Claims the Morgan Cup for Williams Grove and the Pennsylvania Posse for the first time ever
MECHANICSBURG, Pa. - July 25, 2015 - Stevie Smith put together a dominant performance Saturday night at Williams Grove Speedway's Summer Nationals night two, as he bested Aaron Ott and Donny Schatz to score his first World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series victory in over a year and brought home the Morgan Cup to Pennsylvania for the first time ever.
The night was made even more special as Smith drove under the familiar colors of the No. 19 Black Bandit car, made legendary by his father Steve Smith Sr.
If the crowd was loud for Danny Dietrich the night before, the noise and feeling was only amplified as Smith climbed from his car to a roaring Williams Grove Speedway, happy to see a Pennsylvania Posse sweep of the weekend.
"It feels great. It seems so long and hard to win these Outlaw races. I know we won one at Lincoln last year but until then it's been a difficult task for myself to accomplish," Smith said. "I know this gets old, but I've got to thank these guys, they've given me a really, really good racecar. I'm glad it's getting old that I can say that. I'm very, very proud of them. Things went our way tonight. It's a great feeling winning a World of Outlaws show."
The win came with a $25,000 payday and brought the coveted Morgan Cup trophy to Pennsylvania for the first time since its inception.
The win held a special meaning for Smith.
"I was also happy to win on my sister's birthday. She's passed away several years ago and today was her birthday so that makes it even more special," Smith said. "You add in the Outlaws and you add in the $25,000, and you add these guys in, the crowd, it's just a really awesome night."
After polesitter Sammy Swindell was penalized for jumping the initial start, Aaron Ott was moved on to the front row with Joey Saldana. Ott jumped out to an early lead and caught the back of the field by lap five. As he worked his way through lapped traffic, Smith, who quickly got around Saldana, began closing on Ott, eventually catching and passing the young driver as the two worked their way around for the eighth circuit.
Farther back, Swindell battled Saldana for the third position. The three-time Outlaws champion got around Saldana on the back as they completed lap 15. Swindell soon had his hands full with Schatz, who started in fifth. As the cars worked their way through traffic, Schatz closed the gap and finally worked his way around Swindell as the two exited turn four on lap 27.
A yellow flag and subsequent red flag flew late in the feature. Smith maintained his lead on both single file restarts as Ott worked to hold off Schatz. With two laps to go, Schatz threw the slider on Ott as they came through turns one and two and held on to take over second. Schatz was not able to catch Smith though as he pulled away from the field.
"It feels great. It seems so long and hard to win these Outlaw races," Smith said. "I know we won one at Lincoln last year but until then it's been a difficult task for myself to accomplish. I know this gets old, but I've got to thank these guys, they've given me a really, really good racecar. I'm glad it's getting old that I can say that. I'm very, very proud of them. Things went our way tonight. It's a great feeling winning a World of Outlaws show."
Smith's car owner, Hall of Fame driver Fred Rahmer, said he thinks driving under his father's old colors and number lit a special fire underneath Smith.
"I tell you, when you're at a World of Outlaws race, you've got a lot of worries," Rahmer said. "There's a lot of great teams, a lot of great drivers and I still think I've got one of the best. We got lucky. All of our guys did a great job. A Don Ott engine has won the last two nights and the XXX cars are working good for us but I'll tell you, we've got a good group of people working on this car. We aren't the highest financed team, but we've got all good people."
Schatz said he was disappointed with his finish but knew where his team needed to improve for next time. He said he was looking forward to another chance for his No. 15 Bad Boy Buggies team at Lebanon Valley Speedway tomorrow.
"Running second is kind of hard to swallow. Especially as many times as we've done it here lately," Schatz said. "That's racing. It works that way, when you're good enough to win the race, you win the race and we weren't good enough to win the race. We'll work on it and try to get ourselves better. I know we're getting beat, so at least we can work on that."
Schatz has finished first or second in 16 consecutive full points Outlaws races and 18 of the past 19.
Ott, who led the first seven laps of the feature, said it was a great race for he and his No. 25 Don Ott Racing Engines car but traffic was a struggle for them.
"We were right there with Stevie the whole race, we just weren't real good in traffic and I don't think Stevie was either," Ott said. "I caught the No. 3 car there and I caught him so quick I didn't know where to go. I shouldn't have dropped down to the center but I had to go somewhere because I couldn't follow up. We were definitely good all night."
