Berry and Smith are First-Time Winners at Motor Mile
FAIRLAWN, VA (July 12, 2015) — Josh Berry (Late Model Stock) and Zane Smith (Super Late Model) both used late restarts to capture their first CARS Racing Tour wins in the Food Country USA 250 presented by Heritage Truck Centers at Motor Mile Speedway on Saturday night.
Late Model Stock Recap:
Deac McCaskill scored his fourth Hedgecock Racing pole award of the season and led the opening laps of the race. On lap 11, Craig Stallard, Roddey Sterling, Stefan Parsons and Jeff Oakley brought out the first caution of the night.
The race for the lead continued between McCaskill and Lemons, as the pair battled side-by-side for almost 20 laps. Contact between the two on lap 47 ended the night of both drivers when McCaskill slammed the inside wall and Lemons needed several laps for suspension repairs.
Josh Berry inherited the lead after the accident, and three-time CARS winner and incoming series point leader Brayton Haws ascended to second. On the ensuing restart, Haws took the lead from Berry.
Haws’ night came to a stop on lap 92 when a flat tire caused his car to shoot up the track and bring out a caution and Haws was forced to pit road.
Berry cleared Todd Gilliland on the final restart with 9 laps to go and went on to capture his first career CARS Tour Late Model Stock win. Gilliland finished second ahead of Myatt Snider, Jamey Caudill and Doug Barnes, Jr.
“If you would have asked me Thursday I would have said no way, (about winning tonight),” said Berry in victory lane. “We came up here and missed it a little bit. My guys, man, we worked so hard to get this thing right. We had a good car. We thought we were in the right spot there after a couple others had trouble. I still feel like we had a good car and that’s a credit to all these guys. They give me a great piece every week. I’m tickled to win this, I mean it’s so cool.”
“Honestly, I was struggling a little bit with the rules on the restarts and what I could do,” he continued. “I got beat a couple times, flat out. I’ve got to give (Todd Gilliland) a lot of credit for running me clean. He could have put me in the fence, but he didn’t. He ran me clean and he is a good race car driver and we were able to sneak back by him.”
Super Late Model Recap:
Trevor Noles made his return to the Super Late Model with a new team, Fathead Racing, and jumped to the early lead from his Mahle Pistons pole position starting spot.
Lap 30 brought the first slowdown of the race after LFR Chassis driver Steve Wallace and Texan Chris Davidson made contact in turn three. Wallace’s night was over, while Davidson was able to continue.
William Byron, methodically working his way forward after starting eighth, took second away from Kyle Grissom on lap 54, and then made quick work of Noles for the lead five laps later.
Following a late race yellow, the No. 31 of Grissom was sent to the tail following a false restart call by race control. On the same restart, Noles and Harrison Burton tangled behind them and ended their respective nights with hard wall contact.
On the re-do, Byron lined up next to Zane Smith for the final restart on lap 117. Smith timed the restart perfect and beat Byron into turn one and took the lead away from the JR Motorsports & LFR Chassis driver. Smith would held on for the final 8 laps and scored his first career CARS Racing Tour Super Late Model win. Byron crossed the line in second, while career days for Lucas Ransone, Clay Jones, and Joey Mucciacciaro rounded out the top five finishers.
On the final restart with Byron, Smith said, “It was absolutely unreal. I mean, once we got held up on the outside there three-wide earlier, I honestly thought it was over, and I was just getting what I was getting. Once the caution came out once those two got together, I knew I still had a chance. I never gave up.”
“Once I got to the outside I knew I definitely had a chance because my car was actually better on the outside because I was so tight,” he added.
“As it played out we were a fifth place car,” said winning team owner and crew chief Gary Crooks. “We got us a couple cautions, circumstances went our way, the kid got up on the wheel, elbows up, and got it done.”
Additional Notes:
Clay Rogers and Todd Gilliand became the first two drivers in the brief history of the CARS Racing Tour to attempt “the double” by running both races. Gilliand finished second in the Late Model Stock event, and was inside the top ten during the Super Late Model race before a blown engine on lap 116 relegated him to an 18th place result. Rogers, meanwhile, was never a factor in either race. His Late Model Stock race ended on lap 29 in 22nd, and he finished 14th in the Super Late Model race.
Josh Berry joined inaugural winners Cole Timm and Todd Gilliland, along with his JR Motorsports teammate William Byron, as the only drivers winning in their first start in the CARS Racing Tour.
The next event on the CARS Tour schedule is Saturday, August 1, as the CARS Tour returns to Orange County Speedway for the Summertime Showdown 250 presented by CV Products and the Grilling Store. For more information, visit the series website at www.carsracingtour.com, “Like” the CARS Tour on Facebook and follow the tour on Twitter “@CARSTour.”
THE FINISHES:
CARS Racing Tour
Food Country USA 250 Unofficial Results
Late Model Stock Tour
POS DRIVER/CAR # LAPS
1 Josh Berry (88b) 125
2 Todd Gilliland (98g) 125
3 Myatt Snider (2) 125
4 Jamey Caudill (50) 125
5 Doug Barnes (88d) 125
6 Blake Stallings (77) 125
7 Caleb Holman (11) 125
8 Austin McDaniel (12m) 125
9 Tyler Ankrum (58) 125
10 Roddey Sterling (59) 125
11 Michael Fose (54) 125
12 Justin Crider (7) 125
13 Trent Barnes (1) 125
14 Stefan Parsons (98) 125
15 Brayton Haws (41) 125
16 Craig Stallard (42) 125
17 Chris Hudspeth (28) 125
18 Thomas Beane (31) 113
19 Tommy Lemons (27) 105
20 Deac McCaskill (08) 47
21 R.D. Smith (16s) 29
22 Clay Rogers (54r) 29
23 Jeff Oakley (16) 11
24 Rusty Skewes (51) 7
Super Late Model Tour
POS DRIVER/CAR # LAPS
1 Zane Smith (77) 125
2 William Byron (9) 125
3 Lucas Ransone (00) 125
4 Clay Jones (67) 125
5 Joey Mucciacciaro (45) 125
6 Lucas Jones (16) 125
7 Stephen Leicht (25) 125
8 Kyle Grissom (31) 125
9 Gus Dean (56) 125
10 Cole Timm (57) 124
11 Matthew Craig (54) 124
12 Chris Davidson (14d) 124
13 Richard Gould (24) 122
14 Clay Rogers (75) 119
15 Quin Houff (17) 118
16 Trevor Noles (2n) 116
17 Harrison Burton (12) 116
18 Todd Gilliland (98g) 116
19 Chad Finley (42) 104
20 Stephen Nasse (51) 92
21 Spencer Wauters (5w) 91
22 Joey Coulter IV (2) 41
23 Steve Wallace (66) 30
24 J.J. Haley (99) 30
25 Tyler Church (7) 23
26 Garrett Campbell (12c) 15
27 Brandon Setzer (6) DNS (Engine)
Sources: Chris Ragle/CARS Racing Tour PR