Ben Kennedy tops Super Late Models at Orlando SpeedWorld
SUPER LATE MODELS HIGHLIGHT WK #2 AT OSW
by Andy Sandall
(03.19.10 – Orlando Speedworld)
Racing came back to Orlando Speedworld with a bang on Friday night as the track re-opened for the 2010 season a week later than scheduled thanks to the previous week’s unseasonally heavy rain. Of course the rain had been the story of the 2009 season, at one point forcing FASCAR officials to call a temporary halt to the schedule and wait out the weather before coming back later in the year, but thankfully for the fans desperate to get back their weekly Friday night racing fix the conditions were perfect in Bithlo and their favorite drivers were quickly back into the groove and renewing old rivalries as well as setting up new stories to play out over the coming months.
As always with regular season action at Orlando Speedworld the spectators who take their seats early get an extra race as they watch the drivers of tomorrow taking their first steps up the racing ladder in the Bandolero cars. With 4 of these cars out on track tonight, representing the two age groups that compete together in this division, the first racing action of the 2010 season saw three of the four cars take the green flag and head into the first turn 3-wide on cold tires! Of course this led to a pile-up in the first corner, but thankfully all the cars could continue and the race was soon underway. The main action in the race would be provided by #55 Michael Held and #13 Ryan Shattack, with Shattack eventually taking the win, but not before a big accident on the final lap as Held lost control in turn 2, forcing #30 Noah Cornman to go wide to take avoiding action, only to be t-boned by Held’s car as he went past on the high side. Thankfully both drivers were OK and the result was awarded with Shattack as the winner and Held taking second ahead of Cornman, and a special mention for #00 Brandon Lynch coming home 3rd in his first ever race.
The full-size cars would soon be out on the track in the shape of the Sportsman racers, a division that thank to the rule changes now puts cars of all kinds of shapes and body styles out onto the track to race together. This race quickly developed into two battles going around the track separately as pole-sitter #45A Adam Soukup dropped back from the green flag and into an intriguing race with #92 Ted Head, while a rivalry from the 2009 season was quickly being re-engaged up at the front between #20 Justin Reynolds and #66 Andy Nicholls. Once #11 KC Nicholson had pulled off the track with mechanical issues on the 4th lap to bring out a caution, the race ran under the green flag for the rest of the way and ended with Reynolds a clear winner by half a lap ahead of Nicholls, and Head edging out Soukup for a well-earned 3rd place.
The Mini Stocks were next up on the track, with another of 2009’s most intense rivalries kicking off again, this time between #92 Pedie Allison and #31 David Russell who had gone into the final race of the previous year level on points before Russell clinched the track championship with a win in that last race. Russell would start this race from the front, alongside #15 Casey Loeffler, but Allison was quickly up to the front from the 2nd row and chasing down his rival. Joining the party was #97 Kelly Jarrett who announced his intentions to keep this from being a two-horse race by tracking down Russell and taking 2nd place as the race reached halfway following several laps that saw the top 3 runners racing bumper to bumper. A spin for Loeffler brought the pace truck back out with 5 laps to go and set up a sprint for the finish that saw Allison and Jarrett move away at the head of the field and race hard for the remaining laps, but Jarrett’s last lap dive for the line out of turn 4 wasn’t enough and Allison was able to hold him off by a nose to take the early lead in this division. Now with three fast cars running at the front, and hopefully the return of always dangerous #85 Rex Hollinger, who missed this race courtesy of mechanical issues, for next week’s action, the opening week of the season set up what should prove to be an intriguing and close chase for the Mini Stock championship in 2010.
Legends cars would be the next division to begin their 2010 campaigns, with one of the main storylines in this race being the appearance of #8 Donovan Ponder for his first Legends race having learned his trade racing Bandoleros at Orlando and now stepping up to the next level. He announced his arrival with a bang, quickly taking the lead and leaving #1 Russ Thomson and #12 Critter Saile to fight it out for 2nd place behind him. Saile would get caught up in this battle for the first part of the race, but eventually made his move stick and set off in pursuit of Ponder, catching him and then passing him as the 9th lap came around and being well ahead of the field as the crossed flags were shown to indicate the halfway point of the race.
