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Jul 21 2007 --- Carlson Back in Victory Lane
For Scott Carlson, the race in the pits was just as important as the race on the
track.
The Pensacola driver won the dash out of the pits among the leaders, then led the
final 21 laps to take the Super Late Model Blizzard Series Coke Zero 100-lap
feature Friday night at Five Flags Speedway.
Most of the leaders pitted for two fresh tires on Lap 71 following a caution. Carlson
was sixth going into the pits, but was the first driver to come out. He quickly passed
the three drivers who did not pit and was never challenged.
"My crew put together a fantastic pit stop," said Carlson. "We got the track position
and held them off."
Ryan Crane of Panama City finished second despite a spin early in the race and
took over the points lead after three of five Blizzard races. The top two drivers earn
provisional starting positions in December's 40th annual Snowball Derby. Justin
Drawdy, the winner of the last Blizzard race, finished third and moved into second
in points, 10 behind Crane. Donnie Wilson was fourth and Augie Grill fifth.
Carlson started 13th and stayed in the lead pack throughout the race. After the pit
stop on Lap 71, Wayne Anderson stayed out on the track to take the lead.
Two laps after the restart, Grill, who was the fastest qualifier and led the first 57
laps, spun on the frontstretch in front of several cars, triggering a multi-car pileup.
The red flag stopped the race, then Anderson pitted, putting Carlson up front. He
pulled away until the final caution came out, setting up a final five-lap sprint. Crane
passed Drawdy for second on Lap 99, but didn't have anything left for Carlson.
Crane was running third on Lap 8 when he was spun out and had to go to the back
of the field. But he had plenty of time to move up.
"I just ran out of laps," Crane said.
He did take over the points lead when co-leader Ken McFarland could not avoid a
wreck in front of him and spun into a car. He could not finish the race and was
26th, dropping well behind Crane in points.
Grill led from the start as the first 13 laps were run under caution. But they were
able to race under green-flag conditions from lap 37 to 69. Wilson slipped past Grill
for the lead on Lap 58, while Crane had moved from the back to second place.
When the caution came out for a stalled car on Lap 69, that set up the race to pit
for fresh tires and get out as fast as possible.
There were six cautions in the race for 34 laps.
The fourth Blizzard Series race is set for Aug. 31.
Chris Cotto took the lead on Lap 3 and went on to win the 25-lap Super Stock
feature.
Bo Wilkinson led the first two laps until Cotto, who started third, went to the outside
and took the lead on the fronstretch.
The first caution came out on Lap 7 when Steve Campbell spun second-place
Wilkinson, who slowed with a mechanical problem.
On the restart, Cotto pulled away and even after one more caution, nobody
challenged him as he won his fifth feature of the year.
Campbell finished second, followed by Thomas Praytor, Jody Henderson and
James Kimbrough.
Billy Hoover won the 20-lap Sportsman feature after a rain scare.
He was passing James Ziniewicz for the lead on Lap 16 when some light rain
brought out the caution, putting Hoover back in second place. But the rain ended
as quickly as it started and the race resumed a few minutes later.
Hoover then took the lead a few laps later for his fourth win of the season. Ziniewicz
finished second, followed by Randy Thompson.
The rain finally came down hard during the Bomber feature. That race only made it
through five laps and will be completed during the next racing action on Aug. 3.
Brannon Fowler had the lead.
Super Late Model Blizzard Series -- 1. Scott Carlson; 2. Ryan Crane; 3. Justin
Drawdy; 4. Donnie Wilson; 5. Augie Grill; 6. Chris Davidson; 7. Jeff Schofield; 8.
Wayne Anderson; 9. Steven Davis; 10. Grant Enfinger; 11. Dale Little; 12. Josh
Hamner; 13. Dwayne Buggay; 14. David Hole; 15. Eddie Mercer; 16. Matt Merrell;
17. Hunter Robbins; 18. Casey Smith; 19. Chris Gabehart; 20. Roger Reuse; 21.
Kurt Jett; 22. Wayne Niedecken Jr.; 23. Tom Grothues; 24. Rocky Boyd; 25. Ron
Joyner; 26. Ken McFarland; 27. Stanley Smith; 28. Adam Crawford; 29. Tim Martin;
30. Jessie Reid; 31. Eddie Craig Sr.; 32. Donald Long; 33. Jason Young; 34. Bill
Little
Super Stock feature -- 1. Chris Cotto; 2. Steve Campbell; 3. Thomas Praytor; 4.
Jody Henderson; 5. James Kimbrough; 6. Greg Young; 7. Earl Polk; 8. Scott
Barbaric; 9. Christopher Loepke; 10. Gary Robinson; 11. MIke Moore; 12. Chris
Pike; 13. Bo Wilkinson; 14. Carl Coggins Jr.
Sportsman feature -- 1. Billy Hoover; 2. James Ziniewicz; 3. Randy Thompson; 4.
Jim Pokrant; 5. William Kitchen; 6. Bubba Winslow; 7. Tina Davidson; 8. Chris Pike;
9. Kenneth Hatcher; 10. Kory Henley; 11. David Holland; 12. Chris Palmer; 13.
Sean Slye; 14. Dale Peaden; 15. Shanna Ard
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