Tissot Leads Wire-to-Wire for First Win of 2014

BLOOMINGDALE, TN :: Kingsport Speedway kicked off the Memorial Day weekend Friday “Celebrating The Stars That Protect Our Stripes,” with NASCAR Salutes: United States Armed Forces Night at the Races.

In a special pre-race ceremony, the track honored active military expressing reverence, respect, and gratitude to all who proudly wear the uniform while defending our freedom and the sacrifices they have made in defending our nation, along with pausing to remember those who paid the ultimate price and died while protecting our country. All military, current and veterans who served, were admitted free for the night’s racing action at “The Concrete Jungle.”

Lee Tissot of Asheville, N.C., jumped into the lead at start of the 60-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model Stock feature and proceeded to lead flag-to-flag for his first victory of the season, in an event that ran caution-free.

In qualifying, defending track champion Chad Finchum set fast-time at 15.240 seconds, while Ryan Stiltner was second quickest at 15.279. With the top-five from qualifying inverted, Kyle Barnes inherited the pole position with Tissot on the outside of the front row.

Tissot powered into the lead over Barnes at the start, while behind them Stiltner and Zeke Shell battled for the third spot, and Finchum and surprise visitor Nate Monteith were racing side-by-side for fifth place. Monteith, who won the 2011 and ’12 Kingsport Speedway and Tennessee State NASCAR Whelen All-American Series championships on the strength of 10 wins each season, was making his first start at the track since his last title campaign, chauffeuring a Zeke Shell Racing team-car.

Racing off (turn) two on lap 6, Finchum cleared Monteith for position, while directly ahead of them Shell moved into third over Stiltner. Shell passed Barnes to move into the runner-up position on lap 10 racing off the second corner.

Monteith got around Finchum on lap 11 racing off the fourth turn, but Finchum fought back to reclaim the spot just two circuits later.

Meanwhile, out front Tissot and Shell had put about 10 car lengths between themselves and their closest challengers at the 20-lap mark. Barnes drifted a little high exiting turn two on lap 24, with both Stiltner and Finchum taking advantage to drop him back two positions in the running order to fifth. With Barnes experiencing a deflating right-rear tire, Monteith passed him to move into the fifth spot on lap 27 racing off turn two.

With the race running clean-and-green and just 10 laps remaining, the front-running trio of Tissot, Shell and Stiltner caught the cars of Wayne Hale, Tyler Goodwin and Zack Walton, who were battling for position to stay inside the top 10.

Shell looked to possibly make a move to take the lead, if he could trap Tissot behind one of the cars about to be lapped. But Tissot, driving the Ken Daffron’s Dalton Direct Carpets of Kingsport/First Kingsport Credit Union/Jeff’s Auto Sales (Leicester, N.C)/Northeast State Community College Motorsports Program/Hunley Built Shocks/Five Star Race Car Bodies/Hess Racing Products Inc./Ford Racing/Signs by Roach Graphics/No 7 Ford Fusion, easily cleared all three cars and put some distance between himself and Shell. Tissot captured the Late Model Stock victory over Shell, Stiltner, Finchum and Monteith.

Completing the top 10 finishers were Barnes, current divisional points leader Kres VanDyke, Paul Nogradi Jr., Hale and Goodwin.

Unofficial Results