Pack Prevails @ CCS As Smith Wins Wythe & NC/VA Dirt Late Model Challenge

The FASTRAK Racing Series had a long month break since the last event concluded at Hartwell Speedway back on June 25th. In that event, Parker Herring scored his first career FASTRAK Tour victory in front of his Hartwell, GA home crowd. Then, to prolong the wait, Mother Nature postponed the racing events at both Cleveland County Speedway (Lawndale, NC) & Volunteer Speedway (Bulls Gap, TN) on the July 15-16 weekend. Cleveland County owner Steve Mason & General Manager Tami Mullis quickly consulted with FASTRAK Founder Stan Lester to reschedule the event.

With the following Friday July 22 as an open date on the tour schedule, track and series officials quickly agreed on the reschedule date. In addition to the $2000 to win FASTRAK touring event itself, Hendren Racing Engines also partnered up to become the title sponsor of the event. This rescheduled event was ideal for all involved as the FASTRAK teams were already scheduled to visit Wythe Raceway on July 23rd for the touring event presented by FK Rod Ends. The NC/VA Dirt Late Model Challenge was born and we were set for an exciting weekend of racing.

Night #1 of the challenge featured 27 FASTRAK Pro Late Models from 5 states answer the call at the 1/2 mile oval in Lawndale, NC. It was a highly anticipated event for everyone because this made the first visit in 5 years for the “Premier Pro Late Models Series in the Country”. Brandon Umberger, tied for 2nd in the championship standings entering the event, recovered from a broken drive shaft in hot laps to capture the pole in Shell Racing Solutions time trials for he 40 Lap A-main! After the conclusion of qualifying and the two B-Mains, won by Frankie Beard and Adam Yarbrough, the field was set for a 40 lap showdown at Cleveland County!

When the green flag dropped it was Jason Pack from Lawndale, NC jumping out in front of Umberger to lead early with contenders like David Smith, Chris Steele and Dennis Franklin in tow. The caution lights went on for the first time on lap 7 for Brian Conner after contact with the wall exiting turn 4. Double file restarts and intense racing continue behind the leaders as track position was definitely at a premium as the race progressed. the caution fell again on lap 35 with 5 to go when #88 Vic Chandler spun then stalled out in turn 1. The old saying ‘cautions breed cautions” was true on the restart as an incident in turn 2 collected Sanders, Dill, Pate, Chandler & Steele! The final 5 laps went caution free to the checkered which saw Franklin & Umberger battle for 2nd & 3rd but Jason Pack would cross the line to win Night #1 of the $30,000 NC/VA Dirt Late Model Challenge, making the 6th different winner in 7 FASTRAK SE/ME Touring events!!

*After the conclusion of the event, Umberger immediately notified FASTRAK Officials that he wanted to protest the engine & fuel on the winning car of Jason Pack. Results should be following next week. Until then the finishing order is unofficial!*

FASTRAK Racing Series Southeast Tour Race #7 (Unofficial Pending Protest Results)
St. Fin. Name Car #
(2)1. Jason Pack #17p Lawndale,NC
(1)2. Brandon Umberger #54b Rural Retreat,VA
(6)3. Dennis Franklin #2 Gaffney,SC
(3)4. Lee Cooper #57c Woodruff,SC
(12)5. Jeff Cooke #99 Spartanburg,SC
(4)6. David Smith #11 Inman,SC
(10)7. David Watts #04 Buchannan,VA
(5)8. Chris Steele #2s York,SC
(9)9. Chris Chandler #8 Weaverville,NC
(19)10. Doug Sanders #42 Springwood,NC
(16)11. Blake Bentley #27 Duncan,SC
(11)12. Vic Chandler #88 Weaverville,NC
(15)13. Trent Ivey #88t Union,SC
(20)14. Chad Hale #51 Wytheville,VA
(14)15. Adam Yarbrough #57a Denver,NC
(13)16. Frankie Beard #2b Athens,GA
(21)17. Dan Bruer #17c Troutman,NC
(7)18. Jordan Dill #22 Land Drum,SC
(18)19. Roger Pate #51p Shelby,NC
(17)20. Jimmy Schiltz #24 Hickory,NC
(8)21. Brian Connor #77 Martinez,GA
(22)22. Richard Clew #F5 Mocksville,NC
(24)23. Dan Yarbrough #57 Denver,NC
(23)24. Steve Hendren #29 Rutherfordton,NC

Severe thunderstorms invaded Wythe Raceway as the FASTRAK Racing Series arrived for night 2 of the NC/VA Dirt Late Model Challenge. Though the rains were heavy, the sun quickly reappeared and everyone was set on go for an exciting night of racing. After the conclusion of race #1 in the $30,000 NC/VA Dirt Late Model Challenge, a big announcement at night’s ends was that Race #1 of the 2011 FASTRAK Grand Nationals for the FASTRAK SE/ME Region was going to be held at the 1/2 mile in Lawndale, NC! This announcement highlights a rekindled a relationship between the track & the FASTRAK Racing Series.

