Smith survives scare, grabs first Clash crown

[Racerchaser]

MADISON, N.C. —
28 Oct, 09

Going into the Carolina Clash Super Late Model Series season finale last weekend at 311 Fastrack, Jeff Smith only needed to finish 22nd or better to hold off five-time defending series champion Ricky Weeks to win his first series championship.

Smith, 43, was conservative in preliminary action Friday night, qualifying fifth and finishing third in his heat race to earn the ninth-place starting position in Saturday night’s $10,000-to-win feature. While the odds were definitely in his favor, the Dallas, N.C. driver wasn’t quite ready to celebrate just yet. In fact, you could even sense a hint of nervousness in Smith’s voice before the race.

“There’s a lot that could happen here tonight. We’re starting mid-pack and could easily get caught up in something or have mechanical problems,” said Smith while he leaned on the spoiler of his race car and spoke to passing fans and friends.

One passerby couldn’t help but ask, “Are you nervous?”

“I’m just trying to control all my emotions right now and not worry about it too much,” answered Smith with a quick smile. “I’ve learned not to get too excited, especially here. The way our luck has been here this year, we definitely won’t be doing any celebrating until the race is over and we see exactly how the points fall.”

Indeed, Smith’s recent finishes at 311 weren’t helping to boost his confidence. He failed to finish in both of the series’ two previous visits, while Weeks finished second and third. Smith ran well in those races, but bad luck knocked him out of both. He was leading the first race before tangling with a lapped car and was third in the second race when his rear end broke.

It appeared as though luck was on Smith’s side Saturday night when he moved into the top five just past the halfway point of the 60-lap race. But on lap 50, bad luck struck again when Smith’s engine dropped a cylinder causing him to fall off the pace and eventually come to a stop on the backstretch.

For a moment, Smith saw his championship hopes flash before him. “It had me worried when we dropped the cylinder. I had no idea how many cars were still on the track and we hadn’t lapped anyone all race,” Smith said. “Those two races earlier in the year were coming back to haunt me and I thought, 'Oh no, not again.' I just knew we had lost it again right there.”
...: Local Race Chat

Luckily for Smith, attrition had already assured him of a high enough finish to win the championship. He was credited with 16th while Weeks finished fourth, giving Smith a 33-point lead in the final standings.

“I felt a lot better when I realized there were only 15 or so cars left on the track, but I was still a little worried,” Smith siad. “I really didn’t know for sure that I had won until they announced it over the PA. When I heard them announce it, I finally relaxed and said, 'OK, this is for real.' ”

Although Smith, the son of Hall of Famer Freddy Smith, is an accomplished racer in his own right, the championship is his first with any touring series.

The veteran driver has been racing for more than 25 years, but has always come up just short anytime he’s followed a series full time in the past. He finished third in 1993 with the defunct Hav-a-Tampa Dirt Racing Series and finished second in the 1999 O’Reilly Southern All Star Series standings. From 2004 to 2008 he finished in the top five of the Carolina Clash standings. Three of those top fives were runner-up finishes to Weeks.

“I guess it’s about time we finally won one of these. We’ve ran well enough to win championships before, just never had everything fall in our favor,” said Smith. “It feels unbelievable to win this championship. It’s even more rewarding to have gone so long without winning one and to have come so close in the past. Ricky is a great competitor and a great friend, but finishing second to him was really starting to get old.”

[team0]

A title well deserved,congrats jeff an crew!
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[JSF]

WTG Jeff!!!! Glad to see that you finally got the championship. You deserve it!!!!

Congratulations Jeff and crew!!!! :)