However, the Crossville, Tn. driver didn’t allow the contact to derail his bid for the victory, and used a great tire combination to propel him past WFO_Stealth and BLS_F1yer in the closing laps and earn one of the most impressive victories of his long career.
Shock didn’t allow a dry, bottom-grooved track in the feature keep him from victory lane, as he took over the lead with twenty to go before setting sail to earn his second victory of the season at VLR.
“Whenever F1yer passed me early on I thought he had a good car because he passed me on the outside, and I thought he was going to beat me,” Shock said with a smile. “Then VLR_18 kinda got into me. At first it didn’t seem like he got me that bad because it seemed like I was still kinda close to them guys (WFO_Stealth and BLS_F1yer), but I looked up and I was about eight car lengths behind.
“It kinda just blew my mind that I caught back up. I was surprised that I won.”
VLR_Shock drove his NOS Energy Toyota Camry to the lead after running much of the race in second and third behind WFO_Stealth and hard charging BLS_F1yer. Despite starting on the outside pole, it was Shock’s late race pass for the lead that gave him his first laps lead on the night.
WFO_Stealth finished a distant second, 2.787 seconds behind the twenty-two year old VLR_Shock, in a result that matched his career best finish at VLR, which was also a second at Florence two seasons ago.
BLS_F1yer of Hickory, N.C., who currently leads the VLR Gen3 point standings over VLR_18, finished over a straightaway behind WFO_Stealth after coming in contact with the retaining wall late in the race. Runner-up points man VLR_18 crossed the line another second back from BLS_F1yer in a fourth place run, his second worst of the season.
The night belonged to Shock, though, after he overcame his accident with VLR_18 to make an unforgettable rally in the closing laps to power away with the win.
“I just sucked it up and hoped their tires wore out,” said VLR_Shock, who earned his fifteenth career win in VLR’s top series. “I knew my tires probably wouldn’t wear out that bad and I just started hitting my line. Then I seen F1yer and Stealth get together and I was just right there."
F1yer, 33, was happy with his result, but had hoped the track would have been tackier for the feature.
“It was a good race until I hit the gate,” said the sixth starting BLS_F1yer. “I was about to pull in the pits, but the way the track was slick as shit I was just hoping someone would hit the gate, too, and luckily VLR_18 did.
“I just wish the track was a little wetter, I think it woulda been a lot cleaner race. I think it was clean for the most part, but everyone was fighting for the bottom and it makes it where the leader can block like hell and it causes everyone behind them to bunch up.”
Despite pulling away every circuit in the closing laps, Shock knew one wrong move on the dry-slick Florence Speedway could end his hopes at victory.
”One wrong mistake on that wetness and it kinda brings everybody back together,” VLR_Shock said of the final laps. “I just saw an opportunity there (to go for the lead) and took it.”
Even after winning and making up some ground in the points, VLR_Shock was not confident in his chances at stealing the point’s title away from BLS_F1yer and VLR_18, as he now sits twenty-two points out of the top spot heading into the last four races of the season.
“I kinda gave up on that (the championship) after Cumberland a while back,” said Shock. “It’s good to win I mean I didn’t think I really could. I mean it’s Florence, I do good here, but it just seems like I’ve been struggling lately and I didn’t really see it coming to an end here.
“The last four tracks, a couple of them may not be too good for me, but I’m just gonna try to win from here on out and see what I can do. It’s hard to win in the Gen3 series for me, but I just like to win anytime I can win it against these guys.”
Now Shock has a feeling he can do some damage in the final races, as he traditionally seems to come on strong at the end of the season. He hopes to start a win streak beginning this coming weekend at the famed Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa.
“I have only ran there once or twice and it’s a bigger track, and I’m usually not to good at those,” said VLR_Shock, who is possibly the best short track racer in dtr2. “I like to kind of prove to myself that I can win at them (bigger tracks), so I’m just gonna try.
“If I win I think that would surprise a lot of people, and I like to surprise them like that. So hopefully we can win.”
BLS_F1yer came into the race holding a small two point lead over Mr. Three-in-a-row championship winner VLR_18, and left the legendary half-mile track with two more valuable points added to his lead as VLR_18 faded from the pole to come home fourth.
VLR_18 didn’t shy away when asked what he has to do over the final four races to ensure that he will become the VLR champion for the fourth straight time at VLR.
“Just win the last four races, and everything else will take care of itself,” VLR_18 said bluntly. “That’s what I’ve been trying to do the whole time."
The fifteenth season of VLR is shaping up to be the closest one in series history, which stretches all the way back to 2004. Just twenty-two points now separate first from third in the standings, and sixty-eight points divide first from fifth.
Finishing in positions 5-10 was Kamikaze of Magnolia, Ms.; BLS_Jsn of Kokomo, In; BLS_Deadbolt of Erie, Pa, who matched his career best finish at VLR after finishing seventh two weeks earlier as well; BLS_DblZro of Clayton, In., who nearly pulled off the upset last week at Bloomington; Simon of Erie, Pa, who finished 9th in his first ever race in VLR’s Gen 3 series, and Starnes77 of Houston, Tx, who made a disastrous return to dtr2 after flipping his car in the feature.
Twenty-one cars entered the event, with just six of the entries representing the south. The South racer’s finished 1st, 3rd, 5th, 10th, 14th, and 19th respectively, while the drivers representing the north finished 2nd, 4th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 12th, 13th, 15th, 18th, and 20th.
VLR_Shock was competing for the south in the event and kept the North/South trophy in the south since VLR first began racing on this track two seasons ago. BLS_F1yer of Hickory, N.C., and VLR_JW of West Point, Ms. were the previous winners of the North/South races at Florence in VLR action.
Heat winners were VLR_18, BLS_F1yer, and VLR_Shock. The B Main’s were earned by BLS_DblZro and Kamikaze.
The VLR Gen3 tour hit’s the road again this Saturday as the stars and cars of the series head north to race at Don Martin’s Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa.
VLR_Shock looks to try to repeat on the big and wide track, but the rest of the competition won’t make it easy as the point’s battle continues to heat up as well. This should be a dandy.
For more information on the VLR tour, visit www.teamvlr.com.
Qualifying Results: 1. VLR_18 2. BLS_F1yer 3. VLR_Shock 4. WFO_Stealth 5. VLR_JW 6. Starnes 7. BLS_00 8. BLS_DeadBolt 9. BLS_Jsn 10. ErL_Goat 11. Simon 12. VLR_KP 13. BLS_Zombie 14. ErL_Turbo 15. WFO_jus8x 16. Kamikaze 17. ErL_Mindstorm 18. VLR_Razz 19. Invader
Top 10 Results of VLR Late Model series North/South (Finishing Position/Start/Driver):
1. (2) VLR_Shock
2. (3) WFO_Stealth
3. (6) BLS_F1yer
4. (1) VLR_18
5. (8) Kamikaze
6. (9) BLS_Jsn!
7. (4) BLS_DeadBolt
8. (7) BLS_DblZro
9. (10) Simon
10. (5) Starnes77
Time of Race: 11:50.31
Margin of Victory: 2.78 Secs.
Rookie of the Race: Kamikaze
SuperClean Fast Time Award: BLS_F1yer 11.56
SuperClean Hard Luck Award: Simon