FLORIDA MODIFIEDS RESULTS

1 15 Tank Tucker 2 78 Travis Eddy 3 66 Jerry Symons 4 41 Doc McKinney 5 4B Alan Bruns 6 57 Timothy Moore 7 71 William Skaggs 8 13 Kevyn Terry 9 39 Mark Chrudimsky 10 75 Johnny Allen 11 86 Maverick McDonald 12 99 AJ Winstead 13 8 Nevin Gainey 14 15D Robert Deal 15 9 Art Kunzeman 16 22 Jason Boyd 17 54 David Hite

TBARA SPRINTS RESULTS

1 3 Bo Hartley 2 18 Shane Butler 3 1 Brian Gringas 4 68 Troy DeCaire 5 78 Joey Augilar 6 41 Ryan Litt 7 0 Dude Teate 8 27 Sonny Hartley 9 16 Ben Fritz 10 87 Jeff Banyas 11 2 Johnny Gilburtson 12 19 Dakota Stephens 13 07 Jason Blonde 14 01 Steve Heisler 15 80 Wendy Mathis 16 20 Larry Brazil 17 66 Ray Bragg Jr 18 6 Frankie Hurst 19 61 Skeeter Faulkener

SUPER LATE MODEL RESULTS

1 23 Lonnie Sommerville 2 78 BJ McLeod 3 80 Brian Finney 4 93x David Russell 5 75 Dave Pletcher 6 32 John Long 7 16 Gary Passer 8 18 Bruce Gowland 9 16x Kelsey Steele 10 112 Stephen Weaver Jr 11 13 Frank Alberson 12 68 Russell Shaw 13 21 Kevin Ingram 14 5 Shane Snipes 15 93 Brandon Johnson 16 33x Ricky Wood 17 29 Karl Willard 18 12 David Green DQ 33 Jeff Choquette DQ 10 David Rogers DQ 36 Tim Russell DQ 2 A.J. Curreli DQ 10 Jack Landis

Track owners Al Varnadore and Todd Hutto join Don O’Neal  In victory lane after he won the 75-lap $12,000 finale to East BayRaceway Park’s 33^{rd Annual Lucas Oil Late Model Winternationals,} Saturday night. 2-6-10 Photo by RicksDarkRoom.com

TAMPA, FL (February 6, 2010) – Taking the lead on lap 40 when race leader Scott Bloomquist jumped the cushion in turn one, Don O’Neal of Martinsville, IN led the remaining 35 circuits to win the final night of the 33rd Annual DART Winternationals for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series at East Bay Raceway Park. He earned $12,000 for the win. Dan Schlieper of Sullivan, WI finished second, followed by Bloomquist of Mooresburg, TN; Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, IL; and Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, WI. Erb tallied the most DART Winternationals Championship Points for the week to earn a $5,000 bonus from DART Machinery.

Red Buck Cigar Fast Qualifier and new track record holder, Chris Wall earned the pole starting position. Alongside Wall was the Zero machine of Scott Bloomquist, who was coming off a win in the afternoon event that preceded the night’s finale. Bloomquist stormed to the point from the drop of the green over Wall, O’Neal and Schlieper. By the seventh lap Bloomquist had opened up a straightaway lead over the field and he began approaching the tail end of the field.

Bloomquist moved into traffic by lap nine. O’Neal was hounding Wall for second as the two went go side-by-side for a lap until O’Neal made the pass on Wall for second on the tenth circuit. Justin Rattliff remained in the thick of things holding the fourth spot followed by tenth place starter, Mike Marlar; who was on the move as a caution came out for debris on the track with 14 laps complete. O’Neal got sideways coming out of turn two on lap 20 as well as Wall, who spun to avoid running into O’Neal. Wall lost five spots in the running order. Mark Andersen slowed on the frontstretch with 21 laps complete to bring out caution number three.

Bloomquist remained in front, followed by O’Neal, Schlieper, Erb and Jimmy Mars. The top five remained the same until Erb got by Schlieper for third on lap 28. Erb then slip out of the groove allowing both top five newcomer Ray Cook and Mars to get by him with 30 laps down. O’Neal was dancing a treacherous top line around the track and on lap 31 he lost three spots, falling from second to fifth in a matter of one lap. Up front, Bloomquist was almost a straightaway ahead of Schlieper, who was now second with Cook running in third followed by Mars and O’Neal. A red flag came out with 39 laps complete for a multi-car pileup on the frontstretch. The incident eliminated the cars of Brady Smith and Ricky Weiss.

On the fateful lap 40 restart, Bloomquist headed into turn one and jump the cushion. Both O’Neal and Schlieper went him as Bloomquist was relegated to third place. O’Neal pounded the gas with Schlieper in tow. Another caution waived, this time for Justin Rattliff, who pulled out of the race. O’Neal jumped at the chance to lead the race; Bloomquist and Schlieper went at it for second. Bloomquist moved back into the runnerup slot on lap 44.

O’Neal stretched his lead to ten car lengths over Bloomquist and Schlieper. Steve Francis was now in the hunt for the first time in the race. He finally climbed from his 19^{th starting spot to run fourth by lap 46. Cook then rebounded; passed Francis for fourth. O’Neal was looking solid and was comfortably in front of Bloomquist when the caution came out for Francis on lap 57. The top five stayed in that running order as O’Neal looked to be on cruise control. Following O’Neal was a terrific battle for second between the cars of Bloomquist, Schlieper and Erb. Bloomquist jumped the cushion in turns one and two again. Schlieper slipped by him on lap 64. Schlieper then started to track down O’Neal who had no traffic in front of him, but Schlieper slowly closed the gap with five laps to go. O’Neal sped on to pick the big check for his not only his 13th career win at East Bay, but his 13th career win on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series tour.}

In the Lucas Oil Victory Lane the 45-year-old racer who has twice finished runner-up in the Lucas Oil Series; was happy to be there. He thought he had thrown the chance away when he jumped the cushion back on lap 31. “I thought I had really messed up there, we had a really good car from the start and I thought I had lost my chance to win. 75 laps is a lot of laps here, things can happen so quick here; people come and go to the front so often that you lose and gain track position all the time. When I saw Scott jump the cushion up there on that restart, I thought this was my chance to redeem myself,” said O’Neal.

