At last - The 44th Governor's Cup weekend report.

[Andy S]

Sorry for the delay! The Friday night write up was pretty easy, but given the importance of the big race I really wanted to get it right and do something better than normal. So it took a while to get it right, and something I'm happy to let you see!

I've split these into two to make them a little easier to read. Hope they're OK!

Governor's Cup Weekend - Friday, 20th November 2009

The season slowly coming to its conclusion must surely give Florida’s short-track racing fans mixed feelings. On the one hand they know their regular weekly racing fix, albeit one that’s suffered terribly at some tracks this year thanks to the summer downpours, is coming to an end and they’ll suddenly find their weekends a bit more free than they’d like. But the final weeks of the racing season also mean that you’re slowly closing in on the date that’s been ringed on your calendar all year – Novermber 21st and the 44th running of the Governor’s Cup at New Smyrna Speedway.

Split over a Friday and Saturday night this year, there were plenty of classes on offer, a whole weekend of racing and race-related events for people to enjoy, and with the big 200 lap finale on Saturday drawing a sizeable crowd of cars and an even more impressive crowd of spectators into the stands, the whole weekend will have sent fans home happy and fulfilled and already looking to next year with optimism.

Friday night was a chance for the Super Late Models to practice and the other divisions to complete their season’s championships. A total of 5 divisions put 66 cars onto the track, and with three separate testing periods for the Cup entrants splitting the different feature races, there were plenty of cars on show for the dedicated fans who’d made it to New Smyrna from all across the South-East for the whole weekend.

With the first practice session out of the way it was time for the SLM’s baby brothers, the Late Models, to head out onto the track. They were quickly putting on a show as #9z Zach Donatti raced out into the lead from the green flag only to see his quick start aborted as contact between #19 Bobby Good and #55 Todd Allen in turn 3 put Allen up into the wall, giving Allen a badly bent rear end. An attempt to race on was soon halted and he returned to the pits, the restart giving Donatti another chance to get an early lead. This opportunity he did not take, by missing the start completely and allowing cars to sail past him to drop all the way back to 8th place by the time he exited the 2nd turn. This put track favorite #47 Davey Gibbs into the early lead, with Bobby Good close behind and chasing hard, but this pursuit lasted just a couple of laps before Good’s motor gave up and he slowly rolled back down pit lane and out of the race.

Gibbs continued to make all the running up front, with the #4B of Alan Bruns in hot pursuit and Donatti slowly making his way up through the field and up into 5th place. The field would be bunched back up for a restart after #63 Austin Pickens span out coming out of turn 4 to start the 12th lap, but the first chance to restart was a bad one for the field as a false start was quickly called, and an even worse one for #17 Mike Trocki who saw his car clip to front straight wall and slide to rest against the wall in the entrance to turn 1. A long caution followed to allow the wrecker crews to lift the #17 up and get it safely off the track.

A successful restart saw Bruns use what was now becoming a very apparent faster line around the outside to push his nose in front of Gibbs to take the lead. Gibbs wasn’t giving up his position without a fight and gave the #4B a tap in the rear as they headed out of turn 2. This had more of an unsettling effect on the #47, which got badly loose and slid out, collecting Donatti’s #9z for good measure, but thankfully both were able to take the restart. Gibbs now had the faster outside starting position for the restart and used it to his advantage to get back in front, leaving Bruns to defend his 2nd position from #86 Randy Anderson. The hard racing continued up at the front for several more green flag laps before Pickens and Donatti, battling for 3rd place and a chance to press the leaders, got way too close coming down the start/finish straight, hooking up together, and seeing Pickens spin out into the low-side pit wall, putting Donatti up high into the wall leading into turn 1. Pickens was able to continue once pulled free, but Donatti’s night was over due to the damage to his racecar.

The restart allowed Gibbs and Bruns to renew their rivalry up at the front, but some door-to-door contact coming out of turn 4 saw both drivers struggling to control their bucking and shaking cars, allowing Anderson to take advantage and streak through into the lead. Gibbs would attempt to fight back but on the following lap would spin out again and bring out the pace truck one last time. Taking the green flag the leading cars would get three-wide going over the start line, with Bruns just taking the advantage as they entered the first turn. Three would quickly become two as Anderson suddenly slowed down, pulling into the pits at the first opportunity with his race over, and although Pickens pushed hard for the remaining laps it was Bruns who held his line, kept up his speed, and took the checkered flag to confirm himself as the 2009 Late Model Champion.

