“This is probably the happiest I’ve ever been with a seventieth place finish,” said Smith after the race with a smile. “It’s been a bad year for us and we haven’t had a complete race weekend where we were a legitimate threat to win the pole and the race, and this weekend that all changed. We were fast from the moment unloaded and the car got better and better throughout the weekend. It was a huge let down once I felt that axle break, especially when you’re in a position to win, but overall this weekend was a big moral boost both for me and this race team.”
A solid qualifying effort on Friday rewarded Casey with a third place starting position on Sunday’s three segment 200 lap featured event. Reminiscent of his winning ways of just several years back Smith quickly settled into the third position on the initial start before moving up to the runner-up spot just forty laps later. As the caution-filled 100 lap first segment came to a close competitors were allowed to pit under a competition caution allowing teams to make adjustments, replace worn tire, and add fuel to their race cars.
Segment two, seventy-five laps paying $6,000 to the winner, inverted the top sixth positions delegating Casey to fourth. It didn’t take long for the young Texan to flex his muscle as he made his way to the back bumper of leader Chris Wimmer’s #52 machine as they fought through lapped traffic. Just as Smith was making his move low to take the lead an incident involving two cars on the front stretch brought the yellow flag out once again. As Wimmer and Smith brought the field back to green, Smith’s left rear axle snapped loose ending his run and his chances of scoring his first ever World Crown 300 win.
“We were just bidding our time and just trying to stay with Wimmer to have a shot at winning the $6,000 at the end of the second segment. I’m not sure if we had a car that was better than his because he had one fast car underneath him, but worst case scenario we were going to finish second today,” stated Smith. “As soon as I got in the gas I felt something in the rear end let go and I knew we were done. Overall though this was a good weekend for us and now it’s time to turn our attention to getting ready for the Snowball Derby in a couple of weeks.”
For all the latest news on Texas native Casey Smith visit his all new website at www.caseysmithracing.com.
- Tex Motorsports Marketing Press Release
