It was a cold night at New Smyrna Speedway as temperatures dipped into the 40s
but the action was as hot as it could be with plenty of good racing, wrecks
aplenty and a very busy tech shed that saw five drivers disqualified including
two apparent race winners.
The evening’s highlight was the final running of the Pete Orr Memorial as the
Orr family had requested this be the final running of the event that was
re-named from the Orange Blossom 100 in 2003 in honor of the late racing
champion who scored many victories over the years at New Smyrna including a
pair of Orange Blossom 100s and two Florida Governor’s Cup titles. Many of
the Orr family were in attendance and greeted each driver during pre-race
ceremonies. Orr’s son Bobby Orr presented the final Pete Orr Sportsmanship
Award to long-time racer Doc McKinney of Ft. Pierce who said he was absolutely
stunned yet honored to receive it. McKinney himself was slated to run in the
Modified event later in the evening but his car broke a rocker arm in practice
and he was unable to compete.
Twenty-five race teams signed in to do battle in the Pete Orr race and it was
Sarasota’s Anthony Campi setting quick time at 17.686 seconds. Second quick
was Bobby Good of Lake Mary, the runner up in both last November’s Florida
Governor’s Cup race and the recent Red Eye 100 earlier in the month. Good’s
lap of 17.747 was just a touch quicker than the 17.767 lap turned in by
Anthony Sergi of Geneva. The New Smyrna regular and University of Central
Florida mechanical engineering student had one of the best qualifying efforts
of his career. Joe Boyd of Riverview had a solid lap to set fourth quick time
over Boca Raton’s Dalton Sargeant, who was making his first career start here.
The top-ten in qualifying re-drew for starting positions just before the race
began with Campi drawing an eight and Good a ten while fifth-quick timer
Sargeant drew the pole with Matt Craig, who was eighth-quick, starting on the
outside pole.
Following an autograph session and pre-race ceremonies, the chilled crowd was
ready for some great racing action and they got it right from the get-go.
Sargeant streaked out to a quick lead as Craig began to fall back quickly.
Daniel Keene, Jr, was on the move early as he took over second on lap nine as
fast qualifiers Campi and Good were also on the charge. Campi started to slow
during lap 12 with a deflating right front tire. Campi tried to hold on
hoping to get an early caution flag and he did, only the caution flag was for
him as the tire exploded and he pounded the wall in turn two ending his night
early as the fastest car in qualifying was now the first one out of the race.
Stephen Nasse grabbed second on the restart from Keene but it was Sargeant
again zipping away from the field with apparent ease in his Richie
Wauters-owned entry. There was a long green flag period as things settled in
with very few challenges being made until the second yellow flag of the race
came out when the right front tire went down on Jake Perkins’ car and he
grazed the turn four wall. Perkins pitted and returned to action after
getting a new “shoe” and a quick look-over by his crew.
At this time just two cars, Campi and Jason Boyd, had dropped out of the
event… but that was to change dramatically very quickly. Good took over
second on the restart but two laps later Joe Boyd slapped the wall coming off
turn four. as he slowed and tried to gather in his machine all heck broke
loose on the front stretch. When all was said and done Boyd’s car was trashed
as even the roof was torn completely off. Also involved with major damage and
out of the race were Matt Craig, Spencer Davis, David Garbo, Jr., David Rogers
and Brad May. Several other cars had some minor dings but were able to
continue and all involved were unhurt.
The field took the green flag for the restart and raced to the half-way mark
with Sargeant leading Nasse, Keene, Good, William Byron, Tyler Dippel, Scott
Heckert, Chad Pierce, Sergi and Californian Will Gallaher.
One lap later, Nasse used a bump-and-run to slip by Sargeant in turn two and
Nasse set sail, easily now the fastest car on the track. Lap 58 saw the
second big wreck of the race take place as Gallaher and Pierce bumped in turn
four with Gallaher going into the wall. David Green had nowhere to go and
collected both Gallaher and the wall as well. Both Gallaher and Green were OK
but done for the night while Pierce continued restarting at the tail of the
field. Fifteen of the 25 starters were still running at this point.
