Watermelon 125 PASS South Super Late Model Show On Tap Today
SOUTH: Speed51.com's Trackside Now - Saturday, April 26th - Watermelon Capital Speedway (Cordele, GA)
NOTE
Speed51.com's Trackside Now feature from Cordele, Georgia for the PASS South "Watermelon 125" Super Late Model event is being hosted on the new Pro All Stars Series website this week to help celebrate the new PASS website, which was launched one week ago.
Speed51.com's Trackside Now feature will return to the Speed51.com site for future race events. We hope you enjoy today's coverage.
Saturday 11:34 pm Eastern - Tech has been cleared.
Thank you for joining us on Speed51.com's Trackside Now coverage on the new PASS site at Cordele. Stay tuned to Speed51.com and racewithpass.com for more on the Watermelon 125 next week.
Saturday 11:34 pm Eastern - Here are the unofficial results:
1) Perry Brown
2) Bubba Pollard
3) Ryan Seig
4) David Ragan
5) Michael Pope
6) Allen Gordon
7) Mark Gibson
8) Alex Haase
9) John Stancill
10) Heath Hindman
11) Spencer Wauters
12) Corey Williams
13) John Batten
14) Rodney Brooks
15) Blake Lehr
16) Mich Cobb
17) Justin Wakefield
18) Jeff Fultz
19) Tyler Millwood
20) Strom Altman
21) Zach Stroupe
22) Alex Fleming
23) Brian Royalty
24) Devan Hall
25) Darryl Shelnut
Saturday 10:59 pm Eastern - Perry Brown has won the Watermelon 125 PASS South Super Late Model event at Watermelon Capital Speedway.
We are heading trackside to talk to the drivers. We will be back with the final rundown.
Saturday 10:57 pm Eastern - GREEN FLAG
Saturday 10:56 pm Eastern - YELLOW FLAG LAP 122 - Blake Lehr's bad day continues as he has spun again in turn three.
With three laps to go, Perry Brown still leads Bubba Pollard, David Ragan, Ryan Sieg and Michael Pope.
Saturday 10:53 pm Eastern - GREEN FLAG
Saturday 10:48 pm Eastern - The top five under this yellow: Perry Brown, Bubba Pollard, David Ragan, Ryan Sieg, Allen Gordon
There will be 12 laps to go when we go back green. None of the drivers in the top 10 currently have won a race in the PASS South.
Saturday 10:47 pm Eastern - YELLOW FLAG LAP 113 - John Stancill and Mitch Cobb made contact going into turn three. Stancill drove over the hood of Cobb, causing damage to both vehicles. A few other cars had to go off track to avoid being involved in that wreck, including Rodney Brooks, who has had to drive off the track more than once today.
Saturday 10:45 pm Eastern - GREEN FLAG
Saturday 10:44 pm Eastern - YELLOW FLAG LAP 109 - Alex Haase dropped his wheels just off the track surface on the back stretch, causing him to spin off turn three. He has made it to the pits as his crew is looking under the car to see if there is any damage.
Top Five: Brown, Pollard, Ragan, Cobb, Gordon
Saturday 10:39 pm Eastern - GREEN FLAG
Saturday 10:36 pm Eastern - Alex Haase has had to pit during this yellow to check out his damage and possibly change a tire. He has made it back onto the track.
Perry Brown now leads Bubba Pollard, David Ragan, Mitch Cobb and Allen Gordon.
Saturday 10:36 pm Eastern - YELLOW FLAG LAP 98 - On the restart, Perry Brown went up the track just a bit coming off turn two. That caused Alex Haase to check up a bit and going into turn three Heath Hindman drove hard into the turn under Haase. The two made contact, which appeared to either cut down a tire or break something on Hindman's car as he stopped in turn four.
Saturday 10:34 pm Eastern - GREEN FLAG
Saturday 10:31 pm Eastern - YELLOW FLAG LAP 97 - Blake Lehr has spun off the track right before the entrance to turn three again.
