Bobby Labonte had to play part stock car driver, part endurance racer Saturday at Caraway Speedway in Sophia, N.C.
Labonte came out on top of a marathon running by the SMART Modified Tour in the Revolutionary 99 at Caraway.
The 99-lap event at the .455-mile facility took two hours and seven minutes to complete.
Labonte held off the outside challenge of second place finished Danny Bohn on a green-white-checkered ending. Brandon Ward was third.
“Just stick it out I guess,” Labonte said. “… It’s been a few races since I’ve been back. That was pretty exciting at the end. A lot of shit going on, but that’s about it.”
Labonte took the lead from Jimmy Blewett just after a restart with three laps remaining
The restart with three laps remaining, had Blewett leading, Ryan Newman in second and Labonte in fourth. Labonte went third on the first lap after the restart.
With two laps remaining and Blewett trying to hold off the outside charge of Newman, Labonte went to the low lane under both of them to grab the lead out of turn two. With Labonte ahead in the three-wide scenario off of turn two, he made contact with Blewett which turned Blewett right and into Newman, sending Newman hard into the outside wall. The accident then collected numerous other cars coming off turn two.
“I was on the curb,” Labonte said. “There was two on the outside of me and I got hit down the back straightaway. I’m going pretty straight and I’m as low as I can go. Caution came out.”
Jimmy Blewett should have won the race 5 times , but it was the worst SMART TOUR race this year… I attended 2 and watched the rest and this was a stinker… Early on, Baldwins engine EXPIRED and put oil all the way around the racetrack and pit road to boot…. From then on with the 90 degree temperatures and a SLICK TRACK…. it turned into a DEMO DERBY …Jimmy would pull away after each restart after like 2 laps but with so many restarts it became unmanageable when he got tight and slid up into Newman and that allowed Labonte the daylight on the bottom groove and he did what all Drivers would do.. He stuck it right on the Bottom 3 wide coming off of turn 2 and they had contact on the Backstretch in which Jimmy & Ryan were crashing ..with Ryan getting the worst of it hitting the wall… I really Love the SMART TOUR RACES but have to call a SPADE a SPADE & this one was a STINKER…. 300 caution laps …UGLY SHOW ….Bert Myer’s did something bizarre after the race.. Clearly finished 4th but parked with the top 3 saying the transponder had him in 3rd… Got his time on the mike with Bob Dilner and plugged his sponsors ..??? HOW AND WHY ??? weird stuff….
Over 1-1/2 hours under caution!! That’s the fault of the series for wasting time, not the drivers’ fault or track condition fault. A dozen cautions in 99 laps is not good, but not the worst thing in the world. But dragging each of those out forever is extremely poor race management.
ALL I CAN SAY IF A CAR SPINS WITH NO CONTACT OR SLOWS AND STOPS FOR NO APPARENT REASON AND THEN DRIVES AWAY. PIT ROAD PENALTY FIRST TIME! DOES IT AGAIN , PARK THEM!!!!!
Official results show Burt finishing 3rd. Podium interview not bizarre after all.
@chevelledude I get what you’re saying, but sometimes cars just stall. Not everyone is driving for a big team with the best mechanics, so penalizing them beyond losing their position is a bit harsh. It is extra annoying watching the same car spin on its own more than once, but again not everyone is a professional, and these cars are set up to be on the very edge of grip to go as fast as possible. If you don’t cause a major problem like wrecking another car or creating an extended cleanup I think it’s fair to let them continue racing. Drivers who are tossed from a race won’t get the laps they need to improve, and teams that can’t improve because they are tossed too often will eventually decide not to come back. As much as I throw my hands up watching the same car spin out and cause a caution every race he shows up I’m still glad he’s dedicated to modified racing.
chevelldude, an add-on to Marshall’s comment. The windings inside a motor are most often copper, which expands when heated. When that happens it will sometimes cause them to rub the inside of the starter housing which causes it to spin slower, making it more difficult to start a hot race engine with tight tolerances in the interest of more horsepower. I think at least in some cases that’s the reason it takes a little time and a few tries to get the engine to restart after a spin.
I understand what your saying Marshall, but how many times have you seen a car going real slow and go by pit road entrance and stop in turn 1 or 2, yellow flies and they drive off.
They Start Counting Yellow Flag Laps, Might Put An End To It.
@chevelledude I can’t speak for every driver, and there are obvious cases where it’s pretty clear drivers are forcing a caution. But I’d rather lean in the direction of keeping more drivers on track rather than have strict penalties that toss the guys having a bad mechanical night.
Marshall, I Never drove. I’ve Been involved with family that raced and have been following local racing for 50 years. I’m Noy Some Johnny Come Latley!!