2012 Season Race Results: Races 17-32

Race #17- Amicable Insurance 500, Great Lakes International Raceway, 7/1/2012 

The 2nd half of the season kicks off with the first race at Great Lakes…and plenty of action. Turn 8 saw a big crash collect 14 racers with 6 unable to continue. After that, racers dropped out in ones and twos with just 26 finishing the race. There were also 11 lead changes ending with a first time winner.

Season Standings: 

 1- Stu Yurich (9) — 539 pts

2- Tom Rossi (92) — 523 pts

3- Wayne Montana (99) — 508 pts

4- Craig Greco (61) — 485 pts

5- Dave Lilly (23) — 483 pts

Race #18- Brainy Jane 300, Midwest Motor Speedway, 7/8/2012 

A quieter race for the first 20 turns that saw MacAtee lead from the pole. However, 6 lead changes in the last 9 turns made for an exciting finish and the first back-to-back winner of the season.

Season Standings: 

1- Stu Yurich (9) — 566 pts

2- Wayne Montana (99) — 548 pts

3- Tom Rossi (92) — 528 pts

4- Pete MacAtee (74) — 525 pts

5- Dave Lilly (23) — 512 pts

Race #19- Bitty Beer 400, Southern Super Speedway, 7/15/2012 

What do you get when you combine a Super Speedway with no big crash? A lot of cars driving really fast in a circle. 38 cars finished the race and only 4 lead changes.

Season Standings: 

1- Stu Yurich (9) — 607 pts

2- Wayne Montana (99) — 560 pts

3- Dave Lilly (23) — 551 pts

4- Pete MacAtee (74) — 550 pts

5- Vic Holder (6) — 540 pts

Race #20- Doby’s Firecracker 400, Heart of America Motor Speedway, 7/22/2012 

It started like a firecracker with 4 lead changes in the first 8 turns. Eventually, Greco grabs the lead keeping everyone behind him, only to have a mechanical failure on turn 38 of the 40 turn race and finish 37th…ouch!

Season Standings: 

1- Stu Yurich (9) — 644 pts

2- Wayne Montana (99) — 604 pts

3- Dave Lilly (23) — 586 pts

4- Pete MacAtee (74) — 581 pts

5- Tom Rossi (92) — 577 pts

Race #21- Colonial 500, Eastern Seaboard Speedway, 7/29/2012 

A short (25 turn) race makes qualifying important and avoiding bad luck critical. A little shuffling early with a 5 car crash, but in the end the new record set in this race was for fewest lead changes, 2. The winner took the lead on turn 8 and after that everyone was racing for 2nd place. One of the drivers was Denny Baker making only his 2nd start of the season, but getting his 2nd top 5 finish too!

Season Standings: 

1- Stu Yurich (9) — 671 pts

2- Wayne Montana (99) — 624 pts

3- Tom Rossi (92) — 595 pts

4- Dave Lilly (23) — 590 pts

5- Pete MacAtee (74) — 588 pts

Race #22- Snooze-Inn, Sun King Speedway, 8/5/2012 

30 turn race that saw a big crash in turn 11 collecting 12 drivers with 4 unable to continue. The record for fewest lead changes lasts one week and there was ONE lead change.

Season Standings: 

1- Stu Yurich (9) — 690 pts

2- Pete MacAtee (74) — 634 pts

3- Dave Lilly (23) — 627 pts

4- Wayme Montana (99) — 625 pts

5- Tom Rossi (92) — 623 pts

Race #23- Signal Health Care 400, New England Colonial Speedway, 8/12/2012 

A return to medium length race (40 turns) and a return to action! A big crash on turn 4 collected 11 racers with 2 unable to continue and turn 11 saw a small crash collect 6 racers with 1 of them unable to continue. 9 lead changes kept everyone involved in the racing. MacAtee becomes the 2nd driver to win back-to-back races and brings his season total to 5 victories!

Season Standings: 

1- Stu Yurich (9) — 703 pts

2- Pete MacAtee (74) — 680 pts

3- Wayne Montana (99) — 669 pts

4- Vic Holder (6) — 642 pts

5- Dave Lilly (23) — 636 pts

Race #24- Big Sky 400, Rocky Mountain Raceway, 8/19/2012 

A couple of medium size crashes with the second being in turn 33 of 40 that collected 5 with 4 of the racers taken out of the race. 9 lead changes continued keeping everyone guessing with the final lead change taking place on the second to last turn.

Season Standings: 

1- Stu Yurich (9) — 744 pts

2- Pete MacAtee (74) — 706 pts

3- Wayne Montana (99) — 690 pts

4- Tom Rossi (92) — 678 pts

5- Dave Lilly (23) — 673 pts

Race #25- Heartland 500, Midwest Motor Speedway, 8/26/2012 

Things got chaotic in the heartland. A medium crash that collected 5 drivers, but all were able to continue was the warm up for things to come. Turn 23 saw the first of two big crashes collecting 11 drivers with 3 unable to continue. Turn 35 saw the second big crash collecting 10, but ending the race for 7 of them. Only 2/3s of the field finished the race (28 of 43). The race was dominated by Rossi who got the pole and led the first 31 turns, but he couldn’t claim the trifecta by taking the checkered flag.

