WE ARE ...
LATE MODEL STOCK CARS!

Yontz Repeats as Bristol 150 Winner in UARA Competition

WE ARE ...
LATE MODEL STOCK CARS!

Story By: Corey Latham ~ corey@race22.com

Photos by: Langley Austin
Alex Yontz, his finace' Bethany Stoltz and their dog, Cali celebrated the UARA-STARS Bristol 150 victory, Yontz' second win on the high banked half mile.

Yontz Repeats as Bristol 150 Winner in UARA Competition

Top Left : Wade Day(74) crushed his primary car early in practice while currently fourth on the speed charts.  Day later made the race in his backup car.  Top Right : Tiffany Daniels(04) had a tough weekend from blowing her primary engine and renting another engine for raceday to spinning several times before ending her day when she spun into the path of Dillon Smith.  Middle Left : Dillon Smith's(03) crew went to work fast on his damage and got the car back race ready after the incident with Daniels.  Middle Right : Garrett Campbell missed his second race of the season when he suffer engine woes early in the day and had to load up and go home.  Bottom Left : Andrew Carlsen(forefront) looks on as his team makes repairs to his fast race car after he cut down a tire in practice and slammed the wall hard.  Bottom Right : Dillon Smith had the worst day of anyone as he wrecked again in qualifying after the earlier incident.  Smith in qualifying spun out on his first lap and turned the car around only to wreck the next time through the same corner and ended all chances of making the field.

Mel Perry(right) of Mel's Ignition celebrates before the race with Pole Winner, Jamey Caudill(left).  Caudill, who runs Mel's Ignition, set a new track record on the high banked half mile.

Luke Laney(24) and Joey Coulter(02) both making their first career UARA-STARS Late Model Stock Car series make contact in turn three as the two race hard for position.

Bristol, TN ~ As the UARA tour made their way into Bristol Motor Speedway for the second 2008 edition of the "Bristol 150", all drivers had their eyes on the 2 that dominated the first visit in May. Matt DiBenedetto was strong, but tire troubles did him in early, letting his dancing partner in May, Alex Yontz, take the victory on the day after the 4th. But this time 2 new players were introduced, point leader Jake Crum and the tires they all rode on.


"Gotta Make It To The Race"

Early in the practice sessions during the day, it was evident that this trip to Bristol would be much different than the last. The cars of Tiffany Daniels, Andrew Carlsen, Dillon

Smith, Wade Day and Garrett Campbell would encounter problems in the practice sessions leading up to the race. Campbell blew a motor, and Day destroyed his car with a broken wheel but was able to roll out the backup. Daniels blew a motor in practice on Thursday and rented a motor for the car, but after making contact with the wall she was put on the 5 minute clock and would not be able to make it in time for qualifying. Another front runner, BJ Mackey, had problems with his newly implanted Darrell Poe engine and was near the end of the qualifying charts.

"Dagum, We Are Fast"

In Sunoco Pole Qualifying, Jamey Caudill was able to take the top spot. Super fast Alex Yontz got the outside pole, with Richard Boswell II, Corey LaJoie and Jake Crum rounding out the top 5. The top 8 drivers were in the sub 16 second category. Other drivers having good runs were last race winner at Bristol Matt DiBenedetto in 6th, rookie Cliff Daniels in 7th, and the rookie points leader Darrell Wallace Jr. in 8th. Championship contender B.J Mackey continued his off session in practice with a 28th position qualifying effort, uncharacteristic for the DPM team.

Drop The Rag!!!!!!!

As the green waves, Yontz jumps ahead of pole sitter Jamey Caudill going into turn 1. The field behind them is fighting for positions but one car is out back and falling behind. Championship contender B.J. Mackey fresh off his win in the Rusty Harpe Memorial at Caraway, runs a few laps and pulls it in.

The engine in his car was just put in on Thursday but had been "tightening" up all day. Rather than blowing it he would park and take last place points severely hurting his championship quest. Back up front the drivers are going for broke as Corey LaJoie brushes the wall on lap 3 and 7 laps later Jamie Yelton gets loose off turn 4 and smashes the right rear up pretty good. Yelton would make numerous pit stops throughout the race and finish a disappointing 10 laps down.

"A Blistering Pace"

The cars of Yontz, Caudill and eventually Jake Crum would pretty much destroy the field all night. By lap 22 Yontz was already lapping the back of the field and the top 3 were ahead by nearly a straightaway on 4th. But that didn't mean there wasn't any good racing going on, Darrell Wallace Jr. and Ross Furr were making their way through the field from their 8th (Wallace) and 13th (Furr) starting positions. Wallace would miss a gear on a lap 45 restart and would fall from 8th to 15 by turn one. But as you'll read later on, he recovers nicely. One car not going forward was the race winner in July at Bristol, Matt DiBenedetto. Matt had been pretty fast all day, not dominating fast like he was in May, but still top 10 car. On lap 53 "tire-gate" continues with Scott Andrews Jr. blowing a right front and going into the turn 4 wall. This was the break DiBenedetto needed and went to the pits for adjustments. To every one's surprise, his right rear tire was completely shredded, it had just virtually came apart. It was a lucky break at that time, but luck would run out 20 laps later.

