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| PATIENCE PAYS FOR YATES IN SOUTH 40 CLASSICS AT NEW SMYRNA | Orlando's Ed Yates played a waiting game and it led to his second win of the year as the South 40 Motorsports Classic Auto Racing Series returned to the high banks of New Smyrna Speedway Saturday night. Yates dominated the first heat and started sixth in the 20 lap feature which was sponsored by Door Operating Systems of Vero Beach. Mike Albert won his first career race by taking heat race number two and the Winter Springs driver started his Ricky Wood prepared coupe on the pole for the feature. Albert raced to the early lead with Danny Shearer in tow. Yates quickly moved to third and was challenging Shearer when points leader Dan Hammerbeck was tapped from behind and turned head-on into the backstretch wall on lap four. Hammerbeck was shaken but otherwise OK while his car received extensive front-end damage.
Albert put some distance on the field on the restart while Yates went back to work on Shearer, finally getting into second just past halfway. With the race continuing under green, Albert's car began to develop a push allowing Yates to close in. Yates ran behind Albert for several laps awaiting an opportunity which came with three laps to go when Albert skidded high in turn two giving Yates all the room he needed to go low and grab the lead. Albert stayed close the rest of the way but Yates won by three car lengths in his Lakeshore Tree Farm sponsored coupe. Albert's second place finish was his best since entering the South 40 Classics series last year. Shearer drove a steady race in the Economy Auto Repair coupe and took a solid third spot followed by George Hall, Jr. in his Cold Fire Thermal Cycling sedan and Wayne Ashton's Frank's Sandblasting coupe. Ashton earned the Fastwax Rookie of the Race Award and also took the Action Performance Hard Charger Award after starting 11th and finishing fifth. Jim Rahman, Bud Spencer, Eddie Thornton, Rodney Eary, and George Hall III rounded out the top ten. Rookie drivers Mike Samples and Patrick Sanders made their initial starts in the South 40 Classics with Sanders coming home 12th and Samples 13th after having an overheating problem. E.B. Carr had a new engine in his mount but suffered numerous problems and dropped out during the first lap of the feature while Frank Conrad got spun into the inside wall off turn four in his heat, ending his night prematurely. 1999 and 2000 CARS Champion Rodney Eary made his debut in the Late Model division coming home seventh in that division's 15-lap feature while Michael Williams drove the South 40 Motorsports Super Late Model to a wire to wire victory in the 25-lap headliner for that class. The South 40 Motorsports Classic Auto Racing Series moves on to the tricky half-mile Ocala Speedway next Saturday night.
OFFICIAL FINISH:
1. Ed Yates, Orlando #74
2. Mike Albert, Winter Springs #24
3. Danny Shearer, Melbourne #77
4. George Hall, Jr., St. Petersburg #32
5. Wayne Ashton, Ft. Pierce #78
6. Jim Rahman, Clermont #5
7. Bud Spencer, Palm Harbor #7
8. Eddie Thornton, Orlando #4
9. Rodney Eary, Orlando #4X
10. George Hall III, St. Petersburg #9
11. Al Hagan, Merritt Island #6
12. Patrick Sanders, Orlando #3
13. Mike Samples, Sanford #0
14. David Nunes, Orlando #54
15. E.T. McGhee, Deland #33
16. Dan Hammerbeck, Clermont #2
17. E.B. Carr, Okeechobee #90
18. Frank Conrad, Ft. Pierce #11 (DNS)
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