By DAVID MILLER
Special to The Dispatch
Evan Ellis wasn’t going to make a mistake.
After building a lead of up to three seconds in the Chevy Performance 525 Super Late Model feature Friday at Magnolia Motor Speedway, Ellis, of Plantersville, was slowed by lap traffic with roughly 12 laps to go. Michael Page, in his first ever race at Magnolia, started to gain steam off turn 2, reaching Ellis’ left quarter panel down the back straight. Each time, though, Page had to check up and back off the throttle because Ellis was able to hold his line each time.
Ellis would turn the flawless run into his second straight Chevy Performance 525 win, adding to his final-lap pass of Ronnie Johnson last year at Magnolia.
Prior to Friday’s win, Ellis registered finishes of fourth and fifth in two NeSmith Late Model races at Magnolia this season.
“It was some good racing,” Ellis said. “I think we barely scraped one time coming out of four, and we were door-to-door a good bit. I was making good, consistent laps. It got pretty hairy.”
Page, of Douglasville, Ga., entered the race on a tear, winning four of five races. And, much like he did Friday, he’d started on the pole in each race. But Ellis was fast out of the gate, building a large lead through the first 12 laps before Jeremy Shaw wrecked and brought out the first caution. When they reached lap-traffic, Page caught Ellis and challenged him three times off turn 2 in the last 10 laps. Page dove hard into the first corner and hugged the bottom of the track while Ellis was one of only a handful of the 24 drivers to use the high line throughout the entire 30-lap race.
“When I’d get the run, I couldn’t use the rest of the race track to drive it up,” Page said. “I was changing the way I entered the corner to where, when we came off, if he made one mistake, I was there to get him. But he was there the whole time. It was fun, trying to move around the track to find something.”
Ellis said he’d invested money in new parts, mainly spindles and upper control arms, after his first two races at Magnolia. He said the new parts have “made the car come back to life.” Ellis used a higher gear Friday to carry momentum through the upper portion of the track.
“I have the 604 Crate motor, and I wasn’t able to get down to the bottom and just power through because [the rest of the field] had so much more power than I did,” Ellis said. “I had to set my car up for the top side and momentum, and I needed some clean, green-flag laps. It was just enough traction left up there to get that momentum.”
William Thomas, Jake Knowles and Ryan King rounded out the top 5.
In other race action:
n David Breazeale won the Super Late Model feature. Ronny Lee Hollingsworth, Leon Henderson, Jason Brock and Ryan King rounded out the top 5.
n Scott Dedwylder won the NeSmith Late Model feature. Kyle Shaw, Randall Beckwith, Mark Page and Hunter Carroll rounded out the top 5.
n Spencer Hughes won the Street Stock feature. Ronald Dunn, Lee Ray, Jamie Sudduth and Ben Keith rounded out the top 5.
n Brad Gable won the Factory Stocks feature. Jennifer Byrd, Matt Haney, Ellie Hughes and Josh Lawley rounded out the top 5.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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