Rogers tops Bright House, Clouser wins E-Mods at New Smyrna Speedway

by Andy Sandall, FASCAR Media

 The Bright House Challenge Series for Super Late Models was the headliner at New Smyrna Speedway on Saturday night as the fans made their way out to the track to celebrate Memorial Day weekend. There was plenty of action in the other divisions, including local favorite Cody Blair making an attempt to take down wins in four separate divisions, and the night would end in the most fitting way possible with an active servicewoman taking down the win to close the night’s racing.

 The first feature of the night saw the E-Modifieds joined by a pair of recent Sportsman winners in the shape of #23 Mike Pletka and #27 Phil Luizzo as these two divisions ran a combined race. The race at the front would be dominated by #15 Cody Blair, making his first appearance of his scheduled four that night, and #6 Rich Clouser, getting an early taste of the track before heading back out in his Super Late Model. Blair would take the early lead and leave Clouser in his wake before the #6 was back on his rear bumper and looking for a way underneath.

 The halfway point was soon reached with Blair blocking every attempt by Clouser to find a way past, but the race took a decisive turn as Blair came around turn 4 looking visibly loose, having to catch his car and slow as he slid around and back onto the front straight. Clouser instantly capitalized to power down the inside and set off to put some distance between himself and 2^nd place. Soon it was obvious that Blair was fighting a seriously unsettled car in every corner. Thanks to the distance the leaders had put between themselves and the field in the opening laps Blair was able to come home in 2^nd place behind Clouser, as Pletka led Luizzo home in the Sportsman race out on track at the same time. Little did Blair realize that this disappointing run would actually turn out to be the high point of a disastrous night for him.

 Next up on the schedule was the much anticipated Pro Truck feature, coming just a week after a controversial race that saw young rivals #20 Anthony Sergi and #24 Bruce Bennett come together towards the end of the race, finishing Sergi’s race prematurely and that ended with a two-day technical inspection for Bennett before the result could be officially confirmed. Naturally the starting position draw put Sergi on outside pole with Bennett directly behind him, but before the race could start the drama began as #15 Cody Blair saw his night quickly go from bad to worse with mechanical issues on the warm-up laps that saw him heading back to the pits, unable to get back out and take up his place in the line-up.

 Right from the off it was Sergi and Bennett who raced up to the front, both using the high line to their advantage to move around pole-sitter #7 Thomas Warnick and Bennet’s fellow 2^nd row starter #8 Bobby Kennedy. Sergi and Bennett would waste no time in pulling away and restarting last week’s epic battle, but coming with them would be #28 T.J. Duke who was determined to prove that this was no two-horse race. Soon the race was hitting a rhythm that saw Sergi comfortably running in the fast high groove, but sitting with enough track underneath him to encourage Bennett to look low and see if he could squeeze his way through. Bennett would look with every turn, but Sergi kept cranking up the laps and was showing no sign of letting go of his lead.

 Soon Bennett would start to pull alongside, and the cars began to race door-to-door with Dukes clamped right on the two leader’s tails. Sergi would just keep his nose ahead and his faith in the higher line and his truck’s speed was rewarded as the two reached the halfway mark with Bennett still unable to get underneath and snatch the lead from Sergi’s hands. The tension would quickly be broken when #10 Blake Suttie span in turn 4 to bring out the first caution of the night. It would take two attempts to get back underway as Sergi won the first psychological battle of the race by forcing Bennett into making a horrendous false start that saw him warned from the flagstand, having jumped way back in turn 3 under the pressure to make this restart count.

 Sergi would time his restart perfectly to pull ahead of Bennett and get himself back onto his favored line to build himself the biggest lead he had enjoyed so far. Bennett would work his way back and again place himself right on the inside rear quarter of Sergi’s truck, but with laps counting down he now needed to make a move and prove he had the speed to get to the front. His tactic was to run hot into turn 3 and try to power his way underneath to the lead, but he would find Sergi’s determination unbreakable as each time Sergi resolutely held onto his favored line, knowing he had to pace to pull away out of turn 4 and be back in front by the straight.

 Finally Bennett had just one lap left and again ran as hard as he could into turn 3 and under the leader’s car, but once more Sergi held his line, put his foot on the gas and powered out of the turn to take the win by a car length. Duke would be rewarded for his patient race with a well-deserved 3^rd place ahead of #10 Blake Suttie, but it was the young drivers ahead of him that would take all the plaudits. After such an acrimonious end to the previous week’s race it was to both Sergi and Bennett’s credit that they came back out and put on a tremendous race that was both hard fought but totally clean and that saw both drivers thoroughly deserve the applause the received from the fans.

