Garvey Rolls To Victory In Thomas Concrete 100 At Gresham Motorsports Park

Mike Garvey and his wife Lisa in Victory Lane (Photo Courtesy of Speed51.com)

Garvey Rolls To Victory In Thomas Concrete 100 At Gresham Motorsports Park
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JEFFERSON, GA (October 9, 2010) – “Last night, we were really, really good. Tonight, we were only about 70 percent, but that was good enough.”

That’s how Mike Garvey summed up his weekend after winning back-to-back Pro Late Model events at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, FL and at Gresham Motorsports Park in Jefferson, GA this weekend.

The long-time Georgia favorite had to work extra hard to take the win in Saturday’s Thomas Concrete 100 at GMP. Garvey and runner-up Colt James waged a furious battle over the 100-circuits on the half-mile GMP oval swapping the lead three times before Garvey took the top spot for good just short of the half-way point.

Running nose-to-tail over the final laps, James stuck a fender under Garvey’s racer several times only to come up a half-car length short of the victory. Michael Lance, Preston Peltier and D.J. Vanderlay completed the top-five finishers.

“Gosh, I got tight at the end of the race,” Garvey stated. “I was a little tight at the start of the race and when it started to get worse, I thought ‘oh no.” Then I found a different line and that started working. Then that went away.

“I gotta thank Cole for running me clean,” Garvey continued. “He could have knocked me out of the way several times and he didn’t. That’s that way you should race. You shouldn’t have to run over people. I really appreciated him not doing that to me and you can be sure I won’t do it to him. It was a really good race. I’m sure the fans enjoyed it.”

Garvey wasn’t the only driver to clean up Saturday at Gresham Motorsports Park as Hoyt Stephens, Jody Trivett, Alexander Fox and William Earnest all scored main event wins.

Stephens, who has had more than his share of bad luck in the past at GMP, came out on the right side of the ledger this time around edging Jason Bates, Terry Martin, David Murphy and Brian Hardman for the win in the 35-lap Outlaw Late Model feature event.

In the Renegade Street Stock main, Trivett won a slam-bang affair holding off Tony Newman, Brian Beckner, Jamie Dills and Rodney Cox at the checkered flag. Meanwhile, Fox got the best of the 13 other starters in the Truck Series headline event taking top honors in front of Andy Gaddis, Aaron Calvert, Cecil Flowe and Brian Huff.

Finally, Earnst won a wild Mini-Stock main event beating Bill George, Allen Cantrell, Ken Candiotti, Sr. and Avery Burgess to the checkered flag.

Remember – all results are unofficial. We’ll post the official race results and the 2010 GMP Pro Late Model, Truck, Mini Stock and Renegade division championship standings Tuesday on www.GreshamMotorsportsPark.com

Next up at Gresham Motorsports Park will be the first-ever Gresham Motorsports Park Road Course event on Saturday, October 16.

It will be a full day of action as the US Legends International Legends and Bandoleros along with the Mini-Cup cars tour the Gresham Motorsports Park oval and the all-new GMP Road Course.

Pit gates open at 7 a.m. with the Legends being the first to take to the GMP quarter-mile oval for practice at 9 a.m. Racing in all divisions on the oval track begins approximately at 11 a.m. next Saturday.

The afternoon session will include practice, qualifying and racing for all divisions on the GMP .075-mile road course. The layout utilizes the full GMP layout including the quarter- and half-mile ovals as well as pit road.

Don’t miss this great event. Spectator Gates open at 9 a.m. Adult Grandstand and Trackside General Admission is just $5.00. Trackside Parking is $5 per vehicle plus cost of general admission tickets.

Gresham Motorsports Park is located just off I-85 at Exit 140, next to the Jackson County Airport in Jefferson. GA.

For more information about Gresham Motorsports Park, please log on to www.GreshamMotorsportsPark.com.

Mike Garvey Makes it Back to Back Wins

Mike Garvey and Colt James Racing Hard a Gresham Motorsports Park

Muskegon's Mike Garvey is quickly becoming the driver to beat in the Pro Late Model Class down south. For the second night Garvey moved quickly to the front. Starting from his 8th place he was the leader by lap 12. Garvey would relinquish the lead only once for the rest of the race as he and Colt James put on show for the fans. James and Garvey raced bumper to bumper and door to door for almost the entire race. On the white flag lap James and Garvey raced side by side down the backstretch. Coming out of turn four Micheal Lance made it three wide at the flagstand. When the checkered waved it was the veteran Garvey taking home the checkers in a classic finish at Gresham Motorsports Park.

UNOFFICIAL results of the Thomas Concrete 100 Pro Late Model event.

