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MAY AND VULPIUS AGAIN IN 50 LAPPERS - HUNT & TYNER 1ST TIME WINNERS AT NEW SMYRNA SPEEDWAY
Race fans finally had some cool, comfortable and dry weather Saturday night at New Smyrna Speedway for week 32 of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Racing Series on O'Reilly Auto Parts night.
A pair of 50-lap races were on tap for the Pro Late Models and the Sunshine Seamless Gutters Mini Stocks along with feature events for the Speedway Flooring Super Stocks and the Bombers.
Sixteen Pro Late Models were on hand for their half-century run but Carter Stokes was unable to make it past hot laps as mechanical gremlins sidelined his potent #33 machine. For the second time in three weeks, Brad May was the quickest in time trials and the only driver to break into the 17 second bracket turning a quick lap of 17.852 seconds in his Bobby Sears Racing/R. K. Edwards, Inc. special. May's lap was almost three-tenths of a second quicker than Daniel Keene, Jr.'s fast lap of 18.147. Rich Clouser was third fastest at 18.181 followed by Tim Russell and point leader Zach Jarrell.
The top six qualifiers were inverted for the start placing Blaise Hetznecker and Jarrell on the front row. These two drivers came into the event in a close battle for the Pro Late Model point championship. Jarrell jumped out to an early lead before Clouser slipped by and up to the front on lap three. May was looking strong and zoomed to the top spot on the sixth lap and began to immediately draw away from the field.
Things came to an abrupt halt when Cody Blair's car slowed in turn three in a ball of flame. The fire quickly went out and Blair came to a stop on the front stretch. After a couple of minutes, Blair fired his machine back up and came to pit road where his crew went to work and managed to get him back into action. Blair ran a few more circuits but would eventually call it a night.
May continued to set a blistering pace after the restart. Keene moved by Clouser into second on lap 15 as things settled down to some fast green flag racing. Keene began to slow a bit and Clouser moved back into second on the 36th lap bringing Russell with him into third place. One lap later, Russell and Keene made contact in turn two with Keene re-taking second. Russell returned the "bump" going into turn three and the two cars locked together coming to a stop against the front stretch wall off turn four where both drivers emerged from their machines as a big argument ensued. Cooler heads prevailed but both cars were eliminated from competition. Later, Keene indicated his right front tire was going down and he was just "trying to hang on" at that point.
May out ran Clouser into turn one on the restart and pulled away over the final 13 laps taking his eighth win of the year. Clouser scored his second straight runner-up finish while Jarrell had a steady run to third and increased his point lead to eight markers over Hetznecker who took fourth ahead of Ricky Moxley. Noah Cornman took sixth with Kevyn Terry and Daniel Miller seventh and eighth, the only other cars still running at the finish. Rounding out the field were Russell, Keene, Jeff White, Dalton Smith, Blair, Aaron Rader and Paul White.
"Mr. Mini Stock," Ted Vulpius, set fast time for the Sunshine Seamless Gutters Mini Stocks with a lap of 20.775 seconds, just a tick quicker than the 20.800 lap of Robbie Yoakam who was making his first appearance of the year here. Shaun Cater was also out for the first time this season and set third quick time at 21.194 followed by David Russell and Brad Blanton.
The top six fast cars from time trials were also inverted for this one and Jamie Dixson took advantage of his pole position to lead the opening lap before Russell took over. Russell had a good run going but could not hold off a hard-charging Vulpius who blasted to the point bringing Yoakam right in his slipstream on lap eleven. Matthew Camp had just passed Russell for third on lap 16 when he got loose and spun off turn two. Camp's car slid down the track and pounded the inside wall severely damaging his racer as the yellow flag was unfurled for the only time during the event.
Vulpius and Yoakam rocketed away from the rest of the field on the restart and began a great battle for the top position. Vulpius' car was stronger down the straights but Yoakam was better in the middle part of the turns. "He was wearing me out," said Vulpius later on but the Mini Stock point leader found himself with a huge lead on lap 37 when Yoakam suddenly slowed and pulled off the track.
