| |
Sam gets a 6th place finish on shortest track of series
Sam had always anticipated his first visit to Inverness was going to be daunting. It is the smallest track on the Goodyear touring series, which typically causes problems for many drivers. Sam and the VCR team spent the better part of the evening Friday conducting tests and making adjustments to the car. Afterwards, Sam had a good night’s sleep and was all set for Saturday’s race.
Qualifying started out good until one of the cars spun out on his first lap, dumping sand all over the track. The next car went out and also got real loose. Sam went out next. On the radio Sam told Michael Williams that it felt like there was something on the track in turn 4 as it was like skating on ice. The remaining drivers also had problems on turn 4. Sam ended up qualifying in the 11th position—the lowest he has qualified all season.
Starting in the middle of the pack, he had his work cut out for him. As the green flag dropped, all systems were go. Sam started to gain on the cars in front of him. By lap 4 he had settled into 7th place behind the 57 car of Winchell. Sam settled down well, following the experience of the 57 was his main goal. Suddenly Winchell had electrical problems so had to withdraw from the race, placing the 1x car of Burkalter on Sam’s tail. He bashed and banged on Sam’s rear end but wasn't able to get by Sam. Sam’s car seemed to get better the longer it stayed green. He made a few attempts to pass the 9 car of Clouser but couldn't quite pull it off. By lap 65 we noticed some smoke coming from the rear of the car but it didn't seem to handle differently, so Sam continued to fend off Burkalter.
At the checkered flag Sam took 6th place, but when he came into the pits he couldn't stop! Turns out he had driven the latter part of the race without any brakes, which explains why he had stayed back from Clouser and didn't triy to get by him again. Furthermore, a rear panard rod had broken on Sam’s car, causing the rear to push over to the left causing smoke from the tire rub. The whole VCR team was overjoyed with the race result; the outcome also boosting Sam’s morale. Crew Chief Michael Williams congratulated Sam on a great race. He wasn't sure how Sam drove it so well towards the end of the race, but he was glad that he did!
Sam’s next race is at Lakeland on June 3rd. Come enjoy an exciting evening watching and cheering Sam on to victory!
OFFICIAL RESULTS
1. #26 Travis Cope, Bronson
2. #51 Dustin Deschamps, Brooksville
3. #48 Jonny Kay, Deerfield Beach
4. #16 Daniel Keene Jr., Land O' Lakes
5. #9 Rich Clouser, Palm Bay
6. #73 Sam Watts, Winter Springs
7. #1x Chuck Burkhalter, Clermont
8. #30 Troy Hall, Coral Springs
9. #88 Justin Larson, Safety Harbor
10. #40 Jeremy Goddard, Naples
11. #19 Chuck Abell, Apopka
12. #31 Greg Kaouk, Penbroke Pines
13. #4k Amanda Gogel, New Smyrna
14. #2 A.J. Curreli, Daytona Beach
15. #57 Joe Winchell, Davie
16. #33 Daniel Webster, Brooksville
|
|
)
