Dave Brigandi Wins SUPRS Gold Crest Feature at New Smyrna Speedweeks Event
New Smyrna Beach, FL – February 11, 2015…Dave Brigandi of Syracuse, NY can now add his name to the list of Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series Gold Crest feature winners. Brigandi held off all challengers to lead from start to finish for the Florida Speedweeks Night 3 win at New Smyrna Speedway Wednesday.
Dave Brigandi led all 50 laps on way to his first ever SUPRS Gold Crest Feature win at New Smyrna Speedway Wednesday.
When the checkered flag dropped on a race that will go down in SUPRS history as one of the most competitive and fastest ever run on a half mile speedway, Carl Becker and Myles Maxon joined Brigandi on the podium. The younger Maxon had a smile on his face while enduring shouts of “Old Guys Rule” between the top two finishers.
Out of breath, full of emotion and amid the accolades of his fellow competitors, the veteran SUPRS racer exclaimed, ” The beers on me tonight fellas, free drinks for everyone because I’m going to Disney World baby!”
After Brigandi’s fellow retiree Carl Becker said, “Hang on Davey, you shouldn’t have said that, I’m likely to get in the car and drive up from Lansing,” Brigandi told how hard of a race it was, how much it meant to win, and how important it was to be able to spend time with his friends.
“I’m still trying to get my breath back, my heart is pounding through my chest, this is a phenomenal win fellas, this is just great
“Let me tell ya what, my knees were knocking, my hands were sweaty, I knew everyone was real close so I tried not to look at the splits and not worry who was behind me. I felt that as long as I could keep the car down in the corners I knew I could get this thing done. I must have put 200 laps on this rig today trying to master this track and it really paid off, it just really paid off.
“The last time the real supers raced at New Smyrna I was there and this track online is right on, It’s so fast and so cool to win here. Everybody has helped me out so much. I’m so glad to be a part of this group because there’s a great bunch of guys here. I can’t thank everyone enough that we are all good buddies here, we all really are, this is just real special.”
Carl Becker started on the front row with Brigandi, but quickly got shuffled to the back. Just as he thought all hope was lost for a good finish, he steered clear of several close encounters and was able to place himself as a threat for the win.
Becker said, “I’m about as excited as Davey is, I’m excited for his win.” “I’d have liked to have had heart failure about three laps from the end when he came out of the corner and clipped the wall. I said to myself, “Oh my man Davey don’t do that because I can’t quite catch ya and if ya wreck it and I pass ya I’m going to feel bad about it.””
“I kinda got freight trained a little bit…I guess that’s just how I’ll put it, and they got away from me a bit, but then I ran Myles back down and I pulled under him in the turn four but then thought twice about it so I tucked in behind him,” explained Becker. “Then there must have been an oil down or something because all of a sudden cars started going everywhere so I just went down to the bottom and somehow made it through. I ran Davey back down but there wasn’t much chance of passing him unless I ran over him and I sure wasn’t going to do that.”
The driver of the Tamrack Golf Club “Swamp Rat”, Myles Maxon started last for the feature and finished third after setting a New Track Record of 14.042. He didn’t hesitate to let everyone know that third place was as good as a win because watching his friend Dave Brigandi get his first checkered flag was even better.
“First of all, Dave Brigandi, congratulations man,” were the first words out of Maxon’s mouth in New Smyrna Victory Lane. He continued to speak to Brigandi saying, “Like Carl alluded to, we were both there and if you’d have screwed up, we probably could have passed you. But I think I can speak for everyone here tonight, none of us wanted to see that happen. Congratulations Dave that was an awesome win and Carl, you had a great run also.”
Maxon had little time to blink as he clawed his way through the field, fighting tooth and nail for every place gained, then fending off the determined challenges of every driver he passed. He spoke of the tight, close and fast pack that he ran in all night saying, “We were all in a big nerve-wracking wad for all 50 laps. I’m still kind of shaking a little bit from the nerves. It’s so tight and everyone is so fast that third is way more than a victory for me tonight, we were all right there and there was a lot of cars in a tight spot.”
“I think everyone did a great job tonight so I’ll take this and move on to Sunrise,” Maxon concluded.
Rob Warren finished in fourth with Ray Sand, Jr. coming across the finish line in fifth. Warren ran as high as second and Sand, Jr. set the fastest lap of the race when he turned the track in an amazingly fast 14.015 seconds. The field, from first place to the last car running on the track, was separated by a mere 1.104 seconds and ran that tight throughout the race.
The SUPRS 2015 Florida Speedweeks continues tomorrow evening at Sunrise Raceway where the racers will vie for first place in a 50 lap feature race. Last year Kevin Timmins picked up his first ever SUPRS win on this wide 4/10 mile speedway.
Fans of supermodified racing and online sim racers alike can learn more about the Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series by visiting www.SUPRS.net, “Liking” SUPRS on Facebook, Circling SUPRS on Google+, Following @SUPRSOnline on Twitter, and Viewing SUPRS videos on YouTube.
SUPRS RACE RESULTS:
- Florida Speedweeks
- Race 3
- February 11, 2015
New Smyrna Speedway
Time Trials (showing car number, driver name, hometown, sponsors, lap 1, lap 2-best lap underlined)
- 79-Myles Maxon; Oswego, NY; Tamarack Golf Club, The Swamp: 14.047, 14.042☆
- 18-Ray Sand, Jr.; Rochester, NY; SandmanRacing.com: 14.083, NT
- 55-Steve Callahan; Cayuhoga Falls, OH; Ice Oil, CPR Motorsports: 14.220, 14.146
- 25-Bob Gangwer; Goshen, IN; Wing Side Up Enterprises, Ricky’s Sideline Shots: 14.181, 14.154
- 52-Dave Brigandi; Syracuse, NY; Buffalo Bio-Diesel, Terry: 14.239, 14.272
- 35-Rob Warren; Pulaski, NY; 1st to Finish Docks & Hoists, Designs of Elegance: 14.239, 14.330
- 15-Joey Callahan; Attaboy, IL; Exide Battery, CPR Motorsports: 14.361, 14.293
- 42-Carl Becker; Lansing, MI; Wholesale Diamond Exchange, Michigan Hill Gang: 14.309, 14.351
- ☆-Denotes New Track Record
Feature – 50 Laps (showing car number, driver, name, bonus, fastest lap, distance behind winner)
- 52-Dave Brigandi; * ** 14.141
- 42-Carl Becker; 14.076 | +0.225
- 79-Myles Maxon; 14.047 | +0.328
- 35-Rob Warren; 14.114 | +0.477
- 18-Ray Sand, Jr.; ! 14.015 | +0.663
- 25-Bob Gangwer; 14.064 | +0.927
- 55-Steve Callahan; 14.044 | +1.104
- 15-Joey Callahan; 14.270 | DNF
Time of Race: 13:16.902
- * Denotes Lap Led
- ** Denotes Most Laps Led
- ! Denotes Fastest Lap of Race
