FASTRAKPR
07-07-2008, 03:55 PM
On a night where the fireworks on the track may have eclipsed the aerial display earlier in the evening, the FASTRAK Series proved once again why it is the fastest growing and most competitive racing series in the country, in Saturdays 4th annual $20,000 “Fireworks and FASTRAK“ event in Lavonia, GA,
In the FASTRAK Modern Chevrolet Southeast Touring Series 50 lap main event, front row starters Grant Jordan and Timbo Mangum led the field out of turn four as the green flag waved. Mangum jumped to the point quickly, ahead of Jordan, Royce Bray and David Smith as the field roared down the front straightaway into turn one. Sixth place starter Kenny Peeples was caught on the outside and began loosing positions finally settling into the 11th position. In the events third lap, Austin Dillon was forced high out of the racing groove in turn two, scraping the wall briefly, able to continue.
With the winner set to bank $5000.00, it was not until the events 7th lap that Mangum appeared to establish a rhythm. Mangum held a two car length advantage over the second place Jordan who had his hands full with Bray and Smith in the fourth spot. Meanwhile fifth place Chad Pearson, who had fallen seven car lengths behind Smith, began to erase Smiths advantage with Lee Cooper and John Llewellyn in tow. On the 11th lap, midway through turns one and two, Smith dove to the inside of Bray. Exiting turn two, Bray and Smith were in a dead heat down the back straight-a-way. Staying to the inside of Bray entering turn three, Smith was able to complete the pass exiting turn four. Meanwhile with green flag lap times in the 17.8 second range, Mangum was slightly increasing his advantage over the battle brewing behind him.
With the pace Mangum was setting up front, lapped traffic became a factor by the13th lap thus erasing any advantage Mangum held over Jordan. As the leaders crossed the line completing the 15th lap, up front was Mangum, Jordan, Smith, Bray, Pearson, Cooper and Llewellyn running nose to tail. Three laps later exiting turn four, mired in heavy traffic, Mangum spun after contact with a slower car, bringing out the first caution of the night. While he would be able to continue, Mangum’s chance to bring home the winners check was gone.
While the first 18 circuits of the FASTRAK Modern Chevrolet Southeast Touring Series 50 lap main event were completed free of the yellow flag, the theory that cautions breed cautions was certainly proven over the course of the next 17 laps.
On the restart, Jordan was on the point but didn’t get a very good jump as he, Smith, Bray, Pearson, Cooper, and Llewellyn were nose to tail as the group crossed the start/finish line. Entering turns one and two, the close quarters racing resulted in contact between Pearson, Cooper, and Llewellyn bringing out the caution for the second time in the event. While Pearson and Cooper headed to the pits briefly, each was able to return. Llewellyn drove to the pits and never returned.
Jordan led the field to the restart ahead of Smith. Bray, Jonathan Davenport and Ryan Gifford. As the leaders exited turn two after the restart, Will Shufler slowed at the end of the front stretch and came to a stop in turn one bringing out the caution. Having experienced mechanical difficulties, Shufler was able to bring his car to the pit area, but he would not return.
While there were still only 18 laps on the scoreboard, Grant Jordan paced the field back to the green flag, David Smith wasted no time in trying to stake his claim on the front spot. Smith drove deep into turn three where he was able to get a fender underneath Jordan, but the higher line Jordan maintained exiting turn four allowed him to clear the hard charging Smith.
Over the course of the next five laps, it was clear Smith had the advantage in turns three and four as he was able to get alongside Jordan at will, but the deep inside line entering turn three seemed to hamper his exit out of turn four allowing Jordan to maintain a slight advantage.. As this battle was raging on, Timbo Mangum was trying to work his way back into the top 10 when on lap 25, he spun between turns one and two coming to a stop in the middle of the racing groove bringing out the nights fourth caution in just 7 laps. The cars of Clayton Turner, Ron Parker, Chris Cantrell, Chad Pearson, Randall Jordan and Chris Cape piled into one another in turn one in effort to avoid Mangum. FASTRAK Series officials red flagged the race immediately. Almost 20minutes was needed to clear the track of the cars involved in the turn one pile up. Cantrell’s car sustained heavy damage and had to be removed by wrecker. The accident ended the night for Jordan as well. Parker, Turner, Cape and Pearson would return.
At the halfway point, the top 5 was Grant Jordan, David Smith, Royce Bray, Jonathan Davenport and Ryan Gifford. In positions 6 -10 were Kenny Peeples, Dustin Morris, Brandon Haley, Matt Long and Vic Chandler.