Top five: Brown, Haase, Hindman, Pollard, Ragan
Saturday 10:30 pm Eastern - The best battle on the track has been between David Ragan and Bubba Pollard. The two ran door to door for mutliple laps as Ragan tried to get around Pollard on the inside, but Pollard had too much motor, holding onto the fourth spot.
Saturday 10:26 pm Eastern - GREEN FLAG
Saturday 10:25 pm Eastern - Ryan Sieg was running in the top five, but has chosen to pit during this yellow.
The current top five are Brown, Haase, Pollard, Hindman and Ragan.
Saturday 10:22 pm Eastern - YELLOW FLAG LAP 81 - Jeff Fultz slowed on the back stretch and almost came to a stop in the dirt. He was able to get the car fired and moving after the yellow came out.
Saturday 10:20 pm Eastern - GREEN FLAG
Saturday 10:18 pm Eastern - YELLOW FLAG LAP 76 - Blake Lehr has spun off the track right before the entrance to turn three. He was stopped just off the track surface, forcing officials to throw the yellow flag. He was able to get it fired up and continue on.
Perry Brown still leads Alex Haase, Bubba Pollard, Ryan Seig and Heath Hindman.
Saturday 10:14 pm Eastern - GREEN FLAG
Saturday 10:11 pm Eastern - YELLOW FLAG LAP 63 - Tyler Millwood and Michael Pope made contact going into turn three, causing both to spin out and come to a rest near the inside wall.
Top ten: Perry Brown, Alex Haase, Bubba Pollard, Ryan Sieg, Heath Hindman, David Ragan, Allen Gordon, John Stancill, Mitch Cobb and Mark Gibson.
Saturday 10:09 pm Eastern - David Ragan has worked his way from the rear of the field to sixth position on the track.
We are working lap the 60th lap with the top five still Brown, Haase, Pollard, Sieg and Hindman.
Saturday 10:03 pm Eastern - GREEN FLAG
Saturday 9:38 pm Eastern - Report from the pits is that Zach Stroupe had a panhard bar break, which caused his spin earlier.
The top five under this yellow remains the same, except for fifth where Heath Hindman has taken that spot after Wakefield's issue.
Saturday 9:57 pm Eastern - YELLOW FLAG LAP 39 - Justin Wakefield has spun in turn two to bring out the yellow.
Saturday 9:56 pm Eastern - GREEN FLAG
Saturday 9:55 pm Eastern - YELLOW FLAG LAP 37 - Tyler Millwood went for a spin in turn three. Spencer Wauters nosed into him trying to get slowed down and Rodney Brooks went for a fast ride outside the track trying to avoid the wreck. Brooks made it back on the track, but Wauters and Millwood are in the pits with damage on their cars.
During this yellow, Corey Williams came down pit road as his crew appeared to look at the right front tire area. He went back out on the track.
Perry Brown still leads Alex Haase, Bubba Pollard, Ryan Sieg and Justin Wakefield.
Saturday 9:50 pm Eastern - GREEN FLAG
Saturday 9:45 pm Eastern - YELLOW FLAG LAP 30 - Zach Stroupe has spun in turn two. Alex Fleming had nowhere to go and ended up hittng Stroupe. A few cars went off the track to avoid the wreck.
Stroupe's car isn't moving, so it looks like the wreckers will be hooking up to his car and he will be done for the night.
Top five: 1) Perry Brown; 2) Alex Haase; 3) Ryan Sieg; 4) Bubba Pollard; 5) Michael Pope.
Saturday 9:43 pm Eastern - GREEN FLAG
Saturday 9:40 pm Eastern - YELLOW FLAG LAP 29 - Tyler Millwood, who was running just out of the top five, spun in turn four. He was able to get his car going as the leader was coming around so he stayed on the lead lap.
Top five: 1) Perry Brown; 2) Alex Haase; 3) Ryan Sieg; 4) Bubba Pollard; 5) Zach Stroupe.