The Sportsman cars were next on the track, led out from the front by the #44 of Ed Michalak, and despite there being just one more race to get through before Michalak could finally put his battered and bruised silver #44 out of its misery, this proved to be yet another night to forget for himself and his car. Having shown good pace in the afternoon’s practice sessions hopes were high in the Michalak camp that he could end the season on a positive note, but those hopes came crashing down in spectacular fashion as quickly as the 3rd turn of the opening lap, where #49 Jason Foster inexplicably ran the #44 down low in the corner, spinning the helpless Michalak and again leaving him stranded in the middle of the corner, forcing cars to skid past on either side to avoid him. Although they say lightning never strikes the same place twice, it clearly did on this night as the one car that couldn’t get out of the way was the #45A of Michael Soukup, who had no choice but to slam into the side of the #44. An ironic end to the incident given that the obvious temporary bodywork on the front ends of both cars was the result of their last attempt to run in the same race - a race that ended with them sitting nose-to-nose in the middle of the first corner after a similar wreck!

In the end this incident left 10 cars scrambled all over the corner, of which the #45 and #10 of Matt Montineri would immediately retire from the race, but that saw the #4 of Timmy Todd Jr and – miraculously – Michalak’s #44 rejoin the pack after frantic, and in Michalak’s case, extensive bodywork repairs. The race was soon restarted but continued to see cars spinning, sliding and turning around to bring out the pace car, with both the #20 of Justin Reynolds and the #111 of Donnie Williams spinning out before 5 laps had been completed.

Thankfully the race soon settled down and was left to a three-way battle up at the front between Williams, #27 Phil Luizzo and would-be points champion #23 Mike Pletka. A three had chances to lead the race, but it was Williams and Pletka who were fighting right at the front, with Pletka finding the low groove lacking its usual pace, giving Williams the faster line to help him fend off the advances. Finally Pletka was able to get up on the higher line with barely 5 laps to go and he was able to use this to get through and into the lead, bringing Luizzo with him and relegating Williams back to 3rd. The white flag came out to indicate one to go just as the leaders hit slower lapped traffic but with Pletka trying to cleverly use one of the slower car to block Luizzo, the #27 was able to find a way down the inside and repay the block by putting the same move on Pletka, using Michalak’s car as a moving chicane on the exit of turn 4 to take the checkered flag and the win. Luizzo’s joy at the win was short-lived however, as a post-race tech inspection found illegal spindles that had inexplicably been added to the car without the owner’s knowledge during a recent repair, leaving Pletka as both the race winner and the 2009 Sportsman Champion.

The Modifieds were next out on the track and gave everyone in the grandstands a chance to catch their breath after the carnage of the previous two races. With their high speeds and high risk factor due to their open-wheel design, this division is usually one that provides the cleanest racing of the night, with cautions a real rarity in most races, although when they do wreck it tends to be a big one. Thankfully this was not going to be one of those nights, and they ran their entire feature race caution free and, for the most part, incident free. The opening laps saw #22 Jason Boyd get out into a lead, and other then #330 Joe Gerard Sr going up in smoke down the back straight during the early laps, little else of note occurred during the race. Boyd was the easy winner and took the checkered flag well ahead of Jerry Symons in his #66 in 2nd place, who himself was well clear of the 3rd place Alan Bruns in his #4B.

Next up on the schedule came the Mini Stocks, fresh off the heels of their big 50 lap feature on the high-banked half-mile last week. Having shown that their smaller engines and diminutive size compared to the higher classes did not mean they provided any less entertainment, the produced an exciting race with plenty of passing in the middle of the field. Right from the green flag the high groove again gave the cars the fastest way around the track with #85 Rex ‘Boneman’ Hollinger racing out to the front with #3 Buddy Sizemore and #81 Cody Blair in hot pursuit. Hollinger was able to keep his lead for the first 3 laps, but recent weeks had shown just how much faster Cody Blair has been in this division compared to his colleagues, and so it was that he was soon able to power around Hollinger and into a lead that he never looked like surrendering.

