Tazewell Speedway
Ogle tops Hill for Tazewell SAS victory
By Richard Allen
tennesseeracer.comTAZEWELL, Tenn. (Sept. 1) — Billy Ogle Jr. of Knoxville, Tenn., claimed his third Southern All Star Series victory of the season Sunday night at Tazewell Speedway, earning $4,400 at the fifth annual Buddy Rogers Memorial.
Ogle, the 2011 Southern All Stars champion, used a three-wide move on lap two of the 44-lap race to move from fourth to second and later overtook race-long leader Stacy Boles of Claxton, Tenn., on lap 20. | Video
Vic Hill of Mosheim, Tenn., used the low groove to move to second on lap 25 and briefly challenged Ogle for the lead. But Ogle abandoned his high line just in time, moving to the bottom to thwart Hill’s charge before pulling away in lapped traffic.
“When I got to the lead on the bottom, I knew it was good but it was rough,” Ogle said in victory lane. “My crew chief, David Bryant, was telling me to keep my eyes open and to keep doing what I was doing. I saw Vic’s nose at the right time and I went to the bottom.”
Hill settled for second at the finish with Ogle’s Blount Motorsports teammate Tommy Kerr of Maryville, Tenn., taking third. Boles faded back to fourth at the finish with Bryan Hendrix of Knoxville, Tenn., rounding out the top five.
When the green flag waved, Boles went to the early lead from his outside-front-row starting spot with polesitter Jeff Wolfenbarger of Clinton, Tenn., leading Brett Miller of Greeneville, Tenn., and Ogle in the battle for second.
It didn’t take Ogle long to begin his run to the front as he went three-wide on the backstretch during the second lap to move around Wolfenbarger and Miller for the second position.
Boles, meanwhile, moved out to a lead of almost a full straightaway as he picked his way through traffic throughout the early laps. However, a lap-16 caution for the slowing car of Wolfenbarger bunched the field and offered a temporary reprieve from the lapped traffic.
But while the caution gave Boles a break from traffic, it also provided Ogle an opportunity to challenge for the lead. On lap 19, he threw his No. 201 machine into turns one and two under Boles’ No. 11 ride in hopes of claiming the top spot. However, the two cars came together at the exit of turn two and Boles held on to remain out front.
But the next time through that same set of turns, Ogle used the same maneuver. And this time came out with the lead.
Hill moved around Boles for second after a lap-25 restart and began to apply pressure to Ogle. He looked under the leader multiple times, but once traffic again became a factor, Ogle was able to slip away and build a relatively comfortable margin as the remainder of the race ran without caution.
Notes: Ogle’s Blount Motorsports Rocket Chassis is sponsored by Arnold Trucking, Bearden Oil Company, Blount Excavating, Cherokee Millwright, GEOServices, Insurance Partners, Massey Electric, Stowers (CAT) Machinery Corp. and Wine and Spirits Cellar. ... Ogle’s previous Southern All Stars victories came April 6 at Tazewell and Aug. 3 at Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tenn. ... Series points leader Riley Hickman finished seventh. ... Southern All Stars competitors return to action Sept. 7 with its first visit since 2007 to Green Valley Speedway in Glencoe, Ala.
Buddy Rogers Memorial: (1) Billy Ogle, Jr., (2) Vic Hill, (3) Tommy Kerr, (4) Stacy Boles, (5) Bryan Hendrix, (6) Daniel Baggerly, (7) Riley Hickman, (8) Jeff Wolfenbarger (complete results unavailable). Fast qualifier (among 20 cars): Wolfenbarger, 11.18 seconds. Consolation winners: Hickman, Kerr.
