The 48th annual Wieland Winternationals continued on Wednesday night, February 7th at the East Bay Raceway Park in Gibsonton Florida with a forty lap, seven thousand dollar to win Lucas Oil Late Model Series event. With the action picking up as the week progresses, Wednesday night's feature race would be a dandy that would see five lead changes among three different drivers with Tyler Erb leading on two separate occasions and eventually driving on for the win.
Seventy five drivers would again sign in to race with four making their first on track appearances of the week including Ryan Gustin(driving Todd Cooney's car), Cody and Brandon Overton along with Mike Marlar. The intensity also seems to be picking up as more drivers arrive, the purses go up and those chasing Lucas Oil Series points work to make their cars their best when point racing starts.
The track would be quick for qualifying with Jensen Ford and Jonathan Davenport topping their respective groups with Davenport quickest overall at 14.221 seconds. The usual format would prevail with six heats and three B Features again setting the twenty four car starting field for the main event. Once again, with this not being a point race, there would be no provisionals and only twenty four cars would start the main event.
With no track work to be done all night, except for some minor cushion packing before the main event, the feature would roll off early in the evening. Ford, in a bit of a stunner, would top the first half of the field in qualifying and would start on the pole but it would be outside pole starter Davenport that would grab the early lead. Davenport would be pounding the cushion early while Tyler Erb chose to work the low side of the track. Gradually Erb would close up on the leader and on lap twelve he would roll under Davenport to take over the top spot. Dalton Wilson and Devin Moran were both also working their way forward as the lead group remained tightly locked together.
The first yellow flew with seventeen laps completed as Earl Pearson Jr. rolled to a halt with a flat tire. The restart was a bad one as Garrett Alberson spun and Brandon Overton crashed hard into him, heavily damaging both cars and reportedly ending Speedweeks permanently for Overton.
Things got real busy on the restart as Erb and Davenport were joined by Wilson in what was turning into a tough three car battle for the lead. On lap nineteen, Davenport would slip past Erb to retake the lead but while both were fighting it out, Wilson would slip past both and be scored the leader at the halfway point of the race. Devin Moran was making a move to the front and was battling for third with Erb when they brushed in turn one and Moran spun, ending his charge. And then two laps later, Hudson O'Neal spun after rolling a tire off the rim as favorites fell, one by one.
Drivers were trading lanes on the track, a sign that the track was multi groove and racy for all. Erb decided to move up the track and it paid dividends as he started to gain back ground on Davenport. A steady run by Jimmy Owens and Dennis Erb Jr. would see them break into the top five. Erb continued his charge and on lap twenty seven he was able to drive past Davenport and retake the lead.
And once in front, he was able to gradually pull away from the field but there was still plenty going on behind him as the battle for second and positions right behind was a hot one. Ford stalled with just ten laps to go, settling up the final sprint to the checkers. Erb would get away nicely but now, suddenly, all eyes were on Marlar who had suddenly moved to the extreme high side of the track and lit a torch under his car.
Not even scored in the top five with just those last ten laps to go, he suddenly was flying around the track at breakneck speed, riding about as high on the track as is possible. He flew past Dennis Erb and then Owens and set his sights on the top three racers. With Tyler Erb comfortably in front, the race came down to second with Marlar having a full head of stearm and somehow finding room to squeeze between Davenport and the outside wall and make a head long charge that would allow him to nip Jonathan by inches for the second place honors. Wilson and Dennis Erb would complete the top five.
Nineteen of the starters would complete the race with all on the lead lap and there were five yellows to slow the contest. Other big gainers during the race were Tim McCreadie and Brian Shirley.
Normally the feature race marks the end of the night and of racing, but there was bonus racing on this Wednesday. The Monday night rainout, which has been split into three parts, would continue as all cars that qualified on Tuesday night after that show was completed would compete in another six heats and three B features, all to set the lineup for their makeup feature that will be contested on Thursday night after that regular show is completed.
It was a lot of racing for one night but the track held up very well for the racers, while we as fans ate our share of Florida gumbo but didn't mind as long as we saw some good racing. It would appear that this new material found by Al Varnadore in December will work out well with the secret being that more moisture in the track is better. All racing was completed by just after 11 pm, not an unreasonable time by any means.
Rumors continue to swirl about just what will happen with Speedweeks in 2025 with East Bay set to close after this racing season. The most heard and more reliable reports seem to indicate the Speedweeks 2025 will see three or four nights of consecutive racing ending on weekends at the three tracks that Lucas Oil now races at each January and February. The kicker is that these three weekends of racing are reported to not begin until after the Daytona 500 and then perhaps carry on as long as the first week of March. Looking at the makeup of the crowds that support these events right now, it seems to me that most are folks that have traveled from other parts of the country to attend these races and whether they will still around for that long remains a big question. I don't believe these events can be supported by the Florida race fans as I just don't think there are enough of them; they need the tourists and race travelers too.
I would assume the races at Volusia would continue just as they have been using the same time slot but I'm wondering about such events as the Wild West Shootout, which starts as early as it does so as to not conflict with other early events. Perhaps that series might be moved back several weeks next year also when the New Mexico weather might be more favorable. It is worth noting that dates for 2025 have not yet been announced for several annual events, as many are watching to see what happens here in Florida next year before making their own moves. Stay tuned but it appears one thing is for sure, Speedweeks in Florida will be forever changed after this year.
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