From CL Motorsports
HOLMESVILLE, Ohio. – August 20, 2012 – While many people dread the dog days of summer, Stevie Smith and the #19 CL Motorsports team never want to see them end.
“Since we started in June, we’ve been on a roll,” said Smith. “We’ve picked up the Ohio Speedweek title, two wins, the pole of the Knoxville Nationals and have been extremely consistent. Summertime has been great for us.”
Smith and the #19 team rode north to rejoin the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.D. on Friday, August 17. The CL Motorsports/DDNi/CJB Motorsports/Spectro Oils KPC was the second fastest in time trials and wound up starting the feature in the 8th position.
Smith talks about his third place finish at Nodak Speedway
Smith talks about his third place finish at Nodak Speedway
“That was my first trip to River Cities,” said Smith, referring to the high banked, 4/10th’s of a mile oval. “It was a very neat racetrack to race on and felt like we were good towards the end. We finished sixth which was consistent but we wanted more. The dash draw put us toward the back and it’s hard to pass a lot of cars anymore.”
Next up for the Holmesville, Ohio based organization was the 3/8th’s of a mile Nodak Speedway in Minot, N.D. on Sunday, August 19. The Bandit was once again quick in time trials (3rd) and used that momentum throughout the evening.
“We were really good at Nodak Speedway, from top to bottom,” said Smith, who picked up his 20th top-5 of the season. “We raced well in our heat race, finished the dash in the fourth spot and went forward in the A-main. We had an early red flag for a flip on the front stretch and the crew was able to make some adjustments that really helped our car out. When we got back to rolling, I felt like I had something for (leader) Donny Schatz and Craig Dollansky. We even got by Dollansky at one point with a few laps to go but couldn’t make it stick. The track was very racy and started to get choppy but the grandstands were full and the crowd was very enthusiastic which is always a great thing.”
With the Midwest tour wrapped up, Smith looked back on a very successful summer with high hopes.
“If you look at where we started the month of June to where we are now, I can’t believe our summer has gone the way it has,” commented Smith, who has an average finish of 7.0 since the month of June began. “To get our first win, the Ohio Speedweek title, a $10,000-to-win show at Williams Grove and the pole of the Knoxville Nationals is a huge accomplishment for this team. We’re still in our first season and learning a great deal. Our owners, Chad and Jenn Clemens have stuck by us the whole way. Brian Bloomfield, Jim Oare, Ron Lowe and Kyle Luetters have been digging since day one. We really wanted to get our first World of Outlaws win but we’ll have some more shots at it. I’m looking forward to taking a week off, regrouping and finishing out this 2012 season on a high note.”
The #19 CL Motorsports team will return to action after a weekend off with a triple-header weekend with events at Lernerville Speedway on August 31, Attica Raceway Park on September 1 and Wayne County Speedway on September 2.
For more information on CL Motorsports and the Black Bandit, please visit www.TheBlackBandit.com
RIVER CITIES SPEEDWAY BOX SCORE:
Time Trial Heat Finish A-main Start A-main Finish
2nd 4th 8th 6th
NODAK SPEEDWAY BOX SCORE:
Time Trial Heat Finish A-main Start A-main Finish
3rd 3rd 4th 3rd
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