Although Blair had now made this effectively a race for the minor placings, there was plenty of action for the fans to watch, particularly in the battle immediately behind him that saw Hollinger, Sizemore and #8 James Dixson going wheel-to-wheel all the way around the track. This battle provided much of the excitement for the rest of the race, especially when the three drivers began to encounter the slower cars that needed to be lapped. A late caution for a car on fire in the pit lane did little to threaten Blair’s lead as the green flag just gave him another opportunity to sail away into the open track ahead of him, but by bunching up the cars behind him it guaranteed an exciting race to the finish. It was Dixson who made the best of the restart, with Hollinger dropping back to 4th after getting a little out of shape going into turn 1 past the green flag, and Dixson soon made his way out far enough ahead to have no trouble taking the 2nd place behind Blair, who won the race with ease. This left just Hollinger and Sizemore to fight out for 3rd place, and this race went right down to the wire as they left turn 4 in a sprint for the finish line, with the Boneman just managing to wring a final bit extra out of his #85 and beat out Sizemore for 3rd place by a nose.

Just one more race to go for the few hardy souls who braved the cold in the stands to see the evening through to the bitter end, and this time it was a last chance for the Super Stocks to race around New Smyrna Speedway this season. An inauspicious start to the race saw two false starts before the flag stand was happy to let the cars go, seeing #56 Bobby Holley racing away at the front with #86 Richard Goodrich, #16 David Russell and #211 Jarret Korpi in hot pursuit. Korpi was soon to get to the front of this chasing group, and set about his pursuit of former track champion Holley. The hard charging Korpi was able to catch the #56 with 5 laps down and take the lead before the caution flags came out just as half-distance had been signaled. A lengthy clean-up period was needed as the #9 of William Boggs was towed from the track after making hard contact with the turn 3 wall, and his errant wheel, which had sheered from his car, bounced up into the catch fence and rolled away down the track, was recovered from its final resting place in turn 4.

The restart saw Korpi and Holley resuming hostilities up at the front and leaving Goodrich and #15 Michael Wooford fighting hard for 3rd place behind them. The lead cars ran bumper to bumper before Korpi became comfortable with the fast line and was able to pull away for what would prove to be a decisive lead. Behind them Goodrich was doing all he could to keep his #86, miraculously rebuilt after a major crash in last week’s 50 lap race, ahead of Wooford. Goodrich was able to keep this advantage right up until the last lap, when Wooford finally found some speed to win a drag race to the line with Goodrich and clinch 3rd place. By this time Korpi was already well past the finish, having taken the win with ease ahead of an unchallenged Holley in 2nd place.

And so a the season ended for these five divisions and the Super Late Models made their way back on track for a final Friday night testing and tuning session. Meanwhile the few remaining fans slowly filtered out of the gate knowing that this had just been a taster for the main event, due to come the following night in the shape of a 200 lap showdown for the cream of Florida’s drivers.

[Andy S]

Governor's Cup - Saturday, 21st November 2009

The conditions were perfect for the much anticipated 44th running of the legendary Governor’s Cup race at New Smyrna Speedway, a race the fans look forward to all season as it brings the cream of Florida and the south-east’s Super Late Model racers out to take their chances on the high-banked half-mile and to take on all the challenges that represents.

A field of 34 cars, of which 31 would take the green flag to start the race, had spent a whole weekend testing, tweaking and tuning their cars, and if qualifying was anything to go by this was going to be one heck of a race. The evening qualifying session had seen one of the pre-race favorites, Jeff Choquette in the #33, firmly plant himself in pole position with a fast time of 17.551, but with barely 0.4s between pole position and 20th place the competition would be fierce. Just a look at the starting line-up showed what Choquette would face if he wanted to convert that qualifying performance into a win, and seeing #11 David Rogers, #88 Justin Larson, #36 Tim Russell, #9 Rich Clouser and #73 Sam Watts all qualifying less than 1/10th of a second behind him meant that any one of these drivers would be sitting and waiting for the slightest opportunity. That was just the tip of the iceberg for any would-be winner of the Governor’s Cup as it didn’t even include the #84 of Wayne Anderson, qualifying in 7th starting spot, or the #05 of Jeremy Colangelo, who had fought his car to pull off a creditable 10th starting place.

But the Governor’s Cup always throws in surprises, and this year was to prove to be no different. A 200-lap race around the high-banks of New Smyrna for the fastest cars the state of Florida has to offer is already enough to have race fans salivating. Add to this the unique tactical battle taking place on pit lane, with the 200 lap format suddenly seeing pit strategy coming into play as the drivers and crew have to contemplate the optimal time for refueling and tire changes, something rarely considered in weekly short-track race features. And no amount of planning can take into account the chaos of a big, high-stakes race where long cautions can throw the most meticulous fuel strategy into turmoil, while the slowly developing faster groove on the track moving higher and higher up the banks would also play a part in the outcome, rewarding the brave few willing to take their wheels up the track and around their rivals.

