IT'S TIME TO RACE!!

April 26, 2004 FSCR Pierce Takes Second Modified Win, Williams is King of the Sportsman at New Smyrna by Jane Smith Samsula, Fla. (April 25, 2004) The night air was warmer than lately and the asphalt was definitely hot as the Sportsman went for 50 laps and the Strictly Stocks went for 25. New Smyrna's Show Dolls added to the heat as they heated up the start/finish line with two dance routines for the fans. Asphalt is not their usual dance floor but the Show Dolls had a great performance and the crowd was very pleased but it had to be a little rough on the feet and legs for the girls. Chad Pierce, winner from Friday night at Orlando SpeedWorld, took his second win of the weekend in the Open Wheel Modified division. Pierce had the pole for the feature event and never faultered from the waving of the green. Following Pierce on the start was Bobby Blake, Mark Vandevender, Larry Goolsby and Matt Wheeler. On lap 11, Ed Kuhel brought out the yellow for a spin but Kuhel quickly straightened and continue to race. Pierce held the point on the restart with Blake close behind. Blake taps Pierce just enough to get Pierce very squirelly but Blake backs off to let Pierce collect himself and Blake finds himself in third with Vandevender in second. Pierce holds the point and takes the checkered for his second win of the weekend followed by Mark Vandevender, Bobby Blake, Matt Wheeler and Larry Goolsby. Matt Wheeler took the heat win. Eric Black had the pole for the Super Late Model feature but before a lap was down, Black and Guy Thomas, returning for the first time idn 2004, got together in turns 1 and 2 with Thomas backing into the wall. Thomas was towed into the pits and the race restarted. On the restart it is David Rogers who takes over the number one spot with Black, McLeod, Morgan Hoover and Wayne McCall in the top five. McLeod quickly puts the pedal down and passes Black for second reeling closer and closer to Rogers. Rogers is able to hold strong keeping McLeod in second although B.J. tries everything to shake Rogers. Rogers takes the checkered followed by B.J. McLeod, Eric Black, Morgan Hoover, and Wayne McCall. B.J. McLeod took the heat win. Alli Owens had the pole for the Mini Stock feature but it was Brian Bellaw who quickly took the point followed by Owens, Ted "Mr Mini Stock" Vulpius, Chad Carpenter and Ron Dubeau. Vulpius passes Owens and takes over second with Owens sliding back to fifth. Bellaw takes the checkered followed by Ted "Mr Mini Stock" Vulpius, Ron Dubeau, Chad Carpenter and Alli Owens. Chad Carpenter took the heat win. Chris Peludat had the pole for the 50 lap Sportsman event but had trouble on the start sliding backwards and then out. Dale Clouser took the point followed by Earl Beckner, Donny Williams, Cory Kaiser and John Nusbaum. On lap 7, Kaiser hits the turns 1 and 2 wall hard but is okay but done for the night although he tried to make it back. David Gibbs was blackflagged as he had part of his car running under his tire. Gibbs went on to pit road but was not able to return. Clouser holds the point on the restart with Beckner, Williams, Tommy Johnson (making his first appearance in two years at New Smyrna) and John Nusbaum in the top five. Lap 10, Williams takes over second as Beckner slides to third. Newcomer Frank Buchanon moves into fifth with Nusbaum sliding to sixth. Lap 17 James Adams brings out the yellow as he has spun on the backstretch and suffered frontend damage. Beckner takes a quick dive on pit road with problems but is able to come back out. Clouser holds the point on the restart with Williams, Johnson, Buchanon and now Danny Shearer in fifth. Lap 27, Ed Kennedy and Joe Gerard touch coming off 4 with Kennedy taking a dive into the pits for frontend repairs. The race restarts