“That cushion was tough, but after we got out in front I tried to avoid as many of the rough spots as possible and keep the car straight so we wouldn’t lose a tire out there. Man it feels good to get back to victory lane here at East Bay, we’ve always run well here and I have to thank my crew, Tader, Doug, Mark and Tim for all their help. It’s a good win for MasterSbilt and Jay Dickens,” said O’Neal who won before the cameras of SPEED Channel. SPEED was on hand to film the event to be shown at a later date.

The rest of the sponsors on O’Neal’s car include; Superior Cleaning, O’Neal Mulch, Independence Lumber, Jones Core, Hanzo Logistics, Sunoco Race Fuels, Ohlins Shocks, Budda Bert Transmissions and Brownstown Speedway and Hoosier Racing Tires.

Schlieper came across the line in second his Rockstar Energy Drink/DART Machinery/Bloomquist Race Cars Ford Fusion; followed by Bloomquist in his miller Brothers Construction/Vic Hill Racing Engines/Bloomquist Race Cars Monte Carlo SS. The rest of the top finishers were Erb in his Thomason Express LLC/Vic Hill Racing Engines/Rayburn Impala SS and Mars in the Ernie and Connie Davis/Ernie D’s/Rocket Impala SS.

Completing the top ten were Jason Feger of Bloomington, IL who pitted for a flat tire and returned to finish sixth followed by Steve Francis of Ashland, KY; Rick Eckert of York, Pa; Ray Cook of Brasstown, NC; and Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, FL.

By virtue of his fourth place finish, Erb captured the 2010 34th Annual DART Winternationals Championship. Erb took home a $5,000 check for his efforts during the week as won by a 55-point margin over O’Neal.

For the latest breaking news on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, log on to www.lucasdirt.com or call the series office at (951) 532-2503.

After No. 0 Scott Bloomquist led the first 39 laps of the $12,000 East Bay Lucas Oil Late Model Wintenationals Saturday night, a restart set up this three-wide battle for the lead with eventual winner No. 71 Don O’Neal and No. $9 Dan Schlieper showing their muscle.  Photo by Mike Horne

East Bay Raceway Park. Pictured from left to right, track owner Al Varnadore, Crew Chief Heather Lyne, Dennis Erb, DART Representative Ted Keating, and Todd Hutto, track owner. Photo by Mike Horne

Action in the 75-lap Lucas Oil Late Model feature at East Bay Raceway Park shows No. 71W Chris Wall, the new track record holder of 14.022 for  a speed of 96.28mph, running inside eventual winner Don O’Neal. Photo by Mike Horne.

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

Race Summary

Saturday Night, February 6th, 2010

“33rd Annual DART Winternationals”

East Bay Raceway Park – Tampa, FL

Red Buck Cigars Fast Time: Chris Wall / 14.022 seconds ***New Track Record***

Wiles Driveshaft’s First Heat (10 Laps-Top 4 Advance): Chris Wall, Ray Cook, Dennis Erb, Jr., Tim McCreadie, Jimmy Owens, Matt Miller, Shannon Babb, Austin Hubbard, Dale McDowell, Kyle Berck, Robert Geiger, Earl Pearson, Jr., Shan Smith

AFCO Racing Products Second Heat (10 Laps-Top 4 Advances): Don O’Neal, John Blankenship, Rick Eckert, Jason Feger, Steve Francis, Dillan White, Eric Jacobsen, Billy Moyer, Steve Casebolt, Travis Varnadore, Tim Dohm, Lee Thomason

Allstar Performance Third Heat (10 Laps-Top 4 Advance): Scott Bloomquist, Dan Schlieper, Mike Marlar, Ricky Weiss, Jason McBride, Brad Neat, Tim Fuller, Tim Isenberg, Bub McCool, Jordan Bland, Mike Collins, Leon Henderson

Wrisco Aluminum Fourth Heat (10 Laps-Top 4 Advance): Justin Rattliff, Brady Smith, Jimmy Mars, Mark Andersen, Eric Wells, Daniel Stone, Russ King, Tyler Reddick, Danny Mitchell, Michael Walker, James O’Hara, Tommy Kerr

Hawk Brake First B-Main (12 Laps- Top 3 Transfers): Matt Miller, Steve Francis, Shannon Babb, Dillan White, Eric Jacobsen, Billy Moyer, Austin Hubbard, Tim Dohm, Dale McDowell, Travis Varnadore, Steve Casebolt, Robert Geiger, Earl Pearson, Jr., DNS Kyle Berck, Shan Smith

Performance Rod and Custom (PRC) Second B-Main (12 Laps- Top 3 Transfers): Daniel Stone, Eric Wells, Tim Fuller, Bub McCool, Michael Walker, Leon Henderson, Mike Collins, Russ King, Tim Isenberg, Jason McBride, Danny Mitchell, James O’Hara, Lee Thomason, Brad Neat, Tyler Reddick, DNS Jordan Bland, Tommy Kerr

PRC Strawberry Dash (Track Provisional Winner Transfers):, Steve Casebolt, Tim Dohm, Tim Isenberg, Travis Varnadore, DNS Jason McBride, Eric Jacobsen, Dale McDowell, Billy Moyer

33rd Annual DART Winternationals Saturday (Night) Feature Finish (75 Laps):

Don O’Neal, Dan Schlieper, Scott Bloomquist, Dennis Erb, Jr., Jimmy Mars, Jason Feger, Steve Francis, Rick Eckert, Ray Cook, Earl Pearson, Jr., Chris Wall, John Blankenship, Tim Fuller, Eric Wells, Eric Jacobsen, Tim McCreadie, Justin Rattliff, Brady Smith, Matt Miller, Ricky Weiss, Daniel Stone, Shannon Babb, Mark Andersen, Mike Marlar, Steve Casebolt, Jimmy Owens, Dillan White,

