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Sam Sets Pace for Qualifying
by SamWatts.com
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10/22/05
Current
Stats
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The mood was good for racing at Lakeland
this weekend. Everyone was waiting for the rain, but
the VCR team practiced during the week and was all
set when race
day came. Sam went out first, setting the pace for the remaining 19 cars
to match. Only one car—the #36 of Tim Russell—got
close and beat Sam’s
time by 7/100th of a second, putting Sam in the 2nd position for the second
straight race. The night was all about kids and there were many scouts and
their leaders there, all wanting an autographed picture of Sam and his car,
being that he is only a kid himself.
Russell pulled #7 so the field got
inverted, putting Sam in the 6th starting position.
At the drop of the green Sam settled
down well and on lap 9 he passed
by Arturo’s #5 car, putting Sam in 3rd. Then on lap 19, as the #9 of
Clouser overtook the leader, Sam stayed closely behind him, putting him in
2nd place.
Sam tried every way, high line, low line any line to try to get past Clouser.
On lap 40 Sam’s hard work finally paid off as he passed by Clouser on
the inside. Sam pulled away from the pack as the 2nd and 3rd place cars were
battling.
Another caution came out on lap 51 and as the field was getting ready to restart,
the #73 of Sam slowed down and lost all power. He managed to coast the car
into the pits, where the team found an electrical problem to be the cause.
This was
the worst blow yet for Sam and the VCR team as the race looked like it was
going to be a battle between Sam and the #36 of Russell.
With 1 race left at
Orlando on Friday, November 4th, the top 5 places are still
up for grabs. Sam needs a good run to finish as Rookie of the year. Come
watch Sam’s final race this season and cheer him on!
OFFICIAL RESULTS - USA INTERNATIONAL
OCTOBER 22ND
1. 36 Tim Russell
2. 54 Chris Fontaine
3. 9 Rich Clouser
4. 5 Jerry Artuso
5. 29 Mike Hovis
6. 2x Steve Smith
7. 1x Chuck Burkhalter
8. 81 Kenny Hankins
9. 23 Paul Barnhill
10. 52 Jason Bowser
11. 4k Amanda Gogel
12. 83 Joe Strehle
13. 26 David Rogers
14. 73 Sam Watts
15. 28 Bobby Shelton
16. 53 Charles Kopach
17. 36x Gary Padula
18. 07 Chad Ashley
19. 3 John Coffman
20. 2 A.J Currelli
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