Mike Boland wins 6th Annual John L. Cliett Memorial!

Mike Boland wins 6th Annual John L. CLiett Memorial!

Columbus , Mississippi ( July 16, 2005 ) – Mike Boland overcame a midrace lead swap with David Gentry to win his second ever John L. Cliett Memorial race at Columbus Motor Speedway. The 6^th Annual John L. Cliett Memorial feature the Mississippi State Championship Challenge Series vs. the O’Reilly SUPR SUPR Late Models and the race almost didn’t happen as a strong batch of storms closed in on the race track just as the track packing was wrapping up but despite a small doze of rain the heavy stuff stayed away and the Columbus Motor Speedway officials ran a brisk program to make up for the delay. Some how I think John L. may have had a hand the rain staying away.

The race attracted 32 Late Models despite the heavy threat of rain and the racing began with time trails and when all was said and done, David Breazeale set fast time with a lap of 13.80 seconds around the CMS high banks. Breazeale earned a $300 bonus for being the top qualifier but it was Mike Boland who started on the pole after topping Breazeale in heat number one. Boland would be joined on the front row by heat two winner David Gentry with Ronny Lee Hollingsworth and Kenny Merchant making up row two.

The starting field for the 6th Annual John L. Cliett Memorial

Boland grabbed the lead at the start of the 59-lap feature held in honor of late Mississippi Late Model racing legend John L. Cliett. Boland would hold the lead for the first 15 laps when Gentry used a restart to power by Boland for the lead. Gentry looked to have the strongest car at this point but David Breazeale was also making noise moving by Hollingsworth for third. It took 12 laps but Boland was also able to take advantage of a restart to power back by Gentry using the middle groove to get the job done. Boland felt he was a little guilty of being complacent when in the lead but once he was able to watch Gentry from behind, he felt he was in a good position to retake the lead and retook he did. Once back in front, Boland left the competition in his wake, lapping all but the top nine cars to win his second John L. Cliett Memorial, a race ever bit as important to Boland as a big $20,000 to win show.

Gentry held on to second with David Breazeale moving to third at the finish despite a smoking motor over the last few laps. Ronny Lee Hollingsworth finished fourth with Anthony Rushing, recovering from a heat race encounter with the turn two wall that saw Rushing get his right rear on top of the wall but he managed to get his racer back under control and recovered to earn a transfer spot. Rushing moved from 14^th starting position to finish fifth.

Jason Smith, Marlon Wild, Jason Ingalls, Neil Baggett and Kenny Merchant rounded out the top ten. Mike Boland, David Gentry, Ronny Lee Hollingsworth and Kenny Merchant topped the heat races with Johnny Stokes and Ray Moore claiming the last chance races.

Official Results:

1. Mike Boland

2. David Gentry

3. David Breazeale

4. Ronny Lee Hollingsworth

5. Anthony Rushing

6. Jason Smith

7. Marlon Wild

8. Jason Ingalls

9. Neil Baggett

10. Kenny Merchant

11. Johnny Stokes

12. Rodney Wing

13. David Molpus

14. Chad Thrash

15. Doug Ingalls

16. Jody Prince

17. David Ashley

18. Bubba Mullins

19. Tony Morris

20. Ray Moore

21. Patrik Daniel

22. Marty Hardy

23. Shawn Edwards

24. Robbie Stuart - dns

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