Finish (Start) Car Number Driver Name – Hometown

1. (3) Don O’Neal – Martinsville, IN

2. (6) Dan Schlieper – Sullivan, WI

3. (2) Scott Bloomquist – Mooresburg, TN

4. (9) Dennis Erb, Jr. – Carpentersville, IL

5. (12) Jimmy Mars – Menomonie, WI

6. (15) Jason Feger – Bloomington, IL

7. (19) Steve Francis – Ashland, KY

8. (11) Rick Eckert – York, PA

9. (5) Ray Cook – Brasstown, NC

10. (24) Earl Pearson, Jr. – Jacksonville, FL

11. (1) Chris Wall – Holden, LA

12. (7) John Blankenship – Williamson, WV

13. (22) Tim Fuller – Watertown, NY

14. (20) Eric Wells – Hazard, KY

15. (27) Eric Jacobsen – Seacliffe Beach, CA

16. (13) Tim McCreadie – Watertown, NY

17. (4) Justin Rattliff – Campbellsville, KY

18. (8) Brady Smith – Solon Springs, WI

19. (17) Matt Miller – Waterville, OH

20. (14) Ricky Weiss – Winnipeg, Manitoba

21. (18) Daniel Stone – Thompson, PA

22. (21) Shannon Babb – Moweaqua, IL

23. (16) Mark Andersen – Blanchard, MI

24. (10) Mike Marlar – Winfield, TN

25. (26) Steve Casebolt – Richmond, IN

26. (23) Jimmy Owens – Newport, TN

27. (25) Dillan White – Crofton, KY

Race Statistics

Entrants: 49

Lap Leaders: 1-39 Scott Bloomquist, 40-75 Don O’Neal

Caution Flags: (Lap 18) Mike Marlar; (Lap 28) Debris; (Lap 29) Daniel Stone;
(Lap 38) Eric Wells; (Lap 39) Brady Smith, Ricky Weiss, Earl Pearson, Jr.; (Lap 43) Justin Rattliff; (Lap 57) Steve Francis; (Lap 63) Jason Feger

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: Jimmy Owens, Earl Pearson, Jr.

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Emergency Provisional: Eric Jacobsen

DART Fast Pass Provisional: Dillan White

PBM/Erson Cams Hard Charger of the Race: Earl Pearson, Jr. (Started 24th; Finished 10th; Advanced 14 positions)

Ohlin’s Shocks Performer of the Race: Dan Schlieper

K&N Filters Clean Pass of the Race: Don O’Neal

Quarter Master Rookie of the Race: None

Comp Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Jay Dickens Racing Engines

Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award: Dale McDowell

DirtonDirt.com Crew Chief of the Race: Tader Masters (Don O’Neal)

E3 Spark Plugs TV Challenge All stars: Don O’Neal, Dan Schlieper, Scott Bloomquist

Time of Race: 52 minutes, 43 seconds

 By Andy Sandall – FASCAR MEDIA

Day 2 – Saturday, 6th February 2010

The 44TH World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing kicked off in style at New Smyrna Speedway on Saturday night, just one day late after heavy rains across central Florida forced the postponement of Friday night’s racing. Cars from all over the United States and Canada made their annual pilgrimage to the high-banked half-mile to take on Florida’s finest racers in six divisions showcasing the cream of the Super Late Model, Late Model and Modified racing worlds.

The packed stands were matched by jam-packed pits both in the infield and all around the track as haulers and trailers squeezed into every available space to camp down for the most anticipated week of the season. Two days of testing, tweaking and tuning finally ended and nearly 120 cars finally got out onto the track in anger for afternoon qualifying and a cold Florida evening of racing. But with much of the country covered in a blanket of snow, the fans that crowded into the stands and huddled together for warmth knew how lucky they were to be out watching racing while the rest of the country froze.

But before the racing could get underway there was an emotional moment for all present as Robert and Jane Hart, along with the other FASCAR officials led a ceremony that dedicated the whole of the 44th World Series to the late Peggy Kincaid, the much missed scorer at New Smyrna Speedway for 45 years who sadly passed away in 2009 and was known to everyone simply as ‘Miss Peggy’.

First up onto the track came the fastest cars on show, the Tour-Type Modifieds. Early evening qualifying had seen #58 Eric Goodale post the fastest time of the day with a quick time of 17.105s, ahead of #59 Matt Hirshman and #19 Rowen Pennick. An invert for the top 6 qualifiers would mean that the field was lead off by #14 John Jensen, #00 Ted Christopher and #22 Chuck Hossfield, but not before a stoppage caused by the #71 of John Zacharia spinning on cold tires out of turn 4 during the hot laps designed to get the cars and their rubber up to optimum racing temperature. Zacharia would become the first retirement of the World Series as he left the track with zero laps on the board strung between two wreckers.

Christopher would be in the lead by the time the cars hit turn 1 although Jensen was not giving up his place without a fight. Behind him there was plenty of contact to shower sparks into the dark night sky as the midfield settled down into line knowing that this race was merely the first battle in a weeklong war, and that bigger races were still to come.

By the 10th lap Christopher had cemented his lead at the front, leaving Jensen the job of fending off the rapidly charging Pennick, while behind him Hirshman was also locked into a battle with Goodale and Silk at the back of the lead group. The crossed flags were soon out but even the sometimes tricky job of navigating through lapped traffic did little to slow Christopher, who continued to pull away from the field and carry on his dominance of this division at New Smyrna.

The checkered flag confirmed Christopher’s first win of the 44th World Series by a couple of car lengths from Jensen, with both cars well ahead of the 3rd place Pennick as the first of what would be many photo sessions and interviews for the drivers on victory lane.

Crate Late Models were next onto the track, with afternoon fast qualifiers #28 Sean Bass relegated back to the 5th row of the 27 car field. The pole position would be handed to #9 Kurt Jett alongside #98 David Wagner with #39 Justin Delaney and #4 Thor Anderson on the second row looking to take advantage of the inversion. Teenage sensation #51 Stephen Nasse impressed in afternoon qualifying to post the third fastest time, putting him back onto the 4th row with #93 Brandon Johnson at the green flag.

