Chris Ferguson Holds Off Greg Satterlee for 35th Annual TireX USA 100 Victory
(Ultimate portion by Kelley Carlton) Jamaica, Virginia (May 17, 2014) – Chris Ferguson and his small family owned race team have won some big events over the years and Ferguson is generally thought of as one of the most talented drivers in the Southeast. Yet he still seemed to lack a “signature” victory. Well that was until Saturday night at Virginia Motor Speedway when the 23 year old Mt. Holly, North Carolina driver battled his way to the win in the ULTIMATE Super Late Model Series sanctioned 35th Annual TireX USA 100. “This is a huge win for us. We have won a race with this kind of purse but not with this level of competition. Both of the guys that finished right behind us (Gregg Satterlee and Jonathan Davenport) are ranked among the top 25 in the country right now. And Rambo (Franklin) and Casey Roberts are 2 of the best there is in this area. So this is really up there among my biggest wins of all time.” Ferguson said in Victory Lane. The evening was kicked off with VP Race for the Pole Qualifying. Jonathan Davenport topped all entrants with a lap of 17.044 second around the big ½ mile facility. Satterlee was 2nd quick followed by Ferguson, Brandon Overton and Walker Arthur. Time trials set the fields for the two 25-lap TireX Qualifier Races. The top 11 drivers from each of the TireX Qualifier Races transferred to the 50-lap USA 100 feature. Ferguson outdueled Davenport in the first preliminary event to capture the pole position for the feature. While Satterlee scored the win in the second ahead of Overton to take the outside pole. Provisional starts went to Jeff Smith and Dean Bowen. At the drop of the green flag for the 50-lap feature Satterlee was able to outgun Ferguson for the lead off of turn 2 of the opening lap to take the point. However Ferguson wouldn’t make it easy on the Rochester Mills, Pennsylvania driver. Over the opening 5 laps Ferguson ducked inside and pulled even with Satterlee to challenge for the lead. Each time Satterlee was able to answer and keep Ferguson at bay. Satterlee was able to open up some daylight for a short time until he began to encounter back-marker traffic. The lapped machines allowed Ferguson to close back in on the leader. And on lap 11 Ferguson moved by Satterlee amid heavy lapped traffic. Satterlee slid back several positions as Davenport, Russell Erwin, Overton and Franklin all moved past the early race leader. “I just couldn’t catch a break with the lapped cars. They didn’t do anything wrong. I just caught them at the wrong times and some were running the line I needed. When I fell back I knew I had to regroup and try to get going.” Satterlee said after the event. Meanwhile Friday night’s ULTIMATE victor at County Line Raceway, Russell Erwin made his way past Overton and Davenport to take over the runner-up spot. Erwin had a fast race car and immediately began to cut into Ferguson’s advantage. As the field was approaching the halfway point of the race Erwin had caught Ferguson and was looking to make the move for the lead. However Erwin’s hopes for a weekend sweep ended on lap 24 with a large puff of smoke from under the hood of his MasterSbilt by Huey machine. Ultimately engine failure ended the Beaverdam, Virginia racer’s weekend. With the field reset for the restart it was Davenport and Franklin who stepped up to go after the leader. However when the green reappeared Ferguson was able to get away a bit as the remainder of the top 5 waged war for position. As the laps began to wane Satterlee moved up to the top and began making his way back to the front. With just 4 laps remaining Satterlee found clear racetrack between himself and Ferguson. Satterlee hammered the cushion and pulled to Ferguson’s rear deck. Satterlee kept his Rocket pinned to the high line entering turn 3 and then crossed over to put his nose inside of Ferguson. But