Lady Luck not on Casey Smith's side at World Crown 300

[NickHolt]

Lady Luck Doesn’t Seem to Want Casey Smith to Reach the End of the World Crown 300

 

Austin, TX 7/6/12- The destiny of Austin, Texas super late model racer Casey Smith finishing the World Crown 300 at the Gresham Motorsports Park in Jefferson, Georgia will have to hold off again for one more year. Smith who was running fourth ahead of eventual winner Chase Elliott after the two had already pitted for tires and fuel; broke a rear track bar mount ending his night on lap 147 of 300. This was the second year in a row that a mechanical breakage ended Casey’s night after running so well in the high stakes $20,000 to win race.

 

“This just sucks to have a car this good and this fast and something out of our control break on us. We had an awesome car here tonight too. I’d say we were the only one that could keep up with Chase because we were able to come from starting twentieth to the lead passing him,” explained Smith from the pits next to his broken #99 machine. “I just don’t know when we can get a break here or anywhere else this year. We started the year off real well but since then we’ve had some terrible luck.”

 

Without a doubt Smith had a top two car after being fast throughout the event’s practice sessions over the two day period. A tight car in qualifying put the #99 machine in the back of the field to start the race, but he sure didn’t stay there long. Casey had wheeled his way to the 11th position just 11 laps in the race. Smith kept working the field letting slower cars come to him and eventually made the pass for second on lap eighty-seven. In lap 107 the yellow brought some of the front runners including that of Smith for tires and fuel. The assembled pit crew did excellent job getting the #99 machine out without losing a spot putting Casey back on the bumper of Elliott to go back racing.

 

Smith then sliced through the field after taking the green in tenth position taking over the lead from Ryan Blaney on lap 114. Casey managed to lead seventeen laps before Elliott would take back the lead. With just three laps to go before the completion of the first segment on lap 150, smoke billowed from the rear of #99 car off of turn four. Indications looked at first by the smoke like it could have been the motor, but it was just tire smoke from the rear tires rubbing against the fenders after the rear end shifted due to a broken track bar mount.

 

“We’ve got some time off now so we’ll get regrouped and be ready to go at it again I guess. It’s one thing to break when you’re running say 8th and it’s another to break when you have a car that I know could have challenged for the lead,” added Smith.

 

For more information on Texas super late model driver Casey Smith and his Casey Smith Racing team visit his website at http://www.caseysmithracing.com/. For website, marketing and public relations related issues contact Chris Ragle with Tex Motorsports Marketing at 940-393-3167.