Kyle Bronson Wins NeSmith Late Model 10th Annual Southern 100 and $10,000

 MILTON, FL - Kyle Bronson of Brandon, FL was the dominant driver in the dominant race car all weekend, as he led all 100 laps to claim the $10,000 top prize Saturday night after winning the 10th Annual Southern 100 for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series at Southern Raceway driving the Brandon Collision Rocket.

                Bronson took the lead at the start of the race, showed patience in lapped traffic during the middle stages of the race, and then in the closing laps when his challengers fell to the wayside with tire issues, Bronson turned up the wick and checked out on the field.

                "We had a good car from the time we unloaded to the end of the race," Bronson said.  "I have to give the credit to my crew and to Rocket Chassis, who build the best race cars anywhere.  I spent most of the race trying to manage my tires, and I tried not to run a real fast pace.  That caused the car to tighten up, so late in the race, I decided to pick up the pace because I came here to win the race with the fastest car, and that's what we did."

                Bronson drove under the checkered flag with a 3.371 second margin of victory over Walker Arthur of Forest, VA in the Cecil B. Arthur Beef Farms Special.  Arthur made a late race charge to finish second on tires that were out of tread and on the cords.  Travis Pennington of Stapleton, GA finished third in the Excel Racing Solutions Special.

                Devin Dixon of Apollo Beach, FL started 16th and finished fourth in the Dave's Towing Rocket, and Mark Whitener of Middleburg, FL was fifth in the ULC Motorsports Special.  Bryant Marsh of Corinth, MS took the sixth spot in the Modern Woodmen Fraternal Financial Trak Star, and seventh went to Marcus Minga of Shannon, MS in the B&M Salvage Rocket.

                Monte Skinner of Saraland, AL fought hard during the middle stages of the race to stay on the lead lap, and after starting 22nd, finished eighth in the M&M Lifts Special to earn the Beyea Headers Hard Charger of the Race Award.  Steven Jernigan of Milton, FL was ninth in the JEI Logging GRT, and Josh Huss of Flomaton, AL rounded out the top ten in the Century Auto Parts Special.

                In preliminary action on Friday night, three-time NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Champion and National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame Inductee Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN out-timed the 34-car field in Sunoco/Knowles Race Parts and Bodies Qualifying with a lap around Southern Raceway in 15.432 seconds driving the Josh Roberts Trucking Special.

                The four eight-lap Friday night Heat Races were won by Bronson, Cruise With the Champions Rookie of the Year point leader Grant Garrison of Walton, KY in the Darrell Lanigan Racing Special, Pennington and Joseph Joiner of Milton, FL in the Three Trade Consultants Special. 

The two ten-lap B-Main Races on Saturday night were won by 14-year-old Colton Horner of Katy, TX in the Houston Specialty Products Special and Ruben Mayfield of Lenoir City, TN in the RM Trucking CVR.

Bronson took the lead at the start of the race followed by Pennington, Garrison, Joiner and Johnson.  The first of 16 caution flags came out on lap six when Ivedent Lloyd Jr. of Ocala, FL spun in turn four.  On the restart, Joiner got to the inside, of Garrison down the backstretch to take over the third spot.

The second caution flag came out on lap 12 when Whitener and Arthur tangled while battling for the sixth spot.  The contact sent Arthur spinning in turn two, and Whitener was ticketed for the caution flag.  Walker got the sixth spot back, and Whitener went to the tail of the field for the Dixie-Style Double-File Restart.

Bronson led the field back to green flag action with Pennington, Joiner, Garrison, Johnson, Arthur, Tyler Turvin of Ochlocknee, GA in the T&J Steel Special, Shep Lucas of McKenzie, AL in the Lucas Farms CVR, Jeff Mathews in the CURS/RV Select Special, and Dixon doubled up behind the leader in the top ten.

A multi-car tangle on the restart lit up the yellow caution bulb for a third time, and Cody Smith of Holt, FL was ticketed with the caution in the Smith-Co Motorsports Rocket.  On the next restart, it was Garrison getting back around Joiner to retake the third position.  Caution flags on lap 13, 14, the lap 14 restart, lap 18, and the lap 18 restart led to a single file restart.

