July, 21, 2012 - Tazewell Speedway was able to dodge a major bullet from Mother Nature, and was able to successfully complete another round of the 2012 regular racing program. Heavy rains fell in the area all week, preventing the track from drying out. Brad Hall, the CEO of Tazewell Speedway Track Preparations Operations, discussed the track for the evening. "Due to the heavy rains this week, we only put two and a half loads of water on the track. We wanted to put more, but I'm glad we didn't, because the track is wet enough, and doesn't look to be drying out." After some extra work on the track, the surface was ready for action. Qualifying sessions saw Steve Smith claim the Tazewell Late Model pole, Jordan Horton claim the Modified Street pole, Charlie Tharp claim the Classic pole, and Steve Smith claim the Pure Street pole.

The night's action started off with a 15 lap feature for the 4 Cylinder division. Bubby Braden and Rufus Collett shared the front row, with Braden taking the lead on lap 1. By the 5th lap, Brad Pressley, who started on the tail end of the field, was up to 2nd and began to challenge Braden for the lead. 3 laps later, Pressley was able to overtake Braden in turn 1 to take the lead. He would lead the remainder of the event to claim his 1st victory of 2012 at Tazewell Speedway with Braden finishing 2nd and Wayne Hopson finishing 3rd.

Four Cylinder Results
1. 19 - Brad Pressley
2. B7 - Bubby Braden
3. H2 - Wayne Hopson
4. 72 - Rufus Collett
5. 13 - John Collett

Modified Street came to the speedway next for their 20 lap feature. Jordan Horton took the lead on the first lap, and led the event flag-to-flag in dominating fashion. Brad Davis brought his machine home in 2nd, with Tony Horton finishing 3rd. After the event, an infraction of a safety precaution involving a weight block resulted in track tech man Bill Curl disqualifying Jordan Horton. As a result, the win was given to Brad Davis.

Modified Street Results
1. 88 - Brad Davis
2. 56 - Tony Horton
3. 4 - Clyde Overholt
4. P21 - Robbie Buchanan
5. 54 - Larry Burke
6. 44C - Jason Sizemore
7. 1 - David Clark
DQ
56H - Jordan Horton

The Tazewell Late Models rolled to the speedway next for their 30 lap feature. Steve Smith shared the front row with Jason Trammell for the start. For the 2nd week in a row, it appeared Trammell got a good jump on Smith, but with the high side advantage, Smith exited turn 2 as the leader. Smith, Trammell, and Phillip Nichols ran bumper to bumper, while working lapped traffic. Trammell made several attempts to pass Smith, but was unable. Smith took the win over Trammell and Fultz. Heath Alvey ran an impressive 4th, and Nichols took 5th after suffering a flat tire late in the event.

Tazewell Late Model Results
1. 3 - Steve Smith
2. 90J - Jason Trammell
3. T0 - Travis Fultz
4. 7 - Heath Alvey
5. 33 - Phillip Nichols
6. 56J - Jody Horton
7. 19 - Steve Rouse
8. G7 0 Daryl Gordon
9. 21 - Bryan Howerton
10. 111 - J Allen
11. 22 - Matthew Holt
12. 24 - Andy Wilder
13. 45 - BJ Morris

Classics took to the track next. Tharp pulled out to the lead over Logan Dukes, who has been out of action recently while working for Super Late Model hot shoe Ronnie Johnson. On lap 14, Dukes finally made his attempt to challenge for the lead. As a result, Tharp made contact with Dukes, and crashed into the inside wall on the front stretch, ending his night. Dukes would go on to win the event and claim his 1st win of 2012 over Joe Keck.

Classic Car Results
1. 5 - Logan Dukes
2. 8 - Joe Keck
3. 20 - Charlie Tharp
4. 7 - Luke Stevens
5. 59 - Jason Beeler
6. 18 - Eli Keck
7. 1 - Shane Lockhart

Pure Street wrapped up the night with a 20 lap feature. Steve Smith pulled out to the lead on lap 1. Smith led the event, but was unable to pull away from Buster Cupp. Cupp rode Smith's bumper the whole race, but never was able to make a move on Smith. Smith took the win over Buster Cupp in one of the closest finishes of 2012.

Pure Street Results
1. 2 - Steve Smith
2. 28 - Buster Cupp
3. 94 - Dustin Eldridge
4. 18 - JR Cody
5. 97 - Bo Hall
6. 69 - Paul Tarver
7. 12 - JJ Green
8. 41 - Johnathan Miracle
9. 5 - Jason Saylor
10. 7 - Larry Moore

Gary and Shirlene Hall would like to thank everyone for their continued support of Tazewell Speedway. Join Tazewell Speedway next Saturday night as we welcome back Ray Cook and the Schaeffer Oil Southern Nationals Series with their series finale. The event will consist of a 53 lap feature for the Super Late Models and pay $5,300 to the winner.