Bradenton, Fl. Racing this year in the All-American Challenge Series Super Late Models has been anything but boring. Final lap passes, coming from the back up the pack and just about anything else one could think has happened in just the first four races of the season.
Race number four saw Jeff Sloan drive a flawless race to take his first win of the season holding off one of this years best drivers Jeff Choquette who had come from the rear of the field. Sloan would back that up with fast time for race number five but he would not be able to complete a two in row as mechanical problems left him with a twelfth place finish.
Four rows were inverted by the roll of the die putting Chris Fontaine and the new ride of Richie Anderson on the front row. From the drop of the green flag the race was a nose to tail affair with Fontaine leading the pack and pulling away from the field.
As Fontaine’s lead grew and the laps wound down it looked like the race was all his. Then a late race caution drew the field together and the slicing and dicing began. Scot Walters had made his way into the second spot with the “Rocketman” Wayne Jefferson into the third slot. The two began not only challenging each other but were hot on Fontaine for the top spot. Meanwhile from mid pack Choquette also began gaining ground and was up to fourth spot.
It was coming out of turn four that all the drivers had decided to make their moves. As Walters made the move on Fontaine, Jefferson was looking low on Walters with Choquette sizing the whole situation out of his windshield. The crowd held their collective breaths as the high powered Late Models went into turn one three almost four wide. In what in an instant looked like a sure wreck saw Choquette masterfully slice his way through from fourth to first. Jefferson kept the handle and moved into second, Fontaine was shuffled back to fourth with Walters in the third spot as the field exited turn two.
Choquette and Jefferson checked out on the rest of the field but a wild battle was going on for third. Lap after lap Fontaine sized up Walters and made his way around for the spot.
The crowd was on their feet as Choquette crossed the stripe for his third win in just five races in the series. Jefferson who finished second said after the race “ That kid (Choquette) is something else the way he wheels that car on worn tires”. Fontaine finished a hard fought third, fourth went to Scot Walters and fifth Richie Anderson.
Clear Channel Bombers 1 RICK GERMONY 2 PETE BARR 3 JAMES CRAWFORD JR 4 RANDY JOHNSON 5 DAVID DAVIS
Cowboy Caddies 1 DUANE CAMPBELL 2 TOM CARLOUGH 3 CHRIS BETZ-R 4 SHEILA GIBSON
DeSoto Trucks 1 JEFF FIRESTINE 2 DANNY ANDERSON 3 MIKE BAILEY 4 GARY DEEMER 5 JOSH SCHMIDT
MAGIC 4’s 1 SHANE YODER 2 CLAY JOSEPH JR 3 AUSTIN CRAIG 4 ALBERT NAIL 5 ANDREW PRATT
Trailer Super Center Mini-Stocks 1 DEAN BUTRUM 2 ROBERT HAYGOOD 3 MIKE KERRIVAN 4 JON BAILEY 5 BRUCE MOREHOUSE
Golden Corral Mod-Minis 1 STEVE BOOTH 2 MARTY NEIKENS 3 RAYMOND FOLWELL 4 RICK SIRMANS 5 DUSTIN PEREZ
Outlaw LM 1 MARK NELSON 2 ROBERT HAYGOOD 3 JIMMIE BEST 4 DENNIS NEIGHBOR SR 5 ROBERT HART
International Contrators Street Stocks 1 JAMIE CASSIDY 2 WILLIAM SLACK 3 CASEY HALL 4 MIKE AMO 5 TODD FREED JR.