A spin for Ponder out of turn 4 on the 15th lap would bunch the cars back together again and put the young driver at the back of the pack for the restart, and Saile made no mistake once the pace truck pulled off the track to power away and put a big gap between himself and his rivals. Well behind the leader Thomson and #6 Jim Rix were fighting hard for 2nd place, with #51x Roger Englund and Ponder close behind them. As the cars took the signal for 5 laps to go Thomson went wide in turn 3 letting Rix and Ponder underneath him, but with an unsettled car in his hands Thomson lost control in turn 1 of the next lap, spinning out and taking Englund with him up the banks and into the outer wall. After a brief break to get the stricken cars off the track on the back of the flatbed wrecker truck the race resumed with just 3 laps to go, and Saile made no mistake to win the race handily ahead of Ponder, who had also put a decent gap between himself and Rix.
Cars from the other end of the spectrum to the Legends would be out for their feature after a brief intermission, as the Super Late Models made their first appearance of the season at Orlando for a 35 lap feature. The fans in the grandstands also received an unexpected treat as the cars made their way out onto the track and a familiar car was spotted – the #92 of the legendary Dickie Anderson, making his first competitive race appearance for some time, and quickly showing the ability and will to win that made him so famous. In fact he was soon up to speed and despite starting in 6th place he was quickly challenging #96 Ben Kennedy, himself making his first regular season SLM start after a great year in the Pro Trucks in 2009, for 2nd place. At the front was #18 Jared Allison, who had started on the front row and was quickly out into a healthy lead.
A spin for #13 Bob Greene at the back of the field early on brought out the caution flags, but the restart saw contact between Kennedy and #7 Vince Keeler in turn 3 that turned Keeler and forced the cars behind him into taking avoiding action. Although Keeler was able to rejoin the race and most cars successfully made their way around the wreck, #02 Scott Bramlett was not so lucky and his night was over after hitting the stricken turned car. A second restart was more successful, as Allison moved away at the front with Kennedy for company, and Anderson quickly dispatching #22 David King to take 3rd place with a terrific lowside pass in turn 3.
Another spin for Greene at the rear bunched the cars back together and this time Allison would soon be facing an altogether different proposition as Kennedy quickly fell prey to Anderson and #407 Jason Vail, leaving the veteran Anderson looming very large in Allison’s mirrors up at the front. Kennedy would immediately fight back and engage in battle with Vail, but as a young driver with professional aspirations he hopefully took the opportunity to look ahead and watch Anderson masterfully move forward and begin applying pressure to Allison. Soon the race between Anderson and Allison was developing into a classic, with the wily old #92 using every trick in his extensive arsenal to get past the car in front and take the lead.
As the cars hit the halfway mark Anderson began to show his nose to Allison on the way into turn 3, giving the leader a nudge to let him know he was there, but Allison responded well and regained control of his car to keep his position. The following lap Anderson tried the same move again, moving even further alongside the leader in turn 4, but this time Allison was ready for him and refused to give up his spot. Door-to-door contact coming out of the turn could only have one outcome, and both cars pushed up into the front straight wall, with Anderson turning around to sit against the wall facing back towards turn 4. The rest of the field reacted quickly to avoid the cars, and Allison was able to pull clear of Anderson’s car and return to the pack waiting for the restart, albeit at the back of the field, but Anderson’s night was over. For the fans it had been a wonderful reminder of why Dickie Anderson had become such a legend of Florida racing as he was immediately competitive despite such a lengthy period out of the driver’s seat. But there was one last treat for the spectators as another of his famous traits was on display, walking across the track and letting Allison know exactly what he thought of his defensive move as the #18 was called over by officials under caution and slowed to halt alongside Anderson’s car being put onto the wrecker!
