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Turkey Hill Night

CAPRON, Va. (Aug. 31) — Coming into Friday’s Turkey Hill Dairy Kids Night at Southampton Motor Speedway, the spotlight was focused on Doug Godsey and Brandon Butler, ranked first and second, respectively, in the latest NASCAR Weekly Racing Series Atlantic Seaboard Region standings.

Brandon Butler

By the end of the evening, however, veteran driver Phil Warren of Norfolk, Va., had stolen the show as he swept a pair of 50-lappers for the track’s headlining RaceWorld.com Late Model Stock Cars.

Following SMS’s customary time trial format for doubleheaders, each driver posted two qualifying laps. The first lap set the lineup for Race #1 and the second determined the grid for Race #2. Richmond, Va.’s Butler swept both pole positions with laps of 93.933 and 95.541 mph.

• Race #1: In the first event, Butler pulled ahead of Warren, his front-row mate, in Turn 2 on the opening circuit. Warren settled into second, followed by Terry Allison of South Mills, N.C., Godsey of Richmond and Bud Kenny of Virginia Beach, Va.

On lap 9, Godsey ducked under Allison in Turn 4 and grabbed the third spot at the end of the backstretch on the next lap. Kenny tagged along on Godsey’s bumper to take over fourth.

By the 13th circuit, Butler had fashioned a three-car-length lead over Warren. The shuffle behind the lead duo, though, left Godsey nearly half a straightaway back. The field was bunched when the race’s only caution flag appeared on lap 18 for a two-car incident in Turns 1 and 2.

Back under way, Warren latched onto Butler’s rear bumper and began searching for an opening.

On lap 26, the opportunity presented itself as Warren turned under Butler in Turn 4. The two dueled door-to-door until lap 31 when Warren gained the upper hand in Turn 2. Within five circuits, Warren had pulled away by four car-lengths.

As the laps wound down, Warren just kept adding to his advantage.

At the finish, Warren was the winner by 1.763 seconds over Butler. Godsey was third, while Kenny and Allison completed the top five.

• Race #2: For the nightcap, Butler and Godsey shared the front row, while Warren lined up third on the starting grid.

When the green flag flew, Butler grabbed a slight edge, only to see Godsey come roaring back as the field rumbled out of Turn 2 for the first time. At the end of lap 1, Godsey, hanging tough on the outside, powered ahead.

While Godsey and Butler jousted for the lead, Warren looked to have had a notion of making it three-wide in Turn 4. Thinking better of it, he tucked back into third place, behind Butler.

The lone caution flag waved on lap 3 for a single-car spin in Turn 2.

As the race resumed, Godsey, Butler and Warren broke away from the pack. Warren tailed Butler for a couple laps, then made the move to second on lap 5. A handful of circuits later, Warren was filling Godsey’s mirror.

On lap 13, Warren ducked under Godsey in Turn 2. Godsey held on to lead that lap, while Warren nosed ahead at the line on lap 14. The scuffle ended on lap 15 as Warren cleared Godsey’s machine off Turn 4.

Once at the head of the field, Warren presented an encore performance of his winning drive in Race #1, steadily easing away from the pack.

At the finish, Warren wrapped up his second win of the evening, beating Godsey to the line by 1.959 seconds. Butler was third, followed by Allison.

Late Model rookie Ken Rountree of Gates, N.C., prepping to run the full schedule in 2002, enjoyed his first top-five outing, holding off Emporia, Va.’s Mike Shearin and Kenny for fifth.

In Victory Lane after Race #2, Warren commented on his night: “As good as we were in the first race, I knew we had a pretty good chance. I’ve been down here a few times and I know you’ve gotta get off of (Turn) 4 to win and we were getting off of 4 tonight and that’s what it’s all about.”

Godsey noted that a change to his car between the two races didn’t quite work out as hoped: “He (Warren) just ran super good. We made an adjustment. Went a little bit too far. Got a little bit too loose that time. We’ll come back next time and give it another shot.”

Butler echoed Godsey’s praise of Warren: “Phil was just awesome tonight. Me and Doug both made some adjustments. Looks like we both missed a little bit still. Mine got a lot tighter than it had been the first race. Still a good night for us — a second and a third.”

With Butler and Godsey each posting a second- and third-place finish, Butler maintained his 14-point lead in the division standings — 880-866.

NASCAR Weekly Racing Series
Southampton Motor Speedway
Race Results
Friday, August 31, 2001 - 
Turkey Hill Dairy Kids Night

   LATE MODEL STOCK CARS - Twin 50’s
      Race #1:
1.  Phil Warren - Norfolk, Va., 50
2.  Brandon Butler - Richmond, Va., 50
3.  Doug Godsey - Richmond, Va., 50
4.  Bud Kenny - Virginia Beach, Va., 50
5.  Terry Allison - South Mills, N.C., 50
6.  Mike Shearin - Emporia, Va., 50
7.  Chris Hopkins - Petersburg, Va., 50
8.  Mike Conner - Gloucester, Va., 50
9.  Jim Williams - Chesapeake, Va., 50
10. Robbie Babb - Chesapeake, Va., 47
11. Max Smith - Roanoke Rapids, N.C., 46
12. Ken Rountree - Gates, N.C., 26
13. Andy Bell - Norfolk, Va., 18
14. Buck Godsey - Richmond, Va., 17
15. Tony Culley - Richmond, Va., 3
• Pole: Butler - 93.933 mph.
• Hard Charger Award: Smith.
• Hard Luck Award: Bell.

      Race #2:
1.  Phil Warren - 50
2.  Doug Godsey - 50
3.  Brandon Butler - 50
4.  Terry Allison - 50
5.  Ken Rountree - 50
6.  Mike Shearin - 50
7.  Bud Kenny - 50
8.  Chris Hopkins - 50
9.  Mike Conner - 50
10. Jim Williams - 49
11. Max Smith - 49
12. Robbie Babb - 48
13. Buck Godsey - 1
• Pole: Butler - 95.541 mph.
• Hard Charger Award: Shearin.