Fans at Lanier National Speedway may have thought they were experiencing déjà vu during the July 3 Georgia Asphalt Series Independence Day 100.
Pendergrass’ Paul Kelley and Dacula’s Russell Fleeman, who finished 1-2 in last weekend’s ASA Southeast Asphalt Tour event at Lanier, battled it out again this weekend with Kelley taking his second straight win at Lanier and his first in the Georgia Asphalt Series, just 0.141 seconds ahead of Fleeman.
At the start of the Independence Day 100, pole sitter T.J. Reaid jumped out front of the field until the first caution on lap 11. On the restart, Kelley battled Reaid on the outside, pushing the nose of his car ahead to lead lap 12 before clearing Reaid on lap 13.
In the shuffle for position, Reaid slipped back to fourth behind Kelley, Shane Sawyer and Fleeman. Fleeman put the pressure on Sawyer for second, but Sawyer was able to fend him off and give Kelley a run for the lead. Sawyer assumed the lead on lap 26, but his time out front was brief, as the yellow flew for the second time on lap 30.
The field lined up double file for the restart with Fleeman jumping out front and into the lead for the first time while Kelley slipped to fourth, his lowest position of the night. Fleeman pulled out to a five car-length lead over Greg Simpson while Reaid, Kelley and Dwayne Buggay ran nose-to-tail and distanced themselves from the rest of the field. By lap 65, Fleeman had a straightaway lead over Simpson, but five quick laps later, the third caution of the night ended Fleeman’s dominance.
For the first time, the leader was able to defend his position on the restart as Fleeman cleared Sawyer on the backstretch while Reaid and Kelley battled side-by-side for third. Kelley got around Reaid for third and took second from Sawyer on lap 76.
Two laps later, the final caution was drawn when Sawyer and Buggay spun on the backstretch. As Sawyer and Buggay resumed their positions and readied for the restart, the engine in Sawyer’s car gave out, ending his night.
Fleeman and Kelley circled the track side-by-side with Kelley getting credit for leading lap 79 before clearing Fleeman on the backstretch. Reaid made a run on Fleeman for third, but fell into line as the top three pulled away from the field.
With ten laps to go, Fleeman turned up the heat on Kelley and pressured him on the inside before falling back into line. On lap 97, Fleeman made a final charge for the lead, pulling alongside Kelley down the backstretch before losing a little ground coming out of turn four.
Kelley held off the pressure to finish half-a-car length ahead of Fleeman at the line, marking his second straight win at Lanier National Speedway and his first in the Georgia Asphalt Series.
For more on this story, see Wednesday's edition of The Jackson Herald or The Barrow Journal.