With Night 1 of the NC/VA Dirt Late Model Challenge complete, it was now time for Round 2 at the 1/2 mile in Rural Retreat,VA. The event at Wythe boasted $3,000 to win and also included extra prizes & bonus money from FK Rod Ends. While weather threatened the event in the afternoon, series and track officials stayed the course and we were ready for the evening’s festivities.　

30 FASTRAK Pro Late Models from 4 states made the trip to the historic 1/2 mile. In Shell Racing Solutions Top Gun Qualifying, Kid Dynamite Jensen Ford continued his recent dominance at Wythe Raceway by setting the fastest time. Ford, in his TNT house car, was joined on the front row by championship leader David Smith, also in a TNT chassis. The B-Mains were pretty intense as drivers that struggled in qualifying were rallying to make their way into the A-Main. David Watts and John Broce Jr. captured the win in the two B-Mains.

With that, the driver intro and four wide salute was underway to start the $3,000 to win feature. One lap was completed as caution hit the speedway for a 2 car incident. As track and series officials worked to correctly sort the lineup, radio communication between the officials an drivers emerged. Once the Raceciver communication was restored, the officials set the lineup and we were ready once again for green flag racing. On the restart, the “Big One” happened in the apex of corners of one and two which collected multiple cars. Lee Cooper, Zack Mitchell, Brandon Umberger, Jordan Dill and Lance Reynolds all suffered damage. After the red flag situation had ended, green flag racing went at full song with Smith, Ford, and Mays as the lead trio, until lap 25 when Concord, NC’s Matt Long suffered a flat tire after intense door to door racing with Umberger, who was trying to work his way back to the front of the field. On the ensuing restart, the 15 lap sprint was on. Mays, now in the runner up spot, was left to hold off Ford as Ryan Atkins and Kenny Peeples were making their presence felt coming through the field. In the end, David Smith would repeat his Triple Crown victory in May at Wythe Raceway to become only the second 2 time winner on the 2011 tour. Mays held off Ford for the runner up spot as Atkins and Peeples rounded out the top 5 finishers.

Official Results from FASTRAK Racing Series Southeast Tour Race #8
St. Fin. Car# Driver
(2) 1 #11 David Smith Inman,SC
(9) 2 #19 Bobby Mays Jonesborough,TN
(1) 3 #83 Jenson Ford Piney Flats,TN
(20) 4 #9 Ryan Atkins Mt. Airy,NC
(15) 5 #K22 Kenny Pepples Jr. Rural Retreat,VA
(4) 6 #51 Chad Hale Wytheville,VA
(13) 7 #04 David Watts Buchannan,VA
(24) 8 #17C Dan Breuer Troutman,NC
(3) 9 #54B Brandon Umberger Rural Retreat,VA
(22) 10 #42 Doug Sanders Springwood,NC
(10) 11 #22 Jordan Dill Landrum,SC
(21) 12 #7 Clinton Cook Radford,VA
(14) 13 #44W John Broce Jr. Falls Mills,VA
(17) 14 #57 Zack Mitchell Ennore,SC
(23) 15 #25 Matt Long Concord,NC
(5) 16 #24 Tim Byrd Jonesboro,TN
(8) 17 #57 Lee Cooper Woodruff,SC
(6) 18 #14 Lance Reynolds Max Meadows,VA
(7) 19 #2 Dennis Franklin Gaffney,SC
(18) 20 #114 Chris Cantrell Chester,SC
(11) 21 #8 Chris Chandler Weaverville,NC
(19) 22 #421 Anthony Sanders Spartanburg,SC
(16) 23 #4S Michael Smith Rogersville,TN
(12) 24 #88 Vic Chandler Weaverville,NC

Partners of the FASTRAK Racing Series include: Hoosier Racing Tires, GM Performance Parts, City Chevrolet, VP Racing Fuels, NOS Energy Drink, Shell Racing Solutions, Old Man’s Garage, Vicci Apparel, TNT Race Cars, Rocket Chassis, RockAuto, FK Rod Ends, Longhorn Chassis, Velocita, and Beyea Headers. To become a partner with the FASTRAK Racing Series, please call 678-935-7304