Weekly Notebook presented by FK Rod Ends
Notes: Second 22 times, Vineyard wins 1st at Gap
Mark Vineyard headed to Volunteer Speedway on Saturday with more runner-up finishes than he could count on his fingers and toes. And he left the Bulls Gap, Tenn., track — finally — with his first career Super Late Model victory.
After 22 second-place finishes, Vineyard broke through by grabbing the lead from race-long leader Kerry Jones on the white flag lap to capture that ever-elusive first Super Late Model feature victory at Volunteer. | Weekly Late Model results
“Man, it’s sure taken a long time to get this first win — and it’s great to finally be able to say I’ve won a Super Late Model feature here at Volunteer Speedway,” said the smiling Knoxville, Tenn., driver in victory lane. “You know, I’ve lost races just the same way as I was able to win tonight … thinking you were going to win and then having something break on the car or getting tangled up with a lapped car. I guess you could say getting this win tonight was a little bit of payback for races I’ve lost here at the Gap over the years.”
Jones was the fastest of nine qualifiers and was in command from the outset while Vineyard worked his way into second, within five lengths of Jones at the halfway point on the 4/10-mile oval. Soon Vineyard was on the rear deck of Jones as the drama built in the 30-lapper.
Racing down the backstretch into the third turn on lap 28, Vineyard drove in hard on the outside. He pulled alongside Jones as they exited turn four to take the white flag. At the flagstand they were side-by-side with the slower car of Mark Sturgill just ahead in the low groove.
Jones made contact with Sturgill between turns one and two, with both Jones and Sturgill spinning. That opened the door for Vineyard, who led only the final lap.
“I was looking ahead and saw (Sturgill) just ahead of Kerry and I as we raced off into the third turn,” Vineyard said. “I knew Kerry was going to protect the bottom groove, so I made the quick decision to drive on off hard into the corner to his outside. ... Out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse as Kerry and that car started wrecking. I just stayed hard in the gas and drove around them on the high-side and we were fortunate enough to get the win.
"Finally winning a race here is very special, it really means a lot to not only myself but to all my family who have supported me over the years in my racing." — Robert Walden
Lux adds MasterSbilt
Matt Lux of Franklin, Pa., posted one of his most successful racing weekends with back-to-back victories May 6-7, including a weekly victory Friday at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa.
On Thursday at McKean County Raceway in East Smethport, Pa., Lux drove his Rocket Chassis to a victory in the ULMS-sanctioned Jim Duffy Memorial, but the 35-year-old climbed in a new MasterSbilt Race Car at Lernerville, where he outdueled Gregg Satterlee for a victory.
"Keith and Tader at MasterSbilt Chassis have been absolutely remarkable to work with so far," Lux said. "They have really made the transition very smooth and have been available to me any time I’ve needed them. I’m really comfortable in the new car and it seems to fit my driving style.
"The first time I climbed in it, I put it in the wall at Sharon (Speedway) during a practice session, but even then I was very comfortable in it. We still have a lot of work to do to get better with it but I feel we are heading in the right direction." — Jason Shank
Casebolt wins at K-C
Another thirtysomething driver followed up a special event victory with a weekly victory over the weekend at two Ohio tracks. Steve Casebolt of Richmond, Ind., earned $5,000 with a victory in the Les Boggs 50 at Rocky Top Raceway in Coal Grove on Friday, then headed to K-C Raceway near Chillicothe for a victory on Saturday night.
Casebolt, who ran fourth the previous weekend at K-C's Ralph Seymour Memorial, was second fastest in qualifying and finished second in the dash to earn the outside front row starting spot for the main event. He led all 30 laps.
"We felt like we had a very good car at K-C, maybe even better than Rocky Top last night," said Casebolt, who outran fellow Richmond racer Duane Chamberlain and 2009 World 100 winner Bart Hartman. "K-C is a tough place to get a handle on, so for our car to be that good was very encouraging."
Casebolt's next scheduled event is the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series race at Wythe Raceway in Rural Retreat, Va., on May 15. The team headed to Wythe for practice on Sunday, and plans to spend the weekend in Welcome, N.C., at Richard Childress Racing preparing for Saturday's race. — From team reports
Long posts two-victory weekend
Matt Long of Concord, N.C., raced to May 7-8 Crate Late Model victories at Carolina Speedway near Gastonia, N.C., and Wythe Raceway in Rural Retreat, Va., for one of the best racing weekends of his brief career.
"This was just an incredible weekend," said Long, who works on corporate sales at Charlotte Motor Speedway. "I don’t know any other way to describe it. At Carolina our car was as close to perfect as I have ever felt. And then to win at Wythe was just awesome. This really helps to build our confidence for the rest of the year. My whole team is excited."
Long captured his second straight feature at Carolina Speedway, crediting his program with Integra Shocks for helping improving his lap times. Wythe held double features, and after finishing third in the opening race, the GazZu Energy Drinks-sponsored Long took the early lead from Clinton Cook and raced to victory in the nightcap.
"Winning there was almost as big as my first win. I just love that place," the 31-year-old Long said. "And the track was really awesome Saturday. It was really slick and you could move around and race all over it. That was just the icing on the cake for such a great weekend.” — Kelley Carlton
Weekly odds and ends
Waylon Wagner of Lewiston, Pa., won Friday's feature at Clinton County Raceway in Lock Haven, Pa., his second straight victory following a May 1 triumph at Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway. ... North Alabama Speedway in Tuscumbia, Ala., which added the Super Late Model division early this season, plans $1,500-to-win events for June 11, 18 and 25. ... Modified graduate Tyler Stevens of Searcy, Ark., won back-to-back Crate Late Model events on May 7-8 at Batesville Motor Speedway and Conway County Super Speedway. ... Mike Kirby of Torrance, Calif., swept the Late Model and modified features May 8 at Perris (Calif.) Auto Speedway. ... David Pritchett is returning as promoter at Toccoa (Ga.) Speedway with plans to reopen the track May 22 with Super Late Models on the card. ... Ray Guss Jr. of Milan, Ill., had a two-victory weekend, winning May 7 at Iowa State Fairgrounds Speedway in Des Moine and May 9 at Quad City Speedway in East Moline, Ill. ... In Big 10 Series events, Brandon Sheppard won May 8 at Macon (Ill.) Speedway and Ryan Unzicker won May 9 at Shepp's Speedway in Alexander, Ill. ... Jacob Black won May 8's Fastrak Crate feature at West Plains (Mo.) Speedway, now under the ownership of Dexter and Doyle Frost. ... Jared Hawkins of Fairmont, W.Va., won the May 7 Super Late Model opener at Elkins (W.Va.) Speedway, the first race at Elkins under returning promoter D. Jay Miller.
