Russell Fleeman Survives and Conquers At Peach State

Georgia Asphalt Series Points Leader Cushions Lead at Series' Home Track

 

JEFFERSON, GA  (July 23, 2007) – The last time the Georgia Asphalt Series visited Peachstate Speedway (GA) on June 23^rd, a wild, "Days of Thunder"-like finish brought the fans at the Georgia half-mile to their feet.

 

While the film itself may not have had a sequel, the Georgia Asphalt Series stars tried their best to re-create the excitement from their most recent visit.  This time, there was no telling who the protagonist was going to be.  Chris Dilbeck, Joel Anderson, Jimmy Garmon, Bubba Pollard, Joey Senter and Paul Kelley all took their shots at the victory and all had their hands in some wild action at the front of the field, but in the end, the same hero survived the craziness for the victory – Russell Fleeman.

 

"When I started the race, I wanted to be conservative," said Fleeman.  "A lot of cars got by me and by the midpoint of the race I was worried that I wasn't going to be able to come back through.  Then the car started to come back to me and I was able to work my way back up through the field."

 

Chris Dilbeck got out to an early lead and it looked as though the ending to this feature was going to be a first time winner in the Georgia Asphalt Series victory lane.  By lap 22, that all changed as Joel Anderson took the lead.  For a while, it looked as though this version of the movie would have a fairy tale ending for the young driver who grew up racing at Peachstate Speedway, but on lap 95 he learned that just as quickly as things can go right, they can go wrong as his car headed into the wall, handing the lead to Fleeman.

 

After Anderson was out of the picture, and Fleeman had the lead, he had to deal with a five lap shootout for the remainder of the race, and he had two very capable drivers behind him, challenging him for the lead in the form of Jimmy Garmon and Joey Senter.

 

Garmon was able to challenge Fleeman for the lead in the final laps, but he soon had to worry about Senter, who was able to get by him to claim the second spot, with Garmon coming home third.

 

"I really think we had something for him (Fleeman), but we just ran out of laps," said Senter.  "I was content running third, and I was running with Jimmy (Garmon) pretty hard, but we ran clean.  I got lucky and was able to get by him coming out of four.  I'm tickled to death with this finish."

 

"That was all I had," said Garmon.  "I crew chiefed last night for David Hole at Pensacola and I am wore out.  I was real happy with this run.  Boy, we have had some tough luck, but maybe this will turn the corner for us.  I am an old man, so the fact that I am out there running with this young generation at this track is exceptional.  It was great racing, high, low or in the middle; I couldn't ask for a better race." 

 

But when all was said and done it was Russell Fleeman who found himself standing in a very familiar victory lane.  And he didn't lead all of the laps.  He didn't even lead the most laps, but he did lead the most important lap, as he cruised to victory in the US Auto Sales 100. 

 

"Something oiled the track down and I didn't know if I could go as fast as I could go," added Fleeman. "And those last few laps; wow!  I don't know what to say, it is just crazy, you have to do what you can do and hope for the best.  We didn't lead the most laps, but we led the most important one, and that is what we want."

 

Throughout the race, it looked as though any number of drivers could have ended up in victory lane, including Bubba Pollard.  For much of the night he ran in the second position, and he was able to recover from a flat tire and work his way all the way up to the fourth spot with less than ten laps to go until contact with Paul Kelley sent both cars into the wall, also collecting Kevin Stephens and Michael Phelps.

 

It was a familiar scene to many at the track, as they remembered the events of just a few short weeks ago when contact with Pollard and Kelley prevented either of them from making it to victory lane, and Fleeman was the victor at that event too.

 

When asked about the situation out on the track, Kelley simply said, "It's just racing."

 

As for the rest of the story, it was a familiar tale.  For Fleeman, the scene played out just like it had a few short weeks ago, he was able to survive the wrecks and race his way to that top spot as he extended his point lead in the hunt for the 2007 Georgia Asphalt Series championship.

 

The Georgia Asphalt Series will be back in action Saturday August 4, 2007 at Lanier National Speedway.

 

For more information on the Georgia Asphalt Series, contact Matt Kentfield at (704) 788-2134 x 5 and visit www.georgiaasphaltseries.com.

 

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US Auto Sales 100

July 21, 2007

Peachstate Speedway

Jefferson , GA

Unofficial Results

1.                   Russell Fleeman

2.                   Joey Senter

3.                   Jimmy Garmon

4.                   Greg Motes

5.                   David Watters

6.                   Frederick Moore

7.                   Kyle Fowler

8.                   Ronnie Kittle

9.                   Chris Dilbeck

10.               Spencer Maggard

11.               Larry Jordan

12.               Michael Britt

13.               Shane Nalley

14.               Ricky Sanders

15.               Billy Chancy

16.               Joel Anderson

17.               Mahlon Winstead

18.               David Elliott

19.               Bubba Pollard

20.               Paul Kelley

21.               Kevin Stephens

22.               Michael Phelps

23.               Michael Pope

24.               Heath Hindman

25.               Ronnie Sanders

26.               Joe Click

27.               Michael Massey

28.               Wayne Willard

29.               Mitch Cobb

30.               Dakota Stroup