11/17/2002
D’Agostino Double Dips in Daytona
The Southern Series Championship had its second round of racing last weekend at the famed Daytona International Speedway. The track was configured in the Rolex 24 hour layout, giving the drivers a feel for what its like to participate in the legendary event and for some drivers to tune up for the race in February.
The first race
of the weekend got off under rainy conditions, with Larry Revier
and Joe
D’Agostino battling early
on , but D’Agostino
built up an insurmountable lead over Revier, who came home second in
front of Todd Hirshfield. The lack of grip forced Jared Schmelzer to
hit the tire wall and end his race early. The win was D’Agostino’s
first in his career.
In the first race for group three, the rain showed no signs of stopping for the second race of the day, and neither did Spencer Pompelly, who led every lap and took the fastest lap of the race as well. Jep Thornton and David Harris, who passed John Pew on the very last lap of the race for third, joined Pompelly on the podium. Ron Hayter took most progressive honors with his move from the eleventh starting position to finish sixth.
The fourth race group also had to cope with the wet conditions as Chase Patzer battled with Marc Easton for the lead, with Patzer taking the win. Easton missed the chicane in the closing laps and did not pit for a penalty, moving him back to eighth in the final agate. Abraham Zimroth finished second while Mark Patterson took third. Dario Cioti moved from ninth to sixth for most progressive honors.
In the second race for group one, Joe D’Agostino made it a double on the weekend, taking the lead back from Todd Hirschfield on the last lap after getting a great run through the chicane. Jad Dea completed the podium with his third place finish. Jimmy Thorton moved from his tenth starting position to take the checkered flag in sixth and win most progressive racer. The race was not an easy one for D’Agostino, as he had to battle back from two spins during the race on his way to victory. Larry Revier was also not a fan of the low-traction conditions as he hit the tire wall early in the race, ending his day.
Spencer Pompelly battled throughout the race with Jed Thornton, but held on to the end to take his second win of the weekend, along with the fastest lap of the race. Thronton, who led on several occasions, brought his car home in second place. Thomas Hassert finished third and took most progressive driver honors after starting from ninth on his way to podium territory.
In group four competition, the second race of the weekend saw Abraham Zimroth power to a win by .7 seconds ahead of Char Patzer. Patzer scored the fastest lap of the race, but that was small consolation to him as he had also spent several laps in the lead. Mark Patterson finished third, just over a second behind Patzer. Zolton Bodor scored as most progressive driver with his move from seventh to fifth, illustrating how close the field was.
The Southern Series Championship will race next at Daytona once again on the weekend of January 18th. Weekend photo gallery available at www.formuladodge.com
- Matt Cleary