All of these elements combined make this one of the few genuine ‘must-see’ races on the calendar, and the fans responded wonderfully to pack the grandstands with a capacity crowd. This was a chance for fans to see the best drivers and cars on track doing battle, but it was much more than that. The two-day format gave the Governor’s Cup a festival-like atmosphere, and the fans took the chance to spend the weekend with BBQs in the parking lot, to catch up with old friends from other parts of the state, to reminisce about old races and long-forgotten tracks, and more than anything to celebrate a great year of racing that showed that the wet weather and bad economy still couldn’t combine to dampen the enthusiasm of the fans.

With qualifying positions confirmed, the pre-race tech inspection completed, the fans back in the stands after a chance to get trackside to see the cars and drivers up-close, and the drivers introduced and now strapped securely inside their cars, the legendary call of ‘Gentlemen, start your engines’ was delivered and massed ranks of Super Late Models barked and spat into life to take their first slow laps around the track ahead of what would prove to be a classic race.

The large field of cars meant that the usual double-file restarts were replaces by a single-file ruling and with the green flag being waved it was Choquette that lead the cars into the race proper, powering away down the middle of the track and comfortably into the fastest line available. Anderson was soon in pursuit, moving up through the field to latch onto the back of the leading pack, and the young Brit in the #73 car taking his lead and following him in a move up towards the faster qualifiers. Just 14 laps were in the books before the caution flags were out for the first time after #2 AJ Curelli span out in turn 3, the drivers behind him diving either side to miss his stranded car and a premature end to their own nights. The #70 of James Glover became the first car to pit – one of a number of stops he had to make throughout the race that effectively cost him any chance of a high finish – while the #07x of Steven Simpson became the first car out of the race after coming to a halt in turn 1 during the caution laps and needing to be pushed back into the pits.

The restart soon came and saw the cars again streaming away from the start line in single file, but the caution flags were to be out again quickly after trouble for the #07 of Jeff Scofield and some hard racing between Watts and Colangelo down the front straight seeing the #05 getting out of shape just enough to bring the pace truck back out again. The laps under caution continued to be counted against the 200 scheduled for the race but thankfully in all cases the drivers and track crews were quick to get the cars back into green flag racing as soon as possible. As the race approached ¼ distance it was still Choquette out in front but now with Rogers for company, the two cars having finally broken away from the cars battling for 3rd and given themselves something of a cushion to allow them to concentrate on each other.

By the time lap 50 came around the race had been way too incident free for it to continue, and sure enough as the 50th lap ticked over the race’s first big wreck took place, as a close race in the middle of the pack between #80 Brian Finney, #26c Travis Cope and #7 Vince Keeler boiled over in turn 3, putting Finney up high into the wall, Cope being left stranded in the middle of the track and Keeler parked down by the inside run-off lane. With the yellow light about to come on the #38 of Chad Pierce found itself in the wrong place at the wrong time and had to slam on his brakes to avoid the stationary cars across the track, but he was able to navigate his way around without any damage to his car.

The pace car peeling into the pit-lane indicated the next phase of the race was beginning, and this saw Choquette and Rogers again racing off at the front but with Larson and Russell now getting more and more comfortable with the fastest line around the track and keeping much closer behind. Russell now gained the confidence to have his first looks down the inside of Larson and consider a possible attempt to steal the 3rd place, but finding the obvious lack of speed on the lower line he was quick to move back up the track and not lose any more ground on his competitors.

The first decisive moment in the story of the race came on lap 68 as Colangelo and #55 Billy Mowery went door-to-door into turn 1, only for both to spin out as they made their way around the corner, bringing out the pace truck once again. Finally it was decided that this was the time for Choquette to make his refueling stop, and he took his chance to dive into pit-lane under the caution flags, Watts and #26 Jessica Murphy following and all emerging while still under caution but at the back of the field. Putting these faster cars at the back had an impact on the restart as Murphy and Watts, in their eagerness to make up the ground their pit stops had lost them, pushed too hard in turn 2 and saw Watts spinning out to bring the pace truck quickly back onto the track.

