Scott Tracey Comes out of the Gate Strong

January 31st, 2008

Thursday night marked the beginning of the third chapter in the history book of the NASS Race For Victory. The first batch of 2008 drivers took to the track in what will be several opening practice races that will lead up to the RFV. It was a race that saw a rocky start but transitioned into smooth sailing for Scott Tracey as he held all attempts and soared to the victory.

The contest started out with an extended practice which found the contingent of teammates toping the speed charts in perfect numerical order. Mike Westfall set fast time in practice with his 00 Dodge with an average lap speed of 178.227 mph. He was followed closely by the 01 of Rob Meloche, and the 02 of Jordan Westfall. The perfect number order must mean something and certainly all three of these drivers will be ones to watch as the week unfolds.

Fast Forward to qualifying and it was NASS's Gerry Goguen pulling down the pole over an always fast Carl Dodson. Everyone was eager to get the event underway and get the first glimpse of how they were to measure up against the competition. After a short drivers meeting twenty-four drivers took to the speedway for the initial practice race.

#147 Gerry Gougen pulls down the pole in his Molson Canadian Dodge.

The initial start was thwarted on lap one in turn one as contender Rob Meloche found his demise before he got to the back straightaway. Rob had some disappointing words but when he was consulted after the race for his comments, he recognized that it was just a racing deal. The incident was triggered when John Doucette had some challenges with his rig and the truck was ill handling. John had troubles again on the very next restart which saw RFV returnee Steven Guthrie go around in turn four. Realizing the steering gear was not up to snuff, Doucette called it a night. We know he'll get his controller challenges sorted out and come out strong when things are settled.

Some additional restarts were needed and 18 laps were in the books before it could be said that any racing action took place. Shortly after that restart however the green flag waved and it was a full out contest throughout the entire pack. Some drivers took the opportunity to pit during the initial cautions while others stayed out for track position. This would change the complexity of the race in short order as those drivers running low on fuel had to exit the contest and head to pit road around lap 22. They would all emerge one lap down. Discontent for some meant fortune for others as drives who had topped off earlier surged to the top of the leaderboard and contested for the top positions through the middle stages of the race.

Three of the drivers who counted themselves fortunate however soon felt the sting of discontent as contact occurred between several trucks in the top five including Mike Kelly, Carl Dodson, and Rob Cole. When the dust had settled, Kelley's truck sat in a steaming heap and was done for the evening.

Often in racing misfortune for one competitor is fortune for another. Mike Reinke was able to leverage the caution for a Lucky Dog free pass back to the lead lap. He would not squander the opportunity as he navigated his Mike's Construction Chevrolet back into contention and found himself contesting for the win along with Scott Tracey, Carl Dodson, Rob Cole, and a late surging Josh Gudorf. Positions swapped frequently in the top five over the final dozen laps but Tracey would not be denied as he swept past Carl Dodson in what would be the winning pass on lap fifty-two and held command until the checkers on lap sixty-three. The top three trucks streaked across the finish line together to cap off a solid night of racing.

Scott Tracey (#77) leads Mike Reinke (#1) and Carl Dodson(#91) across for the win.

It was a solid night of racing that had it's typical opening day jitters but overall the outcome was positive outing as the foundation is set for another incredible Race For Victory.

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