Once again, the team did not have a chance to enjoy the break between qualifying and their event. Instead, they worked feverishly on the car the entire night, trying everything they knew to do and some things that others told them to try, to get the car running competitively. When the green flag waved, no one knew what to expect.
Very quickly, it was easy to see that the miss was gone and the car Casey had practiced all day had shown up to race. Before the completion of the first lap he was able to get to the bottom of the track and began his march to the front of the field. Only 6 laps in, he was comfortably in 7th. A caution at lap 30 set the field for a restart with Casey on the outside. Coming out of turn 2, the row of competitors in front of him opened the bottom groove. Casey pulled under them, creating a 3 wide race heading into turn three. Completing the pass, he set his sights on the 21 of Greg Edwards and completed that pass at his next visit to turn three. Within 2 laps, he advanced from 7th to 4th.
At lap 43, Casey found himself in 3rd with the top position in his sights. But persistent pressure and contact from the 55 of Mark Wertz landed him in 4th. During a restart at lap 75, he narrowly missed an early end to his night, when Mark Wertz and Danny Edwards got together in turns 3 and 4. At this point, Casey was well aware that the tires were spent and he was going to have a tough time fighting for the win. He restarted on the outside pole at lap 76 after starting 12th, but lost challenges with Woody Howard and Mark Wertz- bringing home a season best finish of 4th.
Post race, Casey and the Team 29 crew were elated with the performance of their car and more importantly, their second top five of the season. After a much needed break, the Crossroad Fuels Late Models return to racing this Saturday night at Langley Speedway. This week’s feature will be Twin 75’s~ racing starts at 7pm.
Casey Wyatt Racing is a NASCAR Whelen All American Late Model Stock Car team based in Newport News VA.
- Casey Wyatt Racing Press Release