Nasse made the early moves to get up to 5th place, seeing #91 Patrick Laperle also showing real pace as he looked down the inside of turn 3 on the 5th lap to power his way into 3rd place and quickly make his presence felt behind Jett in 2nd. The first back-marker to be encountered saw the top 3 head into turn 1 three-wide, and also gave Nasse the break he needed to join the lead pack, and as the race ticked over to half-distance Nasse made a blast around the outside of the back straight to threaten 2nd place.

Bass would join the group up at the front as the top 5 cars put on an incredible display, lapping the high-banks three-wide and bringing the crowd to their feet on the 15th lap as all five cars ran within inches of each other around the track. Something had to give and the constant contact between the leaders saw Laperle being the first to break as he dropped back after a hard bump to his rear. Nasse would use this opportunity to make the lead his own, but with Bass breathing VERY hard down his neck.

The fight between Bass and Nasse would dominate the closing laps of the race, albeit with any of the 3 following cars close enough to snatch the lead should the two at the front make a mistake. Bass would make the inside line his home for the closing laps, with each turn giving him the opportunity to push his nose down the side of Nasse’s car, but on each occasion Nasse was able to produce enough speed to pull back ahead down the straight.

The white flag waved with Nasse still holding a slim lead, but with Bass trying everything he could to pressure the youngster into a mistake. Again Bass nudged the #51’s rear quarter into every turn, but the 14yr old Nasse showed maturity beyond his years to hold firm, defend his position and take the checkered flag, shooting past a grandstand filled with spectators on their feet in appreciation at the race they had just witnessed. Nasse led the way ahead of Bass and Jett, and touchingly dedicated his win to the late Eddie Brann, the builder of his car who passed away in 2009, in his victory lane interview.

There was barely time for the crowd to catch their breath before the SK Modifieds were out in the pit lane ready for their first appearance of the week. The #03 of Patrick Emerling would lead the cars out onto the track alongside #55 Nichole Morgillio, and ahead of #59 Dave Crammer, #5 Ronnie Silk and the fast qualifier #88 Keith Rocco. The other story of the line-up was right at the back of the field in the shape of the #33 of Gary Fountain – a car he had purchased in the parking lot during the practice sessions held earlier in the week.

The fast qualifiers were quickly up to the head of the field as Rocco and Silk moved up to 1st and 2nd places by the third lap, both darting up the inside of Morgillio out of turn 2. The two quick qualifiers shot away to get into a race of their own, but this quickly came to an end when the #44 of Jeffrey Gallup span out at the rear of the field coming out of turn 2 on the 7th lap. Seemingly not picked up by spotters or track staff Gallup sat like a sitting duck in the middle of the track and was just starting to limp back to life to get off the racing surface as the leaders turned the corner and headed out.

Both Rocco and Silk had nowhere to go, with Rocco slamming into Gallup at full speed, Silk somehow missing the worst of the crash and making much less serious contact. Such a large pile-up saw other casualties as racers took evasive action as best they could, but the red flags were soon on show to bring the 7 cars not involved in the wreck to a halt on the front stretch. They were soon joined by Morgillio who had luckily avoided serious damage in the incident and was able to continue after changing a flat tire.

The lengthy stoppage eventually saw the damaged cars off the track, leaving #71 Jimmy Zacharias on pole alongside #59 Cramner, and it was Cramner who got the drop from the green flag to take the lead and shoot off into the distance. Silk was left with the job of fighting from the back to get his position up at the front again, and the #5 was quickly slipping through the field to be back up into 3rd place with 14 laps gone. Silk was in an obviously quick car, but was again involved in controversy when his hard move on Zacharias pushed the 2nd place car high up the track in turn 2 and into the wall. The #71 would need a trip on the now overworked wrecker back to the pits, and Silk would again be restarting from the rear of the field, this time having been sent there by the race director for rough driving.

Cramner roared away at the resulting green flag but again Silk carved through the pack and with 2 laps to go was already back up to 3rd place. By the exit of turn 2 the #5 had shot past #53 Sazarulo to take 2nd and was looking increasingly likely to snatch an unlikely victory. He seemed to have timed his charge perfectly, coming into turn 3 of the last lap on a wide line before crossing over and shooting down the inside as they headed out of turn 4 to race for the line, but Cramner knew he was coming and slammed the door on his rival to take the checkered flag by a car length for just his second career win, making his long trip down to Samsula from Hanover, NJ a very worthwhile one!

Some familiar faces made their way onto the track next for the first appearance of the week by the Super Late Models, this division pitting the cream of Florida drivers against their rivals from all across North America. The locals had made their presence felt in qualifying as #36 David Russell, #33 Jeff Choquette and #11 David Rogers posted the three fastest times. Even the invert left Florida drivers up at the front, albeit with #23 Lonnie Summerville of New Brunswick on pole position ahead of #78 BJ McLeod, #2 AJ Curreli and #21 Kevin Ingram, all well known names in Florida racing.

The field of 27 cars soon took the green flag and McLeod was quickly up into the lead with Choquette following him and relegating Summerville back down to a distant 3rd place. The two local New Smyrna regulars looked set for a classic battle but their fun was quickly curtailed by 3rd lap contact between #24X Zach Germain and #5 Shane Snipes that put both cars up into the turn 1 wall. Snipes was able to leave the track under his own steam, but Germain was less lucky and became the latest car to take a trip back to the pits on the wrecker’s chains.

Taking advantage of the restart was Choquette who was quickly into the lead and pulling away from the field, but behind him were the ominous figures of Russell and Rogers, both moving rapidly up the field and looking to have their cars well tuned for the track. Again the race was quickly back under caution, this time for contact on the back straight between #63 Austin Pickens and a couple of the much slower back-markers who were circulating well off the pace at the rear of the field. Pickens would skim the outside wall, doing enough damage to his car to justify a visit and tow from the wrecker with just 7 laps down.