Once again, Jordan led the remaining 20 cars to the green flag. There was a lot of anticipation as the green flag waved, as a classic duel was beginning to take shape between Jordan and Smith at the head of the field. But before one lap could be completed, the yellow waved once again as 10th place Vic Chandler slowed out of turn four with mechanical problems that would end his night.
In what was beginning to look like a rerun of an old TV show, Jordan led the 19 cars still running to the green flag once again where there were still only 26 completed laps on the scoreboard. Smith once again wasted no time in contesting the top spot as he dove low to the inside of Jordan once again in turns 3 and 4. As the battle was just beginning to heat up again between Jordan and Smith, the caution waved for the sixth time on lap 28 as Matt Long spun and backed his car up the banking into the turn 2 wall where the glancing blow knocked the spoiler off the rear of the car. Long was able to rejoin the field. This particular caution was a blessing for fourth place competitor Ryan Gifford as he was way out of shape exiting turn two loosing many positions in the process, but since the lap had not been completed when the yellow flag waved, he was able to line back up in the fourth position for the restart.
As the green was in the air again Jordan paced the field to another restart ahead of Smith, Bray, Davenport and Gifford and within two laps the yellow waved for the seventh time as Matt Long shot up towards the turn 4 wall briefly coming to a stop.
While there had been no change in the running order, the field was getting set for another restart. As the field took the green with Jordan still out front, Royce Bray mounted a challenge of his own trying to overtake Smith for the second spot. For three laps, Bray was relentless in his effort to overtake Smith. Bray and Smith ran side by side 5 times before Smith finally took command of 2nd, on lap 31. While this battle was going on, Jordan was able to pull out to a commanding six car length lead.
On lap 34 Jordan’s’ advantage would be erased as contact between Ron Parker and Kenny Collins brought out the caution for the eighth time.
With 16 laps remaining, it still was unclear as to who had the advantage as there had not been a period of green flag laps long enough to clearly determine who had what.
As the field came to the green flag once again, Jordan was up front with Smith, Bray, Davenport Gifford and Peeples all running nose to tail once again. It was still anybody’s’ race.
As the laps began to wind down, the battles on the track were heating up in true FASTRAK Series fashion. The battle between Jordan and Bray was bringing the grandstand crowd to their feet every time the duo entered turn 3Lap after lap, Smith could pull along side of Jordan, but couldn’t complete the pass. After 10 consecutive laps of battling, Royce Bray had caught the duo and was determined to make it a three car battle for the $5000.00 check that awaited the winner. With five laps to go, Jordan, Smith and Bray had broken away from the other contenders where they were set on settling this one between themselves. Meanwhile Ryan Gifford and Kenny Peeples were having their own battle as well as Lee Cooper and Austin Dillon.
With three laps to go, every position from first to sixth was being contested. Jordan and Smith had pulled away from Bray who was under siege by Davenport. The Gifford and Peeples battle was just as intense as the battles in front of them.
As the white flag waved Jordan and Smith were joined once again Bray, who seemingly came out of nowhere, As close as Jordan, Smith and Bray were going into turn one for the last time,, Davenport, running in the 4th position, had his sights on Bray and aggressively entered the corner resulting in contact with Bray in turn 2. Back up front Jordan and Smith were nose to tail down the back stretch, After being challenged over 30 times entering turns 3 and 4, Jordan saved his best for the last lap and entered the corner in a manner that would not allow Smith to mount any kind of challenge exiting turn 4. With his win, Jordan took home the $5000.00 winners check with Smith finishing second ahead of Ryan Gifford and Kenny Peeples. For more detailed coverage, go to fastrakracing.com (http://www.fastrakracing.com)
FASTRAK Series Modern Chevrolet Southeast Touring Series
Finish # Driver
1 05 Grant Jordan
2 116 David Smith
3 29 Ryan Gifford
4 K22 Kenny Peeples Jr
5 83 Dustin Morris
6 39 Ty Lowe
7 17 Parker Herring
8 57 Lee Cooper
9 2 Austin Dillon
10 51 Brandon Haley
11 T1 Timbo Mangum
12 21c Kenny Collins
13 118 Chris Cape
14 45x Chad Pearson
15 49 Jonathan Davenport
16 P8 Ron Parker
17 22n Clayton Turner
18 21 Royce Bray
19 25 Matt Long
20 114 Chris Cantrell
21 88 Vic Chandler
22 X8 Randall Jordan
23 90 John Llewellyn
24 46 Will Shuffler
In the FASTRAK Modern Chevrolet Southeast Touring Series 50 lap main event, front row starters Grant Jordan and Timbo Mangum led the field out of turn four as the green flag waved. Mangum jumped to the point quickly, ahead of Jordan, Royce Bray and David Smith as the field roared down the front straightaway into turn one. Sixth place starter Kenny Peeples was caught on the outside and began loosing positions finally settling into the 11th position. In the events third lap, Austin Dillon was forced high out of the racing groove in turn two, scraping the wall briefly, able to continue.
