May 12, 2012 - Tazewell Speedway returned yet again to bring another action packed night of racing to the fans packing the stands. Drivers, crews, and spectators arrived to the track under overcast skies, showing threats of possibly raining the event out. However, the rain held off and the track played out to be a little bit tricky. Cloudy skies hid the sun from the track surface, producing a very slick surface and playing a major role in some of the night's events. Hotlaps showed how slick the surface was. Although hotlaps went somewhat uneventful, the drivers struggled to get their machines up to full speed.

The first feature to take to the track tonight was the 4 Cylinders. Chuck McMahan showed up just a little before feature time to take a starting spot on the tail end of the field for the fifteen lap feature. On the start, Braden took the lead coming out of turn two. It didn't take McMahan very long to work his way up to the third spot. McMahan and Collett battled furiously for several laps for the second spot, allowing Braden to pull away from the battling duo. Finally on lap ten, McMahan was able to take over the second spot, but with only five laps left, ran out of time. Braden's half track advantage kept him out front to take the feature win over McMahan and Collett.

Four Cylinder Results:
1. B7-Bubby Braden
2. 99-Chuck McMahan
3. 007-Hayston Collett
4. 11-Josh Fields
5. 1-Mark Wallace
6. 72-Dwayne Johnson
DNS
A27-Allen Holloway
22-Ethan Hansard

Modified Street came through once again to produce some of the great bullring action Tazewell Speedway fans are used to. Scott Johnson stunned fans and fellow competitors by capturing the fast time award in qualifying on the trickiest track of the year with a lap of 14.610 seconds. On the start, Johnson blasted out to a huge lead over four cars battling for second position including Clyde Overholt, Jason Sizemore, and the father and son duo, Tony and Jordan Horton. A spin by Robbie Buchanan on lap ten brought out the feature's first caution. One lap after the restart, the drama began as Johnson's dominate #1 machine blew a motor going down the backstretch. As a result of oil on the track, Austin Atkins and Danny Helton collected their #14 machines in turn three ending their nights. As a result, the race lead was turned over to Clyde Overholt, who fought furiously to hold off Sizemore and Jordan Horton to capture his 2nd feature win of the season.

Modified Street Results:
1. 4-Clyde Overholt
2. 44C-Jason Sizemore
3. 56H-Jordan Horton
4. P21-Robbie Buchanan
5. 54-Larry Burke
6. 56-Tony Horton
7. 1-Scott Johnson (Fast Time: 14.610)
8. 14-Austin Atkins
9. 14-Danny Helton
10. 14-Wayne Overholt

Tazewell Late Models took to the track as the 3rd feature on tap. After false starting and spins, the event finally completed one lap and was underway. However, the second lap proved the second turn to be calamity corner as several cars piled up in the rear of the field, collecting the 3rd place running Jody Horton, who ran a career best 2nd place last week in the TLM division. He would continue, but would retire later in the event due to the damage received in the crash. After a brief red flag for cleanup, the event went back to green. Smith showed the way, with Fultz applying a lot of pressure by running the lower groove around the track. Trammell towed behind the duo in third, while Greg Estes, who debuted a brand new car tonight, worked on Josh Chesney in the XXX machine. Phillip Nichols spun his #33 in turn one after contact with 3rd place Trammell, bringing out a caution on lap twenty and setting up a ten lap dash to the finish. In the closing laps, Trammell was able to take over second from Fultz after a near disaster almost claimed some of the leaders while working lapped traffic. This allowed Smith to drive his #3 to the victory over Trammell, Fultz, Estes, and Chesney who claimed a careerbest top 5 in the TLM division.

Tazewell Late Model Results:
1. 3-Steve Smith
2. 90J-Jason Trammell
3. T0-Travis Fultz (Fast Time: 12.263)
4. 31-Greg Estes
5. XXX-Josh Chesney
6. 111-J. Allan
7. 18-Michael Rutherford
8. 35-Matt Tharp
9. 24-Allen Holt
10. 34V-Jason Varner
11. 33-Phillip Nichols
12. 56J-Jody Horton
13. 007-Matt Shockley
14. 22-Matthew Holt
15. 75-Chris Long
16. 21-Bryan Howerton
DNS
24-Andy Wilder
97-Keith Chapman

Classics entertained the crowd by taking to the track as the 4th event of the night. Drama sparked on the first lap caused by contact with the #20 of Charlie Tharp making contact with the Fast qualifier Robbie Sands in the #17. Joe Keck was also collected in Jim Yeary's "War Pig" #7Y machine. The incident ended Sands night, ending his 2012 winning streak. The event continued on the restart with Keck grabbing the lead despite damage received after crashing with Sands. Tharp settled the #20 into 2nd, attempting several time to challenge Keck for the lead. However, no one proved to be a match for Keck as he finally gained a victory for Jim Yeary Motorsports, in a very emotional manner due to Yeary's suffering from cancer. Tharp brought his machine home in second, with Shockley running 3rd, Phillip Blackford running a strong 4th, and Shane Lockhart claiming his first top 5 finish of the year.

Classic Car Results:
1. 7-Joe Keck
2. 20-Charlie Tharp
3. 34-Phillip Shockley
4. 12-Phillip Blackford
5. 1-Shane Lockhart
6. 18-Eli Keck
7. 3-Jason Beeler
8. 59-Shawn Walton
9. 21-Tim Sands Jr.
10. 17-Robbie Sands (Fast Time: 14.582)
11. 8-Daris Braden

The final event of the evening was a special event for the Pure Street class, who performed as the Bonus class of the night. The event paid an extra $150 to the winner, making the first place prize $400 to win, and second place paying an extra $100. Luke Sharp claimed the pole position with a fast time of 15.332 seconds, claiming his first career pole by qualifying in his John Deere colored #01. However, problems forced him to miss the initial start, relocating him to the tail end of the field for the start. On the start, track official Buster Cupp in the #28 El Camino claimed the lead coming out of turn two. He pulled away from the main pack led by J.J. Green in the #12 machine. With two laps to go, Cupp was struck with terrible luck as his #28 blew a right rear tire, costing him the victory. J.J. Green was able to claim the lead coming to the white flag, while Cupp struggled to bring the El Camino to the finish. Green would capture the $400 victory, with Cupp barely holding on to finish 2nd over Dustin Eldridge in the 94.

Pure Street Results:
1. 12-J.J. Green
2. 28-Buster Cupp
3. 94-Dustin Eldridge
4. 41-Johnathan Miracle
5. B2-Bo Smith
6. 01-Luke Sharp (Fast Time: 15.332)
7. 1-Josh Chesney
8. 39-Johnny Miller

Gary and Shirlene Hall would like to personally thank each and every driver and spectator who came out tonight to make racing possible at East Tennessee's fastest high-banked dirt oval. Without the loyalty of the drivers and fans, nothing would be possible. Mr. and Mrs. Hall and the rest of the Tazewell Speedway staff would like to invite all fans to join us again on May 19th, as we return for another weekly program of racing, featuring a candy toss for all kids ages 6 and under. Regular admission will be $10 with children ages 10 and under admitted free with a paying adult. Pit passes will be $25 for adults and $15 for kids 12 and under.