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Sam Stays Strong with 3rd Place Finish
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Sam before the race
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Friday night’s practice was rained out, which gave everyone very little time to get used to a track that was washed of all the rubber from 2 days of rain. By lunch time Saturday, most of the drivers were heading for the track as practice was to begin at 2pm. It was a scorching hot day, and with little rubber down it was tough to get any good times.
Sam took advantage of all the practices, coming in each time to try different setups with the car. Fortunately, he felt something break during one of the laps and came straight to the pits. His right front rotor had sheared off the hub. Luckily it was a quick repair which allowed Sam to get right back out on the track.
Qualifying went well, as Sam was 4th fastest. The inversion kept him in 4th place. After an autograph session with all the drivers on the track, it was time to race! On the start, Sam stayed calm and let the front cars go until he was able to get in the bottom groove. This put him back to 5th place early. He settled in behind the 57 car of Winchell and was told to follow him. The 16 car of Keene spun out, putting Sam back into 4th.
The order stayed the same until lap 50 when on a restart Sam missed a shifter, giving the 30 car of Hall a chance to get by. Sam was putting pressure on the 30 car until finally he passed him, getting back into 4th. Next in line was the 51 car of Deschamps, who was loose off. Sam’s car was great in the turns but lacked power on the straight-aways. He then passed by Deschamps who got washed up high in turn 4, allowing Sam a clean pass.
There was another caution with 9 laps to go. Sam did everything he could to hang on to his 3rd place finish. It was a remarkable display of racing. “He ran A heck of a race,” said crew chief Mike Williams. “If he had more motor he may have been able to stay up with the leaders.” “At this point in the season just to bring a car home in one piece is our main aim,” said Sam’s dad.
Sam has only the blue car now, since the black car got totaled at Lakeland and is currently being rebuilt. We hope it will be ready by next season. His next race is at New Smyrna on July 29th. Come watch & cheer him on! He needs all the support he can get!
OFFICIAL RESULTS
GOODYEAR CHALLENGE LATE MODEL 100
COLUMBIA MOTORSPORTS PARK - JULY 8
1. #26 Travis Cope, Bronson
2. #57 Joe Winchell, Davie
3. #73 Sam Watts, Winter Springs
4. #05 Jeremy Colangelo, Deland
5. #2 A.J. Curreli, Daytona Beach
6. #16 Daniel Keene, Land O'Lak
7. #31 Greg Kaouk, Penbrooke Pines
8. #66 Matt Martin, Port Orange
9. #51 Dustin Deschamps, Brooksville
10. #53 Charles Kopach, Clermont
11. #30 Troy Hall, Coral Springs
12. #99 Dean Ferri, Deerfield
13. #3 John Coffman, Live Oak
14. #88 Justin Larson, Safety Harbor
15. #9 Rich Clouser, Palm Bay
16. #19 Chuck Abel, Apopka
17. #1x Chuck Burkhalter, Clermont
18. #22 Ali Owens, South Daytona DNS
19. #8 Jacob Warren, Orlando DNS
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