Submitted by: Lamar McClellan
Photo credits, Eric Gano, EPA Photography
131 racers converged on the racing surface at EAMS in Phenix City this weekend to compete in the 2017 Bama Bash. Here is my recap of that event:
EAMS Late Model (40 Laps): (UNOFFICIAL - Tire protest on #5 by #92 - results of testing on tire samples will be posted later this week)
1 - #5 Mark Whitener - started 3rd and took the lead early - hard to beat here
2 - #92 Joseph Brown - started 5th and moved up slowly to challenge late
3 - #27 Larry Harrod - from 4th, was a bear on that top line once it came in
4 - #110 Rick Culpepper - started way back in 13th and found the track to his liking as the race progressed
5 - #26 Jimmy Sharp, Jr. - started on the pole but couldn't stay up there
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| Mark Whitener |
604 Crate Late Model (40 Laps):
1 - #5 Mark Whitener - started 4th and moved to the top around mid-way to take the lead and never gave it up
2 - #27 Larry Harrod - started 8th, moved immediately into the top 5 at the start, was 4th by lap 4, fell back to 7th by mid-way, but then was one of the 1st ones to move to the top groove and used that to get all the way to 2nd
3 - #101 Forrest Trent - started on the pole, fell back to 8th in the early going, but moved back into the top 5 by mid-way
4 - #57 Shep Lucas - big mover of the day, starting 25th, was 16th by lap 4, back to 24th by lap 10, up to 13th by lap 16, into the top 10 by mid-way, and cracked the top 5 right at the end
5 - #P4 Jamie Perry - started 5th, took the lead early, and lead up to mid-race before getting passed by #5 using the top line, was still 2nd at lap 38, but lost 3 positions right at the end
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| Mark Heatherly |
602 Late Model Sportsman (25 Laps):
1 - #5 Mark Heatherly - started on the pole and lead them all in dominant fashion
2 - #25 Wiley McDaniel - started 2nd and ran 2nd the whole race - never could mount much of a challenge for the lead
3 - #19 Josh Cox - started tail of the field and worked the high side right from the start - up to 9th by lap 2, 7th by lap 4, 6th by lap 5, moved into the top 5 by lap 10, 4th by lap 15, and 3rd by lap 16 - GREAT RUN
4 - #6 Donovan Singer - started 3rd, had to go to the rear after a spin on lap 4, and steadily charged back up to the front, moving into the top 5 by lap 20 and lost a battle with #19 for 3rd over the last couple of laps
5 - #17 Jason Price - started 5th, took 4th at the start and then spun on lap 3 and went to the back of the pack, was back in the top 10 by lap 10, and took 5th on the last lap
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| Jason Price |
Hobby (20 Laps):
1 - #17 Jason Price - lead them all, though gave up the lead to #21 on a restart that didn't count
2 - #21 Corey Dunn - started 3rd and ran 2nd all the way
3 - #23 Kyle Conyer - started 2nd and ran 3rd all the way
4 - #9 Robby Metts - started 5th and ran top 5 all day
5 - #7 Billy Nipper - started 4th, fell back to 6th, then ran 4th & 5th all race
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| Tyler Brown |
Street Stock (20 Laps):
1 - #4 Tyler Brown - started 5th, up to 3rd by lap 5, 2nd by lap 12, to the lead by lap 18
2 - #122 Bud Chancey - started on the pole, fell to 2nd, then back to the lead up until lap 18
3 - #02 Tyler Turvin - started 7th, top 5 by lap 5, went from 4th to 2nd in the final 2 laps
4 - #133 Kyle Livingood - started 6th, ran top 5 all day
5 - #07 Steven Pate - started 3rd, ran 2nd and 3rd most of the race, lost 2 spots on the last 2 laps
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| Steven Jenson, Jr. |
Road Warriors (20 Laps):
1 - #58 Steven Jenson, Jr. - lead from the start, dropped to 2nd on lap 8, on lap 12 ran off the track in turn 3 dropping to 7th, moved back into the top 5 by lap 18, 2nd by lap 19, and took the lead on a last lap pass for the win
2 - #14 Timothy Goforth - started 2nd, fell back to 4th, took the lead on lap 8 and held it until getting passed on the last lap
3 - #999 Chandler Diem - started 5th, ran 2nd, 3rd, and 4th all race, including a spin on lap 15, then climbed back to 3rd
4 - #33 Michael Woods - started 4th, ran as high as 2nd, but ended up 4th
5 - #17 Bo Robinson - started 6th, fell back to 9th, ran as high as 4th on lap 17, then came home 5th
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| Tim Ladd |
KMSA Mini Stocks (20 Laps):
1 - #12 Tim Ladd - started 6th, up to 3rd by lap 3, spun on lap 4 and went to the rear, on the restart he moved to the top and was picking them off in every turn, 8th on lap 5, 3rd on lap 7, 2nd by lap 9, and to the lead on lap 10 - GONE!!!
2 - #47 JJ Garrett - started 3rd, 2nd by lap 3, back to 3rd and up to 2nd
3 - #1 Bo Minor - started 2nd, to the lead on lap 2, to 2nd on lap 10, 3rd on lap 14
4 - #28 Jeremy Griffith - started 8th, top 5 by lap 4, dropped back to 7th and then charged back into top 5 at the end
5 - #21 Todd Brewster - started 12th, top 10 by lap 2, up to 3rd by lap 4, then back to 4th & 5th the rest of the race
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| Lee Hutchinson |
Hot Shots (15 Laps):
1 - #28 Lee Hutchinson - started 2nd and lead them all
2 - #5M Terry Merritt - started 5th, up to 2nd by lap 3 where he finished
3 - #43 Tommy Lowery - started 6th, ran 3rd and 4th, settling into 3rd by lap 7
4 - #1 Bryan Britton - started 4th, ran 3rd most of the day, settling into 4th by lap 9 where he finished
5 - #5 Chance Renfroe - started 8th, moved to 5th by lap 3, to the rear on lap 5, and then back into the top 5 on the last lap
EAMS starts its regular season of weekly racing this coming Saturday evening, March 11th with racing in 6 championship divisions: EAMS Late Model, 602 Late Model Sportsman, Hobby, Street Stock, Cruiser (Road Warrior), and Hot Shots.