The green flags waved again on lap 83 but this restart was quickly aborted as Clouser span out in turn 3, and this gave Russell a chance to head in for his own refueling stop. For the next restart it was the #11 of Rogers who took the green flag, with Larson and Anderson for company up at the front. As the half-way flags were held aloft to signal the 100 lap mark and the half-way point in the race it was the same three cars out at the front, all needing to make refueling stops of their own, but with both Choquette and Russell making significant strides through the field.

A caution for a spin out at the rear of the field became the next key moment in the race, as suddenly all three lead cars peeled off the track behind the pace truck and into the pits for refueling. This left Choquette, #64 Joe Winchell and the #00 of Robert Yoho as the top three for the restart, with Russell and Watts ominously placed just behind and looking for the chance to resume their chase of the leader. These two fast chargers dealt swiftly with Yoho as the green flag dropped and set off chasing Winchell while battling between themselves for the outright 3rd place.

This battle was short-lived however, as Watts’ battle with Yoho and the hard-charging Rogers and Larson behind him boiled over, to see Watts spinning out down the front straight. A long caution of 11 laps followed as drivers reported fluid on the track in turn 4 to race control via their spotters, but with this cleaned up to the satisfaction of the track crew the race was able to get up to speed again. This green flag run lasted just two laps before the #12X of Justin Drawdy blew up in a spectacular cloud of smoke heading into turn 1. With 74 laps to go and a significant clean-up necessary to get the track back into anything like racing shape, the brave call to red-flag the race, meaning the cars were brought to a halt on the front straight and no more caution laps were recorded, was made by race control. This was met with enthusiasm and appreciation by the crowd, who wanted to see the most laps possible under green flag conditions, leading to a spontaneous round of applause from the stands for the decision.

Not quite so appreciative however was #26C of Travis Cope, who inexplicably sailed through the red light signal, past the halted pace truck and clean-up crew, and around towards pit lane – where he was met by officials with the dreaded black flag signaling him back into the pits for good, ending his race prematurely. The red flag conditions also allowed the pit crews out onto the track to clean down the windshields of the cars, removing the film of dirt and oil that had been sprayed all over them thanks to Dawdry’s extraordinary blow-up.

The clean-up crews signaled that they had completed their work and the cars lazily barked back into life ready to resume hostilities the minute the green flag dropped. From the restart it was again Choquette and Russell who leapt out to the front, but with battles behind them between Winchell and Anderson, who were in a world of their own fighting out for the 3rd place. With every lap that ticked down Winchell looked down the inside of Anderson’s car but with so little pace available down that line his attempts to get his nose past and out in front had to be called off. His persistence paid off on lap 148 when the veteran Winchell was finally able to get a move to stick and claim 3rd place for himself alone.

The scoreboard ticked over to 150 laps with Choquette just ahead of a determined Russell and another key moment of the race played out, this time seeing Russell take a chance down the inside line coming off turn 2 and blasting away down the back straight to finally seize the advantage and take the lead. Russell finally began to take control of the race and show his extra pace by pulling away from Choquette, but a spin from the luckless Colangelo, who had a wretched race in his #05 car that needed multiple trips to pit lane for running repairs, bunched the cars back up once more and halted Russell’s attempt to press home his advantage.

Lap 156 was to be the designated restart after this last incident, and this proved to be the turning point of the race. With anticipation in the grandstands for what was now turning into a end-of-race shootout between two great drivers the pace truck slid back down onto pit road, the green flag appeared from the flag stand, and the noise reached a deafening level as the drivers got back on the gas coming out of turn 1. All except for one – the #33 of Jeff Choquette. As Russell tore away through the start line Choquette got no response from his car and forlornly cruised around the track with no power as the field screamed past him, eventually pulling off into the pits and back to his despairing pit crew with his night’s work done and no chance of finishing a race he had led for most of its distance.

But this was no time for sympathy from the other drivers, and for them Choquette’s misery was simply their opportunity – an opportunity presented to Winchell and Anderson, who were soon chasing down Russell while battling between themselves for 2nd place. However the full story of the race had not been written, and more racing would be needed before the winner could be crowned and the minor placings confirmed.

