Fayetteville Motor Speedway
Smith welcomes WoO stars back to Fayetteville
By Kevin Kovac
World of Outlaws Late Model Series
Jeff Smith's new 2010 decal scheme. (butlerracingphotos.com)
More than one year has already passed since Jeff Smith celebrated one of the biggest victories of his Dirt Late Model career, but the memory of that special evening remains fresh in his mind. And Friday night, Smith will aim to relive the moment.
The World of Outlaws Late Model Series is returning to Fayetteville (N.C.) Motor Speedway and the veteran racer from the Tar Heel State has his eyes focused on turning back the national tour's stars for a second straight season.
"It seems like the year's flown by," said Smith, a two-time Fayetteville track champion who earned his first-ever WoO victory at the 4/10-mile oval on April 17, 2009. "We're ready to go back and try again."
Smith, 44, of Dallas, N.C., pulled off one of the big upsets of the '09 WoO campaign, becoming the only non-series driver to win at his home track over the 40-race schedule. He did it in dramatic fashion, too, dashing into the lead with the white flag waving in the 50-lap event when race-long pacesetter Vic Coffey of Caledonia, N.Y., slowed with a blown right-rear tire.
"It's always exciting to win a race at your home track in front of all your fans," said Smith, who lives over three hours west of Fayetteville but has come to be considered an adopted local at the track. "It's probably even a little more exciting to take the lead on the last lap of a race — although you hate to have (the dramatic lead-change) happen under the circumstances it did last year with Vic getting the flat tire.
"But the tables have been turned on me too. I've won races there on the last lap because of flat tires and I've also given 'em up, so it's part of the game."
Smith had, of course, put himself in position to take advantage of Coffey's heartbreak with a nearly flawless night. He qualified second-fastest in time trials, won a heat race and used the outside pole starting spot to run second behind Coffey throughout the distance. He also picked a slightly harder-compound tire than Coffey — a decision that ultimately propelled him to victory lane.
"We usually run a spec tire at Fayetteville and (the WoO race) was open tires, so we were guessing on our tire combo a little," said Smith. "But we made the right choice. I actually could've run a little harder to pressure Vic than I did, but under a caution I saw Vic's tire was slicked off so I got into a conserve mode because I didn't want to blow mine."
Ask Smith where the $10,000-plus WoO triumph ranks on his career resume, and he doesn't hesitate with a response.
"It's right up there at the top," asserted Smith, a well-known racer throughout the Southeast who makes his living operating J&J Race Cars in Gastonia, N.C. "Whenever you can win against these (full-time touring) guys, it's an accomplishment.
"I definitely felt for Vic, but I was definitely happy to win the race. I felt great for my guys, my sponsors and everyone who supports me."
It was a victorious feeling that stayed with Smith long after he received his check and left the Fayetteville pit area last spring.
"We couldn't forget about the race because of all that confetti shot out of a cannon when I got out of the car in victory," said Smith, who has registered double-digit overall feature-win totals in all but one season since 2005. "It took three months for us to get all the confetti out of our car. Every time we cleaned the car more pieces would come floating out, so it kept reminding us of what we had done."
Smith will bring that same Menscer Motorsports Rocket car back to Fayetteville April 30 for the WoO event, a 50-lapper paying $10,000 to win. It now sports a slightly different graphics and color scheme, but the number (18m) and iron is unchanged.
"Hopefully it'll be good for us again this year," said Smith. "We need something to help us get back on track. So far this year we have one win (at Lancaster, S.C.) and a couple third-place finishes, but we've crashed out of our last two races.
"We don't have a lot of momentum right now, but it's always good to go to a track where you run good when you're on a downslide. Maybe we'll be able to get ourselves headed in the right direction."
