Story by: Langley Austin ~ langley@RACE22.com

Wytheville, VA(February 4, 2010) -- Just over a week ago, we announced the RACE22.com Late Model Stock Car Most Popular Driver presented by ARP Bodies and Circle Racing Wheels.

We started out with voting for each state's Most Popular Driver including Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Now, with nearly 10,000 votes cast combined in the four different polls we are ready to announce the results and let you know who's going to be the 11 drivers in the Overall Late Model Stock Car Most Popular Driver poll. The top two drivers receiving votes in each of the four polls, plus the UARA-STARS Touring Series poll held a couple of weeks ago will make up ten of the drivers in the Overall poll as well as the top driver, not making the poll.

VIRGINIA
First we had the UARA-STARS Poll and as previously announced, Brennan Poole accumulated the most votes with his roommate, Coleman Pressley receiving the second highest number of votes. With those two in it's time to announce the state most popular drivers, starting with Virginia. With the polls being set by NASCAR points and local track champions unless otherwise needed, it wasn't even a Virginia native who will take home the crown of Virginia's Most Popular Driver.

Tommy Lemons, Jr. of Troy, NC, who raced to three wins at Motor Mile Speedway early in the season accumulated the most votes in the Virginia Most Popular Driver Poll. Lemons received 36% of the total amount of votes to take home the award and a $250.00 RACE22.com Designs Gift Certificate, good towards the purchase of a new website package. Looking at a United States map of where the drivers received the most votes(kinda like the electoral map used for political elections), Lemons received the most votes in the states of North Carolina, Alabama and Texas.

The other driver advancing from the Virginia Most Popular Driver poll is a Virginia native as well as a 12-time winner during the 2009 season and the Langley Speedway Late Model Stock Car track champion. CE Falk accumulated the second most votes in Virginia Most Popular Driver poll and received the most votes in the states of Virginia, Florida, California, Nevada and Massachusetts. The other top drivers from this poll was Brandon Dean, who carried the most votes in four states, Frank Deiny, Jr., who carried the most votes in six states and Nick Smith, who carried the most votes in two states.

TENNESSEE
Over in the state of Tennessee we had drivers from Newport Speedway and Lonesome Pine Raceway included in the poll and in the end it was a Newport driver and a Tennessee resident taking home the award. Lance Gatlin, who was a semi-regular this season at Newport was able to accumulate the most votes receiving 40% of the votes cast in the four day long poll.

Gatlin will also receive a $250.00 Gift Certificate from RACE22.com Designs, which is good towards the purchase of a new website package. Gatlin accumulated the most votes in the states of Alaska, Utah, Colorado, Louisana, Alabama, Florida and Indiana as we look at an electoral type of a map of where the votes were cast for the Tennessee Most Popular Driver poll.

Coming up just short in second in the vote total was 2008 & 2009 Lonesome Pine Raceway Champion and newly announced driver for the second Billy Ballew Motorsports NASCAR Camping World Truck Series truck, Nate Monteith. Monteith received the most votes in the states of Tennessee, South Carolina, California, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan to lead him to second in the poll results. Rounding out the top five in the poll was Nick Cole who carried the state of West Virginia, Brian Blevins who carried the states of Virginia and Kentucky and Dylan Presnell, who only carried the state of Georgia.

SOUTH CAROLINA
Next up was the state of South Carolina and after a ton of votes were cast it was a home state driver, who took home the title of South Carolina's Most Popular LMSC Driver and receives a $250.00 Gift Certificate from RACE22.com Designs, good towards the purchase of a new website package.

Terry Evans, the Myrtle Beach Speedway 2009 Rookie of the Year as well as one of RACE22.com's Best Rookies in '09 accumulated the most votes as he received 38% of the votes. Evans was able to carry the states of North Carolina, Florida, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maine, Conneticut and Washington on the electoral type map.

Evans was followed by another South Carolina resident, who actually competed most of this season in North Carolina at Tri-County Motor Speedway, RA Brown. Brown through the online campaigning of his brother of facebook came home with the second most votes in the South Carolina poll. Brown carried the states of South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky and New York on his way to making the Overall Late Model Stock Car Most Popular Driver poll presented by ARP Bodies and Circle Racing Wheels.

Completing the top five drivers in the poll was 2009 Myrtle Beach Speedway track champion, Brent Brinson who didn't lead the voting in any of the states that reported votes, David Roberts who carried the states of Texas and Missisippi and Marty Ward who carried the states of Virginia, Maryland and Illinois.

NORTH CAROLINA
The state of North Carolina Most Popular Driver poll created the most buzz and a tremendous amount of votes even after a whopping 45% of the votes were thrown out due to voters breaking the one vote per person, per hour rule. Eventually the votes worked themselves out to where the same people finished mostly in the same spot even after the illegal votes were deleted.

Again it was a state native, Ryan Wilson who came through with the most accumulated votes with 48% of the votes. Wilson had the help of friends, family and even his sponsors at the Randolph Bank voting for him and pulling him through to the Most Popular Driver of the state of North Carolina and receiving a $250.00 Gift Certificate from RACE22.com Designs, good towards the purchase of a new website package.
 

Wilson, on the electoral map of voting led in only two states, North Carolina and Maryland, but he had votes from several countries as well, which helped him take home the award. Second through fifth in the North Carolina State voting was tight, really tight with just a few votes separating the four drivers. In the end it was Hickory Motor Speedway champion and four time winner, Andy Mercer, who came through with the second most votes.

Mercer carried the states of New Hampshire, California, Texas, Wisconsin and Georgia, but right behind him in third was another Hickory regular, Jesse 'James' LeFevers. LeFevers received the most votes in South Carolina, Florida, New Jersey, Michigan and Colorado while Dexter Canipe, Jr. carried the states of Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama and fifth place in the voting was Brad Brinkley, who carried Pennsylvania and Oregon.

WILD CARD
With so many votes cast it took a ton of votes for one driver to make it to the Wild Card(11th) spot for the Overall Late Model Stock Car Most Popular Driver poll. With North Carolina receiving the most votes overall, it helped Jesse LeFevers receive just enough votes to edge out the third place in the Virginia poll, Brandon Dean to get the coveted Wild Card position.

TIME TO VOTE
Soon it will be time for you to begin voting once again with all the top vote receiving drivers in one poll for the Overall Late Model Stock Car Most Popular Driver presented by ARP Bodies and Circle Racing Wheels. The winner of this poll will receive a $750.00 Gift Certificate from ARP Bodies, good towards the purchase of a new LMSC body package as well as a $100.00 Gift Certificate from Circle Racing Wheels, good towards the purchase of a new set of wheels.

The winner will also receive a $500.00 Gift Certificate from RACE22.com Designs, good towards the purchase of a new website package. All total that's $1,350.00 worth of awards that the fan voted Most Popular Late Model Stock Car driver will receive. Voting will begin soon and will only last for a few days, so be sure to check RACE22.com often for your chance to vote for your favorite driver.

Drivers in the Overall LMSC Most Popular Driver Poll:
Brennan Poole
Tommy Lemons, Jr.
Lance Gatlin
Terry Evans
Ryan Wilson
Coleman Pressley
CE Falk
Nate Monteith
RA Brown
Andy Mercer
Jesse LeFevers