Darrell Lanigan On The Pole for the $10K-To-Win NeSmith Late Model Possum Town Grand Prix

COLUMBUS, MS - Darrell Lanigan of Union, KY drove the Club 29 "House Car" to Fast Time honors and won the first of six ten-lap heat races on Friday afternoon to earn the pole position for Saturday afternoon's $10,000-to-win 100-lap Possum Town Grand Prix for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series at Magnolia Motor Speedway.

Lanigan toured the 3/8-mile "black ice" clay oval in 14.321 seconds in Sunoco/Knowles Race Parts and Bodies Group Qualifying to earn overall Fast Time honors over the 62 entrants.  Lanigan then went on to win the first ten-lap heat race to earn the coveted inside front row starting spot for Saturday's Big Show.

               The top three finishers in each of the ten-lap heat races transferred into Saturday afternoon's main event, making up the "Elite 18" to fill up the first nine rows.  Starting positions 19 through 22 will come from the first two finishers out each of the two B-Main races that will be contested tomorrow afternoon before the 100-lap main event.

               Starting positions 23 and 24 are NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Provisional spots reserved for drivers in the Top 15 of the point standings coming into the Possum Town Grand Prix, the last points race of the 2017 season.

               Scott Dedwylder of Vossburg, MS won the second ten-lap heat race, and will start on the outside of the front row for the Possum Town Grand Prix in the Scott's Wrecker Service Special.  Row two will feature heat three winner Rodney Martin of Cartersville, GA in the Martin's Towing and Automotive Special on the inside, and fourth heat race winner Jamey Boland of Cuba, AL will start on the outside of row two in the Trak-Star Race Cars "House Car."

               Evan Ellis of Plantersville, MS won the fifth heat race and will start the Ellis Welding Special on the inside of the third row for the Big Show on Saturday afternoon.  Grant Pearl of Anniston, AL starts on the outside of row three after driving the Tommy Pope Construction Special to a win in the sixth heat race.

               Rows four, five and six will be made up of the second-place finishers in the six heat races.  Matt Henderson of Loudon, TN in the Bassett Hound Motorsports GRT and Neil Baggett of Mathiston, MS in the Montgomery Farms Special will start in the row four of the main event.

The 2017 Cruise With The Champions Rookie of the m Year Grant Garrison of Walton, KY in the Darrell Lanigan Racing Special and Spencer Hughes of Meridian, MS in the Villa South Special start in row five.

Three-time NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Champion and National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame Inductee Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN starts on the inside of row six for the main event in the Josh Roberts Trucking Special.  Johnson will be looking for his third Possum Town Grand Prix win to go with his 2009 and 2010 wins.

Cale Finley of Athens, AL starts the Thirty-Six Racing and Fabrication Special on the outside of the sixth row.  The third-place finishers in the six ten-lap heat races will make up rows seven, eight and nine for Sunday afternoon's Possum Town Grand Prix. 

Walker Arthur of Forest, VA in the Cecil B. Arthur Beef Farms Special starts in the inside of row seven, and Jake Knowles of Rome, GA starts on the outside of row seven in the Knowles Race Parts and Bodies Rocket. 

Chad Thrash of Meridian, MS starts on the inside of row eight and the 2011 Possum Town Grand Prix Champion Jeremy Shaw of Millport, AL starts the GRT "House Car" on the outside the eighth row. 

The 2016 and 2017 NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Champion Cory Hedgecock of Loudon, TN will start on the inside the ninth row in the Eagle Racing Engines Rocket, and Steve Russell of Pontotoc, MS will start on the outside of the ninth row in the Jason Steele Special.

Among the top drivers still on the outside looking in of the Possum Town Grand Prix include B-Main starters and top ten drivers in the NeSmith Late Model point standings Colton Horner of Katy, TX, Marcus Minga of Shannon, MS, T.J. Brittain of Centre, AL, and Andy Picklesimer of Ooltewah, TN.

The 2008 NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Champion Chip Brindle of Chatsworth, GA is not yet in the show, as is the 2015 Sunoco Young Guns Challenge Series Champion Cruz Skinner of Oxford, AL.  Two-time NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Champion Jim McDuffie of Meridian, MS will start a B-Main, as will the defending Possum Town Grand Prix Champion Riley Hickman of Cleveland, TN.

The gates at Magnolia Motor Speedway open at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning, with NeSmith Late Model Check-In from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  The Drivers Meeting is set for 2 p.m. with racing scheduled for 3 p.m.

Magnolia Motor Speedway is located west of Columbus, MS at 495 U.S. Highway 45 South, Columbus, MS  39701, just south of U.S. Highway 82.  For more information call 662-240-3478, or visit the track web site at www.magnoliadirt.com. You can also Like them on Facebook at Magnolia Motor Speedway, or Follow them on Twitter @TheMagSpeedway.

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.

PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOR THE POSSUM TOWN GRAND PRIX AT MAGNOLIA MOTOR SPEEDWAY IN COLUMBUS, MS ON 11/24/17:

SUNOCO/KNOWLES RACE PARTS AND BODIES GROUP QUALIFYING:

HEAT RACES - (10 Laps - Top 3 Transfer To Main Event):

               1ST HEAT:  1. Lanigan; 2. Henderson; 3. Arthur; 4. Minga; 5. Winger; 6. C. Skinner; 7. B. Shaw; 8. Fields; 9. Holloway; 10. D. Brocato.

               2ND HEAT:  1. Dedwylder; 2. Baggett; 3. Knowles; 4. Brindle; 5. Green; 6. McDuffie; 7. Mitchell; 8. Davis; 9. Williamson; 10. Mayfield; 11. McRee.

               3RD HEAT:  1. Martin; 2. Garrison (R); 3. Thrash; 4. Banes; 5. Williams; 6. Hickman; 7. Picklesimer (R); 8. Baugh; 9. Flannagan; 10. Hobson; 11. Sutherland.

               4TH HEAT:  1. Boland; 2. Hughes; 3. J. Shaw; 4. Horner (R); 5. Brittain (R); 6. Henry; 7. Cooper; 8. M. Brocato; 9. Maher; 10. Jenkins.

               5TH HEAT:  1. Ellis; 2. Johnson; 3. Hedgecock; 4. Schryock; 5. Beckwith; 6. Hickerson; 7. Johns; 8. Halford; 9. Britton; 10. Weaver.

               6TH HEAT:  1. Pearl; 2. Finley; 3. Russell; 4. Marsh; 5. M. Skinner; 6. Mike; 7. Boyd; 8. Lambert; 9. Cummings; 10. K. Shaw.

"ELITE 18" FEATURE RACE LINE-UP:

ROW 1:
29 Darrell Lanigan - 33 Scott Dedwylder
ROW 2:
92 Rodney Martin - 232 Jamey Boland
ROW 3:
73 Evan Ellis - 8 Grant Pearl
ROW 4:
17 Matt Henderson  - 21 Neil Baggett
ROW 5:
G1 Grant Garrison (R) - 33 Spencer Hughes
ROW 6:
85 Ronnie Johnson - F36 Cale Finley
ROW 7:
87 Walker Arthur  - 66 Jake Knowles
ROW 8:
1c Chad Thrash - 1s Jeremy Shaw
ROW 9:
23 Cory Hedgecock - 72 Steve Russell

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

1ST B-MAIN:
19 Marcus Minga - 4j Josh Banes
3 Kelly Schryock  - 12 Ashton Winger
11 Cliff Williams - 84 Randall Beckwith
11 Cruz Skinner - R1 Riley Hickman
98 Eric Hickerson - 58 Brandon Shaw
P1 Andy Picklesimer (R)  - 6 Oakley Johns
26 Mark Fields - 62 Jerry Baugh
6 Jimmy Halford - 4 Mitchell Holloway
79 Billy Flannagan Jr. - 15 Jason Britton
713 David Brocato - 7 Casey Hobson
16 Cameron Weaver - 10 Justin McRee

2ND B-MAIN:

17 Chip Brindle - 56jr Colton Horner (R)
1 Bryant Marsh - 49 Billy Green
05 T.J. Brittain (R) - 00m Monte Skinner
760 Jim McDuffie - 10h Jason Henry
4 Joe Mike - 64 Braden Mitchell
10 Ronnie Cooper - 118 Randy Boyd
83 K.I. Davis - 65 Mathew Brocato
17 Morgan Lambert - 28 David Williamson
1m Kevin Maher - 4a Aaron Cummings
00 Ruben Mayfield - 62 Zach Jenkins
2s Kyle Shaw - 4 Wayne Sutherland

NeSmith Chevrolet, Buick, GMC of Claxton, GA is the Title Sponsor of the NeSmith Late Models.  NeSmith Chevrolet, Buick, GMC is one of the nation's top GM Powertrain and Performance Dealer seven years running, with free delivery anywhere in the Southeast.  Chevrolet Performance Parts is an Official Sponsor of the NeSmith Late Models.  Hoosier Racing Tire is the Official Tire Sponsor of the NeSmith Late Models.  Sunoco Race Fuels is the Official Race Fuel of the NeSmith Late Models.  RockAuto.com is an Associate Sponsor of the NeSmith Late Models.  Beyea Headers the NeSmith Late Model Hard Charger Sponsor.  Knowles Race Parts and Bodies is the Official Parts Supplier for the NeSmith Late Models.  Cruise With The Champions is the Official Vacation and Rookie of the Year Sponsor for the NeSmith Late Models.  David Smith Carburetors is the Official Carburetor of NeSmith Racing.  Freestyle Graphix is the Official Wrap, Banner, and Sign Company of NeSmith Racing.  NeSmith Late Model Contingency Sponsors for 2017 are Out-Pace Performance, CrateInsider.Com, Gresham Racing Parts, Knowles Racing Parts and Bodies, and FreeStyle Graphix.  2017 Chassis Sponsors are Trak-Star Race Cars, Warrior Race Cars, Rocket Chassis, GRT Race Cars, and CVR Race Cars.