Saturday 9:38 pm Eastern - GREEN FLAG
Saturday 9:35 pm Eastern - YELLOW FLAG LAP 27 - John Batten has spun on the backstretch and off turn three. He did get back going again.
Top five: 1) Perry Brown; 2) Alex Haase; 3) Ryan Sieg; 4) Zach Stroupe; 5) Bubba Pollard.
Saturday 9:31 pm Eastern - Right after the restart, Corey Williams started to drop back like a rock. He ended up pulling onto pit road and the team changed the right front tire. He is now back on the track but a couple laps down.
Saturday 9:29 pm Eastern - GREEN FLAG
Saturday 9:22 pm Eastern - YELLOW FLAG LAP 11 - Multiple cars have wrecked or stopped in turn four after contact occured between Devan Hall and Blake Lehr. Many drivers just stopped to avoid getting wrecked.
Top five during this yellow are: 1) Perry Brown; 2) Alex Haase; 3) Zach Stroupe; 4) Ryan Sieg; 5) Corey Williams.
Saturday 9:20 pm Eastern - GREEN FLAG
Saturday 9:19 pm Eastern - YELLOW FLAG LAP 9 - Jeff Fultz had a flat right front going down the front stretch, going off the track in turn one. He has made it to pit road for service after sparking all the way around the track.
Perry Brown currently leads Alex Haase.
Saturday 9:17 pm Eastern - GREEN FLAG
Saturday 9:14 pm Eastern - YELLOW FLAG LAP 6 - Rodney Brooks went for a spin on the backstretch. He got it righted and continued on.
Perry Brown and Zach Stroupe run in the top two spots.
Saturday 9:14 pm Eastern - GREEN FLAG
Saturday 9:12 pm Eastern - YELLOW FLAG LAP 5 - Alex Fleming took a ride in the dirt on the outside of the track on the backstretch, stopping going into three. He got going once the yellow was out.
Saturday 9:12 pm Eastern - Zach Stroupe took the lead on the restart, then Perry Brown took the lead from Stroupe.
Saturday 9:11 pm Eastern - GREEN FLAG
Saturday 9:08 pm Eastern - YELLOW FLAG LAP 2 - Darryl Shelnut went for a slide down the backstretch grass outside the track. He got back on the track and is good to go.
Saturday 9:07 pm Eastern - Zach Stroupe spun the tires on the start, which allowed Alex Fleming to take the lead on lap 1.
Saturday 9:06 pm Eastern - GREEN FLAG
Saturday 9:03 pm Eastern - A few notes before the green from the pits:
Tony Hirshman, Jr. is on site to spot for David Ragan.
Jeff Fultz said his car was tight in qualifying.
Michael Pope said his car should tighten up for the race.
Bubba Pollard said he should have scuffed some tires before qualifying. He felt by going out without scuffing it hurt his time.
John Batten, who had transmission issues during practice, has everything together and ready to go... he hopes. Since he didn't have any time to shake it down, he hopes the car is ready to race.
Spencer Wauters' car was just way too loose during practice, which caused him to spin off the track earlier in the day. He said he thinks they have it figured out now and are good to go.
Saturday 9:00 pm Eastern - The driver intros are done, the drivers are strapped in and we will be racing shortly.
The redraw occured during the driver meet-and-greet. Zach Stroupe drew the pole position for tonight's race. Here is the top-10 starting order (remainder of the field set by earlier qualifying):
1) 51 Zach Stroupe
2) 05 Alex Fleming
3) 51H Alex Haase
4) 7 Darryl Shelnut
5) 44 Michael Pope
6) 22 Perry Brown
7) Corey Williams
8) Devan Hall
9) 39 Ryan Sieg
10) 26 Bubba Pollard
Saturday 7:10 pm Eastern - The heat races for the local divisions have been completed. There is a little break in the action here before they start their features.
We are going to go down trackside during some of the features to check in with the Super Late Model drivers as well as watch some great local racing action here at Watermelon Capital Speedway. Stay tuned for more coming up shortly.
