East Bay South Shore Auto Sales Late Model Championship

Fans and drivers gathered together to enjoy a great night of racing at the “Clay by the Bay” this past weekend. Unfortunately all had to wait for the weather for a while, but with approximately 100 cars signed in for the various racing events, no one was about to go home due to a little inclement weather.

Fans and drivers gathered together to enjoy a great night of racing at the “Clay by the Bay” this past weekend. Unfortunately all had to wait for the weather for a while, but with approximately 100 cars signed in for the various racing events, no one was about to go home due to a little inclement weather.

Because of the weather problems and the resulting delay, only drivers for the Late Model class got to warm up in the heat races. All the other drivers simply had to suck it up and do their best. By the time the clouds finally parted long enough for racing to get underway at the Gibsonton, Florida, race track it was clear that spectators were in for a great evening’s racing. The South Shore Auto Sales Late Model got off to a great start and pretty soon it was clear that the 21-point lead that front-runner KD Kelly had over Travis Varnadore in the East Bay South Shore Auto Sales Late Model Championship would be greatly increased during the course of the evening. Varnadore ran into some difficulties near the beginning of the Late Models race when an early caution set him back near the back of the field on the restart. In stark contrast, Kelley ran an excellent race with very few difficulties. However, the true star of the night was Roger Crouse who started off in 6th position and quickly and effectively made his way to the front of the field. Crouse managed to win the South Shore Auto Sales Late Model race with an evening of truly fantastic driving. It was his first feature win in the Late Models so far this season and he had plenty to be proud about. He was followed over the finish line by Al Larson, whose second place finish gave him his first top-5 finish of the season, and Trevor Merrel.

Despite only coming in 9th and not being able to take home the Late Model race victory trophy, KD Kelly was able to win the East Bay South Shore Auto Sales Late Model Championship. With two features wins, nine top-5 finishes and fifteen top-10 finishes, his grip on the championship trophy was secure. Varnadore finished the feature race just one place behind him.