Fro Lonnie Wheatley
BEAUMONT, Texas (August 19, 2011) – Shut out of victory lane over 32 Gulf South events dating back to May of 2010, the two-time series champion rallied from the lucky 13th starting position to snare his first Gulf South win of the year and ninth of his career aboard the Shark-powered Baytown Ford No. 31 Eagle.
While Berryman started the feature seven rows deep, pole starter Greg Rilat paced the initial 17 circuits before surrendering the point to his son Travis Rilat, who worked forward from the 10th starting position.
Berryman, who cracked the top five by the tenth round and then followed the younger Rilat around G. Rilat on the lap 18 restart, ultimately got a run on T. Rilat in the final pair of corners to deny him a third Regional win on the year.
Berryman beat T. Rilat to the stripe with G. Rilat in the show position. Chris Sweeney was fourth, with Gary Watson rounding out the top five. Michael McNeil was sixth, with Tommy Bryant claiming seventh in his 100th consecutive ASCS Gulf South start. Klint Angelette, Scottie McDonald and Beau Smith completed the top ten.
G. Rilat, Sweeney and Ray Allen Kulhanek topped heat race action, with George White winning the “B” Main.
White, the current ASCS Gulf South points leader, and Channin Tankersley both got upside down in a lap eight feature incident. White was a DNF in 18th along with defending champion Ray Allen Kulhanek, allowing Bryant to sneak back into the thick of the title chase.
Only 12 points separate the trio of White, Bryant and Kulhanek in the championship battle entering Saturday’s event at Baytown’s Royal Purple Raceway.
Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Results from Golden Triangle Raceway Park:
First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 35-Greg Rilat, 2. 3-Gary Watson, 3. 29-Travis Rilat, 4. 69-Larry Howery, 5. 31-Brandon Berryman, 6. 24-Brandie Jass, 7. 17-Terry Monroe, 8. 2s-Steve Hubbard.
Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. 93-Chris Sweeney, 2. 2-Wes Miller, 3. 71-Channin Tankersley, 4. 28-Tommy Bryant, 5. 51s-Beau Smith, 6. 10-George White, 7. B51-Johnny Brown, 8. 82-Greg Nowell.
Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 2. 25m-Michael McNeil, 3. 23-Darryl Wills, 4. 19-Klint Angelette, 5. 88-Scottie McDonald, 6. 15T-Travis Elliott, 7. 52-Roger Oakes.
“B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 10-George White, 2. 17-Terry Monroe, 3. 24-Brandie Jass, 4. B51-Johnny Brown, 5. 82-Greg Nowell, 6. 88-Scottie McDonald, 7. 15T-Travis Elliott, 8. 2s-Steve Hubbard, 9. 52-Roger Oakes.
“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 31-Brandon Berryman, 2. 29-Travis Rilat, 3. 35-Greg Rilat, 4. 93-Chris Sweeney, 5. 3-Gary Watson, 6. 25m-Michael McNeil, 7. 28-Tommy Bryant, 8. 19-Klint Angelette, 9. 88-Scottie McDonald, 10. 51s-Beau Smith, 11. 69-Larry Howery, 12. 2-Wes Miller, 13. 17-Terry Monroe, 14. B51-Johnny Brown, 15. 23-Darryl Wills, 16. 24-Brandie Jass, 17. 71-Channin Tankersley, 18. 10-George White, 19. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 20. 82-Greg Nowell.
Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Region Points (Top Ten): 1. George White 2,188, 2. Tommy Bryant 2,182, 3. Ray Allen Kulhanek 2,176, 4. Brandon Berryman 2,124, 5. Chris Sweeney 2,091, 6. Channin Tankersley 2,000, 7. Travis Elliott 1,978, 8. Greg Rilat 1,955, 9. Beau Smith 1,855, 10. Michael McNeil 1,809.
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