Flashpoint: Pro Series Recaps From Las Vegas
- NR4
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- Flashpoint Racing Series
Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, NV. Configuration: Tri-oval, 1.5 miles, 12 degrees in turns
Worrick Takes Second Pro Win of Season at Vegas
Super Sport Racing 1 team took charge at Las Vegas. Troy Worrick in his #4 Chevrolet took the win, led the most laps with 68, and start near the front in sixth for his team. Joe Penland, Jr., in the #1 Ford got past Jeff Russell of Excalibur Racing Shield to take second place. Teammate Joe Simmons, whom Worrick credited for the winning setup, place his #86 Chevrolet in respectable sixth spot. The only downside for the team was a broken camshaft in Christian Blalock’s Chevy. Blalock started outside the pole sitter and made only two laps before the engine expired.
Worrick summed it up well for his team, “I was very worried going into the Las Vegas race. I had run with Jeff Russell and some guys. I was not real good on long runs. My team and I worked our ass off all week. We made it better but it still was not where we needed to be. But our teammate Joe Simmons came through with a very good setup at the last moment. After spending most of the week at the hospital with his daughter, he jumps in and spits out what we had been looking for. That is what a team should be and my teammates are the best. Jeff was still very strong and he was much better than I through (turns) 1-2. I seemed to be a little better then him in 3-4. That made for a great finish. We raced each other so hard I think we wore out our tire last 10 laps and Joe Penland caught us. I am glad I didn't have many more laps cause my car was used up. What a good race last 50 laps or so no cautions. Thanks to the Pro Series for a good race. You are all some of the best.” The rest of the teams and drivers are now hoping that Worrick is not worried about Atlanta.
The race was relatively caution free. The flagman waved the yellow only five times. Nevertheless, Jonathan Frey who had a view of the entire field at the start in the #51 TeamUSA Stars Chevrolet, and Rick Geddes, who started eighth and recently up from Semi-Pro, saw their chances eliminated early by accidents on laps 22 and 8 respectively. And three drivers retired. Roger “Poke” Hurley kept his Super Sport Racing 2 Chevy in the fray for 95 laps before finding the garage. The #166 Chevrolet found a parking spot after 53 laps, and Dave Finkel had another disappointing day going to the trailer on lap 20.
Jeff Russell, who started in fourth at Rockingham, but retired there on lap 139, was around for the finish at Vegas. Jeff started on the pole with a speed of 170.288 mph, which was the only mark in the 170’s and 1.448 mph faster than Blalock’s outside start with 168.840 mph. He placed the #12 Ford of Excalibur Racing Shield out front for a total of eleven laps and finished third.
The third place starter, Greg Austin lead for 18 laps and ended the race in fifth in his independent orange #07 Chevrolet. The winner of last weeks race at the Rock, William Hills had a very respectable race. Starting eleventh, William took home the fourth spot. The proverbial provisional starter Dana Lee decided to take a qualifying run for a change. It didn’t work out to well, and while he moved up from fourteenth, he was only able to half the number to seventh at the finish.
Tom O’Hara, who finished fifth at both Daytona and Rockingham, found his car moving in the wrong direction at the end and finished almost fourth, in fifth. As one might expect, Tom has a lock on fourth place in the season points race for Excalibur Racing Shield.
Bradley Blake continued his middle of the pack qualifying and finishing routine starting eleventh and finishing eighth this time. So far his consistency has him eighth in overall points as a solid member of TeamUSA Stars.
The average speed was 114.868 mph with seventeen lead changes among seven drivers under clear skies and a mild 59 degrees and a 10 mph wind out of the Southwest.
