Exhausted and Overcome With Heat, Fain Skinner Collapsed After the Race But Took Home the State Championship Trophy
Jason Boyd (left) congratulates Sunbelt Series winner Fain Skinner.
By John Berti
Lakeland, FL - July 23, 2005 - No, its not the announcement of a new law firm in Lakeland, but the last names of the feature winners at Lakeland's USA International Speedway, Saturday night.
Fain Skinner won the Sunbelt Super Late Model feature; Jamie Skinner, no relation to Fain, the FASCAR Pro Truck feature; and Patrick Thomas, the Southern Sportsman Series feature.
Qualifying via time trials commenced at 3:00 p.m. for all three classes. Jeff Choquette was the top Sunbelt Super Late Model qualifier with a lap at 20.943 seconds (128.92 mph). Fourteen year old Dalton Zehr showed up his elders in FASCAR Pro Truck qualifying with his circuit in 24.225 seconds (111.46 mph), while Patrick Thomas was quickest at 24.123 seconds (111.93 mph in Southern Sportsman Series qualifying.
The first feature to take to the 3/4 mile asphalt oval was the Sunbelt Super Late Models for the running of the Seventh Annual Florida State Late Model Championship: Mark III Conversions 200 presented by Midas Jewelers.
Jeff Choquette and Mike Fritts made up the front row to take the initial green. Choquette took the lead and held the spot through the first 50 laps. Another Jeff, Jeff Scofield, became the second race leader getting by Choquette on lap 51.
The attrition rate in the high humidity was heavy as many of the front runners including Brian Finney, Chris Fontaine, David Rogers, and Fritts were out early.
Allen Gordon, Leesburgh, GA. lays a fog down on the long front straight at USA International
Scofield lead the parade until he suffered a broken rear end on his #07 Chevy on lap 124.
A rash of pit stops followed with Joe Boyd becoming the new race leader. Boyd led just three laps when Dwayne Dempsey, last year's winner, blasted into the lead.
A lap 137 restart spelled doom for Choquette, who was runner up at the time, when the shift lever broken in his hand.
Skinner was beginning to make his move as he picked off cars at a rapid clip taking over second from Zehr by lap 150.
Two laps later Joe Boyd and Zehr tangled on the backstretch. Joe Boyd's car received extensive front end damage and was towed back to the pits. Zehr was more fortunate as he was able to pick up at the rear of the field.
With 40 laps to go it was still Dempsey on top followed by Skinner, Ryan Foster, Jay Middleton and Jason Boyd.
Dempsey relinquished the lead to Skinner on lap 162 when Skinner successfully dove under Dempsey off turn four to take the top spot.
All eyes were now on Jason Boyd as he seemed to have the quickest car on the track. He was third by lap 173 and second on lap 178.
Skinner had a sizeable lead, but Jason Boyd whittled away at it. Before long he was right on Skinner's bumper. Boyd was unable to muster anything more in his efforts to overtake Skinner as it seemed he had pretty much used up his tires.
When the checkered flag flew it was Skinner over the stripe for the win with Jason Boyd, 2nd; Martin Pierce, 3rd; Foster, 4th and Dempsey, 5th.
The heat and humidity really got to Skinner who was so overcome by dehydration that he had to pass up victory lane ceremonies to instead go directly to the ambulance for medical attention.
