Story by: Corey Latham ~ corey@RACE22.com

Newport, TN(June 2, 2010) -- Newport, Tennessee was the next stop for the UARA series this past Saturday, and while the Newport track is one of the most weathered on the tour, the past races there have been something not to be missed.

This go round at the high banked track was no different, as it turned out to be one of the most exciting so far into the 2010 season. At least Alex Yontz thought it was exciting, but Coleman Pressley ... not so much. The track in Newport is a throw back of sorts, old, dingy and in the middle of a junkyard.....literally. As you pull in you think a large crowd is there parked around the track, until you notice the grass growing up under all the cars. But the one thing the track does have that most today don't is character. It's high banked, rough, and through the years it has put on some great racing and the UARA-STARS Series continued that streak.

A hefty field of 24 were ready to rumble, and included in those were a few local names looking to do battle. Zack Franks, son of long time Newport competitor Junior Franks was there, as were tough competitors Scottie Hicks and Stephen Gahagan. Throw in the hard charging Matt Leicht, Ed Surrett, Dakota Slage, Shelton Clay, Tim Tipton and the up and coming, Blake Jones making his first UARA start and it was one of the biggest and strongest fields of the season.

The front row after qualifying was made up of two of the hottest drivers this season, as Kyle Grissom would take the top spot with the red hot Brennan Poole to his outside. The third spot was something people were talking about, as Garrett Campbell has had his troubles this season but looked like the car to beat all day through practice with his newly acquired Ford crate motor. Dylan Presnell and Alex Yontz completed the top five, with the young Blake Jones timing in an impressive sixth.

At the green, Grissom would try to set sail. But behind him after losing a position on the start, Campbell was driving like a man on a mission. With his Jimmy Spencer rule of one tap to let you know he's there and the second to move you, he quickly made his way past Dylan Presnell and then gave the bumper to Poole to set chase after Grissom. He would get to his bumper but no further as the first caution of the night would fall on lap 34.

Alex Yontz, who was having his best run of the year, would join the top two cars a few laps later as the top three would break away from Poole in fourth. Scottie Hicks was trying to keep the leaders in sight back in the pack, but found trouble with Ed Surrett and Zack Franks on lap 63, ending Franks night. Yontz would pick up where he left off after the caution.

Yontz began to hound Campbell for second, and finally made the move to the bottom and around for second on lap 72. It was now up to Grissom to keep setting the pace, as Yontz seemed to look faster by each passing lap and began to cut into Grissom's lead. But there was about to be another player in the game and you guessed it, Coleman Pressley was coming ... on the high side.

Pressley has mastered the high line at most of the tracks that the UARA runs at and is one of the few cars that can ever actually run the unused groove and be faster. He had laid low the entire race, but after a lap 78 restart, he looked to be shot out of a cannon as he jumped to the outside and put Presnell, Tissot and Poole all behind him at once and moved into the top five. Just a few laps later the night would get worse for Poole and Presnell as the lapped car of Julia Dawson would spin in turn two and the two would take evasive action spinning and had to join the field at the rear. Poole refused to stay there and had his own nice drive through the field before it was over to pick up a top five finish

The next restart would be another chance for Pressley, as he seemed to pick a car off on each one, this time it was Campbell for the third spot. Eight laps later just before the 100 lap mark, it had became a three car race as Grissom, Yontz and Pressley had spaced themselves from he rest of the field. As soon as Pressley got to the rear of Yontz, he jumped to the outside, but these weren't going to be as easy. Or so we thought.

Pressley passes Yontz with ease on lap 98 and just four laps later does the same to Grissom to take over the lead. Lee Tissot had just got around Campbell for fourth also, but as these two have done all season, the beating and banging between them was just starting and the pair put on a great show all the way to the finish.

The one car that was really sneaking through the field was Stephen Gahagan. The Tennessee native was calm and quiet all night and with 50 to go he had began to inch his way through the top ten. On lap 126 he got by Campbell for 5th, and moved by Tissot with 12 to go to get 4th. Tissot had just got around Yontz a few laps prior for third and it looked as if the 98 car of Yontz was fading, but little did we know it was all planned, he was going after Pressley for the lead.

The Newport track is old and weathered, so it eats up tires putting tire management as a key factor. Yontz used this to a tee and with ten to go made his move to get back around Tissot, then blew by Grissom with nine to go for second. The only question now was whether he had planned his charge a lap too late.

Pressley had been the dominant car for the later stages of the event, but Yontz was coming hard and you could watch the lead shrink lap after lap. We get to the white flag and the finish that everyone was hoping for looked out of the window, as the interval was just too much, Yontz was going to come up just short. But as the saying goes, "It ain't over till it's over" and Pressley proved that to be very true.

As the cars went down the backstretch for the final time, Yontz closed to within two car lengths, but it was still not going to be enough, all Pressley had to do was make it through the final corner. But it all fell apart for Pressley entering turn three, as his car began to wheel hop and then violently broke sideways and slammed the outside wall drivers side first. Yontz passed by to the inside and picked up his first victory of 2010, and became the seventh different winner in seven events for the UARA-STARS. It was utter heartbreak for Pressley though.

"Wow, that disappointing", said a dejected Pressley. "I don't really know what happened, I had got some kind of vibration with about 20 to go and I thought it was the drive shaft. I went into three there, and it wheel hopped and just turned around suddenly, there was nothing I could do. When I tried to get it off the wall, the transmission was locked up, I don't know if that's what caused the spin or if that happened after I hit, we'll just have to look at it. I know one thing, that was about the hardest hit I have ever took, it didn't look like much, but it was big inside the car. It's all good though, we'll just go to the beach and win that one."

While Pressley sat on a tire in the pits dejected, Yontz was celebrating on the frontstretch. "At the end I was just saving all I could, I knew I had to to have a shot of getting back by him" said a very happy Yontz. "I honestly waited too long, the car was good, I just pushed the button a little late, it was my own fault. They came on the radio and told me five to go, and I knew that I had waited too long. I really hate that for Coleman, but we'll take a win however we can get them. I didn't want to win it like that, but the way this year has been we'll take it."

"We had talked yesterday, and said if one of those crate motors gets wound up on the outside it is going to be bad news, and sure enough that's exactly what Coleman did. I couldn't run that line and be effective, and thought that it was going to be over when he came past on the outside. I knew I had a little left in the tank for the end though, just glad it worked out in our favor, maybe this is what we needed to turn our season around. We have had good cars each week, just plain old bad luck has really bitten us this year."

Results:
1 - Alex Yontz #98
2 - Kyle Grissom #32
3 - Stephen Gahagan #47
4 - Brennan Poole #5
5 - Scott Turlington #48
6 - Lee Tissot #27
7 - Kaleb Pressley #54
8 - Robert Johnson #11
9 - Garrett Campbell #12
10 - Dylan Presnell #83
11 - Coleman Pressley #59
12 - Clint King #07
13 - Ed Surrett #01
14 - Dakota Slagle #13
15 - Blake Jones #80
16 - Zach Franks #7
17 - Julia Dawson #1
18 - Matt Leicht #23
19 - Dennis Queen #92
20 - Ronnie Bassett, Jr. #04
21 - Sheflon Clay #15
22 - Brian Rose #42
23 - Tim Tipton #22
24 - Scottie Hicks #17(DQ'ed)