Saturday 6:35 pm Eastern - Officials have decided to run all local division events tonight before the PASS South autograph session and feature. The local divisions running here are Bandoleros, Mini Stocks, Legends, Pure Stocks and Claimer Cars.
The decision will make David Ragan happy. He was involved in a wreck at Talladega (AL) in the NASCAR Nationwide Series event, finishing well outside the top 10. He is on his way to Cordele to run the #6 car that was qualified by Doug Stevens (timed in 20th).
Saturday 6:30 pm Eastern - All cars for the PASS South Super Late Model race that are here qualify to start the race, but the top-10 drivers will redraw for their starting position. The redraw will happen later in front of the fans.
Saturday 6:15 pm Eastern - The local practice sessions have completed. Their heat races are up next.
Saturday 5:45 pm Eastern - A few notes from the pits:
Dennis Reno is here helping out the #39 team of Ryan Sieg.
Down on pit road, a few names from the old ASA ranks were out chatting about today's race. Bond Suss (helping out the BDI Racing #51 driven by Zach Stroupe) is a former ASA champ with driver Joey Clanton. He was seen talking to Joe Shear, who is a former ASA champ with Johnny Sauter.
When Doug Stevens isn't in the #6 Roderick-owned car that will be later driven tonight by David Ragan, he has been seen right next door talking with Tyler Millwood, helping him get used to the track.
Most drivers here have multiple crew members here helping them out this weekend. Blake Lehr only has one other person here with him - his dad. He is here helping his son on what he called a "good father-son weekend at the track" and he will be spotting for him during the race.
Alex Fleming said right before qualifying that his car wasn't quite where he wanted it to be, but felt it would be good at the end of the race. Obviously it was good enough to time in fifth fastest.
Saturday 5:30 pm Eastern - Local division practice is currently on track.
Saturday 5:25 pm Eastern - Here is the complete results from qualifying:
1) #47 Corey Williams (15.982)
2) #51 Zach Stroupe (16.041)
3) #7 Darryl Shelnut (16.058)
4) #51H Alex Haase (16.072)
5) #05 Alex Fleming (16.096)
6) #22 Perry Brown (16.117)
7) #44 Michael Pope (16.162)
8) #6D Devan Hall (16.164)
9) #26 Bubba Pollard (16.166)
10) #39 Ryan Sieg (16.168)
11) #67 Jeff Fultz (16.209)
12) #98 Justin Wakefield (16.225)
13) #94 Mitch Cobb (16.23)
14) #91 Heath Hindman (16.26)
15) #4 Blake Lehr (16.264)
16) #31 Tyler Millwood (16.273)
17) #20 John Stancill (16.336)
18) #24 Brian Royalty (16.341)
19) #62 Mark Gibson (16.342)
20) #6 Doug Stevens (16.373)
21) #0 Strom Altman (16.404)
22) #5 Spencer Wauters (16.508)
23) #29 Allen Gordon (16.598)
24) #30 Rodney Brooks (17.123)
25) #48 John Batten (no time)
Saturday 5:10 pm Eastern - Corey Williams set a new track record with a burning lap of 15.982 seconds to set fast time for the Watermelon 125. Zach Stroupe timed in second with a 16.041 second lap.
We will have a full rundown shortly.
Saturday 5:10 pm Eastern - During the practice, it was split into four sessions. Here are the top five times from the sessions.
