CARTHAGE, Tenn. -- A large and enthusiastic crowd came out this past Saturday night to watch the season opening races at Riverview Speedway in Carthage. Their Easter weekend was enhanced by outstanding races with fantastic finishes.

The new Limited Late Model division made its debut and Bennie Hamlett of Smyrna won the feature in his first ever race at the facility. It’s rare when a driver wins in his first appearance at Riverview Speedway, but Hamlett said that the combination of a great crew and car and plenty of pre-season practice time contributed to his win. The race was led early on by Anthony Warner of Lafayette but Hamlett managed to take the lead about 15 laps into the race and never looked back. There were four cautions after Hamlett took the lead which tightened up the field but Hamlett managed to hold off the competition to get his win.

The Four Runner Feature saw newcomers Tim and Mathew Faulk on the pole with the fastest qualifying times but it was veteran driver Jeff White of Hartsville, who started in the rear, who took home the checkered flag. The Faulk’s kept jumping the start at the beginning of the race so they were moved to the rear. At the start of the race Clayton Brooks of Bethpage held the early lead holding off 2004 points champion, Anthony Miller, before he got into a mishap which grounded his car in the pits for the remainder of the race. White worked his way up through the field and eventually passed Miller with 12 laps to go, then held him off to get the win.

The best race of the night belonged to the Enduro class (formerly the Pure Stocks). Bobby and Tony Wix, Chris Damian and Lee Howard had been battling it out for the entire race, each taking turns in first place before a caution came out with two laps to go. On the restart Damian had the lead followed by Tony and Bobby. Coming off the back straight-away, going into Turn 3 Tony Wix and Damian got into each other and each spun out which let Bobby Wix pass and get into first place with less than a quarter lap remaining. Bobby cruised across the finish line to get his first career win at Riverview. The entire exciting race saw 12 lead changes in its 30 laps and thoroughly entertained the rowdy crowd.

In other action Saturday night….Chase Roberson of Hartsville won the Nas-Kart Feature; Derrick Newberry of Lafayette won the Super Stock Feature; Chris Willis of Goodlettesville won the Mini-Cups Feature; and Steve Mullinax of Crossville won the Open Wheel Modified Feature.

This Saturday night, April 2nd, the Super Late Models and the Chevettes will make their 2005 season debut. They will be joined by the Limited Late Models, Open Wheel Modifieds, Super Stocks, Four Runners, Enduros, and Nas-Karts.

Gates open at 1pm, time trials at 5:30pm with racing at 7pm. For more information visit our website at www.riverviewspeedway.com.

RESULTS

Results for the races held on 26 March 2005 (only the top 5 are shown):

LIMITED LATE MODELS
1st: #55 Bennie Hamlett, Smyrna, TN
2nd: #37 Jason Dobbs, Hartsville, TN
3rd: #8 Anthony Warner, Lafayette, TN
4th: #16 Steve Johnson, Nashville, TN
5th: #91 G.W. Warner, Lafayette, TN

OPEN WHEEL MODIFIEDS
1st: #7 Steve Mullinax, Crossville, TN
2nd: #47 John Thomas, Harvest, AL
3rd: #2 Roy Cantrell, Huntsville, AL
4th: #1 Greg Taylor, Crossville, TN
5th: #83 Dale McKinney Jr., Lebanon, TN

SUPER STOCKS
1st: #8 Derrick Newberry, Lafayette, TN
2nd: #45 J.J. Ferguson, Nashville, TN
3rd: #44 Joe Howard, Alexandria, TN
4th: #52 Clint Ivey, Nashville, TN
5th: #69 Frankie Turner, Pegram, TN

ENDUROS
1ST: #22 Bobby Wix, Westmoreland, TN
2nd: #8 Tony Wix, Westmoreland, TN
3rd: #17 Chris Damian, Hartsville, TN
4th: #38 Greg Hiett, Carthage, TN
5th: #44 Robbie Doughtery, Alexandria, TN

FOUR RUNNERS
1st: #17 Jeff White, Hartsville, TN
2nd: #12 Anthony Miller, Lebanon, TN
3rd: #8 Matthew Faulk, Mt. Juliet, TN
4th: #18 Larry Bandy, Carthage, TN
5th: #15 T.J. Meyers, Hartsville, TN

NAS-KARTS
1st: #92 Chase Roberson, Hartsville, TN
2nd: #11 Bobby Joe Lane, Donelson, TN
3rd: #68 Jonathan Foster, Hartsville, TN
4th: #8 Simon Yates, Greenbrier, TN
5th: #6 Greg Hiett, Carthage, TN

MINI-CUPS
1st: #8 Chris Willis, Goodlettesville, TN
2nd: #12 Joseph Meyer, Mt. Juliet, TN
3rd: #44 Linda Rubright, Lafayette, TN
4th: #29 Lance Richmond, Gainsboro, TN