The restart saw Russell and Rogers pushing their way around the outside of McLeod and setting off in pursuit of Choquette as the field finally began to settle down and separate. Reaching half-distance without further incident the leaders now set about dealing with lapped traffic, knowing that open spaces on the track were now at a premium, and the blue and yellow flag would be on permanent show from the flagstand as the slower and faster cars were mixed up all throughout the field.

With 10 laps to go Russell was now out on his own in 2nd and finally making some headway in his pursuit of Choquette, leaving Rogers out on his own in 3rd totally unpressured by McLeod in 4th several lengths back. Most of the field were now settling for track time and using the race as preparation for the more important races coming later in the week, concentrating on getting a feel for the track and avoiding the trouble posed by the slower cars cruising around on the inside line. This was successful for the most part, until the white flag was shown and Ingram failed to avoid the traffic, spinning up to the wall in turn 4 after contact with another car and bringing out the caution flags.

This put Choquette and Russell back together for a green-white-checkered shootout for the win, now with Rogers and McLeod back in striking distance right behind them. As the green flag was shown both Russell and Choquette accelerated hard off turn 4, the #33 visibly squirming under the power being pushed to its rear wheels. Although spectacular for the fans this was robbing Choquette of traction and ultimately speed, giving Russell enough of an advantage to get his nose out in front and take the lead. With one trip around the track complete Rogers was now close behind in third and became just enough of a distraction to Choquette to see him drop slightly back in defense of his position, leaving Russell to win, the 2009 Triple Crown Champion taking the checkered flag with his arm aloft through his window net.

More familiar faces came out on track in the next division, this one seeing the Florida/IMCA Modifieds out for their feature. An interesting twist to this race saw the afternoon’s three fastest qualifiers all failing to pass the tech inspection successfully, and so #22 Jason Boyd, #15 Tank Tucker and #23 Mark Chrudimsky would all start the race at the rear. This stroke of luck for the field would see #57 Timothy Moore fortuitously up on pole alongside #13 Kevyn Terry.

Terry quickly took the lead on the green flag as the faster cars at the back soon shot off through the field, but with just two laps completed Boyd’s evening was done as contact between his car and #09 Charlie Barrett saw both cars spinning down the front straight and skimming the outer pit-lane wall. Barrett was able to avoid damage and was quickly back facing the right way and circulating the track ready for the restart.

A bad attempt at a restart meant the cars would take a second go at getting back to green flag conditions, but this time it took just half a lap before Terry felt a hit from #78 Travis Eddy while exiting turn 2, spinning the lead car out and sending both cars to the rear for the subsequent restart. Now Terry was at the back there was space for Moore to take the lead and make it his own, but the New Smyrna regulars were now watching the familiar #4B of Alan Bruns making his way up through the field and around into 4th and then quickly 3rd place.

Between Bruns and the lead was #66 Jerry Symons who was pushing Moore hard, nudging and pushing to create a way past, but with Bruns large in his mirrors and using every bit of his extensive track knowledge to find a gap to exploit. A brief caution period bunched the cars back together and allowed Symons and Moore to swap places at the restart, but this was quickly brought to a halt by big contact between #29 Joe Yarborough and the #09 of Barrett down the back straightaway, Yarborough getting airborne as he hurtled into turn 3 to quickly bring out the track crew to check on the drivers.

The red flag period obviously did little to calm the drivers down as the restart saw Symons, Moore and #99 AJ Winstead barging their way through turn 2, hitting each other hard to cause sparks and spins up high in the corner, and yet another period under the yellow caution flags. This would have the effect of putting the erstwhile leaders all the way to the rear, leaving Bruns up at the front alongside #71 William Skaggs. Yet again the red mist accompanied the green flag and without even reaching the start line Skaggs had moved across Bruns, spinning the popular local driver out and onto the grass on the front straight. With three bad restarts all leading to wrecks now in quick succession, enough was enough for the race director and single file restarts became the order from the tower for the rest of the race.

This had the desired effect as the race finally managed to put another complete lap into the books, ironically now seeing Chrudimsky and Tucker right up to the front after starting at the rear of the field. Finally the race settled down with lap after incident free lap getting the scoreboard ticking over, all the time with Tucker looking for a way around Chrudminsky, probably not wanting to risk a move down the inside that would involve braving the flailing bodywork flapping off the left-side of the #39’s body.

Despite heavy pressure, the Texas-based Chrudminsky was able to hold off Tucker’s advances, both coming home ahead of #41Doc McKinney in 3rd place after a lengthy race not helped by the constant wrecking on the restarts that blighted the middle of the action. As is often the case the race is not necessarily won or lost out on the track, and the customary trip to the tech inspection would have the final word on this result, with Chrudminsky failing to pass the inspection thereby handing the victory to Tucker.

Last but not least the Limited Late Models finally got their chance to take to the track as the clock ticked over to 11.30pm. The hardy fans who stayed late for their racing fix saw plenty more New Smyrna regulars out on the track, the familiar #9 of Zack Donatti leading off from pole ahead of #119 JR McMickle, #55 Todd Allen, #26 Jessica Murphy and #96 Ben Kennedy, the young racer making a rare appearance in a Late Model rather than his usual Pro-Truck.

McMickle made the break for the lead from the green flag but was quickly pulled back after a spin in the first corner for #20 Anthony Sergi, giving a reprieve for Donatti as a full restart in the original order was called from the tower. This proved to be no problem for McMickle and he repeated his feat a second time to be well away in the lead by the 3rd lap, bringing Murphy through into 2nd ahead of a chasing pack led by Donatti.

Murphy was quickly within striking distance, just a car length back and with Donatti also gaining behind them to become a factor in the fight for first place. The half-distance flags saw this 5 car battle staying in order and seemingly settling down for the rest of the race, but the idea that the race would finish incident free literally went up in smoke as Tom Malloy saw the engine of his #119X give up in a big way down the back straight, billowing smoke as he desperately tried to pull off the racing line and prevent a lengthy clean-up. This proved to be in vain as the track still required substantial attention before racing could continue.

