Post by Dirt Master on Sept 5, 2006 22:42:54 GMT -5
Nowell wins battle - Darda wins war at East Alabama
By Jay Vaquer
Phenix City, ALA - September 2, 2006. It was a thriller down to the last points race of the 2006 season for the Late Models at East Alabama Motor Speedway. Tod Darda was leading the point standings with 532 and Marvin Cook was in second with 492. During the Late Model qualifying Terrance Nowell captured the pole for the Late Model feature while Darda was the second fastest and Cook was the third fastest. When the green flag dropped on the feature Nowell blasted out to the lead. Darda and Jeff Culpepper shuffled in behind but were losing ground. Marc Gooden went off the track to bring out the yellow flag. After being sent to the rear for the restart the green was back out and again Nowell was nothing but speed and power as he pulled away from the field. Local legend Dana Eiland had a brake malfunction during qualifying and started deep in the field. Eiland was in the running to pick up the Columbus Cottonmouths Hat Trick award of $500 to any driver to win three races in a row. On lap 5 Eiland passed Tim Thomason and began working on Ricky Culpepper who was hooked up and running fast. Larry Harrod and Allen Sparks put on a great show as they went door to door all the way around the 3/8's mile high-banked clay oval. On lap 11 Eiland scooted past Ricky Culpepper and was on a run. Marvin Cook literally saw his bid for the Championship go up in smoke as his car burst into flames down the backstretch. The fireball came from the engine compartment and extended the length of his car. The flames extinguished themselves as he rolled into the pits for an unfortunate DNF. On the restart it was Nowell, Darda, Jeff Culpepper, Sparks, Harrod, Eiland, Ricky Culpepper, Thomason, Leon Watson Jr and Matt Woodson rounding out the top ten. Eiland put the whip to his K-9 and passed both Harrod and Sparks on lap 13. Eiland then made up the length of half a straight-away to catch Jeff Culpepper running third. When Eiland hammered down out of turn two to put the pass on Culpepper, he suddenly broke and coasted to a stop. The yellow came out and Eiland fired back up and drove to the front straight where it was clearly obvious the something in his right rear suspension had broken as his wheel vibrated intensely. The green came back out and Nowell was definitely in charge, as Darda seemed content to hold on to second place and not jeopardize the championship. Harrod and Sparks were still locked up in mortal combat as everyone else in the field ran where they were. Watson came up to complicate Woodson's life and was looking high and low for a way around. Woodson knew he would move into second place in the points if he could hold on to his position and like a true warrior under pressure he kept his cool and drove a very smooth line in spite of Watson's challenges. Suddenly the white flag flew and Terrance Nowell took the checkers uncontested wire to wire. Tod Darda finished second but won the 2006 Late Model Championship. Jeff Culpepper was happy to have a third place finish since he finished ahead of his rising star son Ricky. Allen sparks came in fourth, Larry Harrod fifth, Ricky Culpepper sixth, Tim Thomason seventh, Matt Woodson eighth, Leon Watson JR ninth, and Marc Gooden rounded out the top ten in tenth.
By Jay Vaquer
Phenix City, ALA - September 2, 2006. It was a thriller down to the last points race of the 2006 season for the Late Models at East Alabama Motor Speedway. Tod Darda was leading the point standings with 532 and Marvin Cook was in second with 492. During the Late Model qualifying Terrance Nowell captured the pole for the Late Model feature while Darda was the second fastest and Cook was the third fastest. When the green flag dropped on the feature Nowell blasted out to the lead. Darda and Jeff Culpepper shuffled in behind but were losing ground. Marc Gooden went off the track to bring out the yellow flag. After being sent to the rear for the restart the green was back out and again Nowell was nothing but speed and power as he pulled away from the field. Local legend Dana Eiland had a brake malfunction during qualifying and started deep in the field. Eiland was in the running to pick up the Columbus Cottonmouths Hat Trick award of $500 to any driver to win three races in a row. On lap 5 Eiland passed Tim Thomason and began working on Ricky Culpepper who was hooked up and running fast. Larry Harrod and Allen Sparks put on a great show as they went door to door all the way around the 3/8's mile high-banked clay oval. On lap 11 Eiland scooted past Ricky Culpepper and was on a run. Marvin Cook literally saw his bid for the Championship go up in smoke as his car burst into flames down the backstretch. The fireball came from the engine compartment and extended the length of his car. The flames extinguished themselves as he rolled into the pits for an unfortunate DNF. On the restart it was Nowell, Darda, Jeff Culpepper, Sparks, Harrod, Eiland, Ricky Culpepper, Thomason, Leon Watson Jr and Matt Woodson rounding out the top ten. Eiland put the whip to his K-9 and passed both Harrod and Sparks on lap 13. Eiland then made up the length of half a straight-away to catch Jeff Culpepper running third. When Eiland hammered down out of turn two to put the pass on Culpepper, he suddenly broke and coasted to a stop. The yellow came out and Eiland fired back up and drove to the front straight where it was clearly obvious the something in his right rear suspension had broken as his wheel vibrated intensely. The green came back out and Nowell was definitely in charge, as Darda seemed content to hold on to second place and not jeopardize the championship. Harrod and Sparks were still locked up in mortal combat as everyone else in the field ran where they were. Watson came up to complicate Woodson's life and was looking high and low for a way around. Woodson knew he would move into second place in the points if he could hold on to his position and like a true warrior under pressure he kept his cool and drove a very smooth line in spite of Watson's challenges. Suddenly the white flag flew and Terrance Nowell took the checkers uncontested wire to wire. Tod Darda finished second but won the 2006 Late Model Championship. Jeff Culpepper was happy to have a third place finish since he finished ahead of his rising star son Ricky. Allen sparks came in fourth, Larry Harrod fifth, Ricky Culpepper sixth, Tim Thomason seventh, Matt Woodson eighth, Leon Watson JR ninth, and Marc Gooden rounded out the top ten in tenth.