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Best 9 of '09: Best Performances
9th - Lemons Wins 3 of 4 at MMS
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5/2/09 - Tommy Lemons, Jr. had been on the verge of breaking through at Motor Mile Speedway for a while, but while Philip Morris continued to dominate the 4/10 mile track it appeared he may never get a win there. Lemons however showed the world that he had exactly what it takes to break through when he defeated Morris in the May 2nd race. Lemons then won two more of the next three races and solidified himself as one of the top Late Model Stock Car racers and cemented his place as the 9th Best Performance of the 2009 season!
8th - McReynolds Overcomes at Ace
8/7/09 - Brandon McReynolds quickly built his reputation in 2009 as a formidable challenger, but in early August at Ace Speedway he had to prove to himself what he could do. McReynolds knew he had a fast car, but he was suffering, he was sick, sick enough to have Corey LaJoie standing by in case he couldn't race. However, McReynolds found himself pulling through and now dominating the 150-lap UARA-STARS Series race and despite being ill, he went on to hold off Alex Yontz in a green, white, checkered finish despite having a tire leaking flat to win.
7th - Davidson Wins 4 of 8 in Trucks
Grant Davidson wasn't a name anyone really talked about in this region last year, but after this season when he dominated the Inaugural PASS Truck Series season winning four of the eight races staged this season and winning the championship. His recognition didn't stop there however as the young driver solidified his name in this sport with a last lap battle at Myrtle Beach Speedway that ended with him spinning LMSC driver, Coleman Pressley in turn four with both drivers losing. Davidson is expected to strap in a Super Late or Late Model Stock Car in 2010 and he could well make this list again!
6th - Rowe Opens PASS with 2 Wins
Ben Rowe isn't a new name for anyone who follows the PASS Series or even Super Late Model racing in general and this season he again continued to add to his accomplishments. He started off the 2009 season with two wins in the PASS South Series, first winning at Dillon in the season opener and then winning the prestigous, Easter Bunny 150 at Hickory Motor Speedway. Rowe made his mark on the PASS South Series & the National Series winning the championship in both and making his early season effort the 6th Best Performance of '09!
5th - Morris' Early Season Roll
Philip Morris ... a name no one in the Late Model Stock Car world takes lightly and when the 2009 season began first at South Boston and then at Motor Mile, Morris looked like the man to beat winning seven races in the first two months of competition. Morris appeared well on his way to another season of total domination, but after his early season roll, the veteran faltered until late in the season, then picked up two more wins to solidify his third NASCAR Whelen All-American Series National Championship in four seasons. How could there be a "Best Performances" list without the best performer of the decade?
4th - Crum Takes Exciting Bailey's
10/4/09 - Jake "The Snake" Crum made a name for himself winning one of the closest point battles in UARA-STARS Series history in 2008, but in 2009 in a limited amount of starts he picked up two LMSC victories including the biggest of any drivers career, the Bailey's 300. And, Crum didn't have the best car, he didn't have the most funding, he didn't have a lot of things the other drivers around him had, but the one thing he had was the drive and determination to wheel his car to victory lane and he did after an incredible battle with Brennan Poole and then holding off a hard charging Brandon McReynolds, his arch rival in LMSC racing.
3rd - Mercer Wins 10 in a Row
Andy Mercer's domination over Hickory Motor Speedway bordered on legendary and when he reeled off win after win after win, many wondered if his streak would end. In fact, we here at RACE22.com were seriously considering putting a bounty on him, but in the end his streak came to an end in the Dwight Huffman Memorial, when he cut down a tire after leading. That wasn't before he reeled off ten wins in a row, the longest win streak by anyone in the 2009 Late Model Stock Car season and the young driver went on to win four more races after that and claiming the championship on the historic track.
2nd - Rodenbeck Gets 1st Win
4/25/09 - Paddy Rodenbeck battled through a tough 2008 season banging into wall after wall in his rookie UARA campaign. 2009 was different story and although it was a roller coaster for the young Clemson freshman, he had a couple of defining moments. None were more defining than on April 25th at Concord Speedway when Rodenbeck came from his fourth place starting effort to defeat Matt McCall through a couple of late race cautions to collect his first career UARA win. The win was special and it was the performance of his lifetime even bringing tears to the eyes of his father in victory lane!
1st - McCall Wins DHM from Last
7/11/09 - It was a ballsy move to leave his second place qualifying effort to take the "Renegade Challenge", a challenge for the higest qualifier to go to the rear and win for basically double the purse ... Matt McCall rose to the occasion and took the challenge and the hometown favorite knew the track, but he had to survive the race itself, which was filled with carnage. McCall made his moves one by one and eventually found himself at the front of the pack and in a late race dash he held off some strong challengers to win in the most impressive performance of the 2009 season!