Even with the long caution period waved away the race still took several attempts at a restart, firstly for a bad break from the corner by McMickle and then for a spin by #47 Davey Gibbs down the back straight, this second incident denying Murphy the lead after she had made a break to the front from the green flag. She was able to repeat this feat on the third restart, pulling ahead of McMickle down the front straight. Another 4 laps were in the books before the track crew leapt into action again, this time for contact between Donatti, Kennedy and #4B Alan Bruns, doing his usual double duty for the night and racing in back-to-back races. Donatti and Bruns suffered race-ending damage on this incident in turn 4, but Kennedy was able to return to the race after a quick trip down pit-lane.

Yet another aborted restart, this time for #63 Austin Pickens spinning out on the start line, saw the single file restart order again coming from the tower in a bid to get the night’s racing completed before the day 3 program was scheduled to start, and this did the trick as the race finally got underway again despite McMickle’s hard nudging of Murphy to try and unsettle her as she took the green flag out of turn 4.

The white flag eventually came out and Murphy took what she thought where her final turns around the track, but again the race had a twist in its tail as way down the field a hard race between Kennedy and Gibbs boiled over seeing Gibbs turned in the middle of turn 1, spinning out in a cloud of smoke and bringing out the pace truck yet again.

Just one lap to go from the restart and Murphy was quickly defending her position up at the front, neatly blocking McMickle around the first corner, but the extra pace she needed to keep her place having the effect of sliding her higher up the banking than she would like. McMickle took advantage of this to come alongside Murphy going around turn 3, and in a classic drag race for the line McMickle was able to get his nose ahead to cross the line just inches ahead of the #26 for the win.

And so the first day of racing came to an end – a day that had stretched into a second day, seen some incredible racing only matched by a spectacular amount of caution periods. The highlight of the night’s racing had surely come in the incredible victory by Stephen Nasse, a race that saw some terrific 3-wide clean racing that was not matched in the petulant, incident-filled later races that dragged the long night into the early morning.

1. Stephen Nasse

2. Sean Bass

3. Patrick Laperle

4. Brandon Johnson

5. Dustin Delaney

6. Thor Anderson

7. David Wagner

8. Kurt Jett

9. Austin Kirkpatrick

10. Dustin Dunn

11. Rebecca Kasten

12. Bobby Good

13. Jerick Johnson

14. Erik Jones

15. David Rigan

16. Cardell Potter

17. Cole Powell

18. Shaun McWhirter

19. Chad Atkins

20. James Novak

21. Shane Snipes

22. Michael Pilla

23. Donnie Varcoe

24. Wayne Smith

25. Brandon Sweet

26. Robert Petrus

27. Brandon Watson

1 David Cranmer 59

1. JR McMickle

2. Jessica Murphy

3. Todd Allen

4. Kirk Hooker

5. Ben Kennedy

6. Anthony Sergi

7. David Weaver

8. Carl Thomas

9. Derrick Wood

10. Davey Gibbs

11. Christian Hickman

12. Shawn Thibeault

13. Zachary Donatti

14. Alan Bruns

15. Austin Pickens

16. Merle Diem

17. Tom Bolloy

OFFICIAL FL/IMCA MODIFIED FINISH

1. Tank Tucker

2. Doc McKinney

3. Travis Eddy

4. Johnny Allen

5. Robert Deal

6. Jerry Symons

7. Kevyn Terry

8. Timothy Moore

9. Nevin Gainey

10. David Hite

11. Al Mamande

12. AJ Winstead

13. William Skaggs

14. Art Kunzeman

15. John Zidek

16. Alan Bruns

17. Charlie Barrett

18. Joe Yarborough

19. Denis Pierce

20. Jason Boyd

21. Mark Chrudimsky (DQ)

The recent run of cold temperatures continued for the weekend but weren’t enough to stop a sizeable crowd filling the stands to grab a sneak preview of some of the drivers who will feature in the upcoming 44th Annual World Series of Asphalt Races. A band of heavy rain that passed through the region forced the postponement of the race from its scheduled Saturday evening, but the rescheduled Sunday afternoon start time suited both drivers and spectators fine and then drivers rolled out onto the track to an appreciative crowd.

A weekend of testing boiled down to Sunday morning practices that had seen young Winter Springs driver Sam Watts in his #73 Toyota Camry posting the fastest times, and a Sunday lunchtime qualifying session where each driver took two hot laps to post a quick time. Leading the way for this was #54 Johnny Clark from Maine who completed his second lap of the high-banked half-mile in 17.505s, just ahead of Watts and his 17.534. Local favorite #33 Jeff Choquette would be 3rd quickest, followed by #55 Brad Leighton of New Hampshire and #26 Preston Peltier of North Carolina.

With the fast times posted the top ten qualifiers were then called out to the start line for the pill draw, determining their starting grid position. The big winner in this lottery was Sam Watts who moved up from 2nd to pole position, having seen Clark draw the 4th place ball to guarantee himself a place on the second row. Watts was joined up front by #4S of Jeff Fogelman who had posted the 6th fastest time in qualifying, and it was all 3s for Choquette as he pulled the 3rd place pill, having qualified 3rd in his #33 car! Row three would see #62 Brandon Ward of North Carolina alongside reigning FASCAR Triple Crown Champion #36 Tim Russell, ahead of #88 Justin Larson, #48 Ben Rowe, Peltier and Leighton.

The pill draw had allowed for a good mix of PASS frontrunners from both series alongside experienced local Florida racers, and it really was anyone’s race as the drivers faced 150 green flag laps around New Smyrna Speedway. Where the Florida locals had the advantage of track knowledge, the PASS rules and regulations being enforced dramatically leveled the playing field, with the PASS racers having the advantage of knowing the American Racer tires and their tendencies much better, and having more experience with the flag-controlled restarts that could see a driver sent to the rear of the field and fined $500 for jumping the start.

With introductions done and the tires warmed up just enough despite the cold ambient temperature the flagman waved the green to send the cars into battle and quickly it was Fogelman and Clark who took advantage of Watts lack of practice with these starts to get around the #73 and relegate him back to 3rd spot. Behind them Leighton was already moving forward, nudging Larson out of the way to take the 6th place and quickly reaching Rowe to take the 5th spot by the end of the 5th lap. Watts was now having to fight the experienced Choquette to hold onto his 3rd position and there was plenty of contact that saw Watts sent wide by the #33 but he held enough speed from high out of turn 2 to fight back and keep his place. Choquette was quickly alongside and the two Florida racers went door-to-door for several laps before Watts confirmed his 2nd position by the 14th lap as the leaders began to hit the slower cars ahead of them.

