Zautner Goes 2 for 2 With SnS Feature Win!!!
They're back race fans! Sure Fire Racing is back and is here to make an impact! And an impact is what they did at the New Smyrna Speedway. Sixteen race haulers entered the track and unloaded their street stock machines all looking to take the checkered flag on opening night.
The night opened up with newcomer, Nick Zautner taking fast qualifying time for the night with a 19.871 followed by another newcomer to the Sure Fire Racing league, Mitchell Reaves, who qualified with a 19.953. Justin Anderson qualified third with a time of 19.980 and Jim Whaley Jr. with a 20.041 rounded out your top four qualifiers and made up your opening night 4-lap dash. In the end, it was the #02 of Mitchell Reaves who was your Dash winner.
Next up was the first Heat race with eight drivers griding for this 10-lap preliminary race. Some bumping and rubbing went on, but it was the #57 of James Tyler who took the win. In the second Heat, eight more drivers lined up looking for that win, but after 10-laps, it was the #84 of Len "McNasty" McNeese who crossed the finished first to take the 2nd Heat win.
After a short Demolition fun race and intermission, it was time to pull up your "big boy" pants, strap in your driver seat and focus on the 100-lap feature race that was about to take place. A lot of jockeying and a lot of side-by-side racing was happening in these opening laps. The first incident which did not bring out a caution happened on Lap 5 in the very back when your fast qualifier, the #76 of Nick Zaunter, came out of Turn 2 and with the speed of his car, the momentum pushed him into the side of the #02 of Mitchell Reaves. Mitchell was able to hang on to it and kept racing, but not so for Nick. The #76 spun on the backstretch and with no caution coming out, Nick Zaunter sped thru the gears trying to get up to speed as he had a long way to go to try to catch the rest of the cars.
Fortunately, for Nick, the caution did come out on the very next lap as the #1 of Robert Underwood, got loose in Turn 4, but was able to hang on to it. Unfortunately, while trying to save his car, came up the track in front of the #89 Matt Quick, who was on and off the gas trying to avoid hitting Underwood, but still trying not to lose any positions. As Underwood got turned, the nose of his car caught just enough of the #46 of Jim Whaley Jr. to send him around, spinning out of control on the front stretch. The #72 John Estes, the #31 Brent Leigh, the #02 Mitchell Reaves were all caught up in this early race incident.
Lap 16 would see the next caution when the #04 Tim Kelleher, came up into the #77 of Justin Anderson on the backstretch, putting both cars hard into the wall. The #31 Brent Leigh, #101 David Gainforth, #14 Craig Hawkins, #02 Mitchell Reaves, #1 Robert Underwood and the #46 Jim Whaley Jr. were all casualties of the mayhem that followed.
Racing stayed green until Lap 27 when the #1 Robert Underwood and the #27 Terry Walters got together coming out of Turn 4, where the #27 got turned on the front stretch. No other cars were involved. After some tire changes and refueling of cars on pit road, it's back to green flag racing for a few more laps. The caution flag flies yet again on Lap 38 as the #57 James Tyler and the #89 Mat Quick, sideswipe each other coming out of Turn 2.
The #1 of Robert Underwood self spins coming out of Turn 2 bringing out yet another caution flag on Lap 63. Robert does a great job of keeping his car off the wall and no damage to his car. The #89 of Matt Quick, brings out the caution on Lap 70 doing the exact same maneuver and in the exact same place out of Turn 2 as Robert Underwood had done just seven laps earlier. No other cars were involved and no damage to Matt's car.
Lap 82 brings out the caution flag as the #89 Matt Quick gets into the back of #57 James Tyler causing him to spin in Turn 2 and into the path of #46 Jim Whaley Jr. On Lap 88, the #84 Len "McNasty" McNeese, racing hard in 2nd place, smacks the outside wall coming out of Turn 2, ricocheting him across the track hard into the inside wall, blowing his motor, but in the process, smacking into the #02 Mitchell Reaves, spinning him.
With hard racing from all drivers, the yellow flag is in the air again for the final time as 2nd place, Dean Viney, in the #71 attempts to occupy the low-line real estate going in to Turn 1, but the #14 Craig Hawkins already has his bumper there and Viney gets turned. Dean almost saves it, but the speed carrying Hawkins, the two touch again, this time, sending the #14 into the inside wall on the backstretch. The #71, Dean Viney, slams his car into the wall, but not before the #101 David Gainforth T-bones Viney's door flipping both cars.
The debut of Sure Fire's Saturday Night Showdown 100-lap feature race would end under caution, but what an exciting night of racing for all. Nick Zaunter brings home the checkered flag, followed by the #1 of Robert Underwood. Brent Leigh in the #31 comes in third place, followed by the #89 Matt Quick and the #77 of Justin Anderson rounds out the top 5.
Great racing everyone and looking forward to seeing you again on the track next week at Iowa for another 100 laps.