From that point Vulpius was in a different zip code as he streaked to the win by a half lap over Cater who barely held off a high-flying Bobby Dooley who made a great late-race charge to score his best career finish in third. Russell held on for fourth as only the top four machines finished on the lead lap. Dixson was sixth ahead of Megan Matheny and Mark Broat, all one lap down. Rounding out the finishers were Yoakam, Camp and Blanton, all DNF's.
Things did not go well in practice for Speedway Flooring Super Stock point leader Justin Reynolds as a broken rear end saw his crew have to thrash in order to have a new rear end installed by feature race time. Ultimately the rear end change would come back to haunt Reynolds but more on that later.
Jeff Cuddy ended up on the pole for the feature in his "XL" machine and moved out to a quick lead with Reynolds in tow. Shannon Kelly moved by Gino Tuminello and into third spot on the fifth lap. One lap later the yellow flag flew as Ernie Tuminello was sent into a spin by Zachary Curtis who was driving the #20X car normally driven by Matt Reynolds after his own car broke during hot laps. Curtis went to the rear for the restart while Tuminello got his spot back in the line-up. At the same time of the Tuminello/Curtis incident, Bobby Holley had the engine let go in his mount coming off turn four and he was done for the evening.
Cuddy maintained his lead on the restart and was holding off a hard-charging Reynolds when Ronnie Hadden looped his car in turn two to bring out the caution. Just after the restart, Kelly, who was now running fourth behind Cuddy, Reynolds and Preston Hunt, spun in the second turn to keep the yellow out.
As the field took the green flag again it was obvious that Cuddy's car was starting to "loosen" up and Reynolds zipped by into the lead on lap 13. One lap later Hunt moved by Cuddy and set his sights on Reynolds. Hunt, who started the event from ninth on the grid, began to put the pressure on and eventually got by Reynolds for the lead on lap 17. From that point Hunt maintained a decent advantage all the way to the end of the 25-lap contest to score the first win of his young racing career. The 15-year-old Deland High School student was joined in victory lane by a throng of supporters including family and crew members along with representatives of his sponsors Sanford Auto Dealers Exchange and Sunbelt Rentals. Also joining in the festivities was Hunt's crew chief Jason Boyd who has been putting extra effort in getting the young driver up to speed. One thing that was missing from Hunt's car this week was the green paint it had sported for most of the season as the car was painted all black for the first time. Apparently the removal of the green (considered unlucky by some in racing) may have had something to do with changing around Hunt's recent string of bad luck.
Reynolds crossed the line in second but was ultimately set down in tech for coming in underweight. Remember that rear end change during practice? Justin's young brother Matt Reynolds stated after the race that "the rear end we replaced the other one with was several pounds lighter. We should have taken the car across the scales to check the weight but we didn't, so the whole thing is really our fault," he said.
That moved Cuddy up to second in the final rundown while Curtis drove back up to third after his earlier penalty. Ernie Tuminello came home fourth followed by Joe Gerard, Hadden and Tommy Koch, the only cars left running at the end. Gino Tuminello was scored eighth trailed by Dale Howard, Kelly (who dropped out with engine problems), Mike Dahm, Holley and George Dahm. Despite his DNF, Kelly closed to within 20 points of Reynolds in the season-long chase as Reynolds earned no points on the night. Only one race remains on the schedule though and all Reynolds needs to do is just start the event and make it through tech to become the 2015 Super Stock champion.
Richard "Crash" Tyner did not live up to his nickname for once as he led every lap in his big Lincoln to score his first career win in the Bomber feature. Only one caution fell during the 20-lapper for a turn four spin by James Skinner. Skinner eventually came back to run second to Tyner but was set down in tech for a ride height infraction. That moved Aaron Overman up to second at the checker with John Gross claiming third place in his Toyota.
Tyner indicated that it was indeed his first win but not the first for his car as Zachary Curtis drove it to victory once during the 2013 season. Meanwhile, Skinner's DQ pretty much gave the 2015 Bomber track title to Overman who now has to just start the last two races of the year to claim his first-ever track championship.
Winner Photos:
1) Pro LM 50-lap winner Brad May (Jim Jones Photo)
2) Super Stock winner Preston Hunt (Belinda Laursen Photo)
3) Mini Stock 50-lap winner Ted Vulpius (Jim Jones Photo)
4) First career Bomber win for Richard "Crash" Tyner (Jim Jones Photo)
MAY AND VULPIUS AGAIN IN 50 LAPPERS - HUNT & TYNER 1ST TIME WINNERS AT NEW SMYRNA SPEEDWAY
Race fans finally had some cool, comfortable and dry weather Saturday night at New Smyrna Speedway for week 32 of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Racing Series on O'Reilly Auto Parts night.
