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Alex Cummings
LAWNDALE, N.C. (April 15) - Luke Roffers outruns the storm and a stout field of 25 of the best super late models in the southeast at Cleveland County Speedway. The win was Roffers 2nd of the early 2011 season with the Carolina Clash and propelled Roffers to solo possession of first place in the championship points. "I would like to thank Wolfpack Racing, Cal Les 2 Trucking, Wayne Roffers Trucking, Chad Roffers Trucking, Roffers Wildlife Studio, and Wisconsin Lock & Load," said Roffers in victory lane. "My crew gave me a great setup tonight."
With impending weather on the way and severe thunderstorms in the forecast, officials from Cleveland County Speedway and the Carolina Clash decided it was best to qualify and go immediately into the feature event, starting all 25 cars present.
Luke Roffers set fast time during qualifying for his first pole of the 2011 season with a time of 17.182. 13 cars were able to break the track record of 17.664 on the newly configured high banked, ½ mile.
Roffers was able to jump out to the early lead when the feature began as the rest of the field behind him, raced 2 and 3 wide for position. On lap 3, Dean Bowen collected the inside tire barrier in turn 2, receiving extensive damage.
Further in the pack, Scott Autry, Ricky Weeks, and Tim Allen ran 3 wide for nearly 6 laps. Chris Ferguson made his move on lap 10 when he passed Kenny Compton Jr. for 2nd place and set sail for Roffers. Ferguson would get side by side with Roffers for the next 5 laps.
On lap 16, Furman Parton stopped in turn 2 while 7th place runner Scott Autry went pitside with a flat tire. Dennis Franklin, who had been quite thus far this season, made his way from 10th to 3rd in just 16 laps. Jay Sessoms was also a man a mission tonight and was already in the top 10 by lap 16. Sessoms won the Safety Kleen Hard Charger Award advancing 16 positions during the feature event.
Lap 19 saw a scary incident when Ferguson, while attempting to make a pass for the lead, got crossed up in turn 3, sliding up the track into Roffers then hard into the outside wall where Ferguson came to rest on the top of the wall.
Johnny Pursley made his way to 2nd after the lap 19 incident and began reeling in Roffers. On lap 29, Pursley made his move to the inside of Roffers as the two would run side by side for the lead for the next 5 laps until Roffers was able to prevail and take over the lead.
The final caution flew on lap 34 when David Taylor slowed in turn 4 with a flat left-rear tire. Under the caution, Mike Gault who was on his way to the hard charger of the race award, began smoking heavily and stopped in turn 1. This was a major blow to Gaults' championship hopes as he came into the race tied for first place in championship points.
On the restart, Roffers walked away from the rest of the field and brought home the win. Johnny Pusley was able to finish 2nd and Petey Ivey was able to finish 3rd. Outside polesitter Kenny Compton Jr. finished the race in 4th and Dennis Franklin rounded out your top 5.
Final Rundown
Finish Driver Start Hometown
1. Luke Roffers (1) Concord, NC
2. Johnny Pursley (7) Clover, SC
3. Petey Ivey (5) Union, SC
4 Kenny Compton (2) Bland, VA
5. Dennis Franklin (10) Gaffney, SC
6. Jeff Smith (9) Dallas, NC
7. Jay Sessoms (23) Stanley, NC
8. Chad Paxton (12) Troutman, NC
9. Robbie Bailey (16) Mooresville, NC
10. Mike Huey (18) Chester, SC
11. Travis Yow (20) Fayetteville, NC
12. David Taylor (14) Fayetteville, NC
13. Mike Gault (19) Gaffney, SC
14. Scott Autry (11) Fayetteville, NC
15. Brian Ledbetter (22) Dallas, NC
16. Dustin Mitchell (4) Fayetteville, NC
17. Chris Ferguson (6) Mt. Holly, NC
18. Tim Allen (15) Kannapolis, NC
19. Furman Parton (3) Union Mills, NC
20. Ricky Weeks (13) Rutherfordton, NC
21. Craig Shuffield (21) Fayetteville, NC
22. Doug Sanders (24) Springwood, NC
23. Dean Bowen (8) Whiteville, NC
24. John Pursley (17) Clover, SC
25 Ross Bailes DNS
Hard Charger of the Race: (10 pts bonus) Jay Sessoms
Fastest Qualifier: Luke Roffers
XS Power Racing Batteries Fastest Qualifier- Luke Roffers
Collins Signs First Man Out Award- Scott Autry
R2C Performance Heat Race Winners- None
Comp Cams Feature Winner- Luke Roffers
Keizer Wheels Runner up Award- Johnny Pursley
Shell Racing Solutions 3rd place finisher- Petey Ivey
ATL Fuel Cells 4th place finisher- Kenny Compton
Cool Shirts Top 5- Luke Roffers, Johnny Pursley, Petey Ivey, Kenny Compton, Dennis Franklin
RF Composites 6th Place finisher-Jeff Smith
NASCAR Technical Institute 10th place finisher- Mike Huey
FK Rod Ends Last Car Running Award- Travis Yow
Ohlins Shocks Last but not Least Award- John Pursley
Safety Kleen Hard Charger of the Race- Jay Sessoms
Klotz Lubricants Rookie of the Race- Chad Paxton
Klotz Lubricants Hard Luck Award- John Pursley
Klotz Lubricants 15th place finisher- Brian Ledbetter
Upcoming Carolina Clash Events
April 16 Friendship Speedway Elkin, NC $4,000 to win
April 30 Lancaster Speedway Lancaster, SC $4,000 to win
Top Ten in Points after Cleveland County Speedway Event
1) Luke Roffers
2) Mike Gault
3) Dennis Franklin
4) Jeff Smith
5) Chad Paxton
6) Kenny Compton
7) David Taylor
8) Tim Allen
9) Craig Shuffield
10) Dean Bowen
The Carolina Clash would like to thank the following sponsors for their contributions to the series in 2011: American Racer Tire, Heintz Brothers Performance, VP Racing Fuels, Comp Cams, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, Shell Racing Solutions, ATL Racing Fuel Cells, Shafer Enterprises' Cool Shirts, NASCAR Technical Institute, Safety Kleen, R2C Performance, XS Power Racing Batteries, Next Level Graphics, Collins Signs, www.lockoutforums.com. , Performance Tee's, Racing Electronics, Mike's Custom Tanks, Lincoln Electric, Ohlins Advanced Suspension Technology, Klotz Synthetic Lubricants, RF Composites, Keizer Wheelhouse South, Firethorn Marketing, Raceiver.
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