Yetman Continues His Pro Stock Domination
Story By: KAYLA MAY / DIRTcar Series media
Photos By: MATT CLEMONS / RACERSGUIDE.COM
OSWEGO, NY — October 10,, 2016 — Rob Yetman claimed his fourth NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week title during the Pro Stock 30 Feature, but it wasn’t an easy path to Victory Lane for anyone on the podium.
Yetman started in the ninth position, and it wasn’t until halfway through the feature (and many cautions) that he appeared in the top three, battling against PJ Peters, Jason Casey, Jim Normolye and Pete Stefanski to get there. He wasn’t the only driver charging the front line from behind.
Nick Stone, who finished second tonight in the feature, almost didn’t make the race. Stone didn’t secure his starting spot until the Last Chance Qualifier, where he placed third. Only four drivers would make it to the feature from the showdown. He secured position 27 of 30 cars in the starting line up for the feature.
“Really, we had a fast car right from the beginning,” said Stone. “We’ve been tweaking the car to make it a little bit better, but I just didn’t let what happened [to me earlier today] bother me. We’ve come from the back to the front before, and that’s when we just went with it. The key is to be patient and go with it. We had a blast out there”
After reaching the top ten in the feature, Stone received two separate penalties for jumping ahead at the restart. He had to move back double the amount of cars he passed, which totaled eight spots between the two penalties.
He snaked through lap traffic to battle Jason Casey for third. Casey bounced between first, second and third position for 25 of the 30-lap feature until Stone left him in the dust and headed off to battle Jim Normolye for second place on lap 28.
Normolye had a fast car all week, placing first in practice laps and then again in his qualifying group prior to the feature.
After the Pro Stock Practice, two days ago, Normolye’s son-in-law, AJ Walters, borrowed his car for the Pro Stock Future Feature race. Walters accidently crunched the front end in turn three in a two-car wreck, resulting in a tow back to the pits.
“We had a lot of good help [getting the car back running]. That’s the one good thing about Pro Stock racing, we all get together and help each other regardless,” said Normolye.
Robbie Speed also had to deal with car damage tonight. He got hung up in a 17-car pile-up on the front stretch during a green flag on lap five. The pile-up took a lot of cars out from the race, but a few drove away with minor damages. Without his right-side door, Speed continued to hang out with the front-runners of the race.
“I have a great crew, and fortunately [the damage] was nothing. I only had body damage,” said Speed. “We were able to get it back out there and have some fun. I think we could’ve won this race. The car was awesome, so it’s a shame we got tore up.”
Pro Stock Feature Winner Yetman reflected on his past four wins at NAPA Super Dirt Week as the week came to a close.
“Super Dirt Week, whether it was at the mile or here, I have nothing to complain about. It’s been good to me,” Yetman said. “Just to be able to drive here or there… I love it.”
Feature (30 laps): 7-Rob Yetman [8]. 27-Nick Stone [26]. 7N-Jim Normoyle [7]. 24- Robbie Speed [18]. 2- Pete Stefanski [11]. 93- Kenneth Martin Jr. [10]. 48- Jocelyn Roy [3]. 51- Jason Meltz [9]. 1x- Mike White [28]. 715- Gus Hollner [25]. 17- Jocelyn Chicoine [12]. 35- Ken Gates [27]. 73- PJ Peters [1]. 33- Bruno Cyr [20]. 324- Jason Casey [5]. 7D- Chucky Dumblewski [16]. 38- Steve Chaput [22]. 324- Jay Casey [14]. 88- CD Beauchamp [24]. 21S- David DePaulo [13]. 2H- Luke Horning [19]. 8- Marc Lalonde [23]. 315- Jonathan Routhier [4]. 6- Stephane Lebrun [17]. 00- Byron Wescott [21]. 4- Roch Aubin [29]. 97- Dan Older [15]. 315C- Rich Crane [2]. 4C- Dean Charbonneau [6]. 41- Rich Colesanti [30].
