Senoia Raceway’s October racing schedule came to a conclusion with four new winners and a growing anticipation for the inaugural ‘Showdown at Senoia’ Nov. 10-12. Douglasville’s Bruce Tidwell made his first trip to victory lane winning the Bomber feature. He was joined by fellow first timer Matthew Knight of Villa Rica who won the B Cadet race. John Holcomb of Griffin picked up his first win of the season topping the field of Hobby Stocks while Bubba Harry of Palmetto won the first Legends Car feature race for the year.
Senoia’s Clint ‘Cat Daddy’ Smith swept the features in the Super Late Models and Limited Late Models while Alabama teenager ‘Thrillin’ Dylan Holmes took home the victory for the Crate Late Models. Locust Grove’s Mike ‘Bam Bam’ Younginer completed the Fall Brawl Series sweep winning his fourth straight Mini Stock main event.
The night was marred by a scary accident in the B Cadet feature. Polesitter Parrish Duncan of Newnan tangled with outside front row starter Billy Stevenson of Locust Grove at the drop of the initial green flag. Duncan came across the front of Stevenson’s ride and flipped wildly into the turn one concrete retaining wall coming to rest on his roof. Duncan was removed from his car taken to an Atlanta hospital for treatment.
Former track champion John Holcomb started the parade of new winners by besting the field of Hobby Stocks. Holcomb made his final charge to pass Mableton’s Ryan Ray with only two laps remaining. Ray had been in control most of the race until Holcomb’s run on the highside. The two raced side by side as they took the white flag. Holcomb inched in front of Ray out of the final turn to take the checkered flag first. Ray had to settle for second ahead of Lithia Springs’ Dalton Polston, Villa Rica’s Matthew Knight and Dan Meadows of Newnan. The Hobby Stocks will be back in action at the ‘Showdown at Senoia’ on Nov. 10, 11 and 12. They will compete for $1000 to win at the final race of their 2016 campaign.
Matthew Knight followed Holcomb’s lead after staying clear of the Duncan accident at the initial start of the B Cadet main event. Knight kept his distance from second place driver Blake Griffin of Grantville. He was able to stay ahead while Griffin became embattled with Jack Mills of Griffin. The teenager came across the line first with Griffin running second and Mills coming home third. Griffin’s Keith Fields ran his best race of the season finishing in fourth while Covington teenager Andrew Barton nabbed a top five finish in his first race behind the wheel of a B Cadet entry. Griffin’s second place finish gave him enough points to snag the Fall Brawl Series laurels for the B Cadets.
Bruce Tidwell kept all competitors behind him the entire duration of the Bomber feature. Tidwell won his first career feature at the ‘bull ring’ as he coasted across the finish line ahead of Jackson’s Wilson Boozer and Alabama’s Chris Chase.
Earlier in the race, Whitesburg’s Ricky Neill jostled for position with Alabama teenager Carley Arnett. Neill ended up getting the worst end of it as his front bumper became disengaged and then ran it over causing a pair of flat tires. Neill would have to exit the track, but was able to gain enough points to win the Fall Brawl Series title.
Clint ‘Cat Daddy’ Smith won his 25th and 26th feature races of the season going to flag to flag in both the Super Late Models and Limited Late Models. Smith posted his eighth win of the year in the Super Late Models with a six car length victory over Senoia’s Joey Armistead. He notched his eighteenth win of the year in the Limiteds with a strong run over Brooks’ ‘Magic’ Matt Dooley. Smith, Armistead, Dooley and all the other competitors in the Supers and Limited have their sites set of the ‘Showdown at Senoia’ in two weeks. The Super Late Models will race for a top prize of $10,000 to win while the Limited Late Models will run for $2500 to win. So far in two seasons of Super Late Model racing at Senoia Raceway, Smith has been held out of victory lane for all of the special events. Smith won the Fall Brawl Series title in the Supers while Dooley was the top points man in the Limiteds for the post season series.
Mike ‘Bam Bam’ Younginer’s perfect Fall Brawl Series season culminated with a flag to flag run in the Mini Stock main event. Younginer finished a perfect four for four in the four night autumn series. Newnan’s Tommy Faulkner debuted a new mount, but could only muster a second place finish to Younginer. Powder Spring’s Denver Stepp was third while Good Hope’s 13-year-old hot shot Grant Roberts came home fourth. Monroe’s Kyle Braswell completed the first five.
Younginer and is comrades are now ready for the ‘Showdown at Senoia’ where the four cylinder division will compete for $2500 to win.
‘Thrillin’ Dylan Knowles slipped through a small hole created by the then front runners Craig Scott of Newnan and Bobby Mills of Griffin when the duo touched exiting turn four on lap six. Knowles shot past on the low side and then never looked back posting his seventh victory of the season. Scott finished in second ahead of Newnan’s Corey Payton. Atlanta’s Kyle Cochran ran fourth while Mills faded through the final half of the race landing in fifth.
Dallas’ Mike Bruner, Jr. was crowned the Fall Brawl Series champion despite being eliminated from the race on the initial green flag after coming in contact with Knowles.
Palmetto’s Bubba Harry warmed up for the November ‘Showdown at Senoia’ with a checkered flag in the Legends Car feature. Harry held off a pair of challenges by Christopher Clanton of Brooks. Clanton ran the high side all night gaining the top position from Harry on two separate occasions only to spin out. The Legends Cars will compete again at the ‘Showdown at Senoia’.
Senoia Raceway now prepares for the largest event in the history of the forty-seven year history of the 3/8ths mile speed plant. The Inaugural ‘Showdown at Senoia’ will take place over three days, November 10, 11 and 12. The special event will showcase eight divisions of racing culminating with the Super Late Models running for a $10,000 pay day. It will be part of the greatest purse ever offered at Senoia Raceway.