Fifty three Late Models along with thirty five big block Modifieds signed in to race for the second to the last Speed Weeks program of 2016 at Volusia Speedway Park and after some good Late Model racing all week, Friday proved to be one that people will be talking about for quite some time. Once again the #1 blue Rocket chassis car from Shinnston West Virginia was the one to watch and Josh Richards drove what was one of the most outstanding races seen in quite some time to overhaul Jonathan Davenport for the fifty lap win.
With Richards qualifying poorly and Davenport sitting on the front row and Scott Bloomquist seeming just a bit off in early evening action, it seems like the set up was in place for Davenport to drive off into the night for an easy win. And such was the case in the early going as Davenport jumped off the pole and moved to a considerable lead. Richards, meanwhile, was making a steady charge from his fourteenth starting position and he was aided by a couple of early yellow flags that helped to pack up the field and make gaining positions easier.
While Davenport continued to lead, Florida's Ivedent Lloyd Jr. was having a strong run of his own as he eventually worked his way into second and put the pressure on Davenport. Mason Zeigler took himself out of contention early by jumping the cushion and Greg Satterlee lost a good run when he broke a front right and slowed badly at the end, but Lloyd continued to press Davenport while Richards moved into third.
Lloyd made a run at the leader and did take over the top spot briefly but then Davenport fought back to the lead. Richards also made a big run and tried to get past both leaders and very nearly did so. However, he couldn't quite pull off the move and he then fell back by a number of car lengths and it appeared that his charge was over.
However, Richards refused to be defeated. He moved up one lane on the track and with some unbelievably hard driving, was able to climb back into contention. He drove around Lloyd for second and then caught Davenport with just a few laps left. Jonathan was dealing with some lapped traffic and seemed unwilling to get off the bottom lane, and Richards closed up beside him and as both drivers slalomed through the slower cars, Richards found an opening and was able to take over the lead with just a couple laps left.
However, both were still in heavy traffic and it was left to the final lap to decide the outcome with Richards finding an opening off turn four that was clear while Davenport had to brake for a lapped car that came across his front end, and Richards was home free. Josh was able to find a lane on the top side of the track that no one else could make work, and that was the difference on Friday night. Richards drove his car unbelievably hard and refused to give up and he wowed the big crowd on hand with a statement race if there ever was one. The #1 car is back in 2016 and for the time being at least, it would seem that everyone else will be chasing him.
After taking away the spotlight on Thursday night, the big block Modifieds had a good feature of their own, but they would be playing second fiddle in terms of main event drama on this night as Rick Laubach, who perhaps let one slip away last night, led all the way for a dominating win on Friday. Matt Sheppard moved up well after starting in the third row, but he had nothing for the winner at the end. Alan Johnson came from tenth to third at the finish in a race that was slowed four times by yellow flags.
The track crew has really been pouring on the water the last couple of nights, perhaps as a result of the fairly strong winds that have been blowing into the grandstand. As a result of this, the track speeds have been very high and the motors have been taxed to the limit. The moisture has also produced some bumps in the corners and Friday they seemed a bit more severe; to the extant that a couple of cars have suffered suspension failures from hitting the bumps.
All the watering has produced one other situation for the drivers as well. With an inside wall all around the track, some of the water has been sitting up against the wall and on occasion, if someone goes too low in the corner, they tend to kick up the water into the groove. Last night the Modifieds were skating a little in turn four when that happened and Tonight, Donny Schatz hit some of that water in the main which shot him up into the wall and out of the race.
One of the biggest crashes of the week happening during the feature tonight, a six car calamity in turn four that tore up some cars, most notably Boom Briggs and Shane Clanton. For the first time all week, after the races were over, the process of stripping off body parts and making wholesale repairs was underway in the pits with the sound of hammers and power tools filling the air, something that had not been seen much so far. Back up cars in wholesale numbers will be pulled out for the first time for Saturday night's finale.
Austin Rettig was missing for Friday night action after they exhausted their supply of motors and Canada's Ricky Weiss also sat out the action. Their Rocket was destroyed in a contact with the front stretch wall on Thursday and rather than roll out a back up car with an under powered for this monster horsepower needed track 430 cubic inch engine, they opted instead to watch and save their equipment for their next appearance in La Salle IL next month.
I would expect that a few more cars will head home early but most should be back on Saturday for one more shot at making a Florida statement before their all head back to their home areas and prepare for the rest of the racing season which will see some racing as soon as next weekend again while others may sit for a month or more before they again compete.
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