SESSION ONE
1) 51H Alex Haase (16.166)
2) 67 Jeff Fultz (16.176)
3) 7 Darryl Shelnut (16.243)
4) 91 Heath Hindman (16.287)
5) 26 Bubba Pollard (16.344)
SESSON TWO
1) 51H Alex Haase (16.175)
2) 67 Jeff Fultz (16.407)
3) 98 Justin Wakefield (16.441)
4) 05 Alex Fleming (16.466)
5) 6 Doug Stevens (16.474)
SESSON THREE
1) 47 Corey Williams (16.208)
2) 7 Darryl Shelnut (16.309)
3) 51H Alex Haase (16.337)
4) 91 Heath Hindman (16.357)
5) 6 Doug Stevens (16.383)
SESSON FOUR
1) 47 Corey Williams (16.050)
2) 7 Darryl Shelnut (16.066)
3) 51H Alex Haase (16.099)
4) 51 Zach Stroupe (16.131)
5) 98 Justin Wakefield (16.225)
Saturday 4:15 pm Eastern - Due to the quick turnaround, we will not have practice times up before the qualifying starts. We will have some times up afterwards along with complete qualifying results.
We are heading down to the track for qualifying, which is about 15 minutes from kicking off.
Saturday 4:02 pm Eastern - Qualifying will begin at 4:30 pm sharp, so there is a quick turnaround for the teams that practiced during this last session.
Saturday 4:00 pm Eastern - Practice has been completed for the PASS South Super Late Models. Corey Williams was the fastest overall with a 16.050 second lap.
We will try to get a few more times to you here shortly.
Saturday 3:55 pm Eastern - After officials checked with John Batten, it has been determined his transmission is the problem.
Saturday 3:40 pm Eastern - John Batten has stopped his car on the backstretch at the exit to turn two. Report from the officials is that he lost an engine going into turn one.
Also, we are hearing the #14 of Clete Caywood has scratched for the evening and will not race. The team still has the car outside of their hauler, so we are trying to find out what the situation is.
There are still 20 minutes left in practice.
Saturday 3:15 pm Eastern - There are 26 Super Late Model drivers on hand today for the racing action. Here is a list of the drivers.
#0 Strom Altman
#05 Alex Fleming
#4 Blake Lehr
#5 Spencer Wauters
#6 David Ragan (Doug Stevens practicing and qualifying car)
#6H David Hall
#7 Darryl Shelnut
#14 Clete Caywood
#20 John Stancill
#22 Perry Brown
#24 Brian Royalty
#26 Bubba Pollard
#29 Allen Gordon
#30 Rodney Brooks
#31 Tyler Millwood
#39 Ryan Sieg
#44 Michael Pope
#47 Corey Williams
#48 John Batten
#51 Zach Stroupe
#51H Alex Haase
#62 Mark Gibson
#67 Jeff Fultz
#91 Heath Hindman
#94 Mitch Cobb
#98 Justin Wakefield
Saturday 3:10 pm Eastern - Other names from the NASCAR ranks that are expected to be here are SPEED TV's Bob Dillner to support his #51 BDI Racing driver Zach Stroupe, and Kyle Busch is expected to make the trip from 'Dega to support his #51H driver Alex Haase.
Saturday 3:05 pm Eastern - David Ragan's name appears on the top of the #6 machine, but he isn't here yet. Ragan is currently in Talladega (AL) for the NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying and the Nationwide Series race. Doug Stevens has been practicing the car and will qualify it, then Ragan will drive it later this evening when he makes it to the track.
The car is owned by Legends standout Casey Roderick, who is also here spotting for Stevens during practice. If for some reason Ragan cannot get here in time for the race, it is unclear as to who will drive the car in the feature. Roderick told Speed51.com he might just get in the car and race it if Ragan doesn't get here.
Saturday 3:02 pm Eastern - Bill Elliott is on hand to help support his driver Mitch Cobb. According to officials, Elliott's son Chase is also here and will be competing tonight in the Legends Car feature.
Saturday 3:00 pm Eastern - Practice is continuing here at Cordele. There haven't been any major issues during the sessions thus far.
Saturday 1:25 pm Eastern - We are heading down trackside for the driver's meeting, which will be followed by practice. We will have updates from the track after the practice session concludes.
Saturday 12:17 pm Eastern - The cars have been rolling through the tech area this morning. We will get a car count as well as the names of the drivers that are here soon.
