McREE SWEEPS PRELIMINARIES FOR DURRENCE LAYNE POSSUM TOWN G.P. POLE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

              COLUMBUS, MS – Justin McRee of Woodstock, AL will start the J&J Logging Capital on the pole position for Saturday night’s $10,000-to-win Possum Town Grand Prix for the Durrence Layne Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series at Magnolia Motor Speedway. J-Mac was the fastest qualifier among the 54 entrants and won the first Heat Race in Friday night’s preliminary action.

              McRee won the Knowles Race Parts and Bodies Fast Time Award with a lap around Magnolia Motor Speedway in 14.506 seconds. That earned McRee the pole position for the first of six eight-lap heat races that sent the top two finishers into the Big Show on Saturday night. McRee won the first Heat Race to earn the pole for the $10,000-to-win Main Event.

              Eli Beets of Knoxville, TN won the second Heat Race in the TMC Trucking Capital and will start the Possum Town Grand Prix on the outside of the front row. The 2018 Durrence Layne Weekly Racing Series Late Model National Champion Evan Ellis of Plantersville, MS won the third heat and starts the Ellis Welding Club 29 on the inside of row two for Saturday’s race.

              Ryan Colby of Greenville, MS won the fourth heat on Friday night in the Washington Body Shop Black Diamond to earn the outside row two starting spot for the Big Show on Saturday night. Jamey Boland of Cuba, AL won the fifth Heat Race on Friday and the inside third row starting spot for the Possum Town Grand Prix in the Boland Performance Trak-Star. 

            Zack Shelton of Meridian, MS won the sixth heat to earn the outside third row starting spot on Saturday driving the Camper Kingdom Mastersbilt. The second place finishers in the six heat races on Friday night also earned a starting spot in Saturday night’s $10,000-to-win Possum Town Grand Prix.
           
            The second-place first through sixth heat races respectively were Spencer Hughes of Meridian, MS, Bryant Marsh of Corinth, MS, Chase Edge of Lafayette, AL, Cliff Ross of Florence, MS, Jake Knowles of Rome, GA, and Chad Thrash of Collinsville, MS.
           
            Knowles is in a tight battle for the 2018 Durrence Layne Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Championship with 18-year-old Ashton Winger of Senoia, GA. Knowles trails Winger by just ten points coming into the Possum Town Grand Prix, the 2018 season finale for the Durrence Layne Chevrolet National Late Model Tour. 
           
            Knowles rallied from fourth to second on the final lap of the fifth heat race to earn a spot in the Possum Town Grand Prix, and he will start in front of Winger when the green flag falls to start the race on Saturday.
           
            Winger is still on the outside looking in after finishing sixth in his heat race, and will start fourth in the fourth ten-lap B-Main Race on Saturday. Only the top two finishers will transfer into the Possum Town Grand Prix, but if Winger fails to transfer, he is the first driver eligible for one of two Durrence Layne Chevrolet Late Model Provisional starting spot at the tail of the 24-car field.
           
            In addition to Winger, there are five other Durrence Layne Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series top ten drivers in the point standings that are still on the outside looking in. Also lining up for B-Main action on Saturday will be fourth-place Andy Picklesimer of Ooltewah, TN, seventh-place Marcus Minga of Shannon, MS, eighth-place T.J. Britton of Centre, AL, and a pair of Hohenwald, TN drivers tied for the ninth spot, Tyler Wood and Oakley Johns.
           
            Two other notables not yet in the Big Show are the defending Possum Town Grand Prix Champion Darrell Lanigan of Union, KY and two-time Durrence Layne Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Champion Eric Cooley of Fulton, MS.

            NeSmith Racing is now Durrence Layne Racing! For more information and rules about the Durrence Layne Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series, visit the series web site at www.durrencelayneracing.com, or visit the series on Facebook at Durrence Layne Racing. You can follow us on Twitter @DurrenceLayneRacing.

PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF ROUND 15 AT MAGNOLIA MOTOR SPEEDWAY IN COLUMBUS, MS ON 11/23/18:

HEAT RACES (8 Laps – Top 2 Transfer To Main Event):

              1ST HEAT: 1. McRee; 2. Hughes; 3. Lewis; 4. Joiner; 5. Cooley; 6. Winger (R); 7. Mitchell; 8. Smith; 9. R. Cooper.

              2ND HEAT: 1. Beets; 2. Marsh (R); 3. Lanigan; 4. Dees; 5. Russell; 6. Brittain; 7. Kratzer; 8. Johns; 9. Bonner.

              3RD HEAT: 1. Ellis; 2. Edge; 3. Newman; 4. Polston; 5. Shaw; 6. Brocato; 7. J. Cooper; 8. Myers; 9. Buhler DNS.

              4TH HEAT: 1. Colby; 2. Ross; 3. Rickman; 4. M. Cooper; 5. M. Skinner; 6. B. Skinner; 7. Minga; 8. Washington; 9. George DNS.

              5TH HEAT: 1. Boland (R); 2. Knowles; 3. Beckwith; 4. Garrison; 5. Wood; 6. C. Skinner; 7. Lucas; 8. Hurst; 9. C. Weaver.

              6TH HEAT: 1. Shelton; 2. Thrash; 3. Carpenter; 4. Picklesimer; 5. Scarbrough; 6. Finley; 7. Walls; 8. R. Weaver; 9. Duplissey DNS.

“DIRTY DOZEN” FEATURE RACE LINE-UP:

ROW 1:
F44 Justin McRee – 109 Eli Beets
ROW 2:
73 Evan Ellis – 21 Ryan Colby
ROW 3:
232 Jamey Boland (R) – 7z Zack Shelton
ROW 4:
11 Spencer Hughes – 1 Bryant Marsh (R)
ROW 5:
18 Chase Edge – C20 Cliff Ross
ROW 6:
66 Jake Knowles – 1c Chad Thrash

B-MAIN LINE-UPS (10 Laps – Top 2 Transfer To Main Event):

1ST B-MAIN:
7 Hunter Lewis – 51 Dean Carpenter
1 Grant Garrison – 00m Monte Skinner
78 Mathew Brocato – 55 Chris Kratzer
27 Josh Smith – 5 Rodney Weaver
116 Cameron Weaver

2ND B-MAIN:
29 Darrell Lanigan – 10 Joseph Joiner
P1 Andy Picklesimer – 17jr Tyler Wood
17r Brad Skinner – 14 Jeffrey Cooper
C6 Oakley Johns – 10c Ronnie Cooper
D2 David Duplissey

3RD B-MAIN:
73 Ashley Newman – 44 Tim Dees
33c Eric Cooley – 33s Sid Scarbrough
11 Cruz Skinner – 19 Marcus Minga
48 Mike Myers – 102 Blake Bonner

4TH B-MAIN:
86 Brian Rickman – 00 Dalton Polston
72 Steve Russell – 12 Ashton Winger (R)
F36 Cale Finley – 57 Shep Lucas
72w Chase Washington – 61 Brandon Buhler

5TH B-MAIN:
84 Randall Beckwith – 18c Matthew Cooper
25s Jeremy Shaw – 05 T.J. Brittain
69 Braden Mitchell – 25 Chase Walls
2 Todd Hurst – 29 Buddy George

R – Denotes Cruise With The Champions Rookie of the Year Candidate