FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Donald McIntosh Makes Schaeffer’s Southern Nationals Bonus Series Trip to Blue Ridge Motorsports Park Pay $4,000

By Michael Despain

BLUE RIDGE, GA – October 21, 2017 – The Schaeffer’s Oil Southern Nationals Bonus Series presented Sunoco Race Fuel and Tennessee RV would make its first-ever appearance at Blue Ridge Motorsports Park in Blue Ridge, GA and Donald McIntosh of Dawsonville, GA would make his first-ever trip to the 1/3 mile semi-banked clay oval a profitable one as he would claim the $4,000 payday.

McIntosh, who is also the current series points leader, would claim his second win of 2017 with the tour and also become only the second-repeat winner with the series while driving the Blount Motorsports owned Massey Electric/Ole Ben Franklin Motors/Stowers CAT/Blount Excavating/Cherokee Millwright/Arnold’s Trucking/DR Investments sponsored #7m Rocket Chassis, Vic Hill Race Engines-powered mount.

Ray Cook would take the race lead at the start of the 40-lap, $4,000 to win contest, with Kurt English and Donald McIntosh giving chase. The first caution of the event would fly on lap two when Kip Cochran would make contact with the outside retaining wall in turn one to slow the action. The restart would see Cook maintain the lead, while McIntosh would work past English for the second position, while David Payne and Kenny Collins would battle for the fourth position. McIntosh would immediately begin to challenge Cook for the lead on lap three and the pair would race side-by-side for the top spot until McIntosh would finally collect the top position on lap seven. McIntosh would pull away a bit from Cook as he started working slower traffic on lap nine and by lap thirteen, McIntosh would begin to encounter heavy lapped traffic, allowing Cook and English to close in on the race leader, while Shawn Chastain would make his way into the top five and battle with Payne for the fourth position. The slowing car of Danny Ledford would draw the next caution flag on lap eighteen as his mount would slow in turn one to bunch the field back together. The restart would see McIntosh motor away from the pack, while English would take the second position from Cook, while Chastain would take fourth from Payne.

As the race worked past the halfway mark, Chastain would close in on Cook for third and the duo would battle wheel-to-wheel for the position until Chastain would take the spot on lap twenty-four. Caution would wave again on lap twenty-six when George Mashburn would contact the outside wall in turn four, but would be able to continue the event. This restart would see seventh-place starting Chastain take the runner-up spot away from English, while J.T. Seawright would pressure Cook for the fourth position. The caution would wave again on lap twenty-seven when Tim Rucker would loop his machine in turn four and the attempted restart would also be cautioned as Craig Greer would spin in turn four as the field came back to the green flag. The next restart would also see trouble as Johnny Chastain, Jeremy Ledford, and Greer would tangle entering turn three, with Chastain and Ledford done for the night. The next attempted restart would see disaster strike second-place running Shawn Chastain as he would lose a right-front tire and when the chaos settled, Chastain, along with Seth Wimpey, Joey Standridge, Rucker, and Greer would all be collected in an incident in turn one that resulted in a red-flag situation due to the track being blocked. Once the clean-up was completed and action resumed, McIntosh would again drive away from the field, with English now second, while Cook would be challenged for third by Seawright as that pair battled side-by-side for the position until Seawright would claim the spot on lap thirty-one. McIntosh would continue to build his lead over the final few circuits of the contest and would see the checkered flag first, with English finishing second and Seawright scoring a third-place finish. Cook and David Payne would complete the top five. The remainder of the top ten finishers in the event would be Gary McPherson, Kenny Collins, George Mashburn, Seth Wimpey and Jeff Neubert.

The Schaeffer’s Oil Southern Nationals Bonus Series presented by Sunoco Race Fuel and Tennessee RV next event will be Saturday October 28 at Senoia Raceway in Senoia, GA for the 2nd Annual Showdown at Senoia, paying $10,000-to-win.

Further information on the Spring Nationals, Southern Nationals, and Southern Nationals Bonus Series can be obtained by calling Promoter Ray Cook at (828) 360-5353 or Series P.R. Coordinator Chris Tilley at (606) 219-1723 or by visiting the official website located at www.SouthernNationalsSeries.com.

Official Summary of Results

Feature Results for Schaeffer’s Oil Southern Nationals Bonus Series at Blue Ridge Motorsports Park in Blue Ridge, GA on October 21, 2017
1. Donald McIntosh-Dawsonville, Ga.
2. Kurt English-Murphy, N.C.
3. J.T. Seawright-Fort Payne, Ala.
4. Ray Cook-Brasstown, N.C.
5. David Payne-Murphy, N.C.
6. Gary McPherson-Dalton, Ga.
7. Kenny Collins-Colbert, Ga.
8. George Mashburn-Murphy, N.C.
9. Seth Wimpey-Blue Ridge, Ga.
10. Jeff Neubert-Rockford, Tenn.
11. Joey Standridge-Telico Plains, Tenn.
12. Craig Greer-Cleveland, Tenn.
13. Shawn Chastain-Murphy, N.C.
14. Johnny Chastain-Murphy, N.C.
15. Jason Croft-Woodstock, Ga.
16. Jeremy Ledford-Cleveland, Ga.
17. Tim Rucker-Madisonville, Tenn.
18. Steve Smith-Powell, Tenn.
19. Danny Ledford-Warne, N.C.
20. Benjy Shaw-Telico Plains, Tenn.
21. Kip Cochran-Franklin, N.C.
22. Jamie Oliver-Murphy, N.C.

Time of Race: 37 minutes, 48 seconds
Margin of Victory: 5.021 seconds
Yellow Flags: 7 (lap 2, 18, 26, 27, 27 restart, 27 restart, 27 restart)
Red Flags: 1 (final lap 27 restart)
Lap Leaders: Ray Cook (1-6), Donald McIntosh (7-40)
Entries: 29
Overall Top Qualifier: Kurt English (Group B) 14.522 seconds
Keyser Manufacturing 11th Place Award: Joey Standridge
Highest Finishing CT525 Engine ($200): None
Highest Finishing Steel/SPEC Engine ($200): Seth Wimpey
Provisional Starters: Joey Standridge, Tim Rucker

Heat One Finish (10 laps/top 6 transfer)- George Mashburn, Gary McPherson, Johnny Chastain, Danny Ledford, Jeff Neubert, Seth Wimpey, Joey Standridge, Bo Eaton (DNS-Shane Tankersley, Andy Standridge)

Heat Two Finish (10 laps/top 6 transfer)- Jamie Oliver, Jason Croft, Kip Cochran, Jeremy Ledford, Benjy Shaw, Craig Greer, Tim Rucker, Trevor Parker, Daryl Mathison (DNS-Aaron Ridley, Randy Dillard)

Current Southern Nationals Bonus Series Points (after October 21)
1. Donald McIntosh-2,200
2. David Payne-1,988
3. Joey Standridge-1,467
4. Jeff Neubert-1,242
5. Jamie Oliver-1,022
6. Brandon Overton-936
7. Ray Cook-815
8. Billy Ogle Jr.-799
9. Steve Smith-797
10. Mike Marlar-790