Saturday 12:14 pm Eastern - Young racer Tyler Millwood is here with his Super Late Model. Millwood has spent the last couple years racing in Legends as well as the Allison Legacy Series. This season he has moved up to the big cars, running in the ASA Southeast Asphalt Tour. Millwood said he will make multiple appearances during the year in the PASS South series races.
Saturday 12:12 pm Eastern - Alex Fleming's crew was one of the first teams on hand this morning waiting to get in the gate, but the team already had their car out and on a concrete slab outside the race track. Fleming raced at Wake County Speedway in North Carolina last night, so the team drove nearly eight hours after the race to get here and used the time prior to the gate opening to get the car's setup converted over for today's race. Fleming finished fourth last night in the race.
Saturday 12:10 pm Eastern - BDI Racing and their driver Zach Stroupe were greeted last night at Country Inn & Suites in Cordele, one of their weekend sponsors, by a thank you for them participating in the "Help Chevy Help Austism" campaign. They had a table set up with a sign and candy inside their lobby.
Saturday 12:05 pm Eastern - Over 20 cars preregistered for today's event. Already a few more have been seen coming into the track grounds that didn't preregister, so it looks like there will be a good field of cars.
Saturday 12:00 pm Eastern - Good afternoon from Watermelon Capital Speedway in Cordele, Georgia for today's running of the "Watermelon 125" PASS South Super Late Model Series event. The weather is muggy and overcast, and while there is a threat of rain today the hopes are that the complete program will get in.
Normally the Speed51.com "Trackside Now" feature would be located on Speed51.com, but today the Pro All Stars Series and Speed51.com have joined forces to bring you Speed51.com's Trackside Now from Cordele on the brand new PASS site. Both the Pro All Stars Series and Speed51.com hope you enjoy today's coverage of the event.
Here is today's race schedule:
11:00 am - gates open
1:30 pm - PASS Drivers Meeting
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm - PASS SLM practice
4:00 pm - local division entry
4:30 pm - PASS Qualifying
5:15 pm - 6:15 pm - weekly racing division practice (Claimer – 4 Cyl.- Legends – Pure stocks)
6:20 pm - Cordele drivers meeting
6:30 pm - Racing starts
- PASS Last Chance qualifier if needed- Weekly series qualifying heats 6 laps each (Claimer, 4 cyl, Legends, Pure stocks)- Run 2 weekly division features laps TBA7:30 pm (approx) - PASS Cars on track
7:30 pm - 8:20 pm - Meet and Greet
8:30 pm - PASS Event Green flag
Run 2 weekly division features laps TBA
Corey Williams. (51 Sports Photo)
Darryl Shelnut and John Stancill shake their cars down during practice. (51 Sports Photo)
Spencer Wauters went for a slid in turn four during practice, but he was able to continue.. (51 Sports Photo)
Alex Haase was fast during practice. (51 Sports Photo)
The drivers pay attention during the driver's meeting. (51 Sports Photo)
The teams are preparing their cars for practice. (51 Sports Photo)
Alex Fleming and his team work on the car outside of the track before the gates open. (51 Sports Photo)
The new Country Inn and Suites in Cordele greeted and thanked Zach Stroupe and BDI for their efforts to help Chevy Help Autism. (51 Sports Photo)
The entrance sign to Watermelon Capital Speedway. (51 Sports Photo)
The #31 and #6 teams are parked next to each other.. (51 Sports Photo)
Right before he went out to qualify, Corey Williams gave a thumbs up.. (51 Sports Photo)
Zach Stroupe timed in second fastest during Super Late Model qualifying. (51 Sports Photo)
Blake Lehr (seen here at speed) and his father are having a "father-son" day here at Cordele. (51 Sports Photo)
Jeff Fultz gets ready to qualify. (51 Sports Photo)
Bob Dillner and Tony Hirshman, Jr have a laugh before the race. (51 Sports Photo)
Perry Brown takes the checkered flag for a trip around the track.. (51 Sports Photo)
Perry Brown celebrated his win with his team. (51 Sports Photo)
