The most recent stop for the Topless Outlaws Dirt Late Model Series — Tri-County Race Track, in Brasstown, North Carolina — challenged the mettle of the points leaders. Three of the top-five experienced troubles, shuffling the point standings.
Chase King entered the event with a slim four-point lead over second-place Kyle Courtney. King, of Seymour, Tennessee, started the feature on the pole, and led early on. Then, it went downhill. His race ended early when his rear end broke. King finished 16th, which dropped him to second in points, 11 markers out of first.
Jed Emert, of Maryville, Tennessee, sat third in the standings. His night took a turn for the worse when his car started “spitting out water.” He shut the car down to save the engine from potential injury. Emert placed 14th, and fell back to fifth in the point standings.
Courtney, of Knoxville, Tennessee, took over the points lead after the race — but not without collateral damage. His engine let go with two laps to go. Nevertheless, his performance was good enough for a 10th-place finish.
Austin Neely, of New Tazewell, Tennessee, finished quietly in sixth, and maintained his fourth-place spot in the standings.
The biggest mover, was “The Chattanooga Flash,” of Ronnie Johnson. He kept his nose clean and cruised to the victory at Tri-County Race Track. His finish propelled him from fifth to third in the standings.
“I used to come here on Thursday nights in 1976,” said Johnson, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, in victory lane. “I worked for my dad in Cleveland [Tennessee], we would bring the race car and race.”
The Topless Outlaws Dirt Racing Series hosts a doubleheader this weekend, with a Friday stop at Boyd’s Speedway in Ringgold, Georgia, and a Saturday stop at Mountain View Raceway in Spring City, Tennessee.
Watch this five-minute highlight reel from Richard Ford of Speedway Videos Production for more on what happened during the last Topless Outlaws race.
Note: Story includes reporting by J.A. Ackley.
Outside Groove contributor Richard “Flipper” Ford’s history in racing dates back to 1986. He started in the sport by wheeling an outlaw mini around the ¼-mile paved oval of Corpus Christi Speedway in Texas. He first got behind the camera in 1995 and has covered the sport since then. Ford and his wife, Tammy, own and operate Speedway Videos Production, of Knoxville, Tennessee.
