Matt Sheppard and Mike Maresca had an epic battle for the lead through traffic and several lead changes with Maresca reclaiming the lead again on lap 16 and 22 after taking heavy damage from a tangle with a lapped car. Just before motor issues sent Maresca to the pits; Billy Pauch Jr. made a two for one pass of both the 9S & 7mm for the lead on lap 25 but caution had already waived for Friesen going into the wall gave Sheppard the lap and lead back as well as a single file restart. Billy Jr’s tires wouldn’t fire on the restart and Sheppard motored to a 1.6 second margin of victory in the final 5 laps of the feature to take the first northeast modified win of the 2022 season.
Marc Johnson’s big block had a podium 3rd place finish in the feature holding off the open motors on a slick & tricky track. Johnson noted “I was concerned coming here with a big block on a slick track but I’m extremely happy we are here and what we have accomplished.”
On lap 2 of the feature Larry Wight spun and had to go to the back of the field to 28th position. Larry had a good car and picked up a position nearly every lap to finish 5th.
Jordan Watson qualified from the last transfer spot in the final last chance qualifier. He started shotgun on the field in 28th position in the feature. Jordan then proceeded to charge from his 28th starting position to a 6th place finish for the hard charger of the night.
Mike Maresca got tangled with a lapped car while leading and made hard contact with the wall damaging his car, but he was able to continue and regain the lead on lap 16 and 22 until his engine started to lap down on lap 25 and he had to pull off while in second place. Maresca will change to his backup car for Thursday’s race.
Stewart Friesen was on the move when he was in 5th and ended up with heavy wall contact which ended his night on lap 25.
42 STSS modifieds are on the grounds with 27 from the New York Region; 14 from the South Region and 1 from the Cajun Region.
602 Crate Sportsman
The 602 crates provided racing drama before and after the checkered flag. Josh Allen led nearly the entire 25 lap feature only to see Kevin Chaffee make a pass for the win on the final lap. At tech inspections Josh Allen re-emerged as the winner when Chaffee had a technical carburetor infraction and was disqualification for the night.
Steve Davis planned to run his # 13 entry but a broken driveshaft in practice required a quick change to the extra car they happen to be insightful enough to bring with them. Steve’s bad luck continued with starting shotgun on the field in 9th for his heat race. That’s when things started to turn for the better for Davis as he ran from 9th to 2nd in his heat and earned a redraw spot in the feature. What earlier in the day looked like a long night turned to be a strong 2nd place finish in the feature for Davis and his # 72 team.
Craig Whitmoyer is on his 3rd annual Florida racing trip from Pennsylvania and is off to his best trip ever. A 7th place finish with 44 cars on the grounds was a welcome start to the four days of Sunshine Swing racing for the eastern PA modified driver who loves to run 602 crates whenever he’s not running his spec 358 modified. His 2022 Florida trip started with a win at North Florida Speedway and he’s hoping to bookend his trip with another win at the Sunshine Series before heading home.
Eric Kormann made the 12 hour ride from his home in New Jersey and arrived in mid-afternoon. It just so happened he had his helmet and driver’s suit in the car and that the Chesapeake 9 crate car also needed a driver, so he had a bit more driving to do before his day was over. Kormann started deep in the field in his LQC but got in the feature and finished 20th on day one with three days of the Sunshine Series to go.
The racing was caution incident free except for six single car spins with no contact whatsoever. The 44 crate cars on the grounds were 33 from NY/VT and 11 from NJ/PA.
Still two nights remain in the 2022 edition of the STSS Sunshine Swing at All-Tech Raceway, beginning on Friday night with $6,000 up for grabs for the 40-lap feature.
Friday, February 11 – All-Tech Raceway/Lake City, Fla. – STSS Modifieds 40 laps, $6,000 to win & STSS Crate 602 Sportsman 30 laps, $2,000 to win
Saturday, February 12 – All-Tech Raceway/Lake City, Fla. – STSS Modifieds 50 laps, $8,000 to win & STSS Crate 602 Sportsman 30 laps, $2,000 to win
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