"That "Snake" In The Grass"

On the lap 61 restart for the Andrews wreck, out of nowhere Jake Crum jumps to the outside of Caudill and blows him away easily for second. Jake had been fast, but hadn't really made any "waves" as of yet. This was a power move and it let Yontz know that he would not just run away and hide, as Crum moved right up on the #55 machine for the lead. The 2 would run away from the field, nose-to-tail until a caution on lap 81 ... it was for one of the favorites.

Halfway (lap 75)
1.Yontz 2.Crum 3.Caudill 4.Richard Boswell 5.Corey LaJoie 6.Ross Furr 7.Cliff Daniels 8.Travis Swaim 9.Curtis Truex Jr. 10.Clay Greenfield

"Ouch"

The tires had never been an issue anywhere before. But for some reason this day at Bristol there were a slew of them, all the way from practice and on into the race. On lap 81, the #44 machine of DiBenedetto found the turn 3 wall........hard. The culprit, a right front tire. At Bristol the cars carry so much speed in the turns, there isn't much reaction time if any. DiBenedetto hit a ton and got out very gingerly. After the race he was complaining of a very sore back and was obvious pain. But he will be back soon, you better believe it.

"So It Can Be Done"

Alex Yontz was Dominating. There wasn't a car there that could

Matt Guido DiBenedetto(44), the previous Bristol 150 winner, looks underneath Richard Boswell(72) for position.  DiBenedetto shortly after encountered a shredded right front tire and did not finish.

keep up with the #55 except for Crum. On lap 90 Crum did more than show he could keep up, he blasted by Yontz and took the lead with ease. Behind them, Furr and LaJoie are having a fierce battle themselves. Furr pulls to the outside and makes the pass finally, and brings Travis Swaim along with him sending LaJoie back to 7th. At lap 101 the field is slowed once more as Andrew Carlsen attempts to knock the turn 2 wall down. Carlsen had no control of this one, once again, another blown right front tire.

"It Happens That Quick"

As the leaders were setting sail, the man of action of the day, Corey LaJoie was at it again. LaJoie had gotten into Richard Boswell at the beginning of the race, spun the lapped car of Luke Laney on lap 24, missed a shift on a lap 110 restart, and now

Luke Laney(24) and Joey Coulter(02) both making their first career UARA-STARS Late Model Stock Car series make contact in turn three as the two race hard for position.

was in it with Curtis Truex for the 9th position. As the two came off turn 2 on lap 122, the pair make contact and the #88 of Truex goes around with LaJoie wadded up pushing him down the backstretch.

Truex would leave on the hook and LaJoie would continue on after pitting for repairs. In all the excitement, Alex Yontz had just slipped back by Crum to take the lead. As the restarted on lap 129, Crum looks to the outside of Yontz going into 1, or so it seemed. Actually he had a right front tire go down and after half the field had passed him by he hits the wall in turn 3. Crum would make repairs and continue, finishing 8 laps down in the 21st spot.

"Sailing Away"

With Crum now out of the picture, it really was smooth sailing for

Curtis Truex, Jr.(88) and Corey LaJoie(71) had a fierce battle that ended with both of them getting damage on the backstretch.  LaJoie had the best race of his UARA-STARS career and still managed a 15th place finish while Truex left the track on the hook.

Yontz up front. While Yontz ran away and hid, one of the best battles of the night was forming behind him. Remember that Wallace kid missing a shift on a start and falling back to 15th? Well he was back at it again, now he had moved back up to 6th and was working on Ross Furr for 5th. And worked him. And worked him more. Matter of fact the pair ran side-by-side from lap 136 to lap 147 with neither giving an inch. Furr was pinching the Wallace machine down to get the advantage, but Wallace never lifted. Furr Finally clears him and a lap later Wallace dives back under and takes the spot for good and comes home 5th. As the field crosses the line, the leader is almost about to pull into victory lane. Yontz won by 25 car-lengths and on this night was not going to be denied. He's hitting his groove again after some bad luck earlier in the year, and at Bristol on this night he was definitely "Back In Black".

Darrell Wallace, Jr.(76) and Ross Furr(25) put on a show for a top five spot late as the two raced each very hard for the position.  Wallace ended up fifth with Furr getting his best finish in seven races with a sixth place finish in his black Chevrolet.

Official Race Results from the Bristol 150
Staurday, July 5th, 2008

1 - Alex Yontz #55
2 - Jamey Caudill #50
3 - Richard Boswell #72
4 - Cliff Daniels 330
5 - Darrell Wallace #76
6 - Ross Furr #25
7 - Travis Swaim #21
8 - Clay Greenfield #84
9 - Brandon McReynolds #28
10 - Roger Lee Newton #33
11 - Daniel Pope #16
12 - Scott Turlington #48
13 - Paddy Rodenbeck #81
14 - Casey Holt #22
15 - Corey LaJoie #71
16 - Wade Day #74
17 - Zeke Shell #57
18 - Lance Gatlin #13
19 - Thomas Hartensveld #36
20 - Bryan Dauzat #97
21 - Jake Crum #1
22 - Jamie Yelton #8
23 - Curtis Truex #88
24 - Kyle Grissom #32
25 - Andrew Carlsen #98
26 - Matt DiBenedetto #44
27 - Joey Coulter #02
28 - Scott Andrews #18
29 - John Gottsacker #91
30 - Luke Laney #24
31 - Kyle Moon #19
32 - BJ Mackey #2