 The Pro Truck race proved a perfect appetizer for the Bright House Challenge Series race that was to follow, as a field of Super Late Models made their way out onto the track to do battle. The fast qualifier in afternoon practice was #9 Rich Clouser, doubling up after his early win in the E-Modifieds, but the draw for inversion saw him demoted back down to 9^th place. This would put #34 Shaughn McCormick up at the front alongside #127 Brandon Booth and leave pre-race favorite #11 David Rogers handily placed on the 2^nd row.

 From the start the initiative would be taken by Booth as he moved out to the front, but Rogers would find himself blocked and stranded on the high line behind McCormick, allowing #96 Ben Kennedy through to set off in pursuit of the leader. The lead group would close together again as Rogers settled in behind Kennedy, leaving McCormick to fend off the attacks from behind by #64 Joe Winchell, Clouser and #33 Gary Fountain. Quickly Rogers found his way underneath with a powerful pass heading into turn 1 to take 2^nd place, but the cars would be slowed down behind the pace truck as Fountain got into trouble coming out of turn 4, turning around down the front straight and heading backwards into the pit-lane wall. A broken rear-end was the diagnosis, and Fountain was soon back in the pits with his racing over for the night.

 Booth knew the restart would be crucial, but with such experience and talent around him it was no surprise when the green flag waved that Rogers was quickly around him into the lead, bringing Clouser through for company. By the next lap Booth had dropped even further back as Kennedy and Winchell demoted him to 5^th in their chase for the lead. Rogers and Clouser would put some distance between themselves and the field, and the race soon resembled the earlier truck race as Rogers sat comfortably on the higher line, keeping ahead of Clouser’s low runs into the turns.

 But with Rogers seemingly in control the race turned on its head when he inexplicably ran high in turn 2 to let Clouser through, and began to visibly slow. His was left thanking #05 David LeBeau for saving his race as the back-marker span in turn 3 to bring out the caution flag, leading to a lengthy clean-up for dropped fluids that gave Rogers time to head back to the pits for a tire check and adjustments to correct whatever had forced him briefly off the pace.

 Clouser would waste no time at the restart in getting onto the faster high line and pulling away, putting distance between himself, Kennedy and Winchell as Rogers was left to move through the pack after initially finding himself blocked. Patience was the key as Rogers waited until he had the perfect line to move through and set off after the leaders. This move would be important as it pulled him clear of McCormick who was soon in trouble as he brushed the front straight wall, his car bucking and sliding all over the track before he wrestled it back under control heading into turn 1. This had obviously done more damage than just scraping his side body panels, as two laps later in exactly the same place he suffered a blow-out to his right rear tire, exploding with enough force to blow the rear body panels of his car. At this speed all McCormick could do was hang on and hope his car was up to the job of protecting him, and by the time he came to rest all the way down against the turn 1 wall his car was minus its roof and most of its bodywork, but most importantly of all the driver was safe and able to climb out, ready to race again another day.

 Rogers would get another lucky break during the caution as Winchell was forced to return to the pits to deal with overheating that would see him restart as last of the lead cars, crucially putting Rogers immediately behind Clouser at the restart. Rogers made short work of Kennedy, leaving the youngster who earlier that day had attended his High School graduation to deal with the charging Winchell who had already reclaimed 4^th place. Clouser now had Rogers filling his mirrors as Rogers looked high and low, with Clouser matching his every move with a block of his own.

 With 5 laps to go Rogers forced the issue, looking down the inside of Clouser in turn 3 and bringing the leader low to cover the line. Clouser’s was now forced to mirror Rogers every move until he could hold off the charge of no longer, and Rogers moved alongside Clouser in turn 1, pushing him high up the track before blasting away down the back straight and bringing the crowd to their feet. Clouser would do all he could to fight back, but Rogers had timed his run perfectly and had just one more lap to hold on. In no time Rogers was crossing the line to take the win by a car length ahead of Clouser, with Kennedy soon following in 3^rd, holding on in a close race with the always-exciting Winchell.

