{"id":21331,"date":"2014-04-07T17:42:11","date_gmt":"2014-04-07T17:42:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/?p=21331"},"modified":"2014-04-07T17:42:11","modified_gmt":"2014-04-07T17:42:11","slug":"nasse-dominates-bright-house-challenge-at-new-smyrna-speedway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/front-page-news\/nasse-dominates-bright-house-challenge-at-new-smyrna-speedway\/","title":{"rendered":"NASSE DOMINATES BRIGHT HOUSE CHALLENGE AT NEW SMYRNA SPEEDWAY"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"TrackDetail49\"New Smyrna Speedway was the place to be\u00a0Saturday\u00a0night for some outstanding\u00a0racing as the NASCAR Whelan All American Series continued for 2014 featuring\u00a0100 laps for the Super Late Models as leg number two of the 2014 Bright House\u00a0Challenge. \u00a0Twenty-five Super Late Model cars went through afternoon tech inspection, but\u00a0before time trials could be held, three top teams already had their cars in\u00a0the trailer after suffering mechanical woes in practice. \u00a0All Wayne Anderson,\u00a0Daniel Keene, Jr. and Kevin Dicks could do was sit back and watch the action\u00a0as the 22 remaining drivers hit the track for qualifying. \u00a0Defending Bright House champion Travis Cope of Weeki Wachee was first out to\u00a0take time and he set the standard at 17.333 seconds that no one would be able\u00a0to touch. \u00a0T. J. Duke was the closest at 17.413 followed by a 17.459 second\u00a0lap for Rich Clouser. \u00a0David Rogers, Brad May and Daniel Webster rounded out\u00a0the top six qualifiers. \u00a0Cope’s luck was not so good when it came to the\u00a0inversion pill draw as he pulled a ten to invert the top five rows for the\u00a0start of the century grind placing tenth fastest qualifier Jesse Dutilly on\u00a0the pole and Stephen Nasse on the outside pole after an uncharacteristically\u00a0slow time trial lap for the young driver out of Pinellas Park that would\u00a0ultimately work in his favor.<\/p>\n

The initial start nearly spelled disaster. \u00a0Third-starting Joe Boyd, winner of\u00a0the season-opening Bright House Challenge race at DeSoto Speedway in\u00a0Bradenton, had his machine fail to come up to speed as the green flag fell,\u00a0stacking up the field behind him. \u00a0Only some great driving and nifty moves\u00a0prevented a major catastrophe from taking place. \u00a0A second try at getting the\u00a0event going saw George Gorham, Jr. get turned around in turn four to negate\u00a0the start again. \u00a0The third try was the charm and it was Nasse moving out to a\u00a0quick early lead with Dutilly in tow as the olny car that seemed to be able to\u00a0match the speed of Nasse’s fleet #51. \u00a0Late arrival Derrick Wood, who started
\nscratch on the field, was black-flagged during lap five for a smoking engine\u00a0and the first caution flag of the race flew a pair of laps later as Matt\u00a0Montineri spun on the front stretch. \u00a0Nasse continued to set the pace but the yellow was back out again for a\u00a0another front stretch spin, this time by Michael Atwell. \u00a0Following the\u00a0restart, Joe Boyd slipped by Dutilly into second place while Nasses simply\u00a0drove away and hid as the race ran all the way to the halfway point under\u00a0green. \u00a0At lap 50, Nasses led Boyd, Dutilly, May, Webster, Rogers, Cope, Tim\u00a0Russell, Anthony Sergi and Clouser only to see the race’s third caution on lap\u00a051. \u00a0Gorham and Atwell tangled right in front of the lead cars in turn four. \u00a0Anthony Cataldi, who had gone high to let the leaders put him a lap down,\u00a0didn’t see the stalled machine of Atwell and hit Atwell’s car. \u00a0Although\u00a0Atwell took a hard shot, he was able to drive away, pit, and make repairs but\u00a0Cataldi was not so fortunate as he took a ride back to his pit stall on the\u00a0wrecker.<\/p>\n

