris Chandler #8
9. Brian Shockley #17
10. Kevin Sams #54
11. Mitchell Burke #54
12. Mike Smith #4
13. Austin Neely #3
14. Dale Reed #52
15. John Tweed #5
16. Jason Trammell #90J
17. Clyde Overholt #4
18. Josh Fields #11
CRATE LATE MODEL (30 laps)
1. Gary Crittenden #18
2. Ross White #0
3. Josh Henry #B00
4. Greg Huskey #61
5. Tim Byrd #24
6. Vic Chandler #88
7. Stephen Martin #46
8. Tim Maupin #3
9. Lynn Leach #22
10. Adam Tolliver #28
Did Not Start: Cody Brake #58, Cody White #7
SPORTSMAN LATE MODEL (20 laps)
1. Heath Alvey #7
2. Chris Coffey #97
3. Zach Sise #9
4. Floyd Self #3
5. Jason Sizemore #22
6. Tyler Smith #32
7. Nicholas Shelton #9
8. Grant Corum #49
9. Jimmy Calloway #84
10. Kyle Manis #25K
11. Phillip Nichols #J1
12. Brandon Tipton #4
13. David Bullington #20
14. Aaron Guinn #97
MODIFIED STREET (20 laps)
1. Wayne Rader #01
2. Chris Rickett #36
3. Austin Atkins #14
4. Shannon Emery #M2
5. Brad Davis #88
6. Jeffrey Melton #4
7. R.J. Mayes #6M
8. Parker Estes #31
9. Tracy Wolfe #11
10. Willie Busler #31B
11. Michael Woods #66
12. Bret Banks #3
13. Brett Miller #47
14. Shawn Henry #C5
15. Chris Hickman #39
16. Landon Steele #18
Did Not Start: Tony Horton #56, Jeff Ferguson #24
CLASSIC (20 laps)
1. Richie Overholser #18
2. Will Carey #16
3. Eli Keck #8
4. Josh Chesney #1
5. John Stevens #7
6. Chris Evans #1
7. Tony Trent #501
8. Lee Merritt #14
9. Chris Worsham #3
10. Luke Ellis #17
11. Chris Manning #77
12. Jason Hartsock #21
13. Chris Nix #44
14. Jessie Hickman #69
