Norfolk Va - 27 haulers lined the pits at Norfolk 2k11 raceway and 13,572 fans paid good money to see some great racing from the boys for the Lucas Oil Summer Sizzler Series and more importantly see if anyone could keep Shock out of victory lane at one of his favorite tracks.
Heat 1 would see some great racing as Jim, B42, 00, Ice, and Superman would duke it out for 12 laps to try to make the feature. In the end Jim would be able to fight off the field and advance to the “A” Main along with 00. B42 held on to 3rd and Superman would make a last lap pass on Ice for the 4th spot.
Rac started on the outside front row in heat 2 and he would not look back leading all 12 laps. Rain took the 2nd transfer spot by getting by Shock in a door to door battle that would have Shock seeing red after the race. New Doit member 88x (Jus) came home 4th and Keith rounded out the top 5.
Heat 3 saw an intense battle as D5 would make sure that he wasn’t on the outside looking in this week, as he moved from the 4th spot to the front to claim the heat 3 win. Wheel was able to get around Bullet for 2nd. Bullet finished a close 3rd with B34 and JSN rounding out the top 5.
The “D” Feature would see 9 cars take the green with D49 picking up the win, Goat, Ax, and J-Mac would also advance to the “C” feature.
Ice started the “C” on the pole and never looked back. JSN, D49, and Keith also transferred to the “B”.
Shock was able to break away from the front row and run away with the “B”. A great battle between D88x, Superman, B42, and Ice ensued for 2nd. After 15 laps of action it was Shock who would give himself a chance to double up at Norfolk 2k11 and another $25,000 payday. Superman finished 2nd with Ice and JSN advancing to the “A”. B42 looked to have 4th wrapped up but he pulled a let off the gas a couple of laps early after some contact had him discombobulated.
The 50 lap “A” Main would start with Jim and Rac leading the field to the green. Rac would clear Jim on the back straight to lead the 1st lap. Wheel would quickly make his presence known by moving up to 4th on the cushion in 3 and 4 after starting sixth. Lap 4 would see trouble as Rac and D5 would make contact sending Rac into the inside wall. This contact allowed Wheel to move from 3rd to the lead and he would immediately start to pull away from the field.
The high line wasn’t lost on Wheel as his teammates Shock and Superman would pass most the field and get to 2nd and 3rd after starting seventh and eighth. Ninth starting Ice would then find his way around teammate Rain for the 4th spot and try to start reeling in the VLR stable who planted themselves in the front, as the back half of the starters in the field quickly powered around the drivers who started closer to the front at a track where passing seemed to come easy.
Superman would finally clear Shock on lap 18 but this battle was far from over as Shock stayed right on the tail of his teammate, but it was Ice who seemed to be making up some ground. By lap 22 Ice caught Shock and the two long time rivals would start to battle for the 3rd spot allowing Superman to gain some much needed distance. By lap 27 Shock would start to pull away from Ice and catch back up to Superman but this once again allowed Ice to creep back up on the back bumper of Shock and once again Superman would start to inch away.
With 20 laps to go Wheel was comfortably out in the lead with Superman running 2nd. Shock and Ice once again started fighting for the 3rd spot and Rain rounded out the top 5. D5 was by himself in 6th but right behind him 00, Jim, and JSN would be in close quarters for the 7th spot and Rac would be listed as 10th after an early incident.
On lap 38 Shock would make a mistake in turn 1 allowing Ice to get around and set his sights on Superman. Wheel would continue to dominate and Superman would have just enough to keep Ice at bay for 2nd. Ice crossed the line in 3rd, and Shock would fall short of the double double at Norfolk 2k11 by finishing 4th. Rainman brought home the x59 machine with a respectable top 5. D5 was able to muster a 6th place finish but would swap with 00 after the race due to some early race contact and D5 was scored in the 7th spot. Jim had a good run finishing 8th with JSN 9th and Rac bringing up the final spot in the “A”
After the race we caught up with Wheel in victory lane. “Im still disappointed that Shock got the win here on Thursday. After he “called” his win I wanted to shove it back down his throat. But I have to thank the boys at the shop for making this NOS car the monster that it is.”
Superman had a good run in 2nd “I had a really good car for this track and could run with anyone. The pass I made in turn 4 of the last lap of the heat with Ice really proved that. I sure wish I would have started a little closer to the front, who knows what would have happened."
Ice had another run from deep in the field. “If I could just make an “A” feature from the heats I wouldn’t be nearly as tired at the end of the night. Shock hooked me up with a great set tonight. I felt like I had the 2nd best car because Wheel was hooked up. Cant complain about another good points night though.”
Shock was obviously dejected after the race. “I think I had a plug wire or something loose. I just didn’t have the drive off the corners as I did the other night. Plus I think a lot of guys got faster between Thursday and Monday. Oh and Wheel for saying that . I'd like to whoop his scrawny little .”
Join the Lucas Oil Summer Sizzler Series Thursday night at DOIT as we travel to Knoxville Iowa for the Full Top Nationals at Knoxville 2k11. Hope to see a great crowd.