NEW SMYRNA BEACH, FL :: Parity continued to run wild in the Speedweeks Super Late Model division on Thursday night as David Garbo became the fifth different driver to win in five nights during the annual World Series of Asphalt at New Smyrna Speedway.
The victory was his first in a Super and occured in a 50-lapper that included several new drivers making their debuts this week as a virtual test session for Saturday night’s Bruce Gowland Memorial 100 main event. Garbo took the top spot from early leader Garrett Jones on lap 20 and never looked back despite a consistent threat from Chrstopher Bell — one of the new faces to New Smyrna who just arrived in town with his powerful Kyle Busch Motorsports team in tow.
The triumph was an emotional one for Garbo who has struggled all week until winning on Friday. Upon pulling into Victory Lane, Garbo pounded his first into his steering wheel as a celebratory fashion out of sheer excitement.
“We all work so hard and put so much heart into these race cars,” Garbo said. “We just felt like we didn’t have any luck on our side. After a long streak with no wins you try to make excuses.
“You don’t know if it’s the driver or it’s the car. We figured it all out now. It’s just so emotional because we put so much heart and soul into this car.”
Over the course of the first five Super Late Model races at the World Series, Garbo’s straight rail experience was on full display. But the 18-year-old hit on something Thursday, posting the fastest time in qualifying and overcoming an invert to win at the Florida track for the first time in his career.
“I think the car is really good on the long run,” Garbo said. “We pulled away from (Christopher Bell) and were better than Harrison Burton on the long run. This is only the fifth Super Late Model race I’ve ever run my whole life.
“We finally have some good notes to go by and I think on the long run we’ll make some more adjustments and we should be good.”
Bell is also just getting started in his Super Late Model career, having only made a handful of starts in the Pro All Stars Series and a follow-up in a Pro Late Model at Pensacola in the Snowflake 100. He said that finishing second in his first start at New Smyrna Speedway in a full-bodied car was a satisfying start to his 2015 season.
“It just wasn’t quite good enough to win tonight,” Bell said. “We know how to make our car better and hopefully we can get better for tomorrow night and Saturday night.”
Wednesday night winner Steve Wallace entered Thursday night as the championship leader but a mechanical failure early in the race cost him the top spot. By virtue of his sixth place finish, defending ARCA Midwest Tour champion Ty Majeski will enter the final two races of Speedweeks with just a single point advantage over Garrett Jones.
Zane Smith is third and just three points back.
One final 35-lap race will headline the Late Model portion of the card on Friday night with the Bruce Gowland Memorial 100 set to crown a Speedweeks champion on Saturday night — the night before the Daytona 500.
The complete results of Super Late Model Race No. 5 can be viewed below.
- David Garbo
- Christopher Bell
- Harrison Burton
- Garrett Jones
- Zane Smith
- Ty Majeski
- Alex Labbe
- Spencer Davis
- Natalie Decker
- Denver Foran
- David Rogers
- Joey Mucciacciaro
- Derek Kraus
- Rico Abreu
- Terrell Duke
- Bobby Pierce
- Chuck Tuck
- Josh Collins
- Brendon Bock
- Stephen Wallace
- Brandon Oakley
- Stephen Weaver Jr.
- Bradley Baldwin
- Kyle Plott
- Paul Shafer
- Ryan Moore
- Martin Latulippe
- Gus Dean
- David Green
- Claire Decker
- Kyle Mccallum
- Ashley Rogero
- Drew Brannon
- Brad May
- Stephen Nasse
Championship Standings with Two Races Remaining
- Ty Majeski Ldr.
- Garrett Jones -1
- Zane Smith -3
- Stephen Wallace -11
- Joey Mucciacciaro -17
- Harrison Burton -18
- Paul Shafer -24
- Natalie Decker -25
- David Garbo -37
- Denver Foran -38