 The win was particularly poignant for Rogers coming so soon after the sad passing of Connie Holland, wife of his main sponsor Steve Holland of TM Ranch, and just a few weeks after his car was almost destroyed in a horrific crash at Five Flags Speedway. Clouser took a deserved 2^nd place in a race that he played a major part in making so exciting, while both Kennedy and Winchell had a great race between themselves for 3^rd. Elsewhere in the field #9z Zach Donatti and #23 Rusty Ebersole ran nose-to-tail for almost the entire 50 laps, while track regular #13 Bob Greene enjoyed his best race of the year before bowing out with just 15 laps to go.

 The following Mini Stock feature saw more heartbreak for #81 Cody Blair, although this time he managed to take the green flag on the 2^nd row, but applying the gas was the signal for his car to give up, bringing out the pace truck while he was removed to the pits. The second attempt at a start ended as quickly as it started once a flat tire for #13 Bruce Morehouse saw him lose control in turn 2, hitting #v3 Rex Christensen, and seeing both cars head back to the pits with only Christensen re-emerging onto the track. ‘Third time lucky’ seemed to be the key phrase, and this time the cars managed to get up to speed with #8 Jamie Dixson pulling away with #09 Todd Haught in hot pursuit.

 After the problems at the start the race would run for 25 green flag laps as Dixson slowly increased his lead. Haught would do his best to reel him in as the race progressed, but the halfway mark saw Dixson push on once more and begin to draw away from the field. The checkered flags would see Dixson taking the win well ahead of Haught, who himself had put significant distance between himself and #14 Chace Miller in 3^rd.

 The Super Stock race would be #5 Cody Blair’s last chance for glory on a night that had started with so many expectations. From the start the front row cars of #56 Bobby Holley and #01 Scott Smith pulled well away in the lead, leaving a battle behind them for 3^rd between a very loose #2x Mike Amato, Blair, #31 J. T. Tippins and #60 Ernie Tumminello. The erratic behavior of Amato’s car made him a dangerous obstacle on the track, but Blair’s wariness to pass him just gave Holley and Smith more time to pull away before eventually Amato’s car calmed down and Blair was able to advance to 3^rd place.

 Up at the front Holley and Smith were putting on a show and, just like in the earlier races, were setting themselves up with Holley riding the high line and leaving Smith to look low for a way round. The results here were no different either, as on every entry into the corner Smith pulled level only for Holley to power away out of the turn and down the straights. It took a tiny mistake by Holley to give Smith his chance on the 12^th lap when his car got loose for a split-second, but that was enough for Smith to move underneath and get his nose in front. However he still didn’t have the pace to get clear, and within 3 laps Holley had used the high line to good effect to push himself back in front.

 5 laps to go would be the signal for Smith to make his big move for glory, running hard under Holley into turn 3 and moving across his rival to block his counter-move. Holley would have to back off, giving Smith a big nudge to the rear to try and reclaim his place, but this unsettled his own car more than Smith’s and he was forced to back off and let Smith pull away. The 20^th lap would also cap a terrible night for Blair as way over on the other side of the track his #5 car was limping home to the pits, confirming his 3^rd ‘DNF’ from 4 races.

 By the checkered flag Smith was out on his own at the front, leading Holley home to take a good win in a hard-fought, exciting race. 3^rd place would be taken by #86 Rich Goodrich who had run another of his usual well-timed races as he accumulates points towards a genuine chance of the track championship.

 The action still hadn’t finished, and those fans who stayed right through to the end of the night’s racing were rewarded with a remarkable Strictly Stock race. After her first ever feature win a week ago #21 Maureen Dahm made the worst possible start as her car failed to respond to her right foot and she was left to pick up momentum at the rear of the field as she got up to race speed.

 With most of the racing happening well ahead of her it was noticeable that with each lap she was getting faster and faster, and slowly catching the 4 cars ahead of her. By the halfway point she had made her way onto the tail of #13 Tony Candolino, who she soon passed before dispatching of #9 Kevin Ross just a lap later. The #35 of Gino Tumminello was soon left in her dust as she made a neat pass by powering down the outside with two laps to go. Now just the #57 Joe Candalino stood in her way and she had one lap left to catch him in.

 The whole crowd was now willing her on as she flew out of turn 2 with Candalino well and truly in her sights. Making ground down the back straight she held her nerve and moved low to push under and through to the lead as the cars entered turn 4, not only holding off his fight back but pulling away down the front straight to complete a remarkable from-the-back win that delighted the fans. As she emerged from the car, proudly wearing her Army uniform that does double-duty as her racing suit at weekends, it was entirely fitting that the fans went into Memorial Day cheering and applauding one of the US Armed Forces finest, stood proudly in