Smoky Mountain Speedway
White climbs Mountain, wins third series crown
From series reports
Anthony White gets past Skip Arp early in the race. (www.mrmracing.net)
MARYVILLE, Tenn. (Sept. 29) — At mid-season, it appeared two-time champion Anthony White's stranglehold on the Advance Auto Parts Thunder Series might be over. But the Clinton, Tenn., roared down the stretch, winning three of the final four events, including the season final at Mountain Raceway Park to win his third series championship.
In the finale, White took the lead from Mike Weeks on the 10th lap and held off Skip Arp the remainder of the 50-lapper to earn $5,000. That gave him the points title over contenders Rick Rogers (who finished fifth) and Tommy Kerr (who was 21st).
Arp pressured White but settled for second while Randy Weaver, Vic Hill and Rogers rounded out the top five. Weeks faded to finish 15th.
“I owe it all to these guys right here," White said, pointing at crew members. "They never gave up, especially after we got a little behind after falling out of so many races. This one is special because we had to fight real hard for it at the end and to come here and win again at a track that I wasn’t very good at makes it even better."
Notebook
White's home-built DWB Chassis is sponsored by Stone Plus, Mike Ruble Auto Body and Allstar Performance. ... White earned an additional $1,200 for winning the Sunoco Shootout. ... Among drivers failing to make the feature lineup: Gary McPherson, Mike Hill, Brett Wyatt, Tim Damron, Bobby Giffin, Billy Ogle Jr., David Webb and Mark Douglas, who flipped his No. 52 in a consolation race but wasn't injured. ... Mike Weeks set fast time with a 15.74-second lap, a track record. ... Randy Weaver and Rick Rogers won consolation races. ... The event drew 41 cars.
Mountain Raceway Park: (1) Anthony White, (2) Skip Arp, (3) Randy Weaver, (4) Vic Hill, (5) Rick Rogers, (6) David Payne, (7) Ray Cook, (8) Roger Best, (9) Mark Vineyard, (10) Dusty Carver, (11) Brandon Kinzer, (12) Tommy Bailey, (13) Dan Tipton, (14) Tony Martin, (15) Mike Weeks, (16) Jody Teffeteller, (17) Steve Smith, (18) Richard Smith, (19) Todd Morrow, (20) Joe Armes, (21) Tommy Kerr, (22) Tony Schrimsher, (23) David Crabtree, (24) Mike Marlar.
