LateModelStock.com - News

Rudd Gets First

CAPRON, Va. (July 13) — Jason Rudd of Suffolk, Va., picked up his first win of the season in the 100-lap RaceWorld.com Late Model Stock Car portion of Friday’s NASCAR Weekly Racing Series program, presented by Bailey’s and Gatorade, at Southampton Motor Speedway.

Doug Godsey of Richmond, Va., earned the pole for the event, qualifying at 96.128 mph. He shared the front row with Richmond’s Brandon Butler, while points leader Mike Shearin of Emporia, Va., and Rudd made up the second row.

As the race got under way, Godsey jumped into the lead, pulling ahead of Butler on the backstretch on the opening lap. Butler settled into second as Shearin and Rudd went door-to-door for the third spot.

Shearin finally cleared Rudd for third on lap 3. Their side-by-side duel, however, allowed Godsey and Butler to drive off by half a straightaway.

Over the first 25 circuits, Godsey gradually extended his lead over Butler to four car-lengths. Rudd, meanwhile, continued to hound Shearin for third.

On lap 27, Rudd slipped past Shearin. The move was negated, though, when the race’s first caution flag flew and scoring reverted to the previous lap.

Back under green, Rudd, the nephew of Winston Cup star Ricky Rudd and an aspiring Busch Series competitor, went to work on Shearin and took over third place on lap 29. By the 43rd circuit, Rudd had chased down second-place Butler, who had fallen several car-lengths back from Godsey.

Nearing the halfway mark, Godsey’s machine began to show smoke in the turns. He maintained the lead, though, as the battle for second brewed in his mirror.

On lap 51, Rudd slipped under Butler. Lapped cars stymied his progress and the tussle was cut short when the second and final yellow flag appeared on lap 52.

As the event resumed, Godsey opened a slim margin. Rudd tailed Butler until lap 60 when he initiated another bid for the runner-up spot, gaining the upper hand at the start/finish line on lap 61. The exchange allowed Godsey to stretch his lead to four car-lengths.

Within 10 laps, Rudd had erased Godsey’s advantage and was looking for an opening.

The opportunity came on lap 73 when Rudd motored alongside Godsey in Turn 4. The two raced door-to-door for a lap with Rudd pulling ahead in Turn 4 on lap 74.

As the race entered its final 10 laps, Rudd had driven away from Godsey by better than half a straightaway. However, he was approaching a gaggle of slower cars.

On lap 99, Rudd drove to the high side of rookie Max Smith of Roanoke Rapids, N.C., on the backstretch and the two banged together. Although Rudd surrendered a few car-lengths of his lead, no real damage was done.

At the finish, Rudd was the winner by 1.178 seconds — about five car-lengths. Godsey was second, followed by Butler. Woody Howard of Chesapeake, Va., who started sixth, drifted back a few spots in the opening laps, then rallied to come home fourth, while Shearin was fifth.

In Victory Lane after the race, Rudd noted gains in his qualifying effort: “Been working qualifying setup a little bit here and ended up qualifying closer to the front than we usually do. It just helps a tremendous amount to not have to pass twice as many cars as you do every week. They gave me a really, really good car tonight. I just drove it as best I could and it worked out great.”

Continuing, Rudd cited some added inspiration for his winning run: “Couple weeks ago, we come out here and tried to run and we got lapped. It was kind of a kick in the butt to us. Not used to getting lapped like that, so just went back and put our heads together and worked real hard, just come out here and this is what we got. Hard work pays off, I guess.”

Runner-up Godsey reported that brake problems seriously hampered his performance: “We had a great race car tonight. Lost the brakes on lap 26 and I think it’s on fire now. Hold on...”

Returning from his impromptu firefighting duties, Godsey continued, “We lost our brakes on lap 26. We had probably the best race car I’ve had here all year. Just wore me out, trying to keep it up there. I was contemplating on parking it several times. It was just a tough deal. Bobby (his spotter) told me, ‘Just don’t hurt yourself.’ It’s a race car — it can be fixed. I wasn’t gonna take any chances.”

Third-place Butler commented on Godsey’s problems and his own run: “Doug, I think, was leaking some right-rear oil out of his hub or something. We started the race a little tight and stayed that way and, then, couldn’t get any bite up off late. We’ll take a third place. Car’s in one piece. That’s part of racing — you take what you can get. We’ll take a third place, come back and be, hopefully, a little stronger next week.”

Friday, July 13, 2001 - Bailey’s/Gatorade Night

   LATE MODEL STOCK CARS - 100 laps

1.  Jason Rudd - Suffolk, Va., 100
2.  Doug Godsey - Richmond, Va., 100
3.  Brandon Butler - Richmond, Va., 100
4.  Woody Howard - Chesapeake, Va., 100
5.  Mike Shearin - Emporia, Va., 100
6.  Mike Conner - Gloucester, Va., 100
7.  Bud Kenny - Virginia Beach, Va., 100
8.  Jim Williams - Chesapeake, Va., 100
9.  Terry Allison - South Mills, N.C., 100
10. Bubba Johnston - Chesapeake, Va., 100
11. Max Smith - Roanoke Rapids, N.C., 99
12. Duane Shreeves - Chesapeake, Va., 99
13. Bob Shreeves - Chesapeake, Va., 99
14. Mike Queen - Chesapeake, Va., 97
15. Robbie Babb - Chesapeake, Va., 95
16. Buck Godsey - Richmond, Va., 51
17. Bugs Hairfield - Chesterfield, Va., 35
18. Rodney Taylor - Petersburg, Va., 31
19. Chris Hopkins - Petersburg, Va., 4
20. Andy Bell - Norfolk, Va., 3
• Pole: D. Godsey - 96.128 mph.
• Hard Luck Award: Babb.
• Hard Charger Award: Rudd.