Semi-Pro Race Has Drivers Seeing Vegas Yellow and League Officials Seeing Las Red
Tre Landry of Shreveport, Louisiana, in his very first Semi-Pro event placed his TeamUSA Stripes #70 Chevrolet in the winner circle. But Landry was lucky enough to start just outside the pole sitter and to be out front for much of the race leading the most with 47 laps, for you see race fans (and you where lucky not to have seen this one), his win was far over-shadowed by the season record setting nineteen caution periods. The Semi-Pro drivers even out did their caution bash at Rochingham by moving up (or down depending on your view point) from 17 to 19 cautions. Last weeks performance saw the League pass out some rather severe penalties. It appears that this week has the huge potential to see even more of the same.
Tre Landry had this to say after the race, “Whew I can’t believe we managed to avoid trouble today as ugly as this race was. The Circuit City Chevy was fast off the truck, and just got better as the day went along. I'd like to thank Circuit City, Thomas Enterprises, The great group of guys at TeamUSA, and the driver of the pace car for showing me the best line around the track!"
On a blighter note, Rich Ganser took over the points lead by driving through the spinning and crashing from last place to second at the yellow/checker. He also led for fifteen laps. Taking his first pole in Semi-Pro was Mick Chrisman in the #09 Chevrolet of TeamUSA Stripes with a speed of 168.052 mph.
The “race” took nearly two hours before coming to a merciful end with an average speed will under 100 mph.
First Time Driver Puts English First on Las Vegas Stock Event
White Rock, British Columbia, has a winner in Bruce English. The Arachrid Racing team driver place his #099 Chevrolet outside the pole and put some english to the likes of Gary Vega, last week’s winner, who lead for 21 laps, and Pat Satterfield who lead for 27; and Rex Adams who lead for 21. English out did them all, leading for 30 laps included that most important one. Yes, the last lap, as Perry Malavolta knows well. English’s victory margin was 1.62 seconds to boot.
English acknowledged the competition after the race: “Well, that was fun! I'd like to thank my three teammates whom I got joined in a race for the first time in a month. We all spent sometime up front, which was great to see. The level of competition in the Stock Division also surprised me. A very good group of drivers here, which has me looking forward to next week's race with great anticipation. I appreciate them accepting me into their division. Good luck to everyone from here forward.”
Satterfield put a challenge to English by taking the pole in his first Stock event with a speed of 167.567 mph, but retired on lap 57. Gary Vega started last on the field in fourteenth took the lead, but found his #35 Pontiac in seventh at the end. Ken Vega, racing for VEGCO Racing, started ninth, did not lead a lap, yet finished second. Perry Malavolta’s eight place finish was sufficient to keep him in the season points lead, but only 16 points ahead of Gary Vega of Arachnid Racing.
Rich Burdette of McDonough, Georgia in the #31 Pontiac of Team Nemesis Silver had another solid day starting tenth and finishing on the lead lap in sixth. Brannon Boone in his second event of the season started in third and slipped to only fourth in the #7 Ford making it a one-two finish for Arachnid Racing. It was Kip Miller of Lititz, PA, who started sixth, lead one lap, and finished smartly in third place.
The #60 Dodge of Fantasy Racein left the race by accident on lap 60 and the #97 Ford also was taken out by an accident, but on lap 37 (Note: If you add 60 to 37 and you get 97. Interesting, but does it mean anything except maybe two wrecked racecars).
And lastly, of Team Storm Chaser may have wished it were out chasing anvils in the sky, rather than in its trunk. We sincerely wish the #109 better luck next week.
The weather mirrored that of the Pro and Semi-Pro events. There were eight cautions. The race was competitive with 17 lead changes among seven drivers.
Flashpoint Pro Racing 2002 Season Points Swings
After the third race of the season, the Super Sport Racing team remained in the points lead and thirteen points ahead of the new second place team of Blue Cobalt Motorsports, which dropped Excalibur Racing Sword to third place and nineteen points behind the lead team. TeamUSA Stars took the worst of it, sliding from fourth place to sixth, with Excalibur Racing Shield taking their place. But Super Sport Racing 2 team made the most impressive advance from ninth spot to fifth and adding 28 points to their total at Las Vegas. Maineiac Motorsports also made it way into the top ten in the eighth slot.