ROME, Ga. (July 20) — The nation's oldest Dirt Late Model series got its youngest winner. Travis Pennington, 17, led all 50 laps at Rome Speedway for a $5,000 victory on the 26-year-old O'Reilly Southern All Star Racing Series. The Winston, Ga., racer, the son of National Dirt Late Model Hall of Famer Jack Pennington, thanked his parents for helping him to early success. | Slideshow

"This is a huge win for us," said Pennington, the nephew of dirt racing legends Leon Sells and Stan Massey. "My car was just so perfect. It was easy to drive. I could move around anywhere on the track that I needed to and the car would drive the same. Dad had a great setup on the car and tonight was just our night."

The polesitting youngster took command at the outset and was lapping slower competitors after just 10 laps at the 4/10-mile oval. Only cautions kept contenders close to him as he flashed across the finish line a half-track ahead of fifth-starting Jamie Perry of Ringgold, Ga. Ivedent Lloyd Jr. of Ocala, Fla., who ran as high as second, finished third followed by a rallying Billy Ogle of Knoxville, Tenn. Front-row starter Robert Gant of Flat Rock, Ala., rounded out the top five as the Southern All Stars wrapped up a tripleheader weekend. Skip Arp won the opener at North Georgia Speedway in Chatsworth, Ga., while Jimmy Owens won the previous night at Cleveland (Tenn.) Speedway. Owens was the second fastest qualifier at Rome behind Pennington, but he scratched for the night after weighing in too light following time trials.

Notes: Pennington's car is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and sponsored by Milford's Body Shop. ... Fourth-starting Dusty Chitwood faded to finish 15th. ... Ricky Williams slowed to draw the first of three cautions. ... The series heads to Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Ala., on July 26 for the 11th annual Michael Head Jr. Memorial, which pays $5,400 to the winner.

O'Reilly SAS @ Rome: (1) Travis Pennington, (2) Jamie Perry, (3) Ivedent Lloyd Jr., (4) Billy Ogle Jr., (5) Robert Gant, (6) Jake Knowles, (7) Rodney Martin, (8) Todd Morrow, (9) Jason Fitzgerald, (10) Derek Ellis, (11) Tim Day, (12) Ronnie Johnson, (13) Lee Sutton,n (14) Luther Jenkins, (15) Dusty Chitwood, (16) Don Jenkins, (17) Anthony Hill, (18) Mike Bruner, (19) Buster Goss, (20) David Burton, (21) Ricky Williams, (22) Danny Ferguson, (23), Jay Smith, (24) Michael Akeson. Fast qualifier (among 28 cars): Pennington, 14.109 seconds. Consolation race winners: Knowles, Fitzgerald. Provisional starters: Akeson, Bruner.