Colangelo Takes Two Top-10s at USA International Speedway
Florida, Driver Endures 225 Laps in One Night of Action at Lakeland
Many NASCAR stars pull double duty on the same weekend, but not too often do they run two races on the same night at the same track. Jeremy Colangelo tackled that feat this past weekend as the FASCAR-sanctioned Sunbelt Super Late Models and Goodyear Challenge Series Limited Late Models had a double dip at USA International Speedway in Lakeland, Florida. Colangelo not only battled the other drivers, but the heat and fatigue were factors as well.
Still, nothing could keep Colangelo from two strong runs in Lakeland, finishing seventh in the Sunbelt race and an impressive second in the Goodyear event.
“The Sunbelt Super Late Model race didn’t start the way I wanted it to,” said Colangelo. “We had a few problems on the start and I got together with another car, and that forced us to pit road which put us on the rear. We came back to the front and kept getting closer to the lead.”
Despite having to go the rear of the thirty-car field Colangelo smartly pick cars off one at a time. He got into the top five around lap 80. As the laps ticked down, other drivers had issues and Colangelo put
Colangelo battling for the lead in the SLM race (Jim Carson / Late Model Digest )
put himself in position to win his first Super Late Model race. He was running second with nine laps to go when things went bad.
“Dwayne Dempsey was leading and he ran out of gas. When he did, he shot to the bottom and went across my nose and I sent him spinning. The contact sent us to the rear. We were upset about it, but rules are rules.”
Despite the contact, Colangelo drove back a seventh-place finish to cap off part one of his night.
“I was mentally worn out after the first race, but our night was only half over,” said Colangelo. “I had to jump into my Goodyear Challenge car for another 100 laps. We started on the pole and we led the first 30 laps without an issue. We were on it pretty good, but at the same time we were not trying to use our stuff up.”
As Colangelo made lap after lap, it looked as if the win that eluded him earlier in the night might finally be his. Series point leader Daniel Keene Jr. then came on strong and made it clear he was quicker than Colangelo.
“As fast as Keene Jr. was, we decided to let him go and battle him latter in the race. It turns out that was the race. We had nothing for Keene Jr. on the straightaway, and we ended up second. It was a great night for us; we wanted to get a win, but we will take a second any day.”
The hot and humid night ended with a pair of top-10 finishes for Colangelo, who was still pretty fresh after running 225 laps around the Lakeland track.
“I felt pretty good after I got out of the car,” added Colangelo. “It was frustrating to not be able to get the win, but we are getting closer and I know it’s coming soon.”
Jeremy Colangelo will be back in action on June 21st in the Sunbelt Super Late Model Series at Columbia Motorsports Park.