Lap 17 saw the lead change hands again as Clark flew down the front straight and underneath Fogelman into turn 1 to take his place at the head of the field. A lead group of 7 cars had now developed away at the front, although #61 Mario Gosselin and Tim Russell were not far behind and catching quickly to make the lead group even larger. At the head of the group Fogelman began to drop back, first letting Watts through coming out of turn 4 and then seeing Choquette streak past. Fogleman would quickly be all the way back down to 7th and watching Russell closing in his mirror. The main focus of the spectators had now moved to Watts and Choquette’s fight for 2nd, taking up enough of their energy and concentration to give Clark the space to extend his lead out at the front.

Watts would again pull away in pursuit of the #54 car, leaving Choquette to battle the hard-charging Leighton in a fight for 3rd place, but with 41 straight laps in the books from the start the first caution of the day was called when #15 Clay Jones of North Carolina hit the turn 3 wall hard and skidded to a stop mid-corner, needing two wreckers to get him and his badly damaged car off the track. With no caution laps counting towards the 150 lap race distance plenty of cars took the opportunity to come in for adjustments, although in the case of Fogelman’s #4S it was more like minor surgery as he made the first of what would be numerous trips into the pits for attention.

Once the track was cleared the pace truck peeled off in turn 4 and the drivers awaited their signal from the flag stand to restart the chase. Again Watts showed his inexperience once the flag waved and he was quickly passed by Choquette and Leighton as Clark took advantage to get some space between himself and the pack. Things went from bad to worse for Watts as a bump to his rear from Larson got his car all out of shape and he was soon all the way back to 8th place. Right behind him the calm of the opening laps was already a distant memory as #35 Devin Jones made a hard move on the #6 of Dale Brackett towards the rear of the field. Brackett could do nothing to avoid spinning into the wall, causing several cars to take avoiding action behind him, bringing most of them to a halt mid-corner. Another restart was needed, with Jones being sent to the rear as punishment for his rough driving.

From the green flag it was Choquette who took advantage of the break in proceedings as he ran alongside and them passed Clark, who was now not only seeing his lead gone but noticing Rowe looming large in his mirror and daring to push the nose of his car alongside Clark’s door. The race at the front was hotting up as the cars started to count down to 50 laps gone, and another caution was avoided when #5 Kevin Ingram span out in turn 4 but was able to get going again without assistance or any need for the pace truck to come out on track. The reprieve was only temporary as just one lap later Larson and Gosselin hit each other hard at the back of the lead pack coming out of turn 2. The impact was hard enough for Gosselin’s hood to pop up and cover his windshield so he was left trying to find his way back to the pits through his side door window, and both he and Larson headed back to pit lane for attention as the caution flags came out. Larson would be able to continue in his dented and bruised car, but Gosselin would become the second retiree of the race.

Eddie Gainey in the #8 would the next driver out of the race immediately as the green flags were waved as his car began billowing smoke from the rear leading to a black flag and an order to leave the track. He pulled out of a race now being lead by Choquette and with Leighton in 2nd as Clark found himself under pressure from Rowe. Tim Russell had also made the best of the restarts and was chasing hard in 5th place although he too was under pressure, this time from Peltier who was showing impressive speed as the race began to settle down.

Rowe was soon to make his move as he first picked off Leighton in turn 2 as the #55 got loose in the corner, and by the 64th lap he was able to pull underneath and then past Choquette as they headed into lapped traffic down the back straight. A spin for Devin Jones brought the pace truck back out onto the track but with their engines and tires at their optimum temperatures and with all the drivers now having a feel for the track and conditions the restart saw a thrilling display as the top 10 cars all held position for the next few laps, taking the whole half-mile circuit with the front 5 rows racing in perfect side-by-side order. The order was broken when Choquette gave a nudge to Rowe to force his way past, but in the ensuing duel it was Clark who tried an audacious pass by looking to sneak between the two leaders down the middle, both cars reacting by blocking him hard. However this proved more of a distraction to Choquette than Rowe, as Rowe was now able to get ahead and pull away at the front. Indeed the #33 was soon dropping back further with Clark and then Peltier pushing him back down the field as the cars came into pit-lane for their obligatory half-distance pit stop.

With 19 cars left in the race the flag stand restarted the action but was quick to put on the yellow lights as Fogelman suffered a flat tire out of turn 2, spinning out on the back straight with cars behind him. With another chance at the restart it was Clark who took advantage and relegated Rowe back to 2nd, although Rowe was still strong enough to deny Peltier’s push down the inside and hold his position. The race was soon to get lively again as #04 Jerrod Foley and Larson got involved in a shoving match in turn 4, with Foley managing to hang onto an out of shape car as Larson streaked past. With 85 laps down the race really started to heat up as Florida drivers Russell and Ingram began a fierce fight that saw Ingram hitting Russell hard coming out of turn 4, sending Russell off into a spin down the front straight and putting both men at the rear for the restart.

Up at the front the restart saw a great battle between Leighton and Clark, with Rowe ready to take advantage at any time and Watts biding his time and steadily moving back into contention in 4th place. As the race reached the 100 lap point the lead group were still close together, Clark now back into the lead and with Peltier coming up fast and working his way up to 3rd. The racing was fast and decisive but with plenty of pushing and shoving as cars moved to position themselves for the last 3rd of the race, and occasionally this showed signs of boiling over, with Ingram being warned for rough driving from the flag stand. As the racing intensified a caution period cooled everyone down, this time after Brackett made contact with the back straight wall and span out of control.

