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‘Rocketman’ Adds a Bankers Life SMARTY To the Trophy Case
Phil Cavali Photo
Granite Falls, NC (March 30, 2024)- Ryan Newman is a former Daytona 500 champion and 18-time NASCAR Cup Series winner, and after Saturday’s (March 30) Cardinal 99 at Tri-County Speedway in Granite Falls, NC,, he can add ‘SMART Modified Tour winner’ to his illustrious resume.
The Indiana native had made sporadic modified appearances throughout his career, but had never chased a season-long championship in the division. That all changed when Newman partnered with Randy Renfrow for a full-time SMART Tour run in 2024, and four races in, the decision has paid dividends.
“We’ve been fighting for this,” said Newman, as his SHITI Coolers / Aggressive Hydraulics number-2 sat in victory lane. “We got crashed out last time, and got a third and a second before that, so we’ve been knocking on the door.”
After marching his way through the top ten in the middle stages of the race, Newman drove to the outside of leader Jimmy Blewett with 28 laps to go and held on to take the checkers.
“Fun race, just a fun little racetrack,” said Newman in Pace-O-Matic Victory Lane at Tri-County. “A great team effort. This car got wrecked pretty good last week at South Boston (Speedway), so I’m proud of everybody for their effort to put it back together.”
The freshly-repaved surface at the western North Carolina oval meant that tire wear was minimal throughout the event.
“Really wanted to see it go green,” Newman continued. “I really felt like we were gonna stay out there and know what we had instead of trying to make something out of what we were gonna do. The tires were just that good.”
A poor restart from polesitter Will Lambros allowed Blewett to grab the lead 15 laps in. The New Jersey driver dominated most of the event, and claimed the win in Bell Helmets Stage One (on lap 30), along with the Banker’s Life Halfway Leader award, but he was unable to fend off Newman’s late-race charge.
“Man, we were close,” said Blewett, who drive the number-99 Modified for Jamie Tomaino. “This car is fast. Ryan just found the top before I did, honestly. I think we were matching lap times there for the last 10, 15 laps or so. He was the better man here today, he won, and I’ll take a second place here.”
Tom Buzze, Jr, of nearby Maiden, North Carolina, rounded out the podium, the second of his SMART Modified Tour career. The third-place run was a major rebound for the Mike “Andretti” Smith-owned team after three-straight finishes outside the top ten to open the season.
“All my guys, couldn’t have done it without them. We’ve had a rough year,” Buzze said. “Oddly enough, I couldn’t run the top. We were so loose up top, everybody was running the top, but my car was honestly better on the bottom. They just kept staying on the top, and I just stayed in my lane and drove by them.”
Burt Myers won the Pace-O-Matic Pole Award in qualifying and ran in the lead pack until troubles under the hood early in the race resulted in the defending champ finishing many laps down.
Up next for the SMART stars is their third race in as many weeks, with the Rumble in Rougemont at Orange County Speedway (NC) on tap for Saturday, April 6. The 600-horsepower SMART Modifieds will be joined by the Carolina Crate Modified Series, Late Model Stocks, Chargers, and Pure Stocks on the itinerary.
As a whole, SMART fans will be treated to 15 races at 13 different facilities in the tri-state region of North and South Carolina, as well as Virginia. The season commences at the famed North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Carolina on Saturday, October 19.
All races can also be seen on FloRacing, the official streaming broadcast partner of the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic.
To see the entire schedule for the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic, as well as all the latest news and information, please visit the series website at www.smartmodtour.com, and be sure to follow the series on social media (Facebook: SMART Modified Tour| Twitter: @SMARTMods_ | IG: @smartmods_).
By Spence Smithback- X: @shorttracklife_
SMART Modified Tour Race #4
UNOFFICIAL Race Results for the Cardinal 99 – 3/30/2024
Tri-County Motor Speedway – Granite Falls, NC – 0.400 mile
Race Length: 99L – 39.6M – 63.756KM
Fin – Str – Car – Driver – Sponsors – Laps
1 – 2 – 2 – Ryan Newman SHITI Coolers/Agressive Hydraulics 99
2 – 3 – 99 – Jimmy Blewett 99
3 – 13 – 25 – Tom Buzze,Jr. Mark III Financial /UNITS Moving 99
4 – 6 – 23 – Carson Loftin L&R Transmissions/LeBlue Water 99
5 – 4 – 7va – Luke Baldwin Pace-O-Matic 99
6 – 14 – 4 – Jason Myers Greg Butcher Trucking/QRCHVAC 99
7 – 11 – 2 – Joey Coulter Bilstein/Airshock/Torch Eyewear 99
8 – 1 – 77 – Will Lambros Skip Barber Racing School 99
9 – 9 – 12pa – Jake Crum All-American Roofing & Restoration 99
10 – 8 – 24 – Danny Bohn Ameri-Fast Supply 99
11 – 10 – 79 – Anthony Bello Sun Drop —
12 – 18 – 21 – Jimmy Wallace Carolina Drilling —
13 – 19 – 31 – Cody Norman Jerrry Hunt Super Center —
14 – 5 – 1 – Burt Myers Citrusafe/Peanut Patch —
15 – 16 – 16va – Jonathan Cash Pace-O-Matic —
16 – 7 – 27 – Blake Barney D-Mac Pools/Amazing Graphics —
17 – 17 – 48 – Johnny Kievman A-Best Forklift —
18 – 15 – 8 – Chris Finnochario Charlie’s Paving —
19 – 12 – 15 – Brian Loftin Steve’s Automotive —