With the winner set to bank $5000.00, it was not until the events 7th lap that Mangum appeared to establish a rhythm. Mangum held a two car length advantage over the second place Jordan who had his hands full with Bray and Smith in the fourth spot. Meanwhile fifth place Chad Pearson, who had fallen seven car lengths behind Smith, began to erase Smiths advantage with Lee Cooper and John Llewellyn in tow. On the 11th lap, midway through turns one and two, Smith dove to the inside of Bray. Exiting turn two, Bray and Smith were in a dead heat down the back straight-a-way. Staying to the inside of Bray entering turn three, Smith was able to complete the pass exiting turn four. Meanwhile with green flag lap times in the 17.8 second range, Mangum was slightly increasing his advantage over the battle brewing behind him.
With the pace Mangum was setting up front, lapped traffic became a factor by the13th lap thus erasing any advantage Mangum held over Jordan. As the leaders crossed the line completing the 15th lap, up front was Mangum, Jordan, Smith, Bray, Pearson, Cooper and Llewellyn running nose to tail. Three laps later exiting turn four, mired in heavy traffic, Mangum spun after contact with a slower car, bringing out the first caution of the night. While he would be able to continue, Mangum’s chance to bring home the winners check was gone.
While the first 18 circuits of the FASTRAK Modern Chevrolet Southeast Touring Series 50 lap main event were completed free of the yellow flag, the theory that cautions breed cautions was certainly proven over the course of the next 17 laps.
On the restart, Jordan was on the point but didn’t get a very good jump as he, Smith, Bray, Pearson, Cooper, and Llewellyn were nose to tail as the group crossed the start/finish line. Entering turns one and two, the close quarters racing resulted in contact between Pearson, Cooper, and Llewellyn bringing out the caution for the second time in the event. While Pearson and Cooper headed to the pits briefly, each was able to return. Llewellyn drove to the pits and never returned.
Jordan led the field to the restart ahead of Smith. Bray, Jonathan Davenport and Ryan Gifford. As the leaders exited turn two after the restart, Will Shufler slowed at the end of the front stretch and came to a stop in turn one bringing out the caution. Having experienced mechanical difficulties, Shufler was able to bring his car to the pit area, but he would not return.
While there were still only 18 laps on the scoreboard, Grant Jordan paced the field back to the green flag, David Smith wasted no time in trying to stake his claim on the front spot. Smith drove deep into turn three where he was able to get a fender underneath Jordan, but the higher line Jordan maintained exiting turn four allowed him to clear the hard charging Smith.
Over the course of the next five laps, it was clear Smith had the advantage in turns three and four as he was able to get alongside Jordan at will, but the deep inside line entering turn three seemed to hamper his exit out of turn four allowing Jordan to maintain a slight advantage.. As this battle was raging on, Timbo Mangum was trying to work his way back into the top 10 when on lap 25, he spun between turns one and two coming to a stop in the middle of the racing groove bringing out the nights fourth caution in just 7 laps. The cars of Clayton Turner, Ron Parker, Chris Cantrell, Chad Pearson, Randall Jordan and Chris Cape piled into one another in turn one in effort to avoid Mangum. FASTRAK Series officials red flagged the race immediately. Almost 20minutes was needed to clear the track of the cars involved in the turn one pile up. Cantrell’s car sustained heavy damage and had to be removed by wrecker. The accident ended the night for Jordan as well. Parker, Turner, Cape and Pearson would return.
At the halfway point, the top 5 was Grant Jordan, David Smith, Royce Bray, Jonathan Davenport and Ryan Gifford. In positions 6 -10 were Kenny Peeples, Dustin Morris, Brandon Haley, Matt Long and Vic Chandler.
