1/9/2005

Congratulations, Pete! Your second win of the season in the RROL Late Model Series was a thrilling last lap battle with Tyler King. Tell us about your night??

"Well, that had to be one of the wildest finishes I have ever seen. After that last restart we were in fourth after a bad pit stop and I didn't think I would be able to make up what I had lost in the pits after going in while leading. I worked my way up to second and had a little trouble catching Tyler. But when I did catch him, he put up quite a fight for the lead. I got a good run on him coming out of two and then lead about 5 laps. Then I bobbled with about 6 to go and he shot right back under me. On the last lap, he slipped up a little coming out of two and I tried to get under him but there was contact that sent him up into the wall. I still feel bad about it but it is very hard to avoid contact at a short track like this. I never realized how good of a driver he really was until our exciting battle for the lead. I had a lot of fun tonight and hope to carry this momentum into the next event."

Tommy Smith brings home yet another second place finish in the Smith and Ward #23, looked like you had an eventful night to earn this one Tommy. How was it from your perspective?

"Eventful is an understatement! I started out 2nd... barely missed the pole. I was pretty fast and felt very confident. Then early in the first green flag run, I got an error message. I still saw everyone but somehow I lost a lap. I also could NOT see any chat so it was tough. I managed to get my lap back and then decided to pit during another caution. I was taking on 4 tires and got lapped while pitting. I had to get another lap back and got it. Then running 2nd or 3rd I got spun by Ben and backed it into the inside wall. My enginer was a little damaged and never could regain the top speeds that I ran earlier. I just held on the rest of the race and was content with a top 5. I managed to stay in 3rd until that last lap contact between Pete and Tyler and I squeezed by for a 2nd. I guess six 2nds and one 3rd in 7 races isn't bad but I sure would like a win. Looking forward to next week."

Third Place finisher tonight was Kyle Buszkiewicz in the Axel's Inn #13 Ford. Gotta feel good to bring home this great finish for the hometown fans. Tell us about your night?

"I was just trying to survive a tough track and great competition. Things just kind of fell in place for the team. The guys in the pits worked extremely hard and were a huge part of bringing the #13 Axel's Ford Taurus in for our best finish of the season."

Race number eight is the second of three "Winston Triple Crown" double point events at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway. The Curb Records 200 will go off around 8 PM as the Rubbins' Racin' Online Late Model series draws closer to the east coast on it's way to Daytona for New Symrna Speedweek. Tommy Smith continues to lead the points over Tyler King and Billy Damhoff. Charli Brown slips from second to fouth, with Christian Theriault rounding out the top five.