This caution would put Kennedy at the front of the restart alongside Vail, and these two would take the race back to green with a brief tussle for the lead that saw Kennedy pull slightly clear as Allison took just 2 laps to move from the rear back up to 3rd place. With a great opportunity to take a debut win ahead of him, Kennedy showed great maturity to finish the race with good speed and avoiding any trouble around him, taking the checkered flag and the 100 championship points on offer. Behind him lapped traffic had slowed Vail and allowed Allison to close in on him, but the #407 was able to keep his head and claim 2nd place, with Allison just behind in 3rd.
The penultimate race of the night saw the Super Stocks taking to the racing surface for a 25-lap feature that was dominated by the #16D of David Gould. Having spent the off-season working on his motor, Gould was quickly putting on a show that identified him as the early season favorite for the championship as he immediately raced away into the lead and put a sizeable gap between himself and the field. Only #23 Shannon Kelly was able to mount anything like a challenge before his practice session woes that had seen him spin out 3 times during afternoon testing came back to haunt and a last lap spin cost him 2nd place as #35 Cody Keeler and #316 Joe Bandur came through to take 2nd and 3rd places respectively. By this point Gould was unassailable at the front, and he cruised to the win, leading to a bizarre seen as he came around to victory lane, climbing out of his car to take the crowd’s applause as the fire crew rushed over to extinguish the flames coming from under his hood that he could not see! An errant piece of tire debris catching fire on his exhaust manifold was the culprit, but fans were treated to the sight of Gould climbing through his window, checkered flag in hand, as the emergency crews frantically tried to pull his hood pins out to put the fire out!
Closing the evening out came the Strictly Stocks, and a healthy number of new cars and drivers took to the track with many getting their first taste of oval track racing in this entry level division. But it was one of the old hands who soon had the race under control as the familiar red #8 Ford Probe of former track champion Neil Kirby was quickly into the lead, and not in any mood to surrender it. Making a good job of chasing him was you Wes Railing in the #51, but his night came to a premature end at the halfway point as problems in turn 4 saw him sail high up to the wall, only to shoot back down across the track and down into the infield with a plume of steam pouring from his engine as he sat helpless and waiting to return to the pits. With laps ticking over Kirby made no mistakes and he soon crossed the line to be the night’s final winner ahead of #8x Luis Guillen Jr, the only car left on the track not to be lapped by a dominant Kirby.
OFFICAL RESULTS
ORLANDO SPEEDWORLD
MARCH 19, 2010
SUPER LATE MODELS
1. #96 Ben Kennedy
2. #407 Jason Vail
3. #18 Jared Allison
4. #22 David King
5. #28 Mark Adams
6. #7 Vince Keeler
7. #17 Robert Jenkins
8. #92 Dick Anderson
9. #13 Bob Greene
10. #02 Scott Bramlett
11. #55 Shain Held
SPORTSMAN
1. #20 Justin Reynolds
2. #66 Andy Nicholls
3. #92 Ted Head
4. #45A Adam Soukup
5. #11 KC Nicholson
MINI-STOCK
1. #92 Pedie Allison
2. #97 Kelly Jarrett
3. #31 David Russell
4. #15 Casey Loeffler
LEGENDS CARS
1. #12 Critter Saille
2. #8 Donovan Ponder
3. #6 Jim Rix
4. #1 Russ Thomson
5. #51x Roger Englund
SUPER STOCKS
1. #16 David Gould
2. #35 Cody Keeler
3. #316 Joe Bandur
4. #23 Shannon Kelly
STRICTLY STOCKS
1. #8 Neil Kirby
2. #8x Luis Guillen Jr
3. #30 Shane Sutouf
4. #24 Tony Bandur
5. #27 Dan Binda
6. #5 Daly Lloyd
7. #51 Wes Railing
8. #26 Joe Ponder
BANDOLERO YOUNG GUNS
1. #13 Ryan Shattack
BANDOLERO BANDITS
1. #55 Michael Held
2. #30 Noah Cornman
3. #00 Brandon Lynch
