KNOWLES SWEEPS SMOKY MOUNTAIN SPEEDWAY CHEVY SUPER SERIES RACE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

            MARYVILLE, TN – Jake Knowles of Rome, GA swept the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series 40-lap Main Event on Saturday night at Smoky Mountain Speedway. Knowles set fast time and led all 40 laps to take the win driving the Knowles Race Parts and Bodies Special. The race was won for Knowles on the first lap, as he emerged the leader after a three-wide battle.
           
            When the green flag came out, Knowles drifted high in turn one as Joseph Brown of Columbus, GA tucked inside of Knowles, and Chip Brindle of Chatsworth, GA dove to the bottom of the track and got inside Brown. The leaders went three-wide through turn two, and Knowles had momentum on the outside.
           
            “I chose a hard tire for the right front, and it wasn’t warm enough for the first turn, but we got a run off the second turn to take the lead after we drifted up high,” Knowles said. “I like special occasions. I won on Mother’s Day, and he we are in Victory Lane on Father’s Day!! This win is also special because my Grandfather passed away 12 years ago tonight, and he must have been driving for me because this car seemed like it just drove itself.”
           
            Knowles also gave special thanks to his crew, who helped him turn his race car around from Durrence Layne Chevrolet Dirt Late Model configuration from last weekend’s race in Greenville, MS to the Chevy Super Series configuration for tonight.
           
            “I’ve got to thank my crew because we had a few things to fix after two hard races last weekend in Greenville, MS, and they had to take out the Chevrolet Performance 604 Engine and put in the Chevrolet Performance CT 525 Engine for tonight’s race,” Knowles said. “This race car has been good to us. We won a race in Greenville last weekend, and turned it around to win tonight.”
           
            Knowles earned $3,400 in prize money for the race win and Fast Time honors in the event called The Big Daddy 500, plus a case of VP Lubricant Racing Oil from VP Lubricants, the Official Lubricant of the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series.
           
            Brown challenged Knowles a couple of times in lapped traffic, especially in the closing laps, but he had to settle for second in the Lewis Auto Sales Special. In being the meat in the three-wide sandwich for the lead coming off the second turn on the opening lap earned Brown the VP Racing Lubricants Slick Move of the Race Award by simply not crashing.
           
            Brindle drove the Hill Motorsports Warrior to a third-place finish and Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series point leader, two-time Chevy Super Series National Champion Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN was fourth in the Josh Roberts Trucking Special. Zach Pilcher of Rome, GA took the fifth spot after starting seventh in the Avery Drugs Special to earn the Hard Charger of the Race Award.
           
            Chase King of Seymour, TN finished sixth in the Stinger Race Car “House Car” and was the Cruise With The Champions Rookie of the Race. Cruz Skinner of Oxford, AL took the seventh spot in the Skinner’s Body Shop Special and Landon Bagby of Winston, GA was eighth in the Neighborhood Auto Center Rocket. 
           
            Oliver Gentry of Newnan, GA, who won the eight-lap B-Main Race, came home in the ninth spot in the Gentry Used Auto Parts and Recycling CVR, and Dalton Polston of Lithia Springs, GA rounded out the top ten in the Street Side Classic Cars GRT.
           
            Johnson remains the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series point leader and has a 12-point advantage over Knowles 292 to 280 points. Brindle moved up to the third spot with 264 points and Skinner is fourth with 264 points and leads the Cruise With The Champions Rookie of the Year point standings. 
           
            In preliminary action, Knowles was the Fast Qualifier with a lap around the historic 4/10-mile clay oval in 17.362 seconds. Knowles picked up $400 for Fast Time, and netted $300 because one of C-Notes was his. Knowles Race Parts and Bodies, Buster Goss Body Shop, Helbing Brown Concrete Construction, and Martin Motorsports Racing Shocks each put up $100 for the Award.
           
            After the three-wide battle for the lead in the first two turns of the race, Knowles took command on the point of lap one followed by Brown, Brindle, King and Skinner in the top five. Johnson passed Skinner on lap four to take over the fifth spot. Brown moved up to look inside of Knowles to battle for the lead on lap six.
           
