Nobbisch Grabs First Night Of StormPay.com Late Models
By Roby Helm
TAMPA, FL - Keith Nosbisch of Valrico, FL just missed a first lap pile-up to go on and win the 25-lap StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series feature race Monday night at East Bay Raceway Park in hastily put together Adams Used Auto Parts Rocket/604. Nosbisch was without a ride a few days prior to the race, but teamed up with his brother to put together the winning effort.
"I had just sold all of my stuff and didn't have a ride when my brother suggested the other day that I drive his car for these three races," Nosbisch said. "We got the crate engine yesterday, put it in the car, and just ran great right off the trailer."
Nosbisch took the lead from his outside front row starting spot on a complete restart. Nosbisch was to originally start on the outside of the second row, but when outside front row starter Devin Dixon of Riverview, FL was sidelined after a crash on the original start, that moved Nosbisch up one row for the restart.
"It was pretty close up in turn two, and I was almost in that wreck," Nosbisch said. "I just got to the bottom of the track, and just missed Devin. I think we needed some laps to get the heat in the tires on a cold night. That's all that happened to Devin because his tires were cold, and they wouldn't stick."
After taking the lead, Nosbisch pulled away and was never challenged for the 25-lap race. At the checkered flag, Nosbisch held a full straightaway lead on the 1/3-mile clay oval over the second place finisher Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN in the Miller Brothers Coal Warrior/604. Rusty Dixon of Riverview, FL took the third spot in the Transportation Specialists Rocket/604.
The defending StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series National Champion Denny Slayton of Rossville, GA finished fourth in the Pete Slayton Motorsports GRT/604, and Jeff Matthews of Seffner, FL was fifth in the Tampa Bay Haven Rocket/604. Phillip Cobb of Tampa, FL took the sixth spot in the Top Notch Home Repair Warrior/604.
Jackie Nosbisch of Valrico, FL took over the seat of the Crate Mart Metals Recycling Rayburn/604 from Thomas Evonoski of Tampa, FL between the heat and feature races. The driver change put Jackie Nosbisch starting at the tail of the 21-car field. Nosbisch rallied through the field to finish seventh, and earn the NeSmith Chevrolet Hard Charger of the Race Award.
National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame inductee Jeff Purvis of Clarksville, TN finished eighth in the StormPay.com Warrior/604, and Matt Barrett of Knoxville, TN was ninth in the Tennessee Appraisal Service Warrior 604 to earn the Rookie of the Race honors. Roger Crouse of Plant City, FL rounded out the top ten in the Coastal Trucking Rayburn/604.
The race got a wild start as polesitter Johnson and outside front row starter Devin Dixon brought the field down for the green flag. Johnson took the early lead, but the outside running Devin Dixon spun in turn two while running in the second spot.
The rest of the field made a wild scramble to avoid Dixon, but when it was all said and done, six other cars piled into Dixon's New Homes of Tampa Bay Rocket/604. Three were able to restart, but Dixon went to the pits for the night along with Owen Osteen of Woodruff, SC in the Dustin Osteen Mastersbilt/604, and Bryan Bernhardt of Versailles, IN in the Terry Eaglin Motorsports Rocket/604.
Nosbisch moved up to the outside front row for the restart, and beat Johnson into the first turn to take the lead. Adams Boyd of Riverview, FL spun his Boyd Hauling Larry Shaw/604 in turn three on lap two to bring out the caution flag.
Nosbisch led Johnson, Rusty Dixon, Shannon Buckingham of Morristown, TN, Slayton, Cobb, Matthews, Crouse, Purvis, and Wallace Peacock of Dover, FL in the Peacock Farms Rocket/604 down for the restart. Coming down for the green flag, Barrett spun in turn four to necessitate another single-file restart.
Once the field came up to full song under green, Buckingham began to lose positions from his fourth spot. Buckingham was involved in the seven-car pile up on the opening lap, and the result of that crash spoiled the handling on his S&S Millwright Barry Wright/604. Buckingham brought out the final caution flag of the race on lap six when he stalled in turn four.
After the restart, Nosbisch began to pull away from Johnson and Rusty Dixon, while Slayton and Cobb dueled back and forth swapping the fourth position. Jackie Nosbisch was putting on a show, and even got up to sixth spot, joining the Slayton/Cobb battle for a few laps.
Slayton and Cobb pulled away from Jackie Nosbisch, who then battled with Purvis and Matthews for the sixth spot. Matthews rallied late in the race to take the fifth spot. Keith Nosbisch, a multi-time East Bay Raceway Park Late Model Champion, used his home-track experience to masterfully work lapped traffic, and extend a big lead over Johnson.
In preliminary action, Rusty Dixon won the first ten-lap heat race, and then drew the number six pill for the field inversion in the feature race. Buckingham won the second ten-lap heat race.
The StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series returns to East Bay Raceway Park on Tuesday night for another $2,000-to-win 25-lap feature as a part of the 30th Annual East Bay Winternationals.
OFFICIAL RESULTS FROM EAST BAY RACEWAY PARK IN TAMPA, FL ON 2/13/06:
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN LAPS $ WON 1. 4 12 Keith Nosbisch Valrico, FL 25 $2,000
2. 1 5 Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN 25 $1,250
3. 6 97 Rusty Dixon Riverview, FL 25 $850
4. 7 99s Denny Slayton Rossville, GA 25 $800
5. 11 007 Jeff Matthews Seffner, FL 25 $650
6. 9 03 Phillip Cobb Tampa, FL 25 $550
7. 21 19 Jackie Nosbisch Valrico, FL 25 $600
8. 8 15 Jeff Purvis Clarksville, TN 25 $450
9. 16 99b Matt Barrett (R) Knoxville, TN 24 $400
10. 10 32 Roger Crouse Plant City, FL 24 $375
11. 15 16 Jeff Fields Aragon, GA 24 $350
12. 12 P1 Wallace Peacock Dover, FL 24 $300
13. 14 21 Josh Peacock Dover, FL 24 $280
14. 17 90 Jimmy Kay Taylorsville, GA 24 $260
15. 20 1 Todd Alexander Plant City, FL 23 $250
16. 18 20w Jimmy Waldrop Seffner, FL 22 $240
17. 19 6 Adam Boyd Tampa, FL 20 $220
18. 5 44 Shannon Buckingham Morristown, TN 5 $200
19. 2 2 Devin Dixon Riverview, FL 0 $200
20. 3 20 Owen Osteen Woodruff, SC 0 $200
21. 13 B69 Bryan Bernhardt Versailles, IN 0 $200
ENTRIES: 21
LEAD CHANGES: None
LAP LEADER: K. Nosbisch, 1-25
NeSMITH CHEVROLET HARD CHARGER: J. Nosbisch (started 21st and finished 7th)
