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To view current point standings,
Past, Present Wall Alumni Score in Daytona Speedweeks
By Walter Elliott
February 19, Daytona Beach, FL---
Current and past Wall Township Speedway drivers, from Jimmy
Blewett capturing two New Smyrna Speedway crowns to Ray Evernham drivers taking
sixth and seventh places in the Daytona 500, had varying degrees of success here
and elsewhere during Daytona Speedweeks.
The week of racing leading up to the 50th NASCAR Sprint Cup Daytona 500 had
Wall connections from indoor racing at Windsor, Conn., to Daytona International
Speedway Gatorade victory lane. American Three Quarter Midget Racing Association
driver/car owner B.J. MacDonald won the first micro sprint heat and finished
fifth in his first feature at MotortownUSA Friday night. Former Red Bank
resident Roger Penske, whose Indy car team testes at Wall, saw driver Ryan
Newman win their first Daytona 500 Sunday night.
Newman, of South Bend., Ind., drafted his Penske South Racing No. 12 Alltel
Dodge Charger past the Toyota Camry of Tony Stewart on the last lap. The Purdue
vehicular engineering graduate had led three other times for seven laps before
he and a dominant Charger of Kurt Busch demoted Stewart to third.
Newman's first NASCAR Sprint Cup victory in the last 82 starts helps put Penske
in an exclusive club. Penske, as car owner, has also won the Indy 500 with
Summit resident Mark Donohue and a Fornula One Grand Prix with Ulsterman John
Watson. The late Orange-born Donohue was a Brown University mechanical
engineering graduate.
Former NASCAR Whelen All American Series modified main winner Evernham
meanwhile saw team drivers Elliott Sadler and Kasey Kahne finish sixth and
seventh in the last lap shuffle. Sadler, aboard the No. 19 Best Buy/Stanley
Tools/McDonald's Charger, climbed from 35th starting spot. Kahne, whose No. 9
Gillett Evernham Motorsports Charger is now Budweiser sponsored, started 10th
and led lap 151 of the 200 lap classic.
Evernham, a Hazlet native, had fielded Patrick Carpentier. The Qubec IRL/Champ
Car star missed the 43-car starting field when he crashed his No. 10 Valvoilene
Charger seven laps short of finishing the first of two Gatorade Duels Feb.
14. George Gillett, Jr., co-owner of the NHL Montreal Canadiens team, joined
Evernham as team partner over the winter.
Matrin Truex, Jr., of Mayetta, brought his No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet
Impala SS home 20th after starting 25th. The race is the former Wall modified
winner's first as Dale Earnhardt Motorsports, Inc. team leader.
Jimmy Blewett, of Howell, meanwhile won the Tour and SK modified championships
of the World Series of Auto Racing at nearby New Smyrna Speedway Friday night.
The No. 12 United Crane Rental Troyer-Dodge pilot won two Tour features plus a
SK main Feb. 9-10.
Tim Shinn, of Wall, owns Kenilworth-based United Crane Rental. Shinn is one of
four WTS Managing Partners who have operated Wall's one-third-mile oval since
2001.
Blewett was joined at New Smyrna by Wall regular Jim Cranmer plus Ted
Christopher and Ryan Preece. Christopher, a former NASCAR Winston Racing Series
regional titlist, and ATQMRA alumnia Preece have run in Wall's special races.
MacDonald put the Haskell Motorsports No. 5 Henchraft-Suzuki GSXR he borrowed
to good use at MotoramaUSA Friday. The won the 750cc micro sprint 10-lap heat on
the indoor clay one-quater-mile and went on to a fifth place finish in the
20-lap feature. MacDonald, of Dublin, Pa., helpd field and occasionally drives
the No. 51 Lindblad Badger-GSXR in Wall's ATQMRA rounds.
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