A spin out for Watts, who earned the respect of the crowd for his hard-battling style and repeated charges up to the front despite being at the rear of the restarts on several occasion, brought out the caution flags on the 165th lap. From the restart the battle between Winchell and Anderson resumed, both racing hard to the delight of the fans and touching doors down the straights before Anderson was able to make a move stick, take 2nd place for his own, and bring Rogers through with him to relegate Winchell to 4th.

This lead group continued to grind down the laps, although Winchell was now showing the effects of the pressure felt from racing so closely with Anderson for 2nd place and was by now dropping back and away from the leaders. Just 10 laps to go and the lead group started the final countdown towards the conclusion of the race, but there was another twist for the drivers to deal with as Yoho lost control coming out of turn 4 and span out down the start straight to bring the yellow flags out again with 8 laps to go.

Russell knew he had to get the restart right if he was to win the race, but his timing was immaculate and soon Anderson was under so much pressure from Rogers behind him that challenging for the lead became of secondary importance to protecting his 2nd place. Just five laps of this intriguing race to go, and #27 Bobby Good’s sliding out on the back stretch signaled the final caution of the race and heartbreak for Winchell. The lengthy cautions and risky fuel strategy left the veteran driver needing to refuel with barely 2 miles of racing left to go and so he was forced to peel into the pit road knowing this would send him to the back of the field for the restart. To make it worse his car stalled as he tried to rejoin the race and a failed attempt to bump-start his car left him stranded in the pit lane, his race over in the saddest of circumstances. This was a cruel end to the night for Winchell, who really deserved much more having contributed so much to the excitement of the race.

The crowd was now on their feet knowing that almost 200 laps of racing were coming down to a 5-lap sprint to the checkered flag between the drivers who had proven themselves to be the class of the field. Russell again summoned up the energy and concentration for one last push and hit the start line knowing his race depended on these next few laps. Anderson chased away after him, leaving Rogers to follow knowing Watts had again made his way forward and was looking to leave his own mark on the race results. With two laps to go Anderson was gaining on Russell but knew that laps were running down, while Watts continued to press Rogers hard. One more lap and the positions stayed the same, and the race entered the final lap with everything on the line. The checkered flags were displayed, the crowd stayed on their feet willing on their favorite driver to make one last decisive move, and it was Tim Russell who flew over the finish line to take the win and be crowned the winner of the 44th Annual Governor’s Cup.

Anderson followed right behind him for 2nd,while Rogers showed all his experience to hold off the impressive Watts for 3rd. And there was one last twist for the fans as a last corner spin-out for Yoho saw him living up to his nickname of ‘Showtime’, crossing the finish line backwards and in a cloud of tire smoke for 13th place.

After the celebratory fireworks had lit up the night sky and the trophy had been handed to its deserving winner there were still two races to go before the season would be over. There was still one last race for the Strictly Stocks to go, but next on track were the Pro-Trucks, getting their chance to show their skills in a 50-lap race.

Right from the start the race lost one of its favorites as Cody Blair’s #15 span out on a warm-up lap with major mechanical issues. Once it had been towed back to the pits the race proper was able to start, seeing the #33B of Logan Bordeau shooting around the outside #16 Tim Sozio to take an early lead. Behind them the #20 of Anthony Sergi was already making his move through the field and he was soon up into 2nd place, looking to chase down Bordeau.

By the 19th lap the lead cars were starting to hit the slower cars and lap them, but this was curtailed when the #9z of Zach Donatti went up in smoke down the front straight to bring out the caution flags.

The restart successfully out of the way and it was back to Sergi and Bordeau racing for the lead up at the front, with Sozio now getting back up to pace and beginning to eat into their advantage. A fight for the minor placings was also developing as #17 Colby Clements and #24 Bruce Bennett were putting on a show for the crowd as they battled for 5th place. The laps continued to fly before the caution flags were out once again in strange circumstances – this time for the #63 of Zach Curtis, who had already made a brief trip to the pits to let his crew check out his rear brake rotors that were now glowing red-hot. This time his trip to the pits signaled the end of his race as his engine gave up in a theatrical cloud of white smoke, covering the front stretch of the track.

Once the track crew had confirmed that no fluids had been laid down on the racing surface and that the pit road was safe to open again, it was all down to a 8 lap blast for the win, with Sergi and Bordeau again racing hard up at the front before Sergi was able to pull away. This advantage proved to be just enough and he was able to take the checkered flag ahead of Bordeau, with Sozio coming around in 3rd. The result was of course still subject to a tech inspection, and this ultimately proved to be decisive as both Sergi and Bordeau failed their inspections, handing Sozio a win in the final race of the season as he passed through the inspection with no problems.