Just as the field was getting ready for the restart, third-running Dutilly\u00a0slowed abruptly keeping the caution light on as he pitted with a deflating\u00a0right front tire. \u00a0As the field took the green to get back underway, Brad May\u00a0took over the second spot. \u00a0From this point there was little doubt that Nasse had the car to beat as he\u00a0was simply glued to the track leaving the rest of the field in his wake. \u00a0At\u00a0this point some of the wildest action seen here in some time took place well\u00a0behind the leader as cars throughout the top fifteen positions continually\u00a0swapped places. \u00a0After the race ended, one veteran track official said “I\u00a0never saw so many wrecks that didn’t happen.” \u00a0Things came to a head on lap 61\u00a0as Travis Cope, who had never really been able to show the raw speed he had in\u00a0qualifying, tried to pinch his car down to low in turn three to make a pass\u00a0and spun out. \u00a0On the ensuing restart David Rogers, now running third, did not\u00a0have his car come up to speed setting up an “accordion effect” behind him that\u00a0eventually saw Anthony Sergi in the turn one wall and out for the night. \u00a0The exact same thing happened to Rogers on the next attempt to restart the\u00a0race. \u00a0This time everybody was able to avoid any altercations but Rogers\u00a0slipped back to fifth in the running order before he could get his car up to\u00a0speed. \u00a0The remainder of the race ran under green all the way to the checker. \u00a0Tim Russell moved his car to second on lap 76 but had nothing for the fleet\u00a0Nasse while Cope dropped from the running on lap 79 and was scored 17th in the
\nfinal run-down. \u00a0Nasse went on to lead all 100 laps to score a popular victory follwed by\u00a0Russell, Daniel Webster, Joe Boyd and T. J. Duke who saved his car for a late
\nrun to the front. \u00a0Rounding out the top ten were Rogers, May, Atwell, Clouser\u00a0and Dutilly.<\/p>\n

Donny Williams led the opening four laps of the Sportsman feature but\u00a0following a lap four double spin by the cars of Justin Starr and Richard\u00a0Goodrich, lost the top spot on the restart to a high-flying George Gorham, Jr. \u00a0\u00a0Gorham looked to have the race in hand but Starr spun again in turn two with\u00a0two laps left in the race to bring out a final yellow flag. \u00a0Gorham’s car\u00a0balked on the restart and left the door open for Osteen driver Chris Brannon\u00a0who took over and led the rest of the way to score the victory. \u00a0Gorham held\u00a0on for second trailed by Garrett Hill, Derrick Wood and Timmy Todd, Jr.<\/p>\n

The Mini Stock feature was another barn-burner from green to checker as the whole field swapped paint and positions keeping the nice crowd entertained. \u00a0Pat Wells led the first nine laps but could not hold back a hard-charging\u00a0Jamie Dixson who took over and held the point until the only caution of the\u00a0race flew on lap 17 for a Jason Reynolds spin. \u00a0When the green flag flew,\u00a0Wells jumped back to the front again and was never headed as the remaining\u00a0drivers behind him put on an awesome show battling for second that ultimately\u00a0saw Dixson spin out during the white flag lap while trying to re-claim the\u00a0second spot. \u00a0The win for Wells was a measure of revenge after losing by less
\nthan the width of a bumper on opening night two weeks ago to David Russell. \u00a0This time it was Russell’s turn to settle for second while Tyler Simpson had a\u00a0great late run for third ahead of Mark Broat and Jeff White.<\/p>\n

Diamond Jim Higginbotham led the first five laps of the E-Modified feature\u00a0before Jarrett Korpi took over to lead lap six. \u00a0One lap later, Korpi’s car\u00a0came out of gear coming by the flag stand. \u00a0As the cars slowed behind him,\u00a0rookie contender Matthew Green, making his first E-Modified start here in a\u00a0car sponsored by former track champion Alan Bruns, ran over the back of Roger\u00a0Benton’s car. \u00a0Green’s car sailed high in the air but came down with no\u00a0apparent damage while Benton slid backwards into the inside wall. \u00a0Benton\u00a0pitted to repair damage and returned to the fray. \u00a0Meanwhile, Korpi’s crew\u00a0finally got his car back into gear on pit road but he returned to action just\u00a0as the race restarted and he was a half lap down. \u00a0Higginbotham was back in the lead and the veteran driver from Summerfield set\u00a0the pace through lap ten before Green motored by, his car seemingly much\u00a0faster after the earlier incident. \u00a0The rest of the race ran to the finish\u00a0without a caution and Green motored off to score an easy win in his first\u00a0career E-Modified race here. \u00a0All eyes were on Korpi as he managed to reel in\u00a0the rest of the field from his half-lap deficit although he ran out of laps\u00a0and had to settle for fourth behind Higginbotham and Benton. \u00a0Art Kunzeman\u00a0took fifth place.<\/p>\n

It was only a four car field for the Strictly Stock feature and the thing was\u00a0pretty much a ho-hum affair – at least until the final lap. \u00a0Mark Shukwit ran\u00a0off to a huge lead and looked to be an easy winner. \u00a0Most fans though Shukwit\u00a0was just “taking it easy” toward the end of the race and he was, actually\u00a0trying to keep his car going as the engine began to run rough under speed. \u00a0By\u00a0the white flag lap, second-running Warren Howie, driving a four-door 1994\u00a0Chevy Caprice, caught Shukwit and passed for the lead heading into turn three. \u00a0\u00a0Howie took the checker just ahead of Shukwit whose engine blew up just after\u00a0passing the flag stand. \u00a0It was Howie’s first career victory and it was quite\u00a0a celebration afterward. \u00a0Shukwit ended up second followed by Aaron Overman\u00a0and Dan Webb.<\/p>\n

