Ashley a runner-up no more - takes O'Reilly SUPR/MSCCS Challenge!

Ashley a runner-up no more - takes O'Reilly SUPR/MSCCS Challenge!

Baton Rouge, Louisiana (May 29, 2005) – Rain was all around Baton Rouge Raceway and the track took a heavy downpour in the morning but despite circumstances that seemed to conspire against racing, racing happened. David Ashley’s overcame his own challenges to take the victory as his motor held together long enough to hold off the constant pressure from Ronnie Lee Hollingsworth to take round one of the challenge.

Ashley visited victory lane for the first time in 2005 after recording five runner-up finishes in O'Reilly SUPR competition. Ashley started on the outside pole in his Thornhill Wrecker/Serco/Wyatt’s Collision Center/Wall2Wall Performance Engines Larry Shaw Chevrolet Monte Carlo and was able to outgun Hollingsworth at the start. But Hollingsworth would not go away, constantly pressuring Ashley particularly in the later stages of the race as Ronnie Lee looked a bit stronger off the corners but Ashley was able to hold his line, the same line Hollingsworth needed and the duo reached the checkers nose to tail.

Ashley was quick to thank his crew, his sponsors, his family and most importantly God for his performance. “To come home to Baton Rouge and have everything go right, the driver didn’t screw up – wasn’t impatient, everything just clicked. It was an easy stress free night.” David went on to thank Hollingsworth for running him clean. “We got loose at the end and he never once tried to force the issue, so I commend him highly, he’s a great river and he’s only going to get better.” Ashley had one other reason to be thankful and that is that the race wasn’t any longer as his motor left a big pool of oil in victory lane.

For Hollingsworth, it was a case of waiting for an opportunity that never did present itself. “He never bobbled and that made it hard for us to pass him. I got in to the wall that with about fifteen to go and it didn’t seem like it would turn in quite as good.” Hollingsworth tried the outside line on a few restarts but admitted “our car really didn’t want to run up there.”

Jason Ingalls started fifth and ran in the top five all night, moving up to third when Rodney Wing departed on lap 20 with a dead battery. Ingalls felt he used the wrong tire up front as his softer right front began to fade in the late stages of the race but he was able to hold off David Breazeale to take third. “I felt all right, other than the fact that I went with the 11 on the right front. It was good early but about halfway through it was killing me. I was having to brake and throttle the car loose to get it out of the turn.” Ingalls who scored his first career SUPR win earlier in the year thanked Michael Nash for giving him a chance to drive his car.

Breazeale, who won the Mississippi State race the night before at Pike County, had his hands full with Kenny Merchant but held solid in fourth with Merchant rounding out the top five. Marlon Wild moved from ninth to sixth at the checkers while David Gentry finished seventh after starting 11th. Chris Wall overcame a slow start to his night by transferring through the last chance race and then moving from 19th to eight in the feature. Mike Boland and Jay Blair rounded out the top ten.

31 Late Models were on hand. David Ashley, Rodney Wing, Ray Moore and Jason Ingalls claimed the heat race victories while Kennith Crowe and Dennis Duncan topped the last chance races. Ronnie Lee Hollingsworth was the B&K Underground Top Qualifier and Jody Prince claimed the Creel Brothers Hard Charger award for moving from 23rd to 11th in the feature.

Official Results:

1. David Ashley

2. Ronnie Lee Hollingsworth

3. Jason Ingalls

4. David Breazeale

5. Kenny Merchant

6. Marlon Wild

7. David Gentry

8. Chris Wall

9. Mike Boland

10. Jay Blair

11. Jody Prince

12. Dennis Duncan

13. Ray Moore

14. Robbie Stuart

15. Adam Willis

16. Charles Nash

17. Elizabeth Halpin Smith

18. Jimmy Noland

19. Neil Baggett

20. Rodney Wing

21. Bubba Mullins

22. Kennith Crowe

23. Patrick Daniel

24. Chad Thrash

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