Just the Strictly Stocks left to bring the curtain down on the season, and there was no surprise that the race soon settled down to following the usual script that sees William Hindman’s #89x and Chris Brannon’s #59 working their way up from the back of the starting line-up to set off on a race between themselves, leaving the rest of the field trailing – usually in a cloud of tire smoke as the two ‘Team Hit N Run’ drivers attempt demonstrate the ‘drifting’ style of driving on two cars that were designed before that style of racing had ever been thought of! And so this race went, with it taking just 5 laps for Hindman and Brannon to establish a big lead over the other cars, and the only race of note taking place behind them being #54 Cody Whitley fighting with #95 Chuck Hill for 3rd place. Whitley would be forced to pull out of the race with just 4 laps to go, but in the end the race was always going to be won by Hindman, who sailed over the finish line with Brannon in his wake and the field a considerable distance behind. For the fans who stayed right to the end they ended their season in style as the two lead cars put on their traditional show, Brannon executing donuts to perfection on the start-line as Hindman blasted away around the track, his wheels smoking and the checkered flag held proudly out of his driver’s side window.

So a night that started with the finest racing cars the State has to offer battling over 200 laps ended with two junkyard clunkers laying rubber all over the front straight, and in-between was a night of racing that will have delighted the crowds who packed the stands. What more could the fans ask for, other than the off-season passing quickly and the new season getting here as soon as possible?! With Chris Brannon’s tire smoke still in their nostrils and the images of David Russell proudly holding the Governor’s Cup aloft, the fans went home happy as another season at New Smyrna Speedway came to a conclusion.

[Tim]

Awsome job Andy!

[Boneman]

I was relieved to see how few cars were torn up in the GC 200. Yes, there was some body work flapping, and of course some mechanical problems, but the race did not produce the piles of destroyed junk like other versions have done.

Gotta question the judgement of the 4 lapped cars that kept lining up next to the leaders. On restart after restart, the 5, 02, 68 and sometimes the 7 would clog up the lower lane for a few laps until the field drove by. While the rule book allowed them to do it, they were so much slower they should have realized that they didn't belong there. I was relieved to see the track changed this in mid-race and sent them to the rear on the starts, and eventually to the pits for being too far behind.

It was too bad that the trucks and Strictly Stocks put on such lackluster races. Both classes can be very entertaining, and it would have been great for the weekly racers to put on a good show for the large crowd, but it didn't shake out that way for some reason.

A pat on the back to FASCAR for attracting such an outstanding crowd!

It was cool to see Rusty back, even though it was only for the weekend. Can you imagine how many times he got asked where he will be working next season?

[N.Rowe]

Governors Cup Finishing Order

Does anyone have it..tried NSS web site?

[Todd McCreary]

Does anyone have it..tried NSS web site?


it's ... on the NSS web site?
http://newsmyrnaspeedway.org/index.p...=350&Itemid=97
1.
#36
Tim Russell
2.
#84
Wayne Anderson
3.
#11
David Rogers
4.
#73
Sam Watts
5.
#88
Justin Larson
6.
#9
Rich Clouser
7.
#38
Chad Pierce
8.
#05
Jeremy Colangelo
9.
#27
Bobby Good
10.
#75x
Marty Pierce
11.
#70
James Glover
12.
#34
Shaughn McCormick
13.
#00
Robert Yoho
14.
#64
Joe Winchell
15.
#33x
Casey Caudill
16.
#12
Corey Freed
17.
#55
Billy Mowery
18.
#33
Jeff Choquette
19.
#5
Shane Snipes
20.
#22
Dusty Cornelius
21.
#68
Russ Shaw
22.
#02
Mike Finn
23.
#80
Brian Finney
24.
#7
Vince Keeler
25.
#12x
Justin Drawdy
26.
#26c
Travis Cope
27.
#07
Jeff Scofield
28.
#26
Jessica Murphy
29.
#78
BJ McLeod
30.
#2
AJ Curelli
31.
#07x
Steven Simpson
DNS
#13
Bob Greene
DNS
#10
George Gorham
DNS
#63
Austin Pickens




The Friday night right up


how do you do a Friday night wrong up?

i think buttplug and OJ are rubbing off on you.