Clark and Leighton continued their battle at the front from the restart but Peltier was quickly in to bisect them and take second place for himself. Behind them Watts was pushing hard, but perhaps too hard as hic contact with Rowe saw the #48 turned going into turn 1, forcing all the cars behind to take evasive action. Unfortunately many of the top running cars were too close and could do nothing. This saw Russell, Jones and #08 Joey Gase all going hard into the turn 1 wall and Brackett having to stand on his brakes to avoid the pile-up in front of him. Russell was far from impressed with the driver he saw as the cause of the wreck, and was quick to climb from his car and show his displeasure to Watts as the cars came back around behind the pace truck.

After a lengthy clean-up operation the racing was able to continue and Peltier took the opportunity to streak into the lead before the caution flags came back out as Rowe, who had been a contender throughout the race and shown great speed, hit the front straight wall hard and skidded across the infield grass before coming to rest in turn 2. The subsequent restart saw the pace truck in action again, this time as Foley, #127 Kyle Maynard and Larson came together out of turn 2 and got badly out of shape, hitting each other and leaving Larson seeing his day’s racing end on the chains of the wrecker.
The race was slowly working itself to a conclusion as the lead continued to change hands once the green flags were again waved. This time Choquette was able to get back to the front, Clark chasing him hard but with Watts breathing down his neck in 3rd place. At the 120th lap the lead group were now well ahead of the rest but Clark had made obvious ground on the race leader, and with just one more lap complete he was able to use the lapped Brackett perfectly to baulk Choquette on the higher line and slide down the inside into the lead. Behind them Leighton was able to use exactly the same maneuver using the same back-marker just a few laps later, this time claiming 3rd place from Watts.

Leighton now set his sights on 2nd place and with 10 laps to go he caught and passed Choquette by blasting down his inside heading into turn 3. As the flag stand signaled 5 laps to go the track crew sprang to life as the hard racing that had lead to this point saw debris strewn across the track in turn 2, needing a crew to be dispatched to remove the piece of errant bodywork and give the racers a clear track to race on.

From the restart Leighton was quickly to gain the advantage, as Watts made his presence known to Clark in 2nd, although the visitor from Maine was quick to block the Florida racer’s charge. Clark now pushed with everything he had as the laps ticked down, and was hitting turns with such speed that he was getting visibly loose on his way out of the corners. With the white flag out he tried one last push but again his extra speed saw him slide high up the track, start to lose composure and need to back off to regain control of his car, and so Leighton was able to take the checkered flag ahead of Clark and Watts, with Choquette and #23 Lonnie Sommerville, who had driven a smart race to keep out of trouble, rounding out the top 5.

As well as the PASS Winterfest 150 there were also a couple of local division on show for the brave fans who headed out into the cold. In the Superstocks the win was taken #51 Butch Herdegen who edged out former track champion #56 Bobby Hollley in a 35 lap feature. It had been #15 Cody Blair who had made the most of his front row starting position and lead for the first 13 laps, but a caution for a spinning car at the rear bunched the field back up and allowed HErdegen, Holley and #01 Scott Smith to get out in front and dominate the race. Herdegen would ultimately win by several car lengths, with Holley behind him a similar distance ahead of Smith.

In the Strictly Stock division the race turned into something of a grudge match as dual track champion #89 William Hindman took on the massed ranks of the Sanford Auto Dealers Exchange racing team and gave as good as he got for most of the race. After an audacious attempt to overtake the entire field at the start had seen Hindman sprint from 10th place right into the lead before the cars had even reached the start line, the Orlando Speedworld favorite was quickly sent to the rear of the field at the first caution. The restart saw the SADE cars of #95x Brannon and #95 Chuck Hill leading at the front, but it took just 10 laps for Hindman to be up into 4th and breathing down their necks, despite a quick trip to the pits under caution to dump the power-steering fluid that was causing his car to smoke out on the track.

Another caution gave Hindman his chance to join the fight at the front and he took it with an incredible burst past the leaders, only to be pulled back when a spin at the rear of the pack saw the #54 of Steve Pierce end up sideways on the start/finish straight. The race up at the front was now between Brannon, Hill and Hindman, although #13 Candolino was doing all he could to defend his team-mates by nudging Hindman mid-turn to let him know he was there. Hindman repaid the favor on the very next lap into turn 3, hitting Candolino hard and moving past back into 3rd spot.

A flat tire would end Hindman’s one-man crusade to prevent the SADE cars from taking all top 5 places in the race, although he stayed out on track to complete the race. The last lap flag somehow managed to signal an increase to the mayhem, as the checkered flag appeared to end the race for Hindman and his flat tire, Pierce with his side bodywork ripped off the car, and #60 Ernie Tuminello crossing the line on 3 wheels, having shed a front tire coming out of turn 4. Hill had won the race ahead of Brannon, and just for good measure the #9 of Curt Steere gave Hindman one last hard hit to the side as the cars supposedly set off on their warm-down lap, Steere pulling off into the pits before Hindman could find him to show his appreciation for this gesture.

UNOFFICIAL FINISH
1 – 55 – Brad Leighton
2 – 54 – Johnny Clark
3 – 73 – Sam Watts
4 – 33 – Jeff Choquette
5 – 23 – Lonnie Sommerville
6 – 20 – Steve Legendre
7 – 26 – Preston Peltier
8 – 4s – Jay Fogleman
9 – 04 – Jared Foley
10 – 127 – Kyle Maynard
11 – 5 – Kevin Ingram
12 – 6- Dale Brackett
13 – 88 – Justin Larson
14 – 48 – Ben Rowe
15 – 36 – Tim Russell
16 – 35 – Devin Jones
17 – 08 – Joey Gase
18 – 51 – Steve Nasse
19 – 62 – Brandon Ward
20 – 8 – Eddie Gainey
21 – 61 – Mario Gosselin
22 – 15 – Clay Jones

Today’s PASS Series WinterFest 150 has been postponed by PASS Series Officials until Sunday (1/31) at 3:00pm.

The Complete Sunday Schedule will be posted at www.NewSmyrnaSpeedway.org shortly. 

*** ANY TEAM THAT HAD RENTED THE TRACK FOR PRACTICE FOR SUNDAY 1/31PLEASE CONTACT KIM BROWN at 386-547-2879***