Mack McCarter’s #51
Seemingly, Mack McCarter has been trying to beat Ronnie Johnson all season. Whether it be in the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series for 604 crate engines or in the Chevy Performance Super Late Model Series for the 525 Chevy Performance engines, Johnson has been a constant nemesis for the Gatlinburg, Tenn. driver.
On Saturday night at the Tazewell Speedway in a Buddy Rogers Memorial Chevy Performance Super Late Model Series thriller, McCarter finally got the win he had been searching for throughout 2014 and he collected $4,400 for his efforts.
It was Johnson who fired the first warning shot as he posted the fastest time in qualifying among the 16 cars on hand with a lap of 11.916 seconds and the super high-banked clay oval. McCarter earned the outside front row starting spot in time-trials with Jacob Grizzle, Brandon Williams and Jake Knowles rounding out the top-5.
There were no heat races as the entire starting lineup for the feature was determined via qualifying.
At the start of the feature, it was McCarter who bolted to the early lead with Johnson right in his tire tracks. Those two cars immediately separated themselves from the pack and made it apparent from the beginning that they would settle the issue among themselves.
Meanwhile, Williams, Grizzle and Knowles fought over the remaining positions within the top-5 for virtually the entire 44-lap distance.
The race was slowed five times by caution flags, none of which was for any serious incidents. However, each of those yellow flags allowed the rest of the pack to catch up with the two primary front-runners. The caution periods also provided the lead cars with brief reprieves from the heavy lapped traffic they would have to battle within a few laps after each renewed green flag run.
During the race’s second half, Johnson applied heavy pressure to McCarter by diving under the high riding #51 machine through virtually every set of turns. But the young driver was able to keep the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame member behind him all the way.
However, the final set of turns did provide one key moment of drama. As McCarter and Johnson roared through turns three and four for the final time, catastrophe was avoided as the two tangled with and then dodged a slower car right at the finish line.
At the finish it was:
1. Mack McCarter, 2. Ronnie Johnson, 3. Brandon Williams, 4. Jacob Grizzle, 5. Jake Knowles, 6. Josh Henry, 7. Ryan King, 8. Tyler Crowder, 9. Brent Barrett, 10. David Brannon.