1. Mike Garvey
2. Colt James
3. Michael Lance
4. Preston Peltier
5. D.J. Vanderlay
6. Ricky Sanders
7. Brian Blum
8. Shawn Simpson
9. Nick Potts
10. Jeremy Mullinax
11. James Nealis
12. Dalton Grindle
13. Shane Nalley
14. Rodney Benefield
15. Greg Simpson
16. David Odell
17. Darin Cronan
18. Johnny Henderson
19. Giancarlo Serenielli

Mike Garvey wins at Five Flags

Mike Garvey and car owner Tracy Goodson in Victory Lane. (Photo Courtesy of Speed51.com)

As the name suggests, the Allen Turner Tune Up 100 was supposed to be a preview of things to come at Five Flags Speedway in December.

The Pro Late Models didn’t disappoint, as Mike Garvey captured his second straight race and built some essential momentum leading into the 43rd Snowball Derby in December.

Garvey made an early move that will live long in Five Flags’ lore and withstood seven cautions and a bevy of drivers to battling for the lead.

“We’re hitting on some stuff that’s different from everybody else,” said Garvey, a Blizzard Series regular and a part-time NASCAR trucks driver. “Now is a great time to do it.”

The night was bittersweet for D.J. VanderLey, one of those drivers who battled Garvey. The Auburn freshman finished seventh, but did hoist the series championship.

VanderLey had tire troubles on the final restart with three laps to go, falling four spots from third.

If there was any drama as the night started on whether Ronnie Smith could make up his 47-point deficit to VanderLey, it was all sucked out in qualifying. VanderLey (16.880 seconds) was second to Bubba Pollard’s fast time of 16.853. At 17.275, Smith was well back and watched his 47-point deficit climb to 60, clinching the series title for VanderLey.

“We had the right front go flat that’s how that freight train came around us,” VanderLey said. “We’ve had an amazing season. We set a goal to win two track championships and that’s what we accomplished. Tonight was about pride.”

Garvey had reasons to be proud, too, with an incredible piece of racing that saw him climb from the middle of the 24-car field pack all the way to the front by Lap 12.

Following a caution on Lap 2, the two dozen cars stayed single file for the next three laps.

Deciding he had had enough of all the nose-to-tail stuff, Garvey made a move that folks will be talking about for some time.

A lone wolf, Garvey took it to the outside and began to chew up spots the way Five Flags chews up tires. In one trip around the half-mile oval, Garvey was up to fifth.

The part-time NASCAR trucks driver wasn’t content there, though. Fourth was his thanks to the high-side, then third. In a matter of seconds, Garvey was around VanderLey for second.

By Lap 12, he had weaved around Odom for the lead, culminating a spectacular and improbable piece of driving because Five Flags puts so much emphasis on the track’s apron.

“It was just there,” Garvey said. “We didn’t plan on it. It opened up so we went. It was just one of those nights.”

A night that saw him hold off charges from VanderLey, Pollard, Jason Young and Kezie Ruston among others.

Ruston, an 18-year-old female driver from Oklahoma, was impressive late. After the sixth restart, she made her move around VanderLey for second and had her eye on the lead.

She put the bumper to Garvey and was eyeing up a possible pass on Lap 90 when she spun down the back straightaway.

Afterward, Ruston’s crew thought VanderLey spun her, but he insisted he never touched his fellow teenager.

“It got a bit crazy at the end,” VanderLey said.

Just another night at the half-mile oval.

In only Garvey's third time in a Pro Late Model he has won twice. Tonight he will go for another win when he competes in the Thomas Concrete PLM 100 at Gresham Motorsports Park.

You can listen live tonight at 9:30 on Racetalkradio.com

Allen Turner Tune Up results�1.Mike Garvey; 2. Bubba Pollard; 3. Johanna Long; 4. Brandon Bendele; 5. Kenzie Ruston; 6. Mike Alexander; 7. D.J. VanderLey; 8. Dwayne Buggay; 9. Kyle Bryant; 10. Brandon Odom; 11. Giancarlo Serenelli; 12. Ronnie Smith; 13. Donny Kelly; 14. Troy Grisaffi; 15. Jason Young; 16. David Jones; 17. Logan Boyett; 18. Eddie Craig; 19. Robert Royce; 20. Shanna Ard; 21. Ricky Vice; 22. Josh Godwin; 23. Tommy Rollins; 24. Mason Mitchell

Berlin Run What you Brung!

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VanDoorn All but Claims the CRA Championship for 2010

VanDoorn Finishes 6th at Nashville-Inches Towards Second Championship

Johnny VanDoorn fought an ill handling race car all weekend at the Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville, Tennessee. Johnny qualified 15th and drove to a 6th place finish in what might very well be the last All American 400 weekend.

“The car was too tight all weekend. This is the second race that we have been off with the chassis. We will have to go to work and find out what is wrong so we will be ready to run upfront for the Winchester 400 in a couple weeks” VanDoorn said.

With his sixth place finish, VanDoorn only has to start the Winchester 400 on October 17th to clinch his second consecutive CRA Championship.