Garvey Picks Up Diamondback Win at South Alabama Speedway

By Mark Chisum

Mike Garvey has been one of the hottest Late Model drivers in the Southeast this season, with several wins and top five finishes. He continued his pace Saturday night at South Alabama Speedway, taking the win in the Viper Series Diamondback 100.

Justin South turned a few heads by leading the way in qualifying, turning a lap of 15.279 seconds, more than a tenth quicker that Chris Davidson. South drew the #1 pill in the inversion draw, retaining his pole position. Korey Ruble, third fastest in time trials drew the #2 pill and lined up on the outside of the front row. Ruble was quickest when the green flew, however, and took the early lead over South, Garvey, Brandon Bendele, and R.S. Senter.

While South and Garvey contested for the second spot, Ruble eased away to a four car length lead. Garvey and South swapped positions at the line a couple of times before Garvey grabbed the position for good on lap fourteen. Ruble’s lead was erased with a lap 17 caution and that’s all Garvey needed.

When the race went back green, it only took Garvey one lap to move past Ruble to take the lead. Garvey was able to get a little separation from Ruble, but not much as Ruble remained no more than two car lengths back. On lap 41, Davidson, who started sixth, moved past South into third. Garvey led Ruble, Davidson, South, and Bendele to the halfway mark.

There was one caution on lap 66 that brought the field back together, Back under green, Garvey maintained a one to two car length lead over Ruble. Davidson followed about the same distance behind Ruble. On lap 82, South got hung up behind a lapped car, and Bendele and DJ Vanderley slipped past. South fought back and regained the fifth from Vanderley, but Bendele was far ahead. With laps running down, Garvey began to ease away from the field.

Garvey led Ruble to the stripe by 1.347 seconds. Davidson followed in third. Bendele, making his first start at South Alabama, finished fourth with South finishing fifth. Davidson leads the Viper Series by five points over Ruble. Brandon Odom is third.

In the Modified Feature, Ricky Brooks grabbed the lead from the outside pole and led all 25 laps to take the win. Kip Whitehead ran second for before Heath Mills took over on lap seven. Brooks was too much for Mills on this night and he eased away with the race going green for the distance. Whitehead was able to hold on to third despite battling overheating problems late in the race. Cameron Henderson finished fourth with Mario Lupi fifth.

Kim Bishop returned to action in the Roadrunner Feature and returned to his normal post race home – Victory Lane. Mike Wolfe led the first the first four laps before Ricky Strickland worked his way to the inside to grab the point. Strickland led for three laps before Bishop sped by to take control of the race. Bishop pulled away to a comfortable lead that he maintained to the end. Strickland finished second with Wolfe third. Nick Petrie and Dee Bucklew rounded out the top five.

Joseph Chandler came back to win the Coyote feature after almost seeing it slip away in the final five laps. Chandler started eighth, but moved all the way to the front of the field on the first lap. Chandler led the first 21 laps of the 25 lap feature, but had constant pressure from Lee Rogers. On the 22^nd circuit, Chandler fell off the pace, and Rogers raced by into the lead. Chandler regained his speed and two laps later Rogers slowed and Chandler regained the top spot. Chandler led the final two laps to take the win. Danny Thompson came from the sixth starting spot to finish second. Rogers was still circling the track and came off turn four in third place. However, Rusty Locklar and James Harris were coming in a hurry. Locklar won the drag race from turn four to take third and Harris nosed ahead of Rogers at the stripe to take fourth.

Jack Whittle took the lead on lap seven and went on to win the CupLite feature. Shep Lucas led the first six laps before Whittle took control. Whittle led the final 19 laps to take the win. Rick Northey was third, followed by Waylon Spivey and Jason Fowler.

In the Mini Sportsman Feature, Dustin Monday took the lead on lap 11 and went on to win. Lon Howell led the first five laps before Adam Salter took the lead on lap six. Salter led until Monday made the winning pass on lap eleven. Salter followed Monday the rest of the way. Paul Gay finished third, followed by Lon Howell and Donnie Howell.

South Alabama Speedway will remain closed for the next two weeks. The next scheduled races at the Kinston oval are June 9. With the success of the May 19 “Fan Appreciation Night”, the track has announced that the June 9 races will be another “Fan Appreciation” night. The Viper Series will once again headline the night’s schedule with the Timber 100. In addition to the Pro Late Models, the Modified, Street Stock, Roadrunner, Coyote, and CupLite classes will be in action. Admission for the night will be just $5.00 for ages 6-60. Everybody else will be admitted free. For more information, contact the track at (334) 565-3539, or visit the track’s web site at www.southalabamaspeedway.com.

Results

Pro Late Model

Viper Series

Diamondback 100

1. Mike Garvey

2. Korey Ruble

3. Chris Davidson

4. Brandon Bendele

5. Justin South

6. DJ Vanderley

7. Brandon Odom

8. Ricky Brooks

9. Tony Clark

10. Clay Alexander

11. Andy Hogan

12. Spencer Davis

13. RS Senter

14. Shankey Smith

15. Kyle Bryant

16. Matthew Wragg

17. Lance Blacker

18. Mason Massey

19. Ryan Redmon

DNS Zak Hausler

Modified

1. Ricky Brooks

2. Heath Mills

3. Kip Whitehead

4. Cameron Henderson

5. Mario Lupi

6. Jacob Permenter

7. Terry Davis

8. David Beale

9. Chris Cotto

Roadrunner

1. Kim Bishop

2. Ricky Strickland

3. Mike Wolfe

4. Nick Petrie

5. Dee Bucklew

6. Bobby Rhodes

Coyote

1. Joseph Chandler

2. Danny Thompson

3. Rusty Locklar

4. James Harris

5. Lee Rogers

6. TonyTidwell

7. Dylan Wolfe

8. Ralph Sanders

9. Chris Johnson

10. Michael Piland

CupLite

1. Jack Whittel

2. Shep Lucas

3. Rick Northey

4. Waylon Spivey

5. Jason Fowler

6. Karl Williams

7. Carroll Williams

8. Dylan Northey

9. Will Mack

Mini Sportsman

1. Dustin Monday

2. Adam Salter

3. Paul Gay

4. Lon Howell

5. Donnie Howell

6. Keith Huthinson

7. Chris Salter