Payne assumed the lead on lap 17 and drove on to the win.
Tazewell Speedway played host to its 8th annual Buddy Rogers Memorial on Sunday night under a Southern Nationals Bonus Series sanction in front of a big crowd. In the end, it was Murphy, NC driver David Payne who scored the victory and came away with the $4,400 first prize in a race in which the ultimate goal is to raise money and awareness for cancer research.
Vic Hill set the early pace the engine builder/racer turned a lap in 11.336 seconds around the high-banked third-mile clay oval. With the entire 19 car field being locked into the main event via time-trials, Hill was joined by Chad Ogle, Payne, Billy Ogle, Jr., Ross White, Donald McIntosh, Jeff Wolfenbarger, Brian Smith, Dakotah Knuckles and Chris Combs in the top-10 of the feature race starting grid.
Hill charged to the front early when the green flag waved over the 44-lap feature with Payne, Billy Ogle, Chad Ogle and White following closely behind. By the third circuit, McIntosh was looking to crack the top-5 as he went to work on White as the field made its way around the lightning fast circuit.
Payne moved around Chad Ogle(10) early to put himself in contention for the win.
Hill found himself among slower cars by the sixth lap which allowed Payne along with Billy and Chad Ogle to close in on the lead machine. Meanwhile, McIntosh continued his assault on White for fifth as those two cars trailed just behind the front runners. Knuckles also looked to move forward as he made a move around Jeff Wolfenbarger to claim seventh in the running order.
The turning point of the race occurred on lap 17 when Hill’s leading car slowed suddenly to bring out the yellow flag. Although his crew was able to change the flat tire that had brought about the trouble, Hill was forced to restart at the rear of the pack as Payne assumed the top spot in the running order.
Donald McIntosh(7) and Ross White battled throughout much of the event.
During the race’s middle stages the greatest drama took place around the cars of White and McIntosh as they continued to fight for position. All the while, Payne was able to maintain a relatively comfortable working margin as the lead cars negotiated the slower traffic that so often plays a factor in events at the Tazewell Speedway.
A lap 32 caution brought out when brothers Jeff and Terry Wolfenbarger came together on the back stretch offered then second running Billy Ogle an opportunity to dive under Payne on the ensuing restart but the racing basketball coach was up to the challenge and was able to hold the lead. Another yellow flag on lap 37 allowed his pursuers one last shot at Payne but the front runner was never seriously threatened over the closing laps as he went on to claim the checkered flag.
Payne and crew in victory lane.
Feature Finish: 1. David Payne, 2. Billy Ogle, Jr., 3. Chad Ogle, 4. Donald McIntosh, 5. Ross White, 6. Dakotah Knuckles, 7. Terry Wolfenbarger, 8. Vic Hill, 9. Steve Smith, 10. Jeff Wolfenbarger, 11. Brian Smith, 12. Chicky Barton, 13. Josh Collins, 14. Doug Smith, 15. Chris Combs, 16. Phil Helton, 17. Steve Stollings, 18. Jody Horton, 19. Lee Branscum
