FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Mike Marlar Masters Schaeffer’s Southern Nationals Bonus Series Visit to North Georgia Speedway

By Michael Despain

CHATSWORTH, GA – August 19, 2017 – The Schaeffer’s Oil Southern Nationals Bonus Series presented by Sunoco Race Fuel and Tennessee RV would make its first-ever visit to North Georgia Speedway in Chatsworth, GA on Saturday evening with $10,000 up for grabs to the winner and Mike Marlar of Winfield, Tenn. would park his machine in victory lane at the end of the sixty lap contest and score the victory.

Marlar’s victory would come behind the wheel of the Ronnie Delk owned Delk Equipment/RS Trading Company/Midwest Sheet Metal/Sunoco Race Fuels sponsored #157 Rocket Chassis, Cornett Race Engines powered entry.

Mike Marlar would take the lead at the start of the sixty lap, $10,000 to win main event, with Donald McIntosh, Brandon Overton, and Dale McDowell giving chase, while T.J. Reaid and Tyler Millwood dueled for the fifth position. Millwood would get fifth on lap four, before Reaid would reclaim the spot on lap five, while Marlar would open up a comfortable lead at the point. Marlar would start working slower traffic on lap eleven and would encounter heavy traffic by lap fifteen and this would allow McIntosh to close in on Marlar for the lead. However, the caution waved on lap seventeen when Todd Morrow slowed on the backchute. The restart would see Marlar pull away again, with Overton taking the second position, with McDowell also getting by McIntosh to claim third. Casey Roberts would roll his way into the top five on lap eighteen, while Marlar would motor away from pack once again. Brad Skinner would spin in turn four on lap twenty-four to draw a caution flag and bunch the field up once again. Marlar would get a great restart, while Roberts would work past McIntosh for the fourth position, only to lose it back to McIntosh one circuit later before action was quickly slowed again by debris in turn four, drawing a caution flag.

Marlar would again get a good restart, with Overton and McDowell still giving chase, while Michael Page would challenge Roberts for the fifth position and would claim the spot on lap thirty-three. Race leader Marlar would again start the process of working slower traffic on lap thirty-eight, while Roberts would retake the fifth position from Page one trip later. T.J. Reaid would slow on the track in turn two to bring out the caution flag on lap forty to again bunch the field together. This restart would again see Marlar pull away by a few car lengths, with McDowell getting by Overton for the second position, while Roberts would drive past McIntosh one lap later, only to see McIntosh reclaim the position on lap forty-three. Page would again challenge Roberts for the fifth position at this point and Page would go back to fifth on lap forty-seven. Marlar would enter traffic once again on lap fifty and McDowell would close in on the leader as would take the lead on lap fifty-six, only to see the caution flag fly for debris in turn one and negate the pass. Marlar would lead the final five circuits of the event and see the checkered flag first, with McDowell finishing second and Overton claiming third. Page would drive by McIntosh with three laps remaining to finish fourth, while McIntosh would complete the top five finishers. The remainder of the top ten finishers would be Roberts, Jason Welshan, Derek Ellis, eighteenth place starting Ross Bailes, and seventeenth place starter Joey Coulter.

The Schaeffer’s Oil Southern Nationals Bonus Series presented by Sunoco Race Fuel and Tennessee RV next event will be Sunday August 20 at Rome Speedway in Rome, GA, paying $5,300 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 North Georgia Speedway in Chatsworth, GA on August 19, 2017
1. Mike Marlar-Winfield, Tenn.
2. Dale McDowell-Chickamauga, Ga.
3. Brandon Overton-Evans, Ga.
4. Michael Page-Douglasville, Ga.
5. Donald McIntosh-Dawsonville, Ga.
6. Casey Roberts-Toccoa, Ga.
7. Jason Welshan-Maryville, Tenn.
8. Derek Ellis-Chatsworth, Ga.
9. Ross Bailes-Clover, S.C.
10. John Ownbey-Cleveland, Tenn.
11. Joey Coulter-Concord, N.C.
12. Ray Cook-Brasstown, N.C.
13. Will Roland-Jasper, Ga.
14. Brad Skinner-Spring Hill, Tenn.
15. Forrest Trent-Talbott, Tenn.
16. T.J. Reaid-Acworth, Ga.
17. Tyler Millwood-Kingston, Ga.
18. David Payne-Murphy, N.C.
19. Riley Hickman-Ooltewah, Tenn.
20. Jake Knowles-Rome, Ga.
21. Todd Morrow-East Ridge, Tenn.
22. Jamie Oliver-Murphy, N.C.

Time of Race: 29 minutes, 28 seconds
Margin of Victory: 1.330 seconds
Yellow Flags: 5 (lap 17, 24, 27, 40, 56)
Red Flags: None
Lap Leaders: Mike Marlar (1-60)
Entries: 43
Overall Top Qualifier: Donald McIntosh (Group A) 13.373 seconds
Keyser Manufacturing 11th Place Award: Joey Coulter
Highest Finishing CT525 Engine ($200): John Ownbey
Highest Finishing Steel/SPEC Engine ($200): None
Provisional Starters: David Payne, Jamie Oliver

Heat One Finish (10 laps/top 4 transfer)- Donald McIntosh, T.J. Reaid, Brad Skinner, Jake Knowles, Todd Morrow, Jamie Oliver, Colby Kilgore, Jerry Bradley, Craig Greer, Brandon Kinzer (DNS-Ryan Crane)

Heat Two Finish (10 laps/top 4 transfer)- Brandon Overton, Will Roland, Riley Hickman, Michael Page, Joey Coulter, Gary McPherson, Eric Granger, Andrew Littleton, Joey Standridge, Bo Eaton

Heat Three Finish (10 laps/top 4 transfer)- Mike Marlar, Tyler Millwood, John Ownbey, Derek Ellis, Forrest Trent, Austin Smith, Johnny Cloer, Jadon Frame, Billy Ogle, Jr., Heath Hindman, Kenny Cobble

Heat Four Finish (10 laps/top 4 transfer)- Dale McDowell, Casey Roberts, Jason Welshan, Ray Cook, Ross Bailes, David Payne, Ronnie Johnson, Aaron Wilson, Blake Spencer, Ahnna Parkhurst, Skip Arp

Consey #1 (10 laps/top 2 transfer)- Joey Coulter, Todd Morrow, Jamie Oliver, Gary McPherson, Colby Kilgore, Eric Granger, Jerry Bradley, Andrew Littleton, Craig Greer, Bo Eaton (DNS-Joey Standridge, Ryan Crane)

Consey #2 (10 laps/top 2 transfer)- Ross Bailes, Forrest Trent, Ronnie Johnson, Johnny Cloer, Jadon Frame, David Payne, Blake Spencer, Brandon Kinzer, Billy Ogle, Jr., Ahnna Parkhurst, Austin Smith (DNS-Aaron Wilson, Heath Hindman, Skip Arp, Kenny Collins)

Current Southern Nationals Bonus Series Points (after 8-19)
1. Donald McIntosh-1,096
2. David Payne-1,072
3. Jamie Oliver-680
4. Joey Standridge-593
5. Jason Welshan-554
6. Brandon Overton-548
7. Billy Ogle Jr.-435
8. Mike Marlar-394
9. Dale McDowell-392

10. Zack Dohm-386