A pair of 50-lap races were on tap for the Pro Late Models and the Sunshine Seamless Gutters Mini Stocks along with feature events for the Speedway Flooring Super Stocks and the Bombers.
Sixteen Pro Late Models were on hand for their half-century run but Carter Stokes was unable to make it past hot laps as mechanical gremlins sidelined his potent #33 machine. For the second time in three weeks, Brad May was the quickest in time trials and the only driver to break into the 17 second bracket turning a quick lap of 17.852 seconds in his Bobby Sears Racing/R. K. Edwards, Inc. special. May's lap was almost three-tenths of a second quicker than Daniel Keene, Jr.'s fast lap of 18.147. Rich Clouser was third fastest at 18.181 followed by Tim Russell and point leader Zach Jarrell.
The top six qualifiers were inverted for the start placing Blaise Hetznecker and Jarrell on the front row. These two drivers came into the event in a close battle for the Pro Late Model point championship. Jarrell jumped out to an early lead before Clouser slipped by and up to the front on lap three. May was looking strong and zoomed to the top spot on the sixth lap and began to immediately draw away from the field.
Things came to an abrupt halt when Cody Blair's car slowed in turn three in a ball of flame. The fire quickly went out and Blair came to a stop on the front stretch. After a couple of minutes, Blair fired his machine back up and came to pit road where his crew went to work and managed to get him back into action. Blair ran a few more circuits but would eventually call it a night.
May continued to set a blistering pace after the restart. Keene moved by Clouser into second on lap 15 as things settled down to some fast green flag racing. Keene began to slow a bit and Clouser moved back into second on the 36th lap bringing Russell with him into third place. One lap later, Russell and Keene made contact in turn two with Keene re-taking second. Russell returned the "bump" going into turn three and the two cars locked together coming to a stop against the front stretch wall off turn four where both drivers emerged from their machines as a big argument ensued. Cooler heads prevailed but both cars were eliminated from competition. Later, Keene indicated his right front tire was going down and he was just "trying to hang on" at that point.
May out ran Clouser into turn one on the restart and pulled away over the final 13 laps taking his eighth win of the year. Clouser scored his second straight runner-up finish while Jarrell had a steady run to third and increased his point lead to eight markers over Hetznecker who took fourth ahead of Ricky Moxley. Noah Cornman took sixth with Kevyn Terry and Daniel Miller seventh and eighth, the only other cars still running at the finish. Rounding out the field were Russell, Keene, Jeff White, Dalton Smith, Blair, Aaron Rader and Paul White.
"Mr. Mini Stock," Ted Vulpius, set fast time for the Sunshine Seamless Gutters Mini Stocks with a lap of 20.775 seconds, just a tick quicker than the 20.800 lap of Robbie Yoakam who was making his first appearance of the year here. Shaun Cater was also out for the first time this season and set third quick time at 21.194 followed by David Russell and Brad Blanton.
The top six fast cars from time trials were also inverted for this one and Jamie Dixson took advantage of his pole position to lead the opening lap before Russell took over. Russell had a good run going but could not hold off a hard-charging Vulpius who blasted to the point bringing Yoakam right in his slipstream on lap eleven. Matthew Camp had just passed Russell for third on lap 16 when he got loose and spun off turn two. Camp's car slid down the track and pounded the inside wall severely damaging his racer as the yellow flag was unfurled for the only time during the event.
Vulpius and Yoakam rocketed away from the rest of the field on the restart and began a great battle for the top position. Vulpius' car was stronger down the straights but Yoakam was better in the middle part of the turns. "He was wearing me out," said Vulpius later on but the Mini Stock point leader found himself with a huge lead on lap 37 when Yoakam suddenly slowed and pulled off the track.