Justin Dawdry

Drawdy, actually.

[Andy S]

Edited accordingly - thanks for the corrections, especially any factual ones.

The Friday night right up


how do you do a Friday night wrong up?

Maybe a 'Friday night wrong up' means doing something like pulling off the track because you've noticed the cup-holders in your Ford Probe are misaligned after a little bump in a Friday night race? Something like that? I dunno...

[Todd McCreary]

yeah, them Probe drivers are all whiny leetle beeches aren't they?

any self respecting track would ban them out of hand.

[Osmosis Jones]

Fred Rogers wants his sweater back.....

You gotta start to wonder a little about a guy who likes to type the word "buttplug" so much and races around in something called a "Probe".....

.....and if that weren't enough.....well, I think I can speak for everyone that we certainly don't need the mental image that a statement from you with the words "rubbing off" brings to mind.


I don't sleep well as it is.....





Oh yeah....was good to meet you Andy and great reads....good luck with the new gig for next year.

[Todd McCreary]

a guy who likes to type the word "buttplug"



i have it on good authority that this is not actually a word. make a note of it.

[Edm]

"inexplicably "........ a bit of an understatement.

[MAP41]

Thanks Osmosis, now I'm really scared and what's up with 6.7 on the side of his Probe.


MAP41
" Hate the Game not the Player"

[Jane]

Andy, hope you don't mind this or take it the wrong way but when you write especially on the internet, you need to shorten some of your paragraphs. It just works better and I am always having to do that when I get reports to post. Smaller paragraphs work better but don't ask me why. Jack taught me that a long time ago. Here is what I mean if you don't mind:

A field of 34 cars, of which 31 would take the green flag to start the race, had spent a whole weekend testing, tweaking and tuning their cars, and if qualifying was anything to go by this was going to be one heck of a race. The evening qualifying session had seen one of the pre-race favorites, Jeff Choquette in the #33, firmly plant himself in pole position with a fast time of 17.551, but with barely 0.4s between pole position and 20th place the competition would be fierce. Just a look at the starting line-up showed what Choquette would face if he wanted to convert that qualifying performance into a win, and seeing #11 David Rogers, #88 Justin Larson, #36 Tim Russell, #9 Rich Clouser and #73 Sam Watts all qualifying less than 1/10th of a second behind him meant that any one of these drivers would be sitting and waiting for the slightest opportunity. That was just the tip of the iceberg for any would-be winner of the Governor’s Cup as it didn’t even include the #84 of Wayne Anderson, qualifying in 7th starting spot, or the #05 of Jeremy Colangelo, who had fought his car to pull off a creditable 10th starting place.

How I would fix it and post it: Like I said, hope you don't mind the hint but it was something taught to me by Jack:

A field of 34 cars, of which 31 would take the green flag to start the race, had spent a whole weekend testing, tweaking and tuning their cars, and if qualifying was anything to go by this was going to be one heck of a race

The evening qualifying session had seen one of the pre-race favorites, Jeff Choquette in the #33, firmly plant himself in pole position with a fast time of 17.551, but with barely 0.4s between pole position and 20th place the competition would be fierce.

Just a look at the starting line-up showed what Choquette would face if he wanted to convert that qualifying performance into a win, and seeing #11 David Rogers, #88 Justin Larson, #36 Tim Russell, #9 Rich Clouser and #73 Sam Watts all qualifying less than 1/10th of a second behind him meant that any one of these drivers would be sitting and waiting for the slightest opportunity.

That was just the tip of the iceberg for any would-be winner of the Governor’s Cup as it didn’t even include the #84 of Wayne Anderson, qualifying in 7th starting spot, or the #05 of Jeremy Colangelo, who had fought his car to pull off a creditable 10th starting place.

[cfontfan]

lets give a heads up to Casey Caudill in the 33x who had a top ten run going on while fighting a overheating car the whole race it finally gave out with less than 10 laps togo. Tough luck but not to bad for the kid since he doesnt have very many super races under his belt.

[HardKnocksRacing]

I thought that was a very good account of the details to the race, but i'll be honest my favorite part of the night was when Winchell and Choquette pitted together. Watching them come back up through the field was great, then Joe and Wayne battling door to door made the race. If it hadn't been for that it would have been a typical follow the leader kind of race. I later heard that Joe had a pick-up problem with the fuel cell. He had such a rocket i'm sure that was a huge disapointment.