"I would have liked to have run in second and be the top-two in motors but the two cars I got beat by, Donny and Stevie, I think they're the two greatest drivers in the country. They're very tough and to finish behind them, we won't hang our heads."
The World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series wraps up three in a row at Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. To find out more information and to learn how to buy tickets, visit http://woosprint.com/lebanon-valley-speedway.
Follow the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series on Twitter at www.twitter.com/WorldofOutlaws, like it on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WorldofOutlaws, or check out the latest videos on YouTube at www.youtube.com/WorldofOutlaws.
Williams Grove Speedway Notebook
RACE NOTES: Sammy Swindell took home the night's quick time after a lap of 16.742. It is his third quick time award of the season… With his win tonight, Stevie Smith became the 18th different driver to win a World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series event this season… This is Stevie Smith's first World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series victory since May 2014... Brad Sweet was the night's KSE Racing Hard Charger, advancing eight positions to finish in 17th.
CONTINGENCY WINNERS - MSD Ignitions ($25 cash): Jacob Allen; MSD Ignitions ($50 cash): Donny Schatz; Sweet Manufacturing ($100 cash): Sammy Swindell; Penske Shocks ($50 cash): Donny Schatz; Mobil 1 ($50 cash): Kraig Kinser; JE Pistons ($50 cash): Danny Dietrich; Lincoln Welders ($50 cash): Paul McMahan; VP Racing Fuels ($50 cash): Paul McMahan; Edelbrock ($50 cash): Paul McMahan; Comp Cams ($50 cash): Paul McMahan; Cometic Gasket ($50 cash): Kerry Madsen;Super Flow ($50 cash): Daryn Pittman; Sweet Manufacturing ($50 product certificate): Sammy Swindell;KSE Racing Products ($100 product certificate): Brad Sweet; Comp Cams ($50 product certificate): Donny Schatz;Mobil 1 (20% off Mobil1RacingStore.com): Rodney Westhafer; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): Shane Stewart; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): Rodney Westhafer.
SEASON WINNERS: Donny Schatz - 20 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 14, Stockton Dirt Track on March 21, Silver Dollar Speedway on March 28, Placerville Speedway on April 8, Calistoga Speedway on April 12, Devil's Bowl Speedway on April 26, Eldora Speedway on May 8, Eldora Speedway on May 9, Williams Grove Speedway on May 15, Weedsport Speedway on May 17, The Dirt Track at Charlotte on May 22, Knoxville Raceway on June 13, Huset's Speedway on June 14, Granite City Speedway on June 17, River Cities Speedway on June 19, Dakota State Fair Speedway on June 20, Beaver Dam Raceway on June 27, Lakeside Speedway on July 1, Dodge City Raceway Park on July 4, Cedar Lake Speedway on July 11); Shane Stewart - 5 (The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 5, Keller Auto Speedway on April 17, Salina Highbanks Speedway on May 1, Crawford County Speedway on June 12, Eldora Speedway on July 17); Daryn Pittman - 3 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 13, Antioch Speedway on March 29, New Egypt Speedway on May 19); Brad Sweet - 3 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 15, Calistoga Speedway on April 11, I-96 Speedway on June 25); Rico Abreu - 2 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 14, Stockton Dirt Track on March 22); Dale Blaney - 2 (Attica Raceway Park on May 29, Lernerville Speedway on July 21); Paul McMahan - 2 (Perris Auto Speedway on April 18, Tri-State Speedway on May 3);Joey Saldana - 2 (Kokomo Speedway on June 3, Cedar Lake Speedway on July 12); Christopher Bell - 1 (Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 on May 2); Brian Brown - 1 (USA Raceway on March 7); Cody Darrah - 1 (Lernerville Speedway on July 21); Danny Dietrich - 1 (Williams Grove Speedway on July 25); Greg Hodnett - 1 (Lincoln Speedway on May 13);Tim Kaeding - 1 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 13);Danny Lasoski - 1 (I-80 Speedway on June 5); Terry McCarl - 1 (The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 5);Jason Sides - 1 (Dodge City Raceway Park on July 3); Stevie Smith - 1 (Williams Grove Speedway on July 25).
- administrator on Jul 27, 2015
- Article Date: 7/25/2015