            Knowles was able to answer Brown’s challenge and he pulled out to a three car-length advantage by lap 10. Knowles took that lead into heavy lapped traffic on lap 12. Before Brown could mount another challenge, the only caution flag of the race came out on lap 14 when Buster Goss of Rome, GA stalled in turn four.
           
            Knowles lined up in a row all by himself for the Dixie-Style Double-File Restart, and Brown chose the inside with Brindle to his right on the outside. King, Johnson, Skinner, Pilcher, Bagby, Polston, and Dale Thurman of Rome, GA in the Thurman Mechanical Special doubled up in fourth through tenth spots respectively for the restart.
           
            When the green flag came back out, Johnson got by King to take over the fourth spot, and then closed in to battle Brindle for the third spot. Pilcher was on the move, as he came from the seventh spot on the restart to pass King for fifth on lap 17. 
           
            The top four cars stretched out to within two to three car lengths of each other, and the lead quartet had a half straightaway lead on Pilcher by the halfway point of the race. Knowles began to encounter heavy lapped traffic on lap 35, as Brown closed in looking for a way around the leader. Knowles was able to put a lapped car between himself and Brown on lap 37 to seal the deal. Knowles took the checkered flag with 1.617 second margin of victory.
           
            The next event for the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series will be Rounds 4 and 5 at Cochran Motor Speedway in Cochran, GA on July 13 and 14. The July 13 race with pay $2,000-to-win and run for 40 laps, and the July 14 event pays $3,000-to-win and will be contested for a distance of 50 laps.
           
            For more information about the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series visit the series web site at www.525superseries.com, or visit the series on Facebook at Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series. 
OFFICIAL RESULTS OF ROUND 3 AT SMOKY MOUNTAIN SPEEDWAY IN MARYVILLE, TN ON 6/16/18:

POS      STRT   CAR #  DRIVER                            HOMETOWN                  LAPS    $ WON
1.           1            66          Jake Knowles                  Rome, GA                         40          $3,000
2.           2            92          Joseph Brown                  Columbus, GA                 40          $1,500
3.           3            17          Chip Brindle                     Chatsworth, GA                             40          $1,000
4.           4            85          Ronnie Johnson               Chattanooga, TN            40          $850
5.           7            87          Zach Pilcher                     Rome, GA                         40          $750
6.           5            44          Chase King (R)                Seymour, TN                    40          $700
7.           6            11          Cruz Skinner (R)            Oxford, AL                       40          $650
8.           8            19          Landon Bagby                 Winston, GA                    40          $600
9.           11          03          Oliver Gentry                  Newnan, GA                     40          $550
10.         9            00          Dalton Polston (R)          Lithia Springs, GA          40          $500
11.         10          59          Dale Thurman (R)          Cartersville, GA                            40          $475
12.         13          34          Chad Wallace                  LaGrange, GA                 39          $450
13.         15          24          Barry Goodman                             Spring City, TN               39          $425
14.         14          35          Scott Hall                          Rome, GA                         39          $400
15.         17          11d       Eric Dalton (R)                Science Hill, KY                             37          $375
16.         12          10          Matthew Turner                            Dawsonville, GA                            22              $350
17.         16          24g       Buster Goss                      Rome, GA                         12          $325                    

ENTRIES: 17
KNOWLES RACE PARTS AND BODIES/GOSS BODY SHOP/HELBING BROWN CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION/MARTIN MOTORSPORTS RACING SHOCKS FAST QUALIFIER: Knowles, 17.362 Seconds
PROVISIONALS: None
LEAD CHANGES: None
LAP LEADER: Knowles, 1-40
DURRENCE LAYNE CHEVROLET PACESETTER AWARD: Knowles with 40 Laps Led
VP RACING LUBRICANTS SLICK MOVE OF THE RACE: Brown
HARD CHARGER OF THE RACE: Pilcher (started 7th and finished 5th)
CRUISE WITH THE CHAMPIONS ROOKIE OF THE RACE: King
CAUTIONS: 1
MARGIN OF VICTORY: 1.617 Seconds
TIME OF THE RACE: 14 Minutes and 28.169 Seconds
NEXT EVENT: July 13, $2,000-to-win, 40 laps, and July 14. $3,000-to-win, 50 laps, Cochran Motor Speedway, Cochran, GA