Runner-Up Spot At New Smyrna Speedway Puts Jeremy Colangelo In Goodyear Challenge Title Hunt
DeLand, Florida Native Eyes Two Series Titles In The 2008 Racing Season
There are few drivers that can truly say they are happy to finish second during a race. Most deem second place as first loser, feeling they were robbed of their moment in the spotlight as the victor of a race.
Jeremy Colangelo isn’t like other racers. While the DeLand, Florida native prefers to enter victory lane in every race he participates in, he knows that a string of podium finishes means the driver and the team are doing their job to be consistent, and that the wins will come eventually. Plus, consistent finishes puts drivers at the top of the points’ chart, taking the edge off of not obtaining the winner’s trophy.
Heading into the Goodyear Challenge Series Limited Late Model event at New Smyrna Speedway (FL) on July 19th, Colangelo had two consecutive runner-up finishes in the series. He was looking to improve the mark by one spot, but once again was second on the track when the checkered flag flew.
Starting from the third position, Colangelo moved into second, where he rode early on.
“I thought we would lay down a little better lap,” said Colangelo on his qualifying lap. “It shoved the front end a little bit more than we thought it would, but we were ok with third since it put us within the draw. Poles are nice, but with the invert you know you aren’t going to start from there. They drew a five, so that left us in the third starting spot.
“The start of the race was pretty interesting. It was a little bit of a hectic start. I don’t know if the leader brake-checked or if he didn’t fire when the green flag came out. It caused a chain reaction with a bunch of people checking up. I was able to stay right on his bumper. We ended up running side by side with Joe Winchell for a few laps, but ended up settling in the second position.”
Looking to break the winless streak, Colangelo attempted to keep the pack behind him while closing up to the leader, but some days a driver needs to realize he is second best, and that is exactly what he did as he rode to the finish.
“I really couldn’t put much pressure on (Rich) Clouser, except on the restarts,” explained Colangelo. “I drove the heck out of the car to keep everyone else behind us, but for the most part I didn’t have anything for the leader. We developed a push from the center up off the corner, so we just hung out in second the whole night.”
With his second-place finish, Colangelo moved his way to second in the Goodyear Challenge Series as he has been closing the gap on leader Daniel Keen, Jr. Combined with his current top spot in the Sunbelt Super Late Model Series, Colangelo is looking to possibly take home two championships by the end of the season.
“I think we have a strong possibility to get two titles this year. At the beginning of the year I would have thought the possibility of getting both titles would have been far fetched, but now that we are around the halfway mark in both the Sunbelt Series and the Goodyear Challenge Series, I think we stand a pretty good chance. We have been testing and trying new things, so if things keep going the way they are we might end up being a two-series champion this year.”
Colangelo will continue his chase for two titles at USA International Speedway in Lakeland, Florida, for the Sunbelt Super Late Model Series event on Saturday, August 2nd.