The action stayed green as Sargeant turned up the wick and used his own
bump-and-run move to go back by Nasse for the lead on lap 71. By this time,
2015 Chili Bowl National Midget Championship race winner Rico Abreu finally
cracked the top-ten after starting 22nd in his first career stock car race and
only his second-ever time on asphalt. Abreu seemed to be getting more
comfortable and certainly faster in his DLP Motorsports entry but he suddenly
slowed with mechanical issues and dropped from the race on lap 87.
It looked like the race may run the remaining distance under green but lap 91
saw Dippel go for a spin in turn two courtesy of Sergi.
Things got exciting on the restart as Sargeant and Nasse banged off each other
causing the rest of the field to check up. Third running Keene got loose and
tagged the wall ending his night with a couple of other cars having to pit to
repair minor damage. Nasse was also forced to come down pit road with a flat
left front tire. He returned but had to restart scratch on the field.
Sargeant held strong to the end despite big-time late pressure from Good to
take an apparent win in just his first start on the high banks while William
Byron made a steady late run to nab the final podium spot.
That all changed in post-race tech as both the winning car of Sargeant and the
third place machine of Byron were found to have too much left side weight.
Both were disqualified awarding the victory to Good who had been very
disappointed with his third-straight second place effort in a race that he
really wanted to win as his family and the Orr family had become good friends
as well as fellow competitors over the years when Good’s father Mike and
veteran driver Mike Fritts raced cars out of their shop against Pete Orr.
After all was said and done, a stunned Good said he had to thank his dad,
engine builder Jacob Warren and set-up man Brandon Booth for all their help.
“Without them, there’s no way I could be enjoying this win tonight, I’m just
at a loss for words and to be the final name on that Pete Orr Memorial trophy
means so much to me,” said Good after his car passed inspection with flying
colors.
After having the earlier tire issue and getting dinged up in two other wrecks,
Jake Perkins ended up in second place for his best career finish at New
Smyrna. The young driver will be having to cut back his racing in the near
future as he’s been accepted into Georgia Tech University, a great
accomplishment for the very likeable young man from Ocala.
Third spot went to 15-year old J. J. Haley of Winamac, IN who drove a clean
steady race. Haley is slated to be one of several drivers in the Pete Orr
field that will return for the annual World Series of Racing next month and
take part in the NASCAR K&N East Series race on February 15th. Nasse came
back to nab fourth spot with New Yorker Dippel taking fifth.
Rounding out the top ten were Pierce, young Tyler Scofield, Sergi, Michael
Atwell and Ashley Rogero. Rogero, a South Floridian who now lives in North
Carolina was making just her second start in a Super Late Model. Her great
uncle, Larry Rogero, was in attendance as the multi-time Hialeah and Palm
Beach Late Model champion and 1973 New Smyrna World Series Late Model titlist
had to be proud of her effort.
Palm Harbor’s D. J. Hoetzle was looking to dominate a quality field of
Modifieds as he topped qualifying with a lap of 18.525 seconds. Kevyn Terry
of Citra was second-quick in his HTI-sponsored machine at 18.569 with James
“Tank” Tucker third-fastest at 18.573 followed by Doug Moff and defending New
Smyrna Speedway Modified champion Jerry “The Hammer” Symons. Twenty-five cars
signed in but only 22 took time as the cars of Doc McKinney, Kurt Jett and
Timmy Moore all had engine problems in hot laps.
On the start of the 75-lap contest, the steering box broke on Jeremy
Gerstner’s machine as he headed into turn one and he slammed the wall,
bouncing back down the track where he was collected by the car of Shain Held.
Both were done before the race even got fully under way.
Terry got the jump on the initial start and led the first six circuits before
Hoetzle stormed by and quickly built up a huge margin over the field. Lap
eight saw things gets slowed as a three-car tangle in turn two collected the
cars of Robert Deal, James Ellis and Cody Allen. Only Ellis, making his first
Modified start after moving up from the Mini Stock class, was forced from the
event.