with Clouser on the point. Lap 25, Beckner and Bob Hart get together in turns 3 and 4 as Bruce McGonigal brought out the yellow for his spin on the backstretch. Since Beckner and Hart did not cause the yellow, both were given back their spots with McGonigal to the rear. The race restarts but on lap 26, one lap later, Shearer brings out the caution as he spins in fluid on the track. The leader is found to be leaking gear lube and is blackflagged with Shearer getting back his spot due to track conditions for the spin. After leading half the race, Clouser is done with Donny Williams as the new leader. On the restart it is Williams, Buchanon, Johnson, Shearer and Nusbaum in the top five But it is not to be Johnson's night as on lap 29 he develops mechanical problems and is out of the race. On the restart it is now Williams, Buchanon, Shearer, Nusbaum and Beckner in the top five. Beckner passes Nusbaum and takes over fourth with Nusbaum going to fifth. Lap 33, Shearer spins in turns 3 and 4 bringing out the yellow. Since only five cars are on the lead lap, Shearer starts in the fifth position for the restart. Williams holds the point for the rest of the race and takes the checkered followed by Frank Buchanon, Danny Shearer, John Nusbaum and Paul Hudson. Josh Schmidt had the pole for the Late Model feature but it was young Troy Atkins who quickly jumped to the point over Don Hess, Josh Schmidt, Mark Smith and Alan Bruns. Hess puts the pedal down and passes Atkins for the lead with Atkins going to second. NO cautions with Hess taking the checkered followed by Troy Atkins, Josh Schmidt, Mark Smith and Alan Bruns. Nineteen Strictly Stocks lined the field for the 25 lap special with Dominic Barbado on the pole. But it did not take Richard Renzi long to take the lead over Mike Wofford, Jeremy Hovencamp, Bruce McGonigal Jr., and Derek Slade. Hovencamp puts his moves on and first takes second and on lap 8 takes the point. Alot of slippin and slidin but no cautions as Hovencamp wins the 25 lapper followed by Bruce McGonigal Jr., Derek Slade, James Smith, and Mike Wofford. Next week at New Smyrna Speedway - TBARA Winged Sprints. Official Race Results - April 24, 2004 SUPER LATE MODEL 1. #11 David Rogers 2. #78 B.J. McLeod 3. #10 Eric Black 4. #39 Morgan Hoover 5. #2x Wayne McCall 6. #8 Brent Hobbs 7. #4 Rick Bates 8. #2 Guy Thomas 9. #63 Joe Fidos DNS LATE MODEL 1. #64 Don Hess 2. #14 Troy Atkins 3. #119 Josh Schmidt 4. #48 Mark Smith 5. #4b Alan Bruns 6. #63 Dewayne Bryan DNS 7. #2 A.J. Curreli DNS OPEN WHEEL MODIFIED 1. #51 Chad Pierce 2. #7 Mark Vandevender 3. #75 Bobby Blake 4. #96 Matt Wheeler 5. #16 Larry Goolsby 6. #14 Glen Bradley 7. #20 Ed Kuhel 8. #19 Rick McGuire DNS SPORTSMAN 50 LAPS 1. #111 Donny Williams 2. #07x Frank Buchanon 3. #77 Danny Shearer 4. #70 John Nusbaum 5. #08 Paul Hudson 6. #07 Ron Lufcy 7. #51 Ed Kennedy 8. #3 Earl Beckner 9. #18 Ken Lewton 10. #330 Joe Gerared 11. #82 Tommy Johnson 12. #30 Dale Clouser 13. #2h Bob Hart 14. #28 Mike Soukup 15. #6 Bruce McGonigal 16. #29 James Adams 17. #7 Tom Gamache 18. #26 Chris Peludat 19. #48 Cory Kaiser 20. #47 David Gibbs MINI STOCK 1. #1 Brian Bellaw 2. #71 Ted "Mr Mini Stock" Vulipus 3. #4 Ron Dubeau 4. #31 Chad Carpenter 5. #22 Alli Owens 6. #23 Wayne Wells 7. #6 Mark Broat 8. #2 Ron Karto Jr. STRICTLY STOCK 25 1. #39 Jeremy Hovencamp 2. #22 Bruce McGonigal Jr. 3. #126 Derek Slade 4. #65 James Smith 5. #15 Mike Wofford 6. #73 Jose Rivera 7. #18 Dominic Barbado 8. #08 Matt Conway 9. #75 Tim Logue 10. #40 John Zimmerman 11. #26 Michelle Dyal 12. #91 Travis Scott 13. #X Richard Renzi 14. #99 Gordon Houck 15. #92 Curtis Smith 16. #151 Rick Langdon 17. #29 Aaron Garver 18. #4 19. #35 Steve Scurlock Have an opinion on this story? 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