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Brian Finney Brings Home the Win in 1st race of the Triple Crown
By Phil Schryver - KARNAC Media
Lakeland, FL (June 7, 2008 )- USA International Speedway hosted the 1st of a 3 part race series known as the Triple Crown. Many of the top names in Florida Super Late Models were on hand for this 125 lap event.
Qualifying got underway around 3pm in the blazing hot afternoon sun. Fast Time Qualifier was the #36 of Tim Russell with a time of 20.934 seconds. After pills were later drawn, Tim would end up starting 7th.
On the pole for the start of the race was the #7 of Daryl Shelnut. Starting on the outside pole was the #88 of Justin Larson, who would also be competing in the Good Year Challenge Series 100 lap late model race later that night. After speaking with many of the drivers of both series in the pits earlier on in the day, it seemed that many teams had been having various mechanical issues and wondered if it would be a full moon.
When the green flag dropped, we would have our first wreck going into turn 1. The cars involved were the #00 of Robert Yoho, the #56 of Chris Staggs, and the #74 of Seth Greco. After a double file restart, the scariest crash of the night happened as the leaders were going into turn 3 to complete lap #2.
The #10 of Brad May went airborne over the #1 car of Fain Skinner, rolling a total of 1 ½ times, landing upside down on his roof. Everyone was relieved to find out he was ok, after being helped out from his car. This crash ended the nights for 3 drivers total. Other cars that received damage from the wreck included the #07x of Jeff Scofield, the #55 of Billy Mowery, and the #05 of Jeremy Colangelo.
After the mess had been cleaned up and the green flag was waved, the full moon feel of the night would continue. Justin Larson in the #88 had taken over the lead and was pulling ahead of the pack, when all of a sudden he slowed on the back stretch with engine problems. Larson was able to get to pit road after the yellow had come out and would have to restart in the rear of the field.
On the restart, another well know driver, the #83 of David Wilson, had a huge puff of smoke come out the rear of the car and you could see the back tires moving back and forth. The rear-end of the car had broke, which ended David’s night.
By lap 35, only 18 cars remained on the track, but there was plenty of great racing action for the fans. The #88 of Larson had made his way back up to 11th. The #26 of Travis Cope was leading the field, followed by the #7 of Daryl Shelnut, and the #80 of Brian Finney in 3rd.
Lap 100 brought out the 8th yellow of the night, which I’m sure the #26 of Cope didn’t want to see as he had been running away from the field. At this point there were 15 cars left on the track.
With only 10 laps to go, things really got wild and crazy, when Cope spun out in turn 4 all on his own. This sent Cope to the back of the pack, with the #7 of Shelnut inheriting the lead. On the restart, the #7 car gets loose and slams into the turn 3 wall, ending his night. This turned the lead over to Dwayne Dempsey in the #39 car.
On the next restart attempt, the #05 of Jeremy Colangelo slammed into the back of Dempsey, spinning him out and also ending his night early too. Colangelo was sent to the rear of the field for his actions.
On the final restart, the #84 of Matt Bowers had the lead, but he would only keep it for a couple of laps before the #80 of Finney would get by and bring home the win.
This was a tough night for many of the drivers, but they sure put on one heck of a show for the fans.
The 2nd segment of the Triple Crown series will be held on Saturday, August 2nd, 2008 back at USA International Speedway in Lakeland.
After the mess had been cleaned up and the green flag was waved, the full moon feel of the night would continue. Justin Larson in the #88 had taken over the lead and was pulling ahead of the pack, when all of a sudden he slowed on the back stretch with engine problems. Larson was able to get to pit road after the yellow had come out and would have to restart in the rear of the field.
With only 10 laps to go, things really got wild and crazy, when Cope spun out in turn 4 all on his own. This sent Cope to the back of the pack, with the #7 of Shelnut inheriting the lead. On the restart, the #7 car gets loose and slams into the turn 3 wall, ending his night. This turned the lead over to Dwayne Dempsey in the #39 car.