On the restart, Doug Moff quickly moved into second but clearly had nothing
for the high-flying Hoetzle. Dillon Wood was in fifth spot when he dropped
out on lap 26 as the cars continued to circulate under green flag conditions
with Hoetzle clearly the class of the field.
Just as the drivers were about to take the crossed flags for half-way, Hoetzle
brought his machine to the pits and retired with a sick engine. Moff took
over the lead at this point trailed by Terry, Tucker, Dick Anderson and
Symons. On lap 46, Moff’s car got loose in turn two and was tapped into a
spin by Terry. Track officials ruled that Moff had caused the caution and he
pitted for a quick check by his crew as Terry re-took the top spot.
On the restart, second-starter Tucker got a bit loose, got into Terry, and
caused several cars to check up and collect each other. Ricky Moxley got
stopped with just a bent bumper while Anderson spun and was tagged by the car
of Dennis Wheeler. Despite all this, everyone continued with Tucker being
sent to the back for the restart. On the next try, it was Anderson getting
loose and collecting Terry with Tucker hitting the wall trying to avoid
everything. This time the incident was called on Anderson and he was sent to
the rear of the pack for the restart while Tucker dropped out.
The race finally got going again but it lasted just a lap as Chris Harvey spun
on the back stretch during lap 48 with no damage. However, before the yellow
flag flew, Symons had taken the lead from Terry. Just two more laps got in
the books before Wheeler tagged the turn one wall. He pitted and returned to
action. Two laps after the restart, Deal and Alan Bruns locked horns in turn
one to bring the caution out once again.
The field finally got in some green flag racing as Symons continued to set the
pace although Terry was keeping it close before he spun out in turn one on lap
68. The ensuing restart turned out to be a huge mess as a big wreck took
place on the front stretch similar to the one in the Pete Orr race. Several
cars got tangled up including Terry, Anderson, Moxley, Wheeler, Deal and
Allen. Anderson’s car hit the wall hard head-on but the 67-year-old veteran,
making a return to racing after a few seasons of inactivity, gingerly climbed
from his mangled machine none the worse for wear. Allen and Deal were also
done for the night. At the same time, leader Symons’ car was brought to pit
road where it was found to be leaking fluid and he was also done for the
evening. Terry and Moxley made pit stops and restarted from the tail of the
field.
Doug Moff took over the lead again at this point and raced unchallenged the
final seven laps to claim the win and he was happy to end up in victory lane
with a car he said handled “terribly.” Sean Bass ran a steady race to cross
the stripe in second but he fell victim to the tech shed with a chassis issue
moving Alan Bruns up to second spot. After dodging more bullets than the Lone
Ranger and Tonto, Ricky Moxley claimed third spot ahead of Terry and Harvey
who, despite his spin, ran steady after starting back in 21st spot. Wheeler
nursed his car to sixth, one lap down and was the only other car still running
when the field took the checker. Symons was awarded seventh with Anderson,
Allen and Deal completing the top-ten.
The 25-lap Sportsman race was just as crazy as the other two as a field of 16
cars took the green flag with Junior Beckner jumping out to a big early lead.
Austin Carr’s smoking machine brought out the first caution on lap nine and
Beckner pulled into the pits with a mechanical issue, out of both the lead and
the race.
Derrick Wood led on the restart only to be passed by Bobby Mobley who led the
next two circuits before falling off the pace and out of the running. Wood
continued to lead as the dicey action behind him finally came to a head on lap
19 when New Hampshire visitor Sandy Lee and Donny Williams tangled in turn two
while battling for second. Lee dropped out while Williams continued.
On the restart, Dave Helliwell, down from Pellham, NH, blasted to the front.
Wood had a tire go down and he brought out the final caution on lap 23.
Helliwell led the final two circuits to claim an apparent win but both he and
second place finisher Ron Gustafson were DQ’d in tech for being underweight.
That elevated Orlando’s Garrett Hill to first place after a solid run. The
Harris Mini Storage team cars of Williams and Rusty Ebersole claimed second
and third trailed by Timmy Todd, Jr. and Mike Dahm.
