ROCKINGHAM RACE REPORT
- by Stenzo



STENZO SWEEPS “THE ROCK” FOR SIXTH WIN OF THE YEAR!

North Carolina Speedway (11/17/00) -- For the first time this year, Team Speedlan members swept the top 4 positions to finish 1-2-3-4. Like he did in the first race here this season, Stenzo found himself in control of the race for most of the day, as he once again lead the most laps on his way to his 6th win of the year. After starting in 4th, he quickly moved up to second, but was unable to catch the speedy Bob, who checked out on the field from the moment the green flag fell to start the race. However, after a couple of early cautions flags slowed the field, Stenzo inherited the lead when Bob pitted, and would eventually lead 84 of 137 laps en route to the victory. The fourth and final caution came out with only 30 laps remaining, which allowed Stenzo to pit for right side tires while Bob and Speed stayed out to pace the field. Because almost the entire field pitted as well, Stenzo came out in 3rd, and was quickly able to overtake both teammates to reclaim the lead and pull away to a 6.4 second margin of victory. The win marks his 15th top 5 and 15th top 10 of the season. Although he made up 10 points on series points leader Speed, the gap remains a monsterous 507 points, but he maintains his second place status.

Speed qualified 21st, but as he usually does, he quickly moved up through the field toward the front once the race went green. After the 3 early caution periods, he found himself in 2nd place, where he pressured Stenzo hard for the lead over several laps, before finally making the pass to lead a lap. It was the only lap he would lead all day, as Stenzo quickly reclaimed the top spot the next time around. Later on, Bob worked his way up to challenge Speed for 2nd place shortly before the final yellow came out. Because Stenzo pitted, the two found themselves 1-2 on the field, but Speed's patience and tire management allowed him to make it back past Bob late in the event to grab 2nd place, where he would eventually finish. This marks Speed's 19th top 5 and 21st top 10 of the year, clearly demonstrating why he leads the points race by such a commanding margin.

Coyote started from the 22nd position, and patiently motored his way through the field. But after getting collected in a wreck midway through the race, he was never a serious threat for the win. Because he took advantage of the last caution period to pit for tires, he was able to work his way back up to 4th, where he mounted a late-race challenge on third-place Bob in a last-minute sprint to the checkers. This marks Coyote's 10th top 5 and 14th top 10 of the season, and he maintains his 3rd place points standings with a 114 point advantage over Bob.

Bob started in 3rd, and quickly darted out front and into the lead, where he promptly forced the rest of the field to eat his dust for a total of 47 laps, and extended his lead to over 5 seconds over Stenzo before turning the lead over when he pitted during the 2nd caution period. After restarting toward the back of the pack, he then spent the next 50 laps working his way back up toward the front and past Speed to take over 2nd place, then back into the lead when Stenzo pitted during the final caution. However, because he elected to stay out on worn tires, he was unable to fend off Stenzo and Speed during the closing laps, where he fell back to finish 3rd, despite a last-lap challenge by Coyote, who had closed up to his quarter panel at the stripe. This marks his 9th top 5 and 12th top 10 of the season.