Next Saturday\u00a0night the Sportsman drivers race 50 laps for $1,000 to win. \u00a0Also in action will be the E-Modifieds, Pro Late Models, Super Stocks and the\u00a0Strictly Stocks.<\/p>\n

OFFICIAL RESULTS – NEW SMYRNA SPEEDWAY – 4\/4\/14:<\/p>\n

BRIGHT HOUSE CHALLENGE SUPER LATE MODELS – 100 LAPS:
\n1) Stephen Nasse, Pinellas Park #51
\n2) Tim Russell, Apopka #36
\n3) Daniel Webster, Brooksville #33
\n4) Joe Boyd, Riverview #5
\n5) T. J. Duke, Southwest Ranches #28
\n6) David Rogers, Orlando #11
\n7) Brad May, Orlando #10
\n8) Michael Atwell, Naples #51X
\n9) Rich Clouser, Deland #9
\n10) Jesse Dutilly, Sarasota #30
\n11) George Gorham, Jr., Lakeland #10G
\n12) Matt Montineri, Orange Park #10M
\n13) David Green, Ft. Pierce #12
\n14) Jason Boyd, Orlando #15
\n15) Ray Black, Jr., Jacksonville #19
\n16) Jake Perkins, Ocala #59
\n17) Travis Cope, Weeki Wachee #26
\n18) Anthony Sergi, Geneva #20
\n19) Anthony Cataldi, Umatilla #00
\n20) Michael Lira, Port Orange #57
\n21) Darryl Shelnut, Lake City #64
\n22) Derrick Wood, Orlando #33W
\nDNS – Daniel Keene, Jr., Weeki Wachee #5K
\nDNS – Kevin Dicks, Ft. White #39
\nDNS – Wayne Anderson, Wildwood #84<\/p>\n

SPORTSMAN – 25 LAPS:
\n1) Chris Brannon, Osteen #59
\n2) George Gorham, Jr., Lakeland
\n3) Garrett Hill, Orlando #95
\n4) Derrick Wood, Orlando #33
\n5) Timmy Todd, Kissimmee #25
\n6) Donny Williams, Tangerine #111
\n7) Richard Goodrich, New Smyrna #86
\n8) Justin Starr, Orlando #27
\n9) Dwight Farr, Jr., Lake Helen #88
\n10) Mike Soukup, Deltona #45
\nDNS – Collin Allman, Groveland #67<\/p>\n

MINI STOCKS – 25 LAPS:
\n1) Pat Wells, Altoona #23
\n2) David Russell, Melbourne #31
\n3) Tyler Simpson, New Smyrna #115
\n4) Mark Broat, New Smyrna #6
\n5) Jeff White, Eustis #15
\n6) Brad Blanton, Tavares #14
\n7) Reid Christensen, Daytona Beach #30
\n8) Levi Hammond, Titusville #4
\n9) Daniel Brown, Port Orange #89
\n10) Jamie Dixson, Titusville #8
\n11) Jason Reynolds, Edgewater #78<\/p>\n

E-MODIFIEDS – 25 LAPS
\n1) Matthew Green, Orlando #44B
\n2) Jim Higginbotham, Summerfield #76
\n3) Roger Benton, Chuluota #14
\n4) Jarrett Korpi, Deltona #112
\n5) Art Kunzeman, Houston, TX #9
\n6) Mike Dahm, Deltona #21
\n7) George Dahm, Enterprise #90<\/p>\n

STRICTLY STOCKS – 20 LAPS
\n1) Warren Howie, Pompano Beach #16
\n2) Mark Shukwit, Deltona #88
\n3) Aaron Overman, Orlando #03
\n4) Dan Webb, Port Orange #25<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Smyrna Speedway was the place to be\u00a0Saturday\u00a0night for some outstanding\u00a0racing as the NASCAR Whelan All American Series continued for 2014 featuring\u00a0100 laps for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"publish_to_discourse":"","publish_post_category":"","wpdc_auto_publish_overridden":"","wpdc_topic_tags":"","wpdc_pin_topic":"","wpdc_pin_until":"","discourse_post_id":"","discourse_permalink":"","wpdc_publishing_response":"","wpdc_publishing_error":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[22,3,16,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured","category-front-page-news","category-new-smyrna-speedway","category-race-results"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21331"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21331\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21334,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21331\/revisions\/21334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}