Rob Warren Holds off Sand, Jr., Gangwer on Nite 4 of SUPRS Florida Speedweeks
Pinellas Park, FL – February 11, 2016… In a near repeat of his victory last year, Rob Warren of Pulaski, NY succeeded in holding off two fellow Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, (SUPRS), competitors to win the 50 lap feature at Sunrise Raceway Thursday night.The win made him the third different winner of the week as the SUPRS racers continue the trek though the Sunshine State during the 2016 Florida Speedweeks tour.
Rob Warren picked up his second 2016 Speedweeks win at Sunrise Raceway
Ray Sand, Jr. and Bob Gangwer raced their way to the front only to come us just shy of a win and finished second and third well within striking distance of the win.
Like last year Warren started the race from outside row one and got a jump off turn four at the drop of the green flag and never relinquished the lead for the rest of the race.
Even though he led all 50 laps, the race was no joy ride for the driver of the 1st to Finish Docks & Hoists sim racing supermodified
The scariest part of the race was early when I saw the 18 was right behind me,” he said.
Like his 2015 win, Warren knew the best way to keep Sand, Jr. from taking away his win was to protect the bottom at the slick egg-shaped track. “I gave him all the room on the outside and maybe that’s kind of hokey way to win, to rob the guy of his exit, but that’s what I had to do to keep him from underneath me,” he explained.
While contending with Sand, Warren also had to be cautious working his way through lapped traffic but at one point thought that the lapped cars may have helped him. He said, “Somewhere after lap 25 I stretched the lead out a little, and I think he got caught up in the traffic, but he reeled me right back in. We came up on lapped traffic again and Jeff (Bivens) and Dave (Brigandi) did a great job, then Chris (Meyers) did a great job and we cleared them OK but it was never clear sailing.”
“Good to see the “Crazy” Chris Meyers car back out there tonight,” he added.
Warren has just a five point lead headed into the last night of Speedweeks and will be fighting Ray Sand, Jr. and Bob Gangwer for the overall Florida Speedweeks Championship. He knows it’s going to be a tough battle, “There’s never a given, especially when you’re racing against the champ. I’m going to give it all I’ve got and do my best to keep Ray and Bob honest.”
SEE HOW CLOSE SPEEDWEEKS POINTS ARE
Sand, Jr. was looking to become the first three-time Speedweeks feature winner since John Davidson in 2005 and put up a mighty fight to get by Warren. “I was working high, working low, trying to find a line with lapped traffic in the mix,” said Sand, Jr. “Rob did what he had to do and I probably would have done the same thing.”
Not only was he trying to figure out a way past Warren, but Sand, Jr. also had to contend with Bob Gangwer who was right on his rear nerf-bar trying to get past him. “I was the meat in the sandwich for sure. With Rob in front and Bobby in back. Like Rob said, he gave me the outside, and it was there, but I couldn’t commit to it with Bob right on my rear. This was a good race congrats to Rob on a great run.”
On the podium for the fourth night in a row, Bob Gangwer has enjoyed one of his best Speedweeks ever. “Great run for Rob, happy to see him get a Speedweeks win,” he began. “This has been a pretty good swing for me this year and I hope that I can get hooked up tomorrow at USA and go for that Speedweeks championship.”
Arriving late and with no practice, “Crazy” Chris Meyers made his first start of the 2015-16 campaign and came home fourth. “Good to be back. Got a little high on the track and the rest is history. Tough little joint without any practice, but it was a good time,” Meyers said.
SEE CHRIS MEYERS and MORE in 2016 FLORIDA SPEEDWEEKS GALLERY
Dave Brigandi struggle from the drop of the green flag ending up in fifth a lap down and in his words, “wasn’t competitive like the last couple nights.” He further stated, “I had a bad start and then car just really seemed to push all night, but I still had a good time, congratulations to Rob on the win.”
Hanging on but enjoying his seat time was Jeff Bivens in his second SUPRS start. “I thought i improved a litt,e bit over last night,” he surmissed. “I wasn’t into the wall as much but I had a couple hairy moments where I was in the way and I want to apologize to anyone I screwed up, but it was a fun race, these are fun cars. Congratulations to Rob on the win.
The fifth and final night of the 2016 SUPRS Florida Speedweeks takes place at USA International Speedway tomorrow night February 12. Practice begins at 8:00pm, Time Trials go off at 8:30 and the feature takes the green at 9:00pm. Ray Sand, Jr. is a back to back and defending race winner at the track that has hosted a SUPRS Florida Speedweeks race every year the swing has been run.
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 4
- February 11, 2016
Sunrise Raceway
Time Trials (showing car number, driver name, hometown, sponsors, lap 1, lap 2-best lap underlined)
- 18-Ray Sand, Jr.; Rochester, NY; SandmanRacing.com, The Tint Shop: 11.393, 11.639
- 35-Rob Warren; Pulaski, NY; 1st to Finish Docks & Hoists, Designs of Elegance: 11.523, 11.529
- 25-Bob Gangwer; Goshen, IN; Wing Side Up Enterprises, RW Woodworking: 11.641, 11.603
- 52-Dave Brigandi; Syracuse, NY; Buffalo Bio-Diesel, Terry: 11.760, 11.802
- 07-Jeff Bivens; Indian Land, SC; Dunkin Donuts, Baskin Robins: 12.714, 12.831
- Chris Meyers; Amherst, OH; Adkins Glass, Euphoria Vapors: NT
Feature – 50 Laps (showing car number, driver, name, bonus, fastest lap, distance behind winner)
- 35-Rob Warren; * ** 11.519
- 18-Ray Sand, Jr.; 11.489 | +0.149
- 25-Bob Gangwer; ! | 11.433 | +0.423
- 23-Chris Meyers; 11.639 | +1 Lap
- 52-Dave Brigandi; 11.715 | +1 Lap
- 07-Jeff Bivens; 12.258 | +8 Laps
Time of Race: 10:36.361
- * Denotes Lap Led
- ** Denotes Most Laps Led
- ! Denotes Fastest Lap of Race
