Carolina Clash Series
Fayetteville Motor Speedway
June 11, 2011
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Luke Roffers continues his winning ways at Fayetteville  Motor Speedway

Alex Cummings
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (June 11) - Luke Roffers continued his winning ways Saturday night at Fayetteville Motor Speedway with his third victory of the season. With the win, Roffers was able to close within 7 points of the current Carolina Clash point's leader, Dennis Franklin.

The current Klotz Lubricants Rookie of the Year point's leader Chad Paxton set fast time during XS Power Racing Batteries Qualifying. The pole was Paxton's first of the year with the Carolina Clash.

Paxton got the jump on the 24 car starting field electing the inside line on the start. A five car breakaway would ensue with Craig Shuffield pulling out all the stops attempting to pass Paxton on the inside during the first nine laps of the feature event. The first caution waved on lap 9 when a crush panel from one of the cars came off in turn 2.

The same five car breakaway would ensue yet again with Luke Roffers making some daring moves passing cars on the inside making his way to the front. On lap 21 Roffers made his move passing Paxton on the inside in turn 3 taking over the top spot. In just three laps, Roffers had pulled out to nearly a half straightaway lead over second place Paxton.

Lap 21 saw Travis Hair coming to a stop in turn 4 bringing out another caution with Roffers leading, Paxton in second, Dustin Mitchell in third, Mike Gault in fourth, and Craig Shuffield in fifth.

On the restart, Jeff Smith would spin on the backstretch in a dust storm bringing out the caution. Then just two short laps later, GR Smith and Shawn Beasley would make contact spinning in turn 1. Both were unable to continue.

Chad Paxton's night began on a very positive note would end on a horrible note. On a lap 27 restart, Paxton would spin collecting Jeff Smith, Mike Parker, and Jay Sessoms. On the restart, Dale Hammond would get sideways and Smith would drive over his front-end sending Smith air-born and over the turn 2 banking. Smith was okay after the incident.

On the restart Dustin Mitchell was able to get around Gault for the second position and set his eyes on Roffers. Mitchell caught Roffers on lap 31 and would begin to apply heavy pressure until a very scary lap 37 caution. Kenny Compton Jr. began smoking on lap 35 and as he came out of turn four on lap 37, his Clements power plant blew up engulfing his Bloomquist Chassis in a massive fire ball. The Carolina Clash safety crew was there and had the fire out within seconds and Compton Jr. was okay after the incident.

On the restart, a massive pileup on the backstretch took out Paxton who slammed the inside wall head on collecting Gary Mabe, Mike Parker, and Michael Mason. All four were brought in on the hook.

On the restart Roffers and Mitchell would break away from the field as Gault who was running the third position began to get a right-rear flat. Gault was able to hold on and finish the race but went from third to sixth in the last three laps with the flat tire.
Roffers was able to hold off the hard charging Mitchell for the win. Scott Autry passed seven cars in route to a third place finish. Klotz Rookie of the Year Contender, Travis Yow had his best ever finish with the Carolina Clash crossing the line in the fourth position along with his first Top-5 qualifying run of the year. Craig Shuffield who had has best ever qualifying run with the Carolina Clash starting on the outside pole for the feature, raced his way to a fifth place finish which was able his best finish with the Clash in 2011.

With the win, Roffers was able to close the gap to within 7 points of Dennis Franklin as Franklin would struggle with a seventh place finish. Mike Gault and Kenny Compton Jr. swapped the third position in points again as Gault holds onto a 20 point advantage. Compton Jr. is just 77 points behind the 2011 Carolina Clash point's leader in Franklin. Jeff Smith still sits in the fifth position.

Even with the horrific wreck, Chad Paxton still leads the Klotz Lubricants Rookie of the Year standings by 81 points over Travis Yow.

After seven events in the regular season, there are still 18 Carolina Clash competitors eligible for the "Chase for the Cup" at the end of the season.

Clash @ Fayetteville June 11, 2011
Final Rundown
Finish Driver Start Hometown
1. Luke Roffers (3) Concord, NC
2. Dustin Mitchell (9) Pine Level, NC
3. Scott Autry (10) Fayetteville, NC
4 Travis Yow (4) Fayetteville, NC
5. Craig Shuffield (2) Fayetteville, NC
6. Mike Gault (7) Gaffney, SC
7. Dennis Franklin (13) Gaffney, SC
8. David Taylor (18) Fayetteville, NC
9. Justin Labonte (16) Trinity, NC
10. Jay Sessoms (22) Stanley, NC
11. Michael Mason (23) Spring Lake, NC
12. Kenny Compton Jr. (8) Bland, VA
13. Gary Mabe (12) Danberry, NC
14. Chad Paxton (1) Troutman, NC
15. Mike Parker (19) Fayetteville, NC
16. Chris Blackwell (11) Fayetteville, NC
17. Ray Tucker (5) Greensboro, NC
18. Dale Hammond (17) Nichols, SC
19. Jeff Smith (15) Dallas, NC
20. Shawn Beasley (6) Lumber Bridge, NC
21. G.R. Smith (14) Middleton, NY
22. Travis Hair (24) Fayetteville, NC
23. Greg Clark (20) Stanley, NC
24. Jim Shuffield (21) Fayetteville, NC

Hard Charger of the Race: (10 pts bonus) - Jay Sessoms
Lap Leaders: Chad Paxton (1-17) Luke Roffers (18-40)
Fastest Qualifier: Chad Paxton 18.295
XS Power Racing Batteries Fastest Qualifier- Chad Paxton
First Man out Award- Chris Blackwell
Comp Cams Feature Winner- Luke Roffers
JE Pistons / Roush Yates Performance Feature Winner-Luke Roffers
Keizer Wheels Runner-Up Award- Dustin Mitchell
Shell Racing Solutions 3rd Place- Scott Autry
ATL Fuel Cells 4th Place- Travis Yow
Cool Shirts Top-5
Luke Roffers, Dustin Mitchell, Scott Autry, Travis Yow, Craig Shuffield
RF Composites 6th Place- Mike Gault
NTI 10th Place- Jay Sessoms
Klotz Lubricants 15th Place- Mike Parker
Ohlins Shocks Last but not Least- Jim Shuffield
Safety Kleen Hard Charger- Jay Sessoms
Klotz Lubricants Hard Luck Award- Shawn Beasley
Klotz Lubricants Rookie of the Race- Travis Yow

Upcoming Carolina Clash Event
June 25 Volunteer Speedway Bulls Gap, TN $5,000 to win
July 9 311 Speedway Madison, NC $4,000 to win

Top Ten in Points
1 Dennis Franklin 1090
2 Luke Roffers 1083
3 Mike Gault 1033
4 Kenny Compton Jr. 1013
5 Jeff Smith 984
6 Chad Paxton 911
7 Dustin Mitchell 871
8 David Taylor 865
9 Scott Autry 840
10 Travis Yow 830