Joiner takes other drivers to school

EAST MILTON — Pace’s Jonathan Joiner took his fellow late model drivers to school as he walked away with the big feature win Sept. 14 at Southern Raceway.

Joiner, who set the fastest time in qualifying, took off like a rocket and never looked back at the rest of the eight-car field.

The only time the Pace High School English teacher let up off the gas was when the caution flew on lap 16 due to an accident involving Tim Anderson and Benny Boudreaux.

When the race restarted, Joiner needed a couple of turns before he put his closest challenger, Bo Slay, in the distance and second place.

Rounding out the top five were James Gilmore, Taylor Jarvis and Steven Jernigan.

Mike Lane cruised to his sixth consecutive win in the Durrence Layne Street Stocks, his 13th win of the season. Four weeks remain in the season.

Frank Wilson powered his way to second when the checkered flag flew, followed by Roger Pack, Joseph Nicholson, and Michael Porter.

Dylan Hamilton, who is currently seventh in the national points race, had a rough night. He was involved to two early crashes that ended his evening.

In the Pure Stock, Adam Ellison held off a hard charging Jason McDaniel for the win, while all the action happened behind leaders. Five cautions slowed the race, but it couldn’t slow down Ellison and McDaniel, who finished first and second respectively.

Jacob Myers was third, followed by Jason Jackson and Keith Bonga, who recovered from a spin on lap 16 that brought out the final caution of the race.

Chris Brown won in the Vintage class for the second week in a row. The Pensacola driver admitted that he bumped Aleck Alford while attempting a pass in turn one, but after that he kept his line and dominated.

One caution slowed the race when Bubba Fletcher’s car slowed on the backstretch. Rounding out the top five were Alford in second followed by Gueston Rogers, Robin Christensen, and Hunter Ward.

The Stinger feature saw Josh Douglas drop the hammer from the start and dominate the entire race. He easily finished ahead of Crestview’s Steven Hill followed by Justin Baker, Sean McGuirk, and Steve Sidner.

This Saturday, the track will host a regular night of racing involving the pure stock, street stock, vintage, and IMCA open-wheeled modifieds, as well as the sportsman divisions.

Gates open at 4 p.m. and racing starts at 6 p.m Saturdays at the race track, 9359 Nichols Lake Road, Milton. Visit the facebook page or www.southernraceway.com for details.

This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Joiner takes other drivers to school