This led to the field settling into a more conservative pace.  Bronson reached the last car on the tail of the lead lap on lap 25.  That car was Skinner, who refused to give way to the leader trying to stay on the lead lap.  Bronson stayed behind Skinner for 23 laps, and at the same time, Pennington and Garrison stayed tucked in behind Bronson.  The top three cars seemed content to just ride for a while.

The leaders did have an anxious moment on lap 48 when T.J. Brittain of Centre, AL spun the Brittain Hauling Warrior in turn four right in front of Skinner and the top three cars.  Everyone stayed out of the harm's way, as Skinner went on around to line up on the lead lap for the restart, and Bronson finally had clear race track in front of him.

As the second half of the Southern 100 began to unfold, tire management came into play, and not for the good of many front runners.  While running third, Garrison fell off the pace with a tire issue to bring out the caution flag on lap 62.  Bronson led Pennington, Joiner, Johnson, Arthur, Dixon, Marsh, Lucas, Minga and Matthews in the top ten down for the restart.

Lucas slowed from the ninth spot on lap 76 to bring out the caution flag with a tire issue.  Another top ten car, Mathews was done on lap 84.  The tire wear issues were coming right down to the wire, as Joiner gave up third on lap 91 with a tire problem, and Johnson was another third-place competitor that blew out a worn tire on lap 95.

On each restart, Bronson got stronger and stronger, increasing his lead over Pennington each time until at one point; he held a full straightaway lead.  On the final restart of the race on lap 95, Arthur was able to work underneath Pennington to take over the second spot. 

But by that time, Bronson had packed his bags, turned in the key, checked out on the field and headed to the bank with $10,000.

The next race for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series will be the 2017 season finale and another $10,000-to-win race on November 23, 24, and 25 with the Possum Town Grand Prix at Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, GA.

For more information and rules about the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series, visit the series web site at www.nesmithracing.com, or visit the series on Facebook at NeSmith Racing.  Becoming a fan of the NeSmith Racing Facebook page will make you eligible for special prizes that will be given away each month.  You can follow us on Twitter @NeSmithRacing.

OFFICIAL FINISH OF ROUND 15 AT SOUTHERN RACEWAY IN MILTON, FL ON 11/4/17:

ENTRIES:  34
FAST QUALIFIER:  Johnson, 15.432 Seconds
PROVISIONALS:  Brittain and Bayhi
LEAD CHANGES:  None
LAP LEADER:  Bronson, 1-100
BEYEA HEADERS HARD CHARGER:  Skinner (started 22nd and finished 8th)
CRUISE WITH THE CHAMPIONS ROOKIE OF THE RACE:  Horner
CAUTIONS:  16
MARGIN OF VICTORY:  3.371 Seconds
TIME OF THE RACE:  1 Hour, 19 Minutes and 27.897 Seconds
NEXT RACE:  November 23, 24, and 25, $10,000-to-win Possum Town Grand Prix at Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, MS

SUNOCO/KNOWLES RACE PARTS AND BODIES GROUP QUALIFYING:

HEAT RACES (8 Laps - Top 4 Finishers Transfer To Main Event):

                1ST HEAT:  1. Bronson; 2. Johnson; 3. Turvin; 4. Whitener; 5. Horner (R); 6. Smith; 7. Bayhi; 8. Morrow; 9. Hedgecock.

                2ND HEAT:  1. Garrison (R); 2. Arthur; 3. Lloyd; 4. Marsh; 5. Ward; 6. Mayfield; 7. Jones; 8. Cartwright; 9. Montiel.

                3RD HEAT:  1. Pennington; 2. Lucas; 3. Minga; 4. Picklesimer (R); 5. Huss; 6. Brittain (R); 7. Cody; 8. Leyendecker.

                4TH HEAT:  1. Joiner; 2. Mathews; 3. Jernigan; 4. Dixon; 5. Henderson; 6. Skinner; 7. O'Connor; 8. Barber; 9. Maher.

B-MAINS (10 Laps - Top 3 Transfer To Main Event):

                1ST B-MAIN:  1. Horner (R); 2. Huss; 3. Smith; 4. Bayhi; 5. Morrow; 6. Brittain (R); 7. Maher; 8. Cody DNS; 9. Leyendecker DNS; 10. Hedgecock DNS.

                2ND B-MAIN:  1. Mayfield; 2. Henderson; 3. Skinner; 4. Jones; 5. Cartwright; 6. Ward; 7. Montiel; 8. O'Connor; 9. Barber DNS.

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