From that point Vulpius was in a different zip code as he streaked to the win by a half lap over Cater who barely held off a high-flying Bobby Dooley who made a great late-race charge to score his best career finish in third. Russell held on for fourth as only the top four machines finished on the lead lap. Dixson was sixth ahead of Megan Matheny and Mark Broat, all one lap down. Rounding out the finishers were Yoakam, Camp and Blanton, all DNF's.
Things did not go well in practice for Speedway Flooring Super Stock point leader Justin Reynolds as a broken rear end saw his crew have to thrash in order to have a new rear end installed by feature race time. Ultimately the rear end change would come back to haunt Reynolds but more on that later.
Jeff Cuddy ended up on the pole for the feature in his "XL" machine and moved out to a quick lead with Reynolds in tow. Shannon Kelly moved by Gino Tuminello and into third spot on the fifth lap. One lap later the yellow flag flew as Ernie Tuminello was sent into a spin by Zachary Curtis who was driving the #20X car normally driven by Matt Reynolds after his own car broke during hot laps. Curtis went to the rear for the restart while Tuminello got his spot back in the line-up. At the same time of the Tuminello/Curtis incident, Bobby Holley had the engine let go in his mount coming off turn four and he was done for the evening.
Cuddy maintained his lead on the restart and was holding off a hard-charging Reynolds when Ronnie Hadden looped his car in turn two to bring out the caution. Just after the restart, Kelly, who was now running fourth behind Cuddy, Reynolds and Preston Hunt, spun in the second turn to keep the yellow out.
As the field took the green flag again it was obvious that Cuddy's car was starting to "loosen" up and Reynolds zipped by into the lead on lap 13. One lap later Hunt moved by Cuddy and set his sights on Reynolds. Hunt, who started the event from ninth on the grid, began to put the pressure on and eventually got by Reynolds for the lead on lap 17. From that point Hunt maintained a decent advantage all the way to the end of the 25-lap contest to score the first win of his young racing career. The 15-year-old Deland High School student was joined in victory lane by a throng of supporters including family and crew members along with representatives of his sponsors Sanford Auto Dealers Exchange and Sunbelt Rentals. Also joining in the festivities was Hunt's crew chief Jason Boyd who has been putting extra effort in getting the young driver up to speed. One thing that was missing from Hunt's car this week was the green paint it had sported for most of the season as the car was painted all black for the first time. Apparently the removal of the green (considered unlucky by some in racing) may have had something to do with changing around Hunt's recent string of bad luck.
Reynolds crossed the line in second but was ultimately set down in tech for coming in underweight. Remember that rear end change during practice? Justin's young brother Matt Reynolds stated after the race that "the rear end we replaced the other one with was several pounds lighter. We should have taken the car across the scales to check the weight but we didn't, so the whole thing is really our fault," he said.
That moved Cuddy up to second in the final rundown while Curtis drove back up to third after his earlier penalty. Ernie Tuminello came home fourth followed by Joe Gerard, Hadden and Tommy Koch, the only cars left running at the end. Gino Tuminello was scored eighth trailed by Dale Howard, Kelly (who dropped out with engine problems), Mike Dahm, Holley and George Dahm. Despite his DNF, Kelly closed to within 20 points of Reynolds in the season-long chase as Reynolds earned no points on the night. Only one race remains on the schedule though and all Reynolds needs to do is just start the event and make it through tech to become the 2015 Super Stock champion.
Richard "Crash" Tyner did not live up to his nickname for once as he led every lap in his big Lincoln to score his first career win in the Bomber feature. Only one caution fell during the 20-lapper for a turn four spin by James Skinner. Skinner eventually came back to run second to Tyner but was set down in tech for a ride height infraction. That moved Aaron Overman up to second at the checker with John Gross claiming third place in his Toyota.
Tyner indicated that it was indeed his first win but not the first for his car as Zachary Curtis drove it to victory once during the 2013 season. Meanwhile, Skinner's DQ pretty much gave the 2015 Bomber track title to Overman who now has to just start the last two races of the year to claim his first-ever track championship.
Winner Photos:
1) Pro LM 50-lap winner Brad May (Jim Jones Photo)
2) Super Stock winner Preston Hunt (Belinda Laursen Photo)
3) Mini Stock 50-lap winner Ted Vulpius (Jim Jones Photo)
4) First career Bomber win for Richard "Crash" Tyner (Jim Jones Photo)
Attached Files