Ted Vulpius won the Mini Stock feature over Tyler Simpson and Jeff Firestine
while Zachary Curtis drove a Hyundai to the Strictly Stock win over Warren
Howie.
OFFICIAL RESULTS – NEW SMYRNA SPEEDWAY – 1/24/15:
SUPER LATE MODELS – PETE ORR MEMORIAL (100 LAPS):
1) Bobby Good, Lake Mary #27
2) Jake Perkins, Ocala #59
3) J. J. Haley, Winamac, IN #68
4) Stephen Nasse, Pinellas Park #51
5) Tyler Dippel, Wallkill, NY #1
6) Chad Pierce, Orlando #57
7) Tyler Scofield, Plant City #07
8) Anthony Sergi, Geneva #20
9) Michael Atwell, Naples #51A
10) Ashley Rogero, Mooresville, NC #17
11) Scott Heckert, Richfield, CT #72
12) Daniel Keene, Jr., Weeki Wachee #5K
13) Rico Abreu, Rutherford, CA #24
14) Will Gallaher, Santa Rosa, CA #5G
15) David Green, Ft. Pierce #12G
16) Spencer Davis, Dawsonville, GA #129
17) Matt Craig, Kannapolis, NC #54
18) Joe Boyd, Riverview #5
19) Brad May, Orlando #9
20) David Garbo, Jr., Stonington, CT #8
21) David Rogers, Orlando #11
22) Jason Boyd, Orlando #15
23) Anthony Campi, Sarasota #81
DQ – Dalton Sargeant, Boca Raton #5S
DQ – William Byron, Charlotte, NC #9B
MODIFIEDS (75 LAPS):
1) Doug Moff, Ft. Myers #46
2) Alan Bruns, Clermont #4B
3) Ricky Moxley, Hobe Sound #38
4) Kevyn Terry, Citra #13
5) Chris Harvey, Belleview #51
6) Dennis Wheeler, New Smyrna #96
7) Jerry Symons, New Smyrna #66
8) Dick Anderson, Wildwood #7
9) Cody Allen, Ft. Myers #98A
10) Robert Deal, Titusville #15D
11) Tank Tucker, New Smyrna #15
12) D. J. Hoetzle, Palm Harbor #8
13) Jeremy Gerstner, Wesley Chapel #70
14) L. J. Grimm, Seffner #98G
15) Dillon Wood, New Smyrna #1
16) John Sarppriacone, Jr., Myakka City #88
17) Matt Bosowski, Hudson, NH #9NH
18) Mike Dahm, Enterprise #90
19) Matt Jarrett, Orlando #198
20) James Ellis, Brooksville #98E
21) Shain Held, Orlando #55
DNS – Doc McKinney, Ft. Pierce #41
DNS – Timmy Moore, Clearwater #13M
DNS – Kurt Jett, Orange Park #9
SPORTSMAN (25 LAPS):
1) Garrett Hill, Orlando #95
2) Donny Williams, Tangerine #111
3) Rusty Ebersole, Apopka #111E
4) Timmy Todd, Jr., Kissimmee, FL #25
5) Mike Dahm, Enterprise #21
6) Derrick Wood, Orlando #33
7) Sandy Lee, Nottingham, NH #77
8) Bobby Mobley, Eagle Lake #29
9) Austin Howell, Ormond Beach #44
10) Roger Blevins, Bartow #51
11) Earl “Junior” Beckner, Apopka #71
12) Austin Carr, Polk City #8
13) Richard Fiore, Jr., Vero Beach #60
14) George Dahm, Enterprise #21X
DQ – Dave Helliwell, Pellham, NH #10
DQ – Ron Gustafson, Winter Garden #38
MINI STOCKS (15 LAPS)
1) Ted Vulpius, Mims #71
2) Tyler Simpson, New Smyrna #115
3) Jeff Firestine, Sarasota #93
STRICTLY STOCKS (10 LAPS):
1) Zachary Curtis, Palm Bay #12
2) Warren Howie, Pompano Beach #16