| USA International Speedway Tests Florida's Finest | By Jack Smith
Lakeland, Fl - Heavenly weather and a well-tuned 3/4 mile monster combined with over 90 of Florida's finest racers made for the first big test at USA International in 2003.
The Sunbelt Super late Model Series started the show rolling in the afternoon with 31 rockets each taking a two lap qualifying run around Florida's monster short track.
Florida’s Top Guns including Sunbelt points leader Wayne Anderson along with Jimmy Cope, B.J. McLeod, James Powell III, David Rogers, Bobby Beauchemin, Mario Gosselin and other usual top qualifiers were outrun by Aric Almirola who set fast time with a 20.727.
When the field was inverted the pole position went to David Rogers, but Rogers never made it off the starting block due to mechanical problems giving the honor to Jimmy Cope with Barry Willoughby on the outside and James Powell and B.J. McLeod in the second row. (Click here to see the start of the race).
Cope was the strong early leader with Powell following several car lengths back. McLeod, having got a terrible start dropped back to ninth to run with Mario Gosselin and Wayne Anderson, while Aric Almirola in the red number 14 got by Jacob Warren to grab the third spot. An early caution left large amounts of fluids from Beauchemin's #3 car bringing out the red flag.
Wayne Anderson, after another minor caution, passed five cars in quick order to move into the fourth position, Powell had just got by Cope for the lead, when the third caution flag of the night was thrown for a wreck involving Mike Williams.
The EMT unit attended to Williams, and according to a family member may have broken his arm in the hard crash in turn one.
As the field was readied for the lap 42 restart, Cope passed the pace car and pitted putting him a lap down and moving Anderson into second place behind James Powell III. When Cope came back onto the track he was in front of Powell and with Cope being given the 'move over' signal from the flagman, Powell got into the back of Cope, sending him sideways but Cope held onto the black #61 to save a potentially huge wreck with all the leaders.
Gosselin, Dempsey, Glover and Almirola all were having car problems and made frequent pit stops during the first half of the race. Just before the halfway mark of the 125-lap race, Jimmy Cope retired his car for the evening leaving Powell to fend off Anderson which he did by pulling away from the pack after each restart the rest of the way.
McLeod provided the fans some excitement in the second half of the race. Just before the half-way mark Larry Osteen apparently missed a shift on a restart and the black and red-flamed McLeod Motorsports machine got underneath the #22 and drove on by him, not wrecking Osteen but doing some minor damage to the left front of the #78. McLeod's car kept getting stronger as the race went on, and Jacob Warren running strong in the third spot for quite a few laps eventually found himself fending off McLeod's attempts to pass.
The two racers did battle for over 30 laps until McLeod finally made the pass on lap 116 to secure his first ever podium finish at Florida's biggest short-track.
Powell easily outran Anderson for the win, tightening up the Sunbelt Series points race after 5 races and giving Powell his second Sunbelt win of the year.
Full official results and updated Sunbelt points to follow later.
The Goodyear Challenge Series race started off with the number 63 of Chris Lawrence setting a torrid pace and pulling away from the field right from lap one. Lawrence followed by Mike Hovis in the 29, Tim Russell in the 36 and Brad May in the number 10 were beginning to lap packs of cars by lap 23.
The Lawrence machine experienced mechanical problems (tire) and fell into the pits taking him out of contention and leaving Tim Russell to build up a lead while Larry Osteen battled May for second spot, which he took from May on lap 64.
Each lap the 22 car inched closer and closer to Russell's back bumper and by lap 72 the stage was set for a showdown on the lightning fast USA International Speedway pavement.
Side by side, with Osteen underneath Russell, Russell fending off the attacks with straight-away speed, until the 22 got the lead momentarily and then it was Russell back in front until lap 83 when the two cars finally got together in turn four, sending both to the rear after the intense 10 lap battle for the lead. (Click here to see the incident).
Brad May, the 1997 Hooters ProCup Rookie of the Year, held the lead the rest of the way with only Jason Boyd mounting a serious challenge.
The last five laps turned into a 'crashfest' with multiple cautions and lots of damaged cars being towed off with wreckers, including an irate Jason Boyd after tearing up his car in a turn four skirmish with lapped cars on lap 99 of the 100 lap race
Full official results and updated GoodYear Challenge Series points to follow later.
The final race of the 275 lap festival of speed, the FASTRUCK 50 lap affair was won handily by Paul Grynewicz of Hudson, Florida in the number 40 truck.
Notes:
Sunbelt fast qualifier Aric Almirola is studying Engineering at the University of Central Florida these days, where he is on the Dean's List for academic achievement. College will limit the number of races Aric can enter this year.
Dick Anderson was crew chief for Mike Fritts, driving the familiar Anderson #92. Fritts was out of contention after an early wreck.
Ellenton's Johnny Jackson (number 1X) said he had a lot of fun at USA, after not racing at the 3/4-mile track for a few years and it was good to "come back for a refresher course".
B.J. McLeod's team was very happy with the 3rd place finish. "We had a good car, we got shuffled back there on the start because I got up there in the oil dry, we fell back to about eighth or ninth" McLeod said. " We will just sit here and cruise you know, because the car is a little loose, and it just kept getting better and better and better and I like okay we'll pass some people."
Brad May will be attending a wedding in early May of this year. His own in fact, as the popular racer plans to be married on the 9th.
The best-looking racecar award has to go to Steve Dorer, driver of the number 10 GoodYear Challenge Series car and owner of Checkered Flag Graphics.
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