White's Pain is Buckingham's Gain in STORMPAY.COM DLMS East Bay Opener
TAMPA, FL Shannon Buckingham of Morristown, TN was just about to settle for second-place with two laps to go in the StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series 40-lap main event on Thursday night at East Bay Raceway Park, but instead, he drove his S&S Millwright Barry Wright into the winners circle.
Anthony White of Clinton, TN looked like an easy winner in the Trade Mark Meats DWB, as he held a five car-length lead over Buckingham looking at the two laps to go signal coming off the fourth turn on lap 38. White was trying to lap the Dixon Plumbing Mastersbilt driven by David Gentry of Lewisburg, TN.
White and the defending StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series National Champion Gentry got together coming off turn four, and both ended up in the front straightaway wall to bring out the caution flag. White was forced to pit with a flat right front tire, and had to go to the end of the cars on the lead lap for the restart.
Buckingham took over the lead, and then held off Jay Blair of Angie, LA in the Parish Disposal Mastersbilt to take the win. Although he felt bad for White, he didnt hesitate picking up the $2,500 winners check in celebration.
I hated to see what happened to Anthony because he had us covered, but Ive lost a few the way he did tonight, so well take the win, Buckingham said. We were just riding along in a position to take advantage of something if it happened, it did, and were here in victory lane.
Following Buckingham and Blair home in the third spot was Keith Nosbisch of Valrico, FL in the Adams Used Auto Parts Rocket, while his brother and teammate Jack Nosbisch of Riverview, FL took the fourth spot in the Adams Used Auto Parts Rocket.
David Schmauss of Tampa, FL in the Cardinal Paint and Body Warrior ended up in the fifth spot after the apparent fifth-place finisher Randy Korte of Highland, IL was light at the scales in the Servpro of S.E. Tampa Rocket. Schmauss started 18th and earned the NeSmith Chevrolet Hard Charger of the Race Award.
Kip Cochran of Franklin, NC finished sixth in the Parker Brothers Concrete Warrior, and Josh Peacock of Dover, FL was seventh in the Peacock Farms Rocket. Shan Smith of Dade City, FL took the eighth spot in the Seckman Fire Sprinklers TNT.
Frank Ingram of Woodstock, GA took over the StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series National Touring point lead with a ninth-place effort in the Universal Concrete Rocket. Ingram now holds a six-point lead over Derrick Rainey of Powder Springs, GA, who finished 11th in the Dixon Hauling and Grading Rocket. Rusty Hoge of Ooltewah, TN rounded out the top ten in the H&H Powersports GRT.
Jack Nosbisch was the fast qualifier among the 52 entrants with a lap around the 1/3-mile clay oval in 16.330 seconds. That earned him the pole position for the main event, and he led Marshall Austin Jr. of Plant City, FL, White, Devin Dixon of Tampa, FL, and Buckingham after lap one.
Dixon spun his New Homes of Tampa Bay Rocket in turn three on lap two, and collected Robbie Harvey of Lake, MS in the G&M Trucking GRT. Both drivers were done for the evening, as Jack Nosbisch, Austin, White, Buckingham, and Gentry lined up in the first five spots for the restart.
Passing was at premium early in the race, as Gentry went to the outside on the restart to pass Buckingham and Austin to move up to third, while White drove past Austin for the second spot. On lap three, White closed in on Jack Nosbisch, and took the lead coming off the fourth turn. Also on lap three, Buckingham and Austin drove past the high riding Gentry coming off turn four.
The caution flag waved for the second time in the race on lap four when Austin spun his Servpro of S.E. Tampa Rocket in turn two, collecting Erik McKinney of Felton, DE in the Vending Technology Rocket.
White led the field down for the restart followed by Jack Nosbisch, Buckingham, Gentry, Blair, Keith Nosbisch, Jeff Fields of Aragon, GA in the Summerville Junkyard Mastersbilt, Korte, Cochran, and Peacock. Buckingham passed Jack Nosbisch for second on the restart, while Blair and Keith Nosbisch passed Gentry for the fourth and fifth spots respectively.
Blair was on the move, as he passed Jack Nosbisch for the third spot on lap six. In the meantime, Gentry was falling back through the pack. By lap ten, the track dried out and everyone was looking to grab a spot on the black inside groove.
The third caution flag of the race was unfurled on lap 14 when Fields spun in turn three with Dorsey Strickland of Gibsonton, FL in the Top Notch Home Repair Warrior, and Freddie Carpenter of Parkersburg, WV in the Last Lap Performance Parts Rocket. Gentry headed to the pits under the caution, and returned to tail of the pack for the restart. This would come into play at the end of the race.
White set sail on the restart followed by Buckingham, Blair, Jack and Keith Nosbisch, Korte, Cochran, Schmauss, Peacock, and Ingram. The field stayed glued to the inside groove for the next 20 laps, but as White approached the lapped cars in front of him, he had to make a decision try to go high around them, or stay on the fast bottom groove.
On lap 36, White stepped to the outside to lap Austin, and in doing so, began to pull away from Buckingham. As White approached Gentry, the latter was racing on the outside groove. On lap 38, White went to the inside of Gentry coming off the fourth turn. As the pair came off the fourth turn, contact was made, and both cars spun down the front stretch.
Gentry was able to continue, but White was forced to the pits with a flat right front tire. Both drivers finished the race with Gentry taking the 13th spot, and White finishing 14th. With a clear race track in front of him, Buckingham took over the lead and led the last two laps for the win.
In preliminary action, Keith Nosbisch, Rainey, Korte, and Cochran won the four 12-lap Qualifying Races. Jim Till of Greenville, AL in the GEI Trak Star was declared the winner of the ten-lap Adams Used Auto Parts Strawberry Dash Presented By Prevatt Farms after the apparent winner, Steve Gillman of Plant City, FL, was light at the scales in the Top Notch Home Repair Rayburn.
The StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series returns to East Bay Raceway Park on Friday night for another complete show highlighted by a $2,500-to-win main event.
OFFICIAL RESULTS OF ROUND THREE AT EAST BAY RACEWAY PARK IN TAMPA, FL ON 2/22/07:
