5/18/2025
New Smyrna Speedway
One "Crazy" Hot Night. 5/17/2025 Race Recap
New Smyrna Speedway
5/17/2025
It was a scorching hot night both on and off the track last night at the New Smyrna Speedway as the Hoosier Pro late Model Challenge series roared back into action.
Brad May would set fast in qualifying, but no one could touch Jason Vail in the first Twin 50. Vail jumped out to a big lead early in the event and never looked back. The first Twin 50 was pretty clean, but things got very interesting with about two laps to go. Vails car started showing some smoke and the cars all began to slip and slide. It was close, but Vail was able to keep his car going for the final couple of circuits and held on to pick up his 2nd victory of the 2025 season. Daniel Webster, was able to guide his car through the smoke and oil to bring it home in 2nd, with Brad May a distant 3rd.
Thankfully for race 2, everyone was able to get their cars running and Jason Vail was able to fix the oil leak suffered at the end of race 1. Brad May would start on the outside pole for race 2 and take command of the race early. A caution early when Dylan Williams and Jeff Johnston tangled would set up a thrilling battle between Brad May and Jason Vail. Vail would drive to the inside of leader Brad May and they would race side by side for several laps, thrilling the fans as the race drew to a close. However, Vail caught the lapped car of Steven Redditt entering turn 3 and had to lift just a tad, allowing Brad May to scoot away and pick up his first win of the 2025 campaign. Jason Vail had to settle for 2nd, with Daniel Webster coming home in the 3rd position!
The Bomber A division would begin their feature event as the sun began to set on the horizon and what a race it was. A new twist to the 24 second “breakout” rule was introduced to the drivers in the drivers meeting before the races began, where only the top 3 would be subject be getting a penalty for running a lap under 24 seconds. If a car was under penalty they only had to drop to be back of the “competitive field” and then keep racing vs. coming down pit road as was the protocol before. With the new rule in place the field was tightly wound together all race long. This led to a ton of great battles but also the biggest wreck of the year. Midway through the race Caleb Jones and Steven Davila would tangle off turn two sending Caleb Jones hard into the outside wall destroying the right side of the car. The contact would also end Davila’s night early too. With the wreckage cleared, Aaron Foye and Vincent Cortez would race side by side for the final handful of laps, with point leader Aaron Foye picking up the win by half a car length and Vincent Cortez settling for a career best 2nd place finish. Brandon Monroe capped off his solid night with a 3rd place run.
A returning Matthew Green would dominate the Sportsman feature, but he still had to earn the win. New point leader Donavan Ponder would give Green everything he could handle on a late race restart as he would take the lead for a moment, but an untimely caution would set up another restart. This time Green would get back out in front with just a few laps remaining in the 25 lap contest. Matthew Green would pick up his first win of the year over Donovan Ponder who returned after a big crash just a few weeks ago. The “Mad Scientist” Steve Barnes would also change his luck with a season best 3rd place run to complete the podium!
The E-Mods had more of an Enduro than a race as most of the field would suffer some kind of mechanical issues or crash damage. 10 cars would start the race and only about half the field saw the checkered flag. After a rash of yellows before lap 6 that eliminated contender Carson May, things finally got going for a bit with Eugene Tumminello Jr, finding his way to the lead from the back of the pack. He tried to run away and hide but heat race winner Dalton Symons was reeling him in. As the battle for the lead began to take shape, they hit traffic and Symons broke loose coming out of turn 4, he would over correct and slam the front stretch wall, destroying his car and clipping the end of the pit wall to finish it off. Just when it looked like Tumminello would drive away with an easy win, he got turned around on the ensuing restart and had to drive from 5th (back of the pack) with just 6 laps to go. He would let it all hang out as he drove the best laps of his career to get back to the front and take the win for the 2nd time in 2025! A very excited Eugene Tuminello Jr. was pumped up in victory lane as he thanked his team for all the hard work. Rookie Dylan Saile would come back from a lap down to finish 2nd, with Ken Copley’s battered machine coming home in 3rd at the end of this wild affair!
With this action-packed night in the history books, we look forward to our next event on May 24th featuring the J&C Gradal Modified Challenge Series Twin 35s, plus the Ashley Homes JAX Pro Trucks, Bomber B and Florida Southern Ground Pounders rounding out the card. Admission is just $10 before 6 PM and the green flag flies at 6 PM. BE THERE!
Full Race Results: https://www.newsmyrnaspeedway.org/schedules/event/544281
Full Event Videos: https://www.youtube.com/@SpeedwayVideo
Event Photos: https://jimjonesphoto.photoreflect.com/
Article Credit: Ryan Stevens
Submitted By: Ryan Stevens
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