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Steele Claims Third Straight TBARA Win at New Smyrna
SCOTT LOCKWOOD
Florida Short Track Report
NEW SMYRNA BEACH - From the time the cars unloaded at New Smyrna
Speedway Saturday afternoon, it was obvious who was going to be the man to
beat. When it was all said and done, Dave Steele didn’t disappoint.
The night started with TBARA series points leader Troy DeCaire suffering a blown
engine in practice. Despite the best efforts of his crew, DeCaire’s car was done for
the night, but he wouldn’t be. His father, Terry, put him in the car he owns,
replacing regular driver Steve Heisler.
Driving the car that served as his backup from last season, the familiarity with the
car would pay off in the first heat race. DeCaire jumped out to an early lead in the
first heat race, and pulled away from Stan Butler and Dude Teate for the win.
In the second heat, Steele showed a sign of things to come. Going into the first
turn on the third lap, Steele blew by leader Steven Bradley and from there, it
looked as if he was on cruise control on the way to the victory. Brian Gingras was
third. Keith Butler took the third heat, with D.J. Hoelzle and Kip Beard rounding out
the top three.
Starting eighth in the feature, Steele was bound to put on a show for the fans on
his way up through the field. They definitely got it, as Steele got all the way up
third in the first four laps. After a caution for debris on lap 5, Steele quickly got
around polesitter Matt Tiffany for second on the restart, and nearly got around
Hoelzle for the lead going into the third turn on the same lap.
Steele spent the next five laps right on Hoelzle’s tail as the pair sped around the
half-mile oval. Then, going into the third turn on lap 11, Hoelzle got caught up
behind the slower car of John Sambor and Steele went by both to take the lead.
Within eight laps, Steele opened up a lead of nearly a straightaway on Hoelzle,
whose car was starting to suffer from a tight handling condition.
“He was running real good,” Steele said of Hoelzle. “I think the second place guy
has a little advantage going through lapped traffic, because he can see what’s
going on
The caution flew again on lap 23, as a suspension part failed on Tommy Nichols’
car in the fourth turn. With no steering, Nichols collected Bradley, sending both
cars hard into the wall. Bradley’s car got the worst of it, with the all of the
suspension parts destroyed. Neither driver was injured.
“When I was coming through the corner, the part broke and sent me straight
towards the wall,” Nichols said. “I tried to get it slowed down, but Bradley kind of
climbed my right rear tire and shoved us into the wall real hard. It was just a racing
incident.”
On the ensuing restart, Steele rocketed away from the rest of the field. He opened
up another huge lead and would take the checkered flag with over a straightaway
lead over Hoelzle. It was his third consecutive TBARA feature win, having taken
the previous two rounds at DeSoto Speedway and Charlotte County Motorsports
Park.
“My car was better in clean air, and it wasn’t quite as good in traffic as it was when
we were out there by ourselves,” Steele said. “For us, when you get clean air on
the wing, it’s a big help. This feels good…and the car was real good tonight.”
Hoelzle finished second, with Teate, Stan Butler and DeCaire rounding out the top
five. Gingras finished fourth in the running order, but was later disqualified after
not reporting to technical inspection after the race. For Hoelzle, it was one of his
best runs of his rookie season in the TBARA.
“The car was really good in the beginning, but about 10-12 laps in it started getting
tighter and tighter, especially in the middle off,” Hoelzle said. “I kept making
adjustments, moving the wing forward six inches and took all the wedge adjuster
out of it. I kept getting a little better, but Dave was just too tough tonight.”
By finishing fifth, DeCaire maintained his big points lead over Teate. Both drivers
pulled away from third place Keith Butler, who retired from the race just past
halfway due to overheating problems. With a car that had about 100 less
horsepower than what he normally drives, DeCaire came away happy with the
results.
“You usually don’t go to a racetrack that often and blow a motor, and then end up
leaving with a bigger points lead than what you came in with,” DeCaire said. “It’s
definitely a testament to the guys I have around me and what it takes to have a
championship team. When things are at their worst and you still come out with a
top five, that’s still a pretty good day.”
The TBARA will have the next three weeks off, and will be returning to action with
weekend doubleheader. They’ll be at Orlando Speedworld August 31 for the 2nd
running of the Bob Luscomb/Billy Yuma Memorial 35-lap feature event, and
returning to NSS the next night
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