Mark Smith Is King Of The 360s
Written by I Dig Sports
CLEWISTON, Fla. Mark Smith patiently waited his turn to take the lead and collect the $10,000 King of the 360s title Saturday night at Hendry County Motorsports Park.
The event, which moved from East Bay Raceway Park this season was co-sanctioned by the United Sprint Car Series and the Top Gun Sprints.
Smith methodically worked his way to the front from his fifth starting spot to take the lead on lap 22.
Friday night winner Tyler Clem led for six laps, but had to settle for second and third went to Matt Covington.
Blake Hahn and Dale Howard completed the top five.
Ive got to thank Terry Whitherspoon for letting me drive his car this weekend, Smith said. Things got pretty intense in the second half of the race, and I could see I needed to be patient when I saw what was going on in front of me. I just waited to make my move at the right time.
In preliminary action, Sam Hafertepe was the fast qualifier among the 34 entrants from 16 different states with a lap around Hendry County Motorsports Park in 13.147 seconds.
Scotty Thiel took the lead at the start of the race followed by Clem, Hafertepe, Smith, and Covington. The first of two caution flags came out on lap five when Chase Moran and Garrett Green tangled in turn two. The second caution flag came out on the restart when Robbie Smith spun in turn two.
On the next restart, Thiel took to the high side of the track from the point, while Clem worked the bottom groove in second. Franek passed Covington for the fifth spot. Clem chipped away at Thiels lead and got the better bite off the bottom of turn four on lap nine to take the lead.
Hafertepe got by Thiel for second on the 12th circuit and then sailed around the outside of Clem to take the lead on lap 14. Mark Smith drove by Thiel on lap 15 to move up to the third spot, as the leaders caught the cars on the tail of the lead lap. This brought about wholesale position changes among the top five divers in the second half of the race.
Thiel regrouped and passed Smith and Clem to take over the second spot on lap 16, and Covington got by Franek to move back into the top five on lap 17. Lap 20 and 21 saw Clem and Thiel swap the second spot. Hafertepe bounced off the backstretch wall on lap 22 and Clem pounced to retake the lead, and Mark Smith moved up to second.
Smith was on the charge and passed Clem for the lead on lap 23 and Covington took over the third spot on lap 24. Hahn and Howard moved up to the fourth and fifth spots respectively on lap 26. Smith took a 1.875-second margin of victory under the checkered flag over Clem in a race that took 14 minutes and 39.243 seconds to complete.
The event was broadcast by SPEED SPORT affiliate DoneRight.tv.
The finish:
Feature (30 Laps): 1. 43 Mark Smith, Sunbury, PA (5); 2. 6 Tyler Clem, St. Petersburg, FL (2); 3. 95 Matt Covington, Glenpool, OK (4); 4. 52 Blake Hahn, Sapulpa, OK (8); 5. 47 Dale Howard, Byhalia, MS (9); 6. 28 Davie Franek, Wantage, NJ (10); 7. 10 Terry Gray, Bartlett, TN (12); 8. 11 Trey Meredith, Dade City, FL (16); 9. 15h Sam Hafertepe, Sunnyvale, TX (3); 10. 45x Kyler Johnson, Quinter, KS (13); 11. 51t Scotty Thiel, Sheboygan, WI (1); 12. 116 Nick Snyder, Marco Island, FL (17); 13. 9w Lane Whittington, Denham Springs, LA (7); 14. 4 Danny Smith, Chillicothe, OH (14); 15. 83 Mark Ruel Jr., Jacksonville, FL (11); 16. 41 Luke Hill, Odessa, FL (21); 17. 28 Jeff Willingham, Ripley, MS (23); 18. 23 Lance Moss, Cherryville, NC (25); 19. G6 Brandon Grubaugh, Ocala, FL (15); 20. 68c Robbie Smith, Ocala, FL (22); 21. 51 Dustin Burtron, Seminole, FL (20); 22. 16 Tyler Porter, Pinellas Park, FL (24); 23. 4p Chase Moran, Fultonville, NY (19); 24. 5h Colby Thornhill, Enumclaw, WA (6); 25. 82 Garrett Green, Dade City, FL (18).