DARLINGTON RACE REPORT
- by Stenzo
SPEED TAMES THE LADY IN BLACK FOR THIRD WIN IN A ROW!
Darlington Raceway (3/31/00) -- Speed is clearly back in championship form,
as he rolls to his first win ever at "the lady in black" and third in a row
this season, tying the record he set on his way to the 1998 SPEEDLAN
Championship! Speed and Bob battled each other for the lead all day long,
leading a combined total of 98 out of 102 laps. Bob, who always runs well
at this tough track, led the most laps (52) and earned the coveted 5 extra
bonus points. However, Speed proved too strong as he made the pass when it
counted to grab the checkered flag, and take over the lead in the points
race. Bob crossed the line second, 1.361 seconds behind the leader, marking
his second top 5 this season, and third top 6 finish at "the track too
tough to tame."
Stenzo experienced some major misfortune on lap 72, getting together with
another car in turns 1 and 2, then spinning to the apron and head-on into
the end of the backstretch pit wall. He was uninjured in the wreck, but
dropped to second in points, and received his first DNF this season with a
career-low 25th place finish. Coyote didn't fare much better, as he also
damaged his car, falling three laps down and into in 24th position, marking
his second 24th place finish, and third finish of 21st or worse this season.