Story by: Darby Fleenor/BluesDawgsRacingPage.com

Newport, TN(July 27, 2010) -- With the tough economic times that are facing our nation anyone can see the impact that it is also having on local short track racing. Many tracks are struggling to get a good field of cars and to put fans in the stands.

I have been told by several people that you don't have to have a large field of cars to have a good race and Newport Speedway proved that theory to be true Saturday evening. There were only 10 Late Models in the pits, one of them
 

wasn't able to even make qualifying, this left nine to race. The good thing was that of the nine there were several equally matched really fast hot rods.

It was one of those hot, sticky, muggy summer evenings where it never seemed to really cool off much and many of us were starting to wish we were at home in the air conditioning. Never the less, the stands were packed as nine hot rod Late Models began to make the pace laps and warm up their machines. Brandon Rogers had secured the pole. Zack Franks would line up on his outside with Dennis Queen, Scottie Hicks, and Kevin Leicht rounding out the top five. As the cars are reving their motors and warming up their tires I noticed that we have a big ole' bright moon and it appears to be full. All race fans know that when the moon is full the racing is wild.

The cars come through turn three ready to go racing. As they come off of turn four the Green flag drops and the cars roar to life down the front stretch. Two by two they sail into turn one and off of turn two. Rogers and Franks race side by side for several laps as everyone else goes single file behind them. Franks is charging hard on the outside but Rogers finally out duels him and secures the lead. It is Rogers, Franks, Queen, Hicks, and Leicht. They are single file but also nose to tail. You could throw a blanket over the entire field.

The track is really hot. There is a lot of rubber on it as well so it is really slick and greasy. The Rolling Thunder Modifieds had just finished up a 75 lap feature race and many of them were sideways off of the corners for much of the race.

On lap five Queen pressures Franks for second. On lap eight, there is some contact. Franks gets clear and rolls on but Hicks slides under Queen and tries to take third. Queen is able to hold him off for now and its back to single file. The top five are bunched up and by lap 14 things are looking a little nervous as everyone is wanting to get their chance to get at Rogers for the lead.

Around lap seventeen Queen starts to pressure Franks for second again only this time Queen gets it done and slides into second. Hicks and Leicht try to follow and they are three wide with Franks hung on the outside down the back stretch. They both clear Franks as well dropping him back to fifth. Leight also gets around Hicks and he moves himself into the third position.

On lap 20 the top five are; Rogers, Queen, Leicht, Hicks and Franks. Then Hicks sends Leight for a spin off of turn four bringing out the caution. Leight suffers only minor damage and he rights his #2 machines and picks up at the rear of the field. We kept looking for the black flag to fly for Hicks and his #17 machine but it never came. We did notice however, that the caution was being extended for some reason. Finally the red flag flew and they stopped the entire field at the flag stand. Hicks gets a Newport talkin' to from the Chief Pit Steward and he is sent to the rear of the field with Leicht. This changes the top five significantly. We now have Rogers, Queen, Franks, Wayne Webb, and Lance Gatlin.

The field lines up double file (one of the exciting things that Newport is famous for) and prepares to restart on Lap 20. Queen is lined up on the outside of Rogers as the green flag flies and the cars rocket down the front stretch into turn one. Rogers and Queen are side by side for the lead through turn two and down the back stretch but Queen slips in turn four and Rogers clears him and Franks get under Queen to challenge for second. They race side by side for several laps but Queen is able to hang onto the position.

On lap 25, Rogers still leads followed by Queen and Franks. Gatlin and Leicht have moved passed Webb to take over fourth and fifth. The racing is heated and you can throw a blanket over the top five as they race nose to tail around the high banked bull ring. They race nose to tail single file for the next fifteen laps. On lap 41 Gatlin nudges Franks off of four putting a lot of pressure on him. On lap 47 Gatlin gets under Franks and passes him in turns three and four. Meanwhile, Rogers has his biggest lead of the night of about three car lengths over Queen, who still runs second.

Lap 50 the running order is Rogers, Queen, Gatlin, Franks, and Leicht. On lap 51 Gatlin pressures Queen for second and gives him a gentle nudge coming off of turn four. Gatlin is able to work his way up beside Queen and by the time they get back to turn four Gatlin makes the pass and moves into second. On lap 54 Franks spins in turns three and four bringing out the caution.

Rogers still has the lead followed now by Gatlin, Queen, Leicht and Hicks. Franks is able to get his machine refired and he joins the field lining up in the back. We get another double file restart on lap 54. Gatlin senses that this may be his chance to pounce on Rogers as the green flag flies. Gatlin charges hard and makes a valiant effort but Rogers clears Gatlin by the time they exit turn two. Now Gatlin has other problems because Leicht has pulled to his inside. Leicht is able to get past Gatlin off of turn four and Queen is trying to come with him. Queen battles side by side with Gatlin into turn one but Gatlin is able to hold him off and clears him off of turn two.

On lap 58, Darrell Williams has got past Hicks into fifth (this is the same car that Williams just won the Limited Spotsman feature in). On lap 60 the running order is; Rogers, Leicht, Queen, Gatlin, and Williams. On lap 62 Williams spins Gatlin in turns one and two. The black flag flies again, this time for Williams. He is forced to restart at the back of the pack. In the meantime the #17 machine of Hicks stalls on the back stretch and has to be brought to the pits on the hook.

We get the restart at lap 62 and your top five is Rogers, Leicht, Queen, Franks and Webb. We get the double file restart again and Leight will get his shot at Rogers. With all of the action behind him you can bet that he did not want to see the caution fly again. The leaders are clearing their motors and weaving side to side to get the tires clean as they come by the flag stand and get the one to go from the flagman.

The green drops and Leight charges hard. Rogers and Leight race side by side for the lead for several laps. Rogers finally clears Leight but he comes back on the outside only to get loose off of turn two forcing him to gather it up and settle into second. By lap 72 Rogers has a two car lead and its another two cars back to Queen in third. Behind him Gatlin has gotten past Webb and he begins to mix it up with Franks for fourth.

The white flag flies for Rogers as he leads the field down the front stretch. Everyone is single file and racing hard. Gatlin is all over the back bumper of Franks for fourth. As they come to the checkers Gatlin gives Franks a shove and passes him off of turn four. Franks nearly spins but gathers back and heads for the checkers. Rogers gets the win followed by Leight, Queen, Gatlin and Franks.

Brandon Rogers takes his black #7 machine to victory lane as a fight nearly breaks out in Gatlins pit. It was another night of good hard racing at Newport, a classic duel that caused emotions to run high. Everyone wants to win. Nobody comes to run second. Tonight Brandon Rogers claimed the trophy at one of the regions toughest short tracks. Newport Speedway once again lives up to its reputation and the fans got the awesome show that they had come to see. I don't think anyone left disappointed.

Full Results:
1 - Brandon Rogers #7
2 - Kevin Leicht #2
3 - Dennis Queen #92
4 - Lance Gatlin #97 (white)
5 - Wayne Webb #97 (blue)
6 - Zack Franks #31
7 - Darrell Williams #41
8 - Jackie Buckner #87
9 - Scottie Hicks #17
10 - Mart Nesbitt (DNS)