Once again, Jordan led the remaining 20 cars to the green flag. There was a lot of anticipation as the green flag waved, as a classic duel was beginning to take shape between Jordan and Smith at the head of the field. But before one lap could be completed, the yellow waved once again as 10th place Vic Chandler slowed out of turn four with mechanical problems that would end his night.
In what was beginning to look like a rerun of an old TV show, Jordan led the 19 cars still running to the green flag once again where there were still only 26 completed laps on the scoreboard. Smith once again wasted no time in contesting the top spot as he dove low to the inside of Jordan once again in turns 3 and 4. As the battle was just beginning to heat up again between Jordan and Smith, the caution waved for the sixth time on lap 28 as Matt Long spun and backed his car up the banking into the turn 2 wall where the glancing blow knocked the spoiler off the rear of the car. Long was able to rejoin the field. This particular caution was a blessing for fourth place competitor Ryan Gifford as he was way out of shape exiting turn two loosing many positions in the process, but since the lap had not been completed when the yellow flag waved, he was able to line back up in the fourth position for the restart.
As the green was in the air again Jordan paced the field to another restart ahead of Smith, Bray, Davenport and Gifford and within two laps the yellow waved for the seventh time as Matt Long shot up towards the turn 4 wall briefly coming to a stop.
While there had been no change in the running order, the field was getting set for another restart. As the field took the green with Jordan still out front, Royce Bray mounted a challenge of his own trying to overtake Smith for the second spot. For three laps, Bray was relentless in his effort to overtake Smith. Bray and Smith ran side by side 5 times before Smith finally took command of 2nd, on lap 31. While this battle was going on, Jordan was able to pull out to a commanding six car length lead.
On lap 34 Jordan’s’ advantage would be erased as contact between Ron Parker and Kenny Collins brought out the caution for the eighth time.
With 16 laps remaining, it still was unclear as to who had the advantage as there had not been a period of green flag laps long enough to clearly determine who had what.
As the field came to the green flag once again, Jordan was up front with Smith, Bray, Davenport Gifford and Peeples all running nose to tail once again. It was still anybody’s’ race.
As the laps began to wind down, the battles on the track were heating up in true FASTRAK Series fashion. The battle between Jordan and Bray was bringing the grandstand crowd to their feet every time the duo entered turn 3Lap after lap, Smith could pull along side of Jordan, but couldn’t complete the pass. After 10 consecutive laps of battling, Royce Bray had caught the duo and was determined to make it a three car battle for the $5000.00 check that awaited the winner. With five laps to go, Jordan, Smith and Bray had broken away from the other contenders where they were set on settling this one between themselves. Meanwhile Ryan Gifford and Kenny Peeples were having their own battle as well as Lee Cooper and Austin Dillon.
With three laps to go, every position from first to sixth was being contested. Jordan and Smith had pulled away from Bray who was under siege by Davenport. The Gifford and Peeples battle was just as intense as the battles in front of them.
As the white flag waved Jordan and Smith were joined once again Bray, who seemingly came out of nowhere, As close as Jordan, Smith and Bray were going into turn one for the last time,, Davenport, running in the 4th position, had his sights on Bray and aggressively entered the corner resulting in contact with Bray in turn 2. Back up front Jordan and Smith were nose to tail down the back stretch, After being challenged over 30 times entering turns 3 and 4, Jordan saved his best for the last lap and entered the corner in a manner that would not allow Smith to mount any kind of challenge exiting turn 4. With his win, Jordan took home the $5000.00 winners check with Smith finishing second ahead of Ryan Gifford and Kenny Peeples. For more detailed coverage, go to fastrakracing.com (http://www.fastrakracing.com)
FASTRAK Series Modern Chevrolet Southeast Touring Series
Finish # Driver
1 05 Grant Jordan
2 116 David Smith
3 29 Ryan Gifford
4 K22 Kenny Peeples Jr
5 83 Dustin Morris
6 39 Ty Lowe
7 17 Parker Herring
8 57 Lee Cooper
9 2 Austin Dillon
10 51 Brandon Haley
11 T1 Timbo Mangum
12 21c Kenny Collins
13 118 Chris Cape
14 45x Chad Pearson
15 49 Jonathan Davenport
16 P8 Ron Parker
17 22n Clayton Turner
18 21 Royce Bray
19 25 Matt Long
20 114 Chris Cantrell
21 88 Vic Chandler
22 X8 Randall Jordan
23 90 John Llewellyn
24 46 Will Shuffler