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Scorcher Turns Into Soaker

KENLY _ Late Model Stock auto racing at Southern National Speedway over the weekend evolved as different as night and day.

Twin 50-lap features were scheduled for Saturday night before one of the season's largest crowds but rain delayed the finale until Sunday afternoon before a sparse turnout.

Big Jim Kelley

Veteran driver Big Jim Kelley of Newport fended off youngster Denny Hamlin of Richmond, Va., to seize the checkered flag Saturday night, while rookie Stephen Rhodes of Goldsboro staved off veteran Shelton McNair Jr. of Plymouth on Sunday afternoon.

The triumphs were the second each for Kelley and Rhodes. Rhodes first visited Victory Lane the previous weekend.

Also victorious during Sunday's segment in scorching weather were Wayne Skinner of Wilson in Pro Trucks and Stacy Wood of Benson in Super Stock.

Saturday night's other wins were posted by Jon Howell of Goldsboro in Stock Look-Alike and Mike Stodder of Raleigh in Four-Cylinder Stock.

In the opening Late Model Stock feature, Kelley, starting on the outside pole in his Monte Carlo, worked around the Grand Prix of the 20-year-old Hamlin, the polesitter, on lap four.

"Running on the outside was tough," said Kelley, a winner for the first time since June 10. "But I stuck it in there and it stayed pretty good. The long green run hurt us a little bit."

The long green run saw Kelley's lead against Hamlin, in his SNS debut, steadily dwindle. Then came a caution with four laps remaining. Kelley protected the point on the restart and successfully blocked Hamlin the final couple of laps.

"We did not need to see that caution whatsoever," Hamlin said. "We were really good on long runs. He said he had to block me the last couple of laps and I would have done the same thing. I'm still searching for that first win."

Instead, Kelley emerged with career win No. 170.

"We needed it," Kelley said. "We were pretty good but we were getting really loose. The caution helped. We needed to cool the tires. He (Hamlin) would have had a heckuva time getting by me but, as loose as the car was, if he had touched me . . . This was the first time I've driven against him and he ran me clean."

Hamlin settled for second and a confidence boost for the second race. Tom Elliott of Roanoke Rapids grabbed third in a Grand Prix, with points leader Billy Ray Lucas of Wilson fourth in a Monte Carlo. McNair, a rookie in the Late Model Stock division, surged to a fifth-place finish after starting 13th. Lucas rebounded from an early incident.

Elliott, on the pole for the first time, ruled the first third of Sunday's race. But he yielded to his racer's motor problems.

The 17-year-old Rhodes assumed the lead in his Monte Carlo, with Kelley, Lucas and Steve Mendenhall of Clayton, in a Grand Prix, tangling for second. Hamlin was an early casualty.

The rides of Mendenhall, Kelley and Lucas eventually touched _ and tangled in turn four _ with Mendenhall the biggest loser.

McNair capitalized to zoom into the second spot. McNair finished as the runner-up, while Lucas claimed third and Kelley fourth.

Lucas arguably emerged the biggest overall winner of the twin deal. With points runner-up Tony Grady of Raleigh finishing 11th in Saturday's race, Lucas boosted his lead. Then Grady did not compete Sunday afternoon, enabling Kelley, the 2000 champion, to move into second.