Season Standings: 

1- Stu Yurich (9) — 773 pts

2- Pete MacAtee (74) — 746 pts

3- Tom Rossi (92) — 722 pts

4- Wayne Montana (99) — 711 pts

5- Dave Lilly (23) — 704 pts

Race #26- Good Snips 500, Northwest Empire International Raceway, 9/2/2012 

Qualifying was enough because two big crashes in the early going completely reshuffled the race order. Turn 3 saw a very big crash collect 19 of the 43 racers, though only 2 were unable to continue. As soon as the green flag dropped after the first crash, turn 6 saw another collecting just 9 racers, though 4 were able to continue from the second crash. Then everyone settled down and some exciting racing ensued with 8 lead changes.

Season Standings: 

1- Pete MacAtee (74) — 786 pts

2- Stu Yurich (9) — 782 pts

3- Wayne Montana (99) — 754 pts

4- Dave Lilly (23) — 746 pts

5- Tom Rossi (92) — 729 pts

Race #27- Daily Double at OP, Ocean Pacific International, 9/9/2012 

Normally these shorter races (28 turns) it is important to qualify well, but an 11 car crash on turn 1 rearrange things quickly. All racers were able to continue. The road course even saw 4 lead changes. As the season entered the final 6 races, Stu Yurich regained his lead in the season standings with another solid performance and grabbing bonus points. Can he close the door on the other drivers?

Season Standings: 

1- Stu Yurich (9) — 821 pts

2- Pete MacAtee (74) — 797 pts

3- Wayne Montana (99) — 793 pts

4- Dave Lilly (23) — 792 pts

5- Tom Rossi (92) — 731 pts

Race #28- Pemoco 400, Great Lakes International Raceway, 9/16/2012 

A couple of medium size crashes in the middle of the race collected 6 and 5 racers respectively. However, the two crashes took 7 racers out of the race, but none of the season contenders. 6 lead changes resulted in a surprise winner. Stu Yurich put together another solid race, but so did most of the other top contenders.

Season Standings: 

1- Stu Yurich (9) — 855 pts

2- Wayne Montana (99) — 835 pts

3- Pete MacAtee (74) — 834 pts

4- Dave Lilly (23) — 819 pts

5- Tom Rossi (92) — 772 pts

Race #29- Chuks Potato Chips 400, Gulf COast Motor Speedway, 9/30/2012 

39 of 43 racers were still running, but 7 lead changes kept the race exciting. Stu Yurich led some turns in the early going, but fell off in the 2nd half of the race allowing his competitors an opportunity to close the gap. A few took that opportunity and closed the gap for the season championship.

Season Standings: 

1- Stu Yurich (9) — 876 pts

2- Wayne Montana (99) — 863 pts

3- Pete MacAtee (74) — 858 pts

4- Dave Lilly (23) — 829 pts

5- Tom Rossi (92) — 813 pts

Race #30- Prospector 400, Golden Gate International Speedway, 10/7/2012 

5 lead changes in the first half of the race kept everyone in their seats, but Mark Forth grabs the lead on turn 25 and never looks back grabbing his first victory of 2012. Stu Yurich puts in another solid performance with a top 10 outpacing all of his competition save one; Wayne Montana continued to eat into his lead with a top 5 finish.

Season Standings: 

1- Stu Yurich (9) — 911 pts

2- Wayne Montana (99) — 903 pts

3- Pete MacAtee (74) — 882 pts

4- Tom Rossi (92) — 845 pts

5- Dave Lilly (23) — 831 pts

Race #31- A to Z Auto Parts 600, Desert Saguro SuperSpeedway, 10/14/2012 

60 turns on a SuperSpeedway, anything can happen…and did. Turn 2 saw the big crash collecting 13 drivers with 5 unable to continue. Turn 6 saw a second big crash collecting 13 (again) with 3 unable to continue. Turn 31 added another medium size crash collecting 7 drivers with 2 unable to continue. In the end, only 26 of 43 racers finished the race. While it was too late for his pursuit of the champioship, Tom Rossi became the first driver to get the trifecta, pole position, most laps led, and the win in 2012. The reason it was too late for Rossi was that Stu Yurich had another top 10 finish, but Wayne Montana had another top 5. With one race left, Only 2 points separate the top 2 drivers heading into the final race.

Season Standings: 

1- Stu Yurich (9) — 947 pts

2- Wayne Montana (99) — 945 pts

3- Pete MacAtee (74) — 920 pts

4- Tom Rossi (92) — 893 pts

5- Dave Lilly (23) — 853 pts

Race #32- Lone Star Financial 500, Texas National Motor Raceway, 10/21/2012 

This was two races in one. The battle for the checkered flag and the battle for the season championship. And they were two completely separate races. MacAtee had a strong race and eventually a top 10 finish, both Yurich and Montana finished the race well enough that MacAtee could gain ground, but finish third for the season championship. Neither Yurich, nor Montana was on his A-game, but with only 2 points separating the drivers, the only question was who finished ahead of who and by how many spots.

Season Standings: 

1- Wayne Montana (99) — 972 pts

2- Stu Yurich (9) — 965 pts

3- Pete MacAtee (74) — 956 pts

4- Tom Rossi (92) — 909 pts

5- Dave Lilly (23) — 872 pts

Season Standings: Final Top 10