NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. – A year to the day after earning his first World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing Super Late Model victory at New Smyrna Speedway, Sammy Smith scored his second.
Smith was the class of the field Sunday night as he wheeled the No. 22 entry fielded by Donnie Wilson to his first victory during the 55th edition of the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing over Justin Mondeik.
“The last two nights we were just OK, we needed to work on a couple things,” Smith said from victory lane. “Bond Suss and the whole Donnie Wilson team got it good tonight and here we are.”
Ryan Moore, who opened the World Series with a victory on Friday, started from the pole after an invert of eight after qualifying and quickly took the lead at the start of the race.
Behind Moore, Smith was on the move. After starting third Smith quickly dispatched Justin Mondeik for second before the first caution flag of the race waved with five laps complete when Bubba Pollard spun in turn four after contact with Jett Noland.
Moore opted to restart on the outside when the race resumed, a move that ended up backfiring as Smith was able to work the bottom to perfection to take the lead by the time the field exited turn four.
Two more caution flags would follow in short succession, with the biggest of the two coming with 11 laps complete. Noland, driving a car borrowed from Justin Dutilly after the engine in Noland’s primary car went sour, slammed the turn one wall when a part failed in the car.
Noland walked away from the crash unhurt, but the car sustained significant damage.
Smith remained at the front of the field when the green flag waved again and he was never seriously challenged for the remainder of the race, driving to a comfortable victory ahead of Mondeik and Moore.
“It felt like the restarts really played to my favor,” Smith said. “The 74 (Moore), he was tight. He bottomed out when he’d get into the corner. I feel like that really came to my advantage.”
Jacob Goede finished fourth, with Stephen Nasse earning his best finish of the week so far in fifth.
Young gun Conner Jones held off a determined challenge from Hunter Wright to earn his first World Series victory in the Pro Late Model class. Wright got alongside Jones on the final lap, but Jones was able to beat him to the checkered flag by a few feet to earn the victory.
Travis Eddy’s winning streak in the Florida Modified class came to an end when Eddy crashed during the initial start of the 35-lap feature. Tim Moore took advantage and earned his first victory of the week.
The 602 Modified division made its World Series debut to close out the evening, with Carsten DiGiantomasso holding off Anthony Bello in a photo finish after Bello tried to nudge DiGiantomasso out of the way in turn four on the final lap.
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