Williamson tops Southern Sportsman Field at New Smyrna Speedway
By Rick Warren
One word describes the weather and the Southern Sportsman Series action at New Smyrna Speedway Saturday night. HOT !! 26 racers signed in for the 50 lap feature, but the big track took it’s toll on the sportsman cars with 2 blown engines in the practice sessions.
24 racecars hit the track for qualifying on the fast ˝ mile, and when all the racers had taken a shot at the clocks, the fast time of 20.535 seconds was turned in by Aaron Williamson in the Carr’s Automotive entry.
Williamson picked up the Cash from J&S Palms for his effort. Just a tick slower at 20.663 seconds was the Fred’s Garage entry of Steve Gainey. Wayne Morris in the GGR Roofing chevy was third fastest, followed by Mark Peterson and Richard Elkins Jr.
After the Top Qualifiers cleared Tech Inspection, the draw for the starting positions was held,and the field was set. The pole position was filled by Michael Soukup, in the Total Car Care Entry. Soukup was looking to have a good run, as New Smyrna had been his home track for several years, and Michael was hoping his experience would be an advantage. Second position was filled by Rikk McMehan, in his unsponsored racer. Mark Peterson held the third position in his Digital Homes Chevrolet, with Williamson in fourth starting position. Craig Cuzzone rolled off from the #5 spot, followed by Stuart VanDevender, Morris, Billy Jones, Gainey, and Elkins rounding out the top ten starting spots.
After an on track autograph session with the fans from the east coast, it was time to race. The field of 23 cars rolled behind the Pace truck, bringing the racecars up to operating temperature, and the excitement was building. When the Green flag waved to start the race, Soukup and McMehan raced side by side into turn 1. The two stayed that way for two laps, with Peterson, Cuzzone, and Williamson all piled in on their bumpers, looking for a lane to race in. Lap 3 McMehan slipped high, got hung out to dry in the outside lane, and slid back in the lead pack. Peterson got in position to make a run at Soukup for the lead, and just as it looked like Peterson mighttake the position from Soukup, the caution flag came out for the 18 of Billy Jones, banging the wall very hard. Jones was uninjured,and after the track was cleared, the field was reset for the start. Soukup still out front, followed by Peterson, Morris, Cuzzone, Gainey, Williamson, McMehan, VanDevender, Kyle Tenbusch, and Elkins filling out the top ten. The race restarted right where it had left off, with furious action at the front of the pack. Soukup continues to hold off Petersons’ attempts to pass, while the top ten continue to shuffle positions every lap.
As the field raced into turn 1 on lap 7, the motor in the 97 of Cuzzone let go, dumping oil in front of the field of cars. Several cars spun , with the 79x of Gainey backing into the wall hard. The red flag was displayed for cleanup of a great deal of oil and debris. The race was finally restarted with Soukup still holding the top spot, but the competition for the lead was about to get intense.
Soukup was running for all he was worth, but his effort was about to go south due to a mechanical glitch. The leaders car lost a drive belt from the engine, and the power steering went away, making it difficult for the racer to hold the bottom groove. As a result, Williamson took over the lead, followed by Morris and Peterson. Morris started to shadow Williamson, looking for a lane to pass, but the 13 car of the leader drove a very consistent race, hitting his marks and holding his line very well. Meanwhile the action further back in the field was still hard nosed and tough going. Several cars, among them Dusty Bouchard, Tommy Conquest, Bart Weatherford, Kyle Tenbusch and Richard Elkins, were providing tons of racing action for the fans. Positions were swapped every lap, paint was traded, fenders rubbed, and the action was amazing. The race had very few cautions, so lapped traffic began to play a role in the action, and had the fans on their feet several times.
As the leader took the white flag, Morris mounted one last charge at the lead. Coming off turn 4 for the checkered flag, Morris got the nose of his racer under Williamson cleanly, and it was a drag race to the flag, with Williamson taking the win by ˝ car length. Third at the flag was Peterson, followed by VanDevender, and Bouchard.
During post-race tech inspection, it was determined that the distributer in the 73 car of Peterson did not meet series specifications, and Peterson was disqualified. The 4th place car of VanDevender was then rolled into tech, and passed inspection, and the race was declared official.
Final Results – Highland Homes / Southern Sportsman Series
6-10-2006 New Smyrna Speedway 50 Laps
Fast Qualifier – Aaron Williamson
Hard Charger – Dusty Bouchard
Most Laps Led – Aaron Williamson
1 13 Aaron Williamson Mulberry, FL 2 56 Wayne Morris Mulberry, FL 3 36 Stuart VanDevender N. Ft. Myers, FL 4 74 Dusty Bouchard Bronson, FL 5 10 Kyle Tenbusch Port Charlotte, FL 6 72 Tommy Conquest, Jr. Bronson, FL 7 1 Bart Weatherford Lakeland, FL 8 2 Derrik Heath Parkland, FL 9 55 Richard Elkins, Jr. Auburndale, FL 10 98 Roger Welch St. Petersburg, FL 11 79X Steve Gainey Bradenton, FL 12 27X Jon Heidenthal Myakka City, FL 13 721 John Bennett St. Cloud, FL 14 77 Bradley Fiene Lake City, FL 15 48 Jim McAlister Clermont, FL 16 28 Kyle Wharf Miramar, FL 17 12R Rikk McMehan Hudson, FL 18 45 Michael Soukup Deltona, FL 19 32 Ricky Hoffman Palm Harbor, FL 20 97 Craig Cuzzone Lakeland, FL 21 18 Billy Jones Lake Wales, FL 22 19 T.C. McElyea Dania Beach, FL DQ 73 Mark Peterson Sarasota, FL DNS 27 Phil Luizzo Lake Mary, FL