Satterlee’s high-side charge was temporarily slowed when Ferguson moved to the top of 1 and 2 to make the move around Jeff Smith to put him a lap in arrears. Satterlee was glued to Ferguson and as the duo took the white flag Satterlee appeared poised to make his move. But as the leaders entered the final set of corners Satterlee drove in just a bit too deep and jumped the cushion. The loss of momentum allowed Davenport to sneak past for 2nd but Satterlee crossed over and made a hard charge on the bottom to recover to retake second. Up front Ferguson cruised off of turn 4 to take the 0.4 second victory. “This is just a huge win for us. I feel like I gave one away last night at County Line. I got a little impatient with lap cars and changed my line. Tonight it all just seemed to fall into place. I moved up to get by a lapper just at the right time. The bottom had started to go away and when I moved up I found a little something there in the middle and thankfully it was good enough to get us here. I can’t thank my dad Brian Conard and my brother Brandon who is my crew chief for all that they do. We really couldn’t do this if it wasn’t for them and all of my family and our great sponsors. Everybody that helps us is so important to our program. Thanks to all of these fans that came out tonight. I hope we put on a good show for them. Also thanks to Mr. Sawyer and everyone here at Virginia Motor Speedway. I love this place and it feels great to win this race here.” Ferguson said after the race. It took three starts to get the Budweiser Modified 25 feature under way but once under green Jimmy Duncan took the lead and pulled away from the field. Eighth starting Matt Quade worked his way to the front and on lap 8 got under Duncan to battle for the lead. The two raced side by side for the next three laps before Quade would finally grab the lead out of turn 2. Once out front Quade pulled away from the field to go on to take the win followed by Ryan Toole, fifteenth starting Matt Marshall, Jimmy Duncan and Brian Maxey. Brett Adkins finally made to victory lane in the Truckin Thunder Sportsman with a pass on then leader Jeremiah Marshall on lap 13. Marshall paced the field for the first nine laps with no pressure from anyone. On lap 10 Brett Adkins finally got to the bumper of Marshall and began to pressure the rookie driver. On lap 13 Marshall made a small mistake and that was all Adkins needed to take the lead. Once out front Adkins pulled away for the win. Rounding out the top five were Hunter Shelton, Jeremiah Marshall, Davey Pullen and 12 year old Macey Causey. The Collision One Limited Stock feature came down to the final lap again. Brian Bradley paced the field with a ton of action going on behind him. On lap 12 point leader Brandon Sandridge had moved into the second and was closing on Bradley for the lead. Bradley would hold off Sandridge during several restarts after cautions. On the final lap Sandridge dove under Bradley in turn 2 to take the lead. In turn 3 Bradley tried the crossover move and got to his inside and the two raced back to the finish line with Sandridge taking the win by inches over Bradley. Rounding out the top five were Chad Champion, Matthew Cook and Stephen Childress. The speedway will take next Saturday May 26th off to celebrate the Memorial Day holiday and return to racing on Saturday May 31st for Virginia Army National Guard Dirt Series Night. The night will feature the very popular “Twin Race” format or the Victory Lap Late Model, Aaron’s Pro Late Model, Truckin Thunder Sportsman, Budweiser Modified and Collision One Limited Stock Car divisions. Competitor gates for Saturday May 31st will open at 4pm with spectator gates opening at 5pm. On track activities will begin at 6:30pm with hot laps, fifteenth starting Matt Marshall, Jimmy Duncan and Brian Maxey rounding out the top five. Divisions scheduled to race on Saturday: Victory Lap Late Models (Twin 20 Laps); Aaron’s Pro Late Models (Twin 15 Laps); Budweiser Modifieds (Twin 15 Laps); Truckin Thunder Sportsman (Twin 15 laps) and the Collision One Limited Stock Cars (Twin 12 laps). All divisions will run Hot Lap Time Trials and Features. Admission price for Adults $12, seniors (60+) $10; military (active/retired w/ proper I.D.) $8, students 13 – 17 years old $6, children 7 to 12 $4 and children 6 and under admitted free. We offer a family pass for $25 (two adults and two children 12 and under). Pit passes will be $20. To enhance the fans racing experience the speedway has installed a short wave FM transmitter and all of the evening’s action can be heard at 95.5 FM. So bring your portable radio headset and enjoy hearing all the action. Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway is a ½ mile dirt oval track is located on U.S. Route 17, eight miles north of Saluda, VA and 25 miles south of Tappahannock, VA in Jamaica, VA. The speedway is just a short drive from Richmond, Fredericksburg, Southern Maryland and the Hampton Roads area. Race fans can go to www.vamotorspeedway.com to view the complete schedule Virginia Motor Speedway’s 2014 season, find detailed event information, get the latest news, and get complete ticket and camping information. In addition, fans can get social with Virginia Motor Speedway by following @vamotorspeedway on Twitter, clicking “Like” at www.facebook.com/VaMotorSpeedway and on www.youtube.com/VaMotorSpeedway. MEDIA CONTACT: DAVE SEAY (804) 758-1867 OR (804) 357-7223 RACE RESULTS FOR 35TH ANNUAL TIREX USA 100, SATURDAY MAY 17, 2014: Ultimate Super Late Models (27 Cars): Qualifier 1 (25 Laps – Top 11 transfer): 1. Chris Ferguson, 2. Jonathan Davenport, 3. Russell Erwin, 4. Casey Roberts, 5. Walker Arthur, 6. Dan Stone, 7. Ricky Elliott, 8. Glenn Elliott, 9. Mike Gault, 10. Anthony Sanders, 11. Jonathan Edwards, 12. Douglas Davis, 13. Jeff Smith, 14. Scott Autry, Qualifier 2 (25 Laps – Top 11 transfer): 1. Greg Satterlee, 2. Brandon Overton, 3. Dennis Franklin, 4. Kyle Pierce, 5. Pierce McCarter, 6. Jason Covert, 7. Joey Coulter, 8. Luke Roffers, 9. Brian Ledbetter, 10. Doug Sanders, 11. Austin Hubbard, 12. Dean Bowen, 13. Ross Robinson A Main: 1. Chris Ferguson, 2. Greg Satterlee, 3. Jonathan Davenport, 4. Dennis Franklin, 5. Brandon Overton, 6. Austin Hubbard, 7. Casey Roberts, 8. Jason Covert, 9. Walker Arthur, 10. Dan Stone, 11. Pierce McCarter, 12. Ricky Elliott, 13. Kyle Pierce, 14. Glenn Elliott, 15. Joey Coulter, 16. Jeff Smith, 17. Anthony Sanders, 18. Brian Ledbetter, 19. Doug Sanders, 20. Russell Erwin, 21. Luke Roffers, 22. Dean Bowen, 23. Jonathan Edwards, 24. Mike Gault Fast Qualifier: Jonathan Davenport – 17.044 seconds Truckin Thunder Sportsman 25 Lap Feature (14 Cars): A Main: 1. Brett Adkins, 2. Hunter Shelton, 3. Jeremiah Marshall, 4. Davey Pullen, 5. Macy Causey, 6. Michael Hayes, 7. Chad Beahr, 8. Matt Ashworth, 9. Hunter Ashworth, 10. Corey Reid, 11. Carl Vaughan, 12. Junior Carter, 13. James Bunn, DNS: James Snead Fast Qualifier: Hunter Shelton – 20.988 seconds Budweiser Modifieds 25 Lap Feature (19 Cars): A Main: 1. Matt Quade, 2. Ryan Toole, 3. Matt Marshall, 4. Jimmy Duncan, 5. Brian Maxey, 6. Joey Polevoy, 7. Brandon Galloway, 8. Travis LaRoque, 9. Aaron Harris, 10. Stephen Bryant, 11. Kelly Samuels, 12. Gary Long, 13. Josh Harris, 14. Lance Grady, 15. Charlie Hubbard, 16. Robbie Babb, 17. Dan Arnold, 18. Mike Reynolds, 19. Francis Jarrelle III Fast Qualifier: Matt Quade – 18.896 seconds Collision One Limited Stock Cars 20 Lap Feature (15 Cars): A Main: 1. Brandon Sandridge, 2. Brian Bradley, 3. Ryan Hutchens , 4. Chad Champion, 5. Matthew Cook, 6. Stephen Childress, 7. Chris Maxey, 8. Daniel Alford, 9. Stephanie Stallings, 10. Andrew Tarbox, 11. Benjamin Lowry, 12. Christopher Sibley, 13. Chris Champion, 14. James Givens, 15. Cole Johnston Fast Qualifier: Stephen Childress – 22.956 seconds...
