It was another warm Florida evening at New Smryna Speedway, this time thankfully mostly under the stars, once the relentless sun finally set.
Sportsman:
Sean Bass was in the house, and on this evening, he did not blow up, he did not crash out, and he did not fail tech. He was just plain fast and won the event.
Patrick Thomas was mostly back in his groove after going over the car with a micrometer and making a few fine tuning adjustments here and there, and finished second. Thomas ran a crate, Bass a Gaerte engine.
Shyanne Mathers was also there, looked solid on the track, and finished a strong third.
Pro Late Models:
Brad May was the class of the field in Bobby Sear’s machine, but on this evening Carter Stokes came away with the win after leading from the last caution to the checker.
The Stories:
>The first also involves the Pro Late final caution.
From this writer’s perspective, Stokes fired before the leader, and May let it ride counting on the lazy yellow caution and restart. It never came.
But then, this is indeed the “completely unofficial” recap, and the official officials made the call.
The Sears team was certainly not overjoyed with the results, but were professional and will be back with no doubt even more determination next time.
>Mike Dahm!–Mike was there in his familiar #21 Super Stock and after several “conflicts” in which a few of the faster cars removed themselves from competition, Mike found himself mid-pack. The car was running fairly strong and he was clearly in the hunt, staying on his line, pacing the field and making a solid pass or two under green.
Mike brought the Monte Carlo home in fourth place. A great night for those guys and those that pull for the underdog. Congratulations to that Team for a good run.
The Wrapup:
Car counts and the level of quality of competition are both largely very good as of late at NSS. If you are in the area, grab a friend and come on out to watch the races at one of the fastest short tracks in Florida.