Matt Mead Wins in Only His Fifth Career Start at New Smyrna Speedway
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, FL (Sept. 25, 2017) – Matt Mead made the most of his time off due to weather over the summer and started his fall season with a win at New Smyrna Speedway on Saturday night. It was his first victory in only five career starts at the half-mile facility after registering two runner-up finishes in his first four races.
Mead and the Anthony Campi Racing team unloaded for practice on Friday as they have on multiple other occasions. For the first time in months, the weather cooperated with their planned testing time and also with race night activities on the following evening.
In the limited practice time on Saturday, the No. 81 car was comfortable for Matt and the team made minimal adjustments to the car prior to the heat race which set the starting lineup for the feature event. After a solid showing in the heat, Mead started the feature contest from second place, outside the front row.
On the initial green flag, he raced side-by-side with the polesitter into the first two turns and edged ahead down the backstretch. Behind him, a veteran racer hounded his back bumper, peeking underneath the No. 81 Toyota multiple times throughout the race. Although he shot out to the lead early, Mead raced to the edge of control in every corner, struggling to stay ahead of his challengers. Despite all the stress and pressure, he led every lap in route to his first career win.
“In the first corner, I was able to get into the lead and the veteran who started behind me got into second,” Mead explained after the race. “He was all over me for the whole race. My spotter, Keith, did a great job spotting and keeping me aware of what was going on and cheerleading. Anthony gave me advice on changing my line which I probably would’ve been passed without. It’s kind of funny because this first win played out very similar to my first wins in Bandolero and Legend cars, all three were down to the wire with second place right on my bumper. It’s definitely very memorable and I can’t wait until the next one to try to make it two in a row.”
Matt’s next race with Anthony Campi Racing’s pro late model team is next weekend, October 7, where he will once again compete at New Smyrna Speedway in a pro late model in an attempt to go back-to-back as he continues his development.
For more information on Matt Mead, visit his website at MeadRacingTeam.com and follow him on Facebook (@meadracingteam), Twitter (@mead_24) and Instagram (@mattmead24).
Sources: Performance Marketing Group PR