Deep South Speedway
Pennington earns $2,500 for ruling Deep South
By Brian McLeod
DirtonDirt.com correspondent
Winner Travis Pennington (01) races ahead of Tony Knowles (26) at Deep South. (Brian McLeod)
LOXLEY, Ala. (Nov. 15) — Fresh from establishing a track record at Deep South Speedway during time trials held much earlier in the evening, second-generation driver Travis Pennington of Winston, Ga., wheeled into victory lane in the night's 30-lap Late Model feature as the second night of the Late Model Fall Nationals concluded after 2 a.m. The son of Hall of Fame driver Jack Pennington, who was making his first appearance at the 4/10-mile oval, led every circuit without series challenge except on restarts. | Slideshow | Cliff Williams wins Saturday's Crate feature at Deep South
"It's our first time down here and to set a new track record and win the race, that's a pretty good night," the 18-year-old Pennington said. "I could see those guys getting down there underneath me just a little bit on the restarts, but our car was getting into the corner and also coming off the corner really well, so I knew I could pull away from 'em."
David Breazeale of Four Corners, Miss., crossed the stripe second but was disqualified for a tire infraction, leaving seventh-starting David Ashley of Zachary, La. as the runner-up over Shep Lucas of McKenzie, Ala., Tony Knowles of Tyrone, Ga., and Justin McRee of Woodstock, Ala., who rallied from his 20th starting spot.
Williams Thomas of Phenix City, Ala., ran second most of the race after starting third, but he suffered a flat right-rear tire on the 22nd circuit and retired to the pit area. Knowles took up the chase, testing Pennington on the low side on the double-file restarts until the young driver was able establish a gap between himself and his top challenger heading down the backstretch. Once clear Pennington was never threatened until the next caution, and there were eight of those in the 30-lapper that paid $2,500 to win.
Notes: Pennington's Rocket Chassis has a Clements engine and sponsorship from Milford's Body Shop, C&S Auto Electric, All Star Graphix and Hobbs & Son Grading. ... Runner-up David Ashley drove as a teammate to disqualified David Breazeale in a Voodoo Motorsports team car. ... Cliff Williams of Star, Miss., won the night's Crate Late Model feature. ... Deep South's Late Model Fall Nationals wrap up with a $4,000-to-win Super Late Model event on Sunday, Nov. 16.
Late Model Fall Nationals (Nov. 15): (1) Travis Pennington, (2) David Ashley, (3) Shep Lucas, (4) Tony Knowles, (5) Justin McRee, (6) Ricky Idom, (7) Clint Smith, (8) Bub McCool, (9) Mickey Trosclair, (10) Devin Jones, (11) Chris Hoomes, (12) Jason Phillips (13) James Ward, (14) Chris Smith, (15) Rick Rogers, (16) James Ussery, (17) Randy Little, (18) William Thomas, (19) Neil Baggett, (20) Dingus Griffin, (21) Frank Wilson, (22) Mike Boland, (23) Tony Morris. Disqualified: David Breazeale. Fast qualifier (among 29 cars): Pennington. Consolation race winners: Morris, Boland.
Correction: An earlier version of this story reported the track as a quarter-mile oval; it's 4/10-mile.
