Georgia-native TJ Reaid’s had the kind of weekend that any racecar driver would dream about during the running of the Watermelon 100. He was fastest in Friday’s practice. He was so fast in Saturday’s practice that the team quit early. He went out and blistered the field to earn his first-career ASA Southeast Asphalt Tour pole position.
Then came the almighty post-qualifying redraw. Reaid’s weekend high came crashing down by pulling the number eight pill, which meant he would start eighth instead of first. But nothing was going to put a damper on this weekend. Reaid survived a slew of cautions, kept his nose clean and raced his way back to the front, taking the lead for the final time from Paul Kelley with less than 10 laps to go to win the Watermelon 100 at Watermelon Capital Speedway on Saturday night.
“You can’t get much better than that. It was an awesome weekend for sure,” said Reaid, an Acworth, GA native. “The guys that run in the ASA Southeast Tour are tough. They are some of the best drivers that I’ve raced with in the Southeast. So to win a race against those guys means a lot to me and shows the caliber of our team and how strong we are.”
It was a weekend where Reaid always found himself and his #41 machine at the top of the speed charts.
“We unloaded off the truck quick. We were fastest on Friday and were fast Saturday morning, so we put the car up on stands and just waited for qualifying. I thought the car would be quicker in qualifying, but I was happy to get the pole. I was disappointed that I drew the eight after the high of all weekend. We wanted to be conservative though, so it worked in our favor, because I knew there would be some guys up front that might push the issue. We were in a good position most of the night to just ride, stay out of trouble and conserve our stuff until the end. It paid off for us.”
There were a number of cautions that helped get both Reaid and Kelley to the front of the field. The cautions actually played into Reaid’s favor, as his car was setup for shorter runs. While the rest of the field raced and fell victim of cautions, Reaid found his way to the front late in the race and put on a spirited side-by-side battle with Kelley for the win.
“Paul and I had talked before the race and we both decided that we were going to ride and save our stuff, so it was neat to see us both show up at the front at the end. Actually, all of the cautions really helped us, because my car was set up for the short run. So the cautions played to our favor. Paul and I raced clean and side-by-side for several laps. I have to thank Paul for racing me clean. I give guys like that a lot of respect, because they race clean rather than moving people out of the way and wrecking them.”
Kelley’s night almost fell by the wayside when he ran off the backstretch into the dirt and damaged his car.
“With about 20 to go, I got punted out into the field and came back on the track in about fifth or sixth. It did some damage to the nose and the water-temperature was rising, but my car owner told me to keep it on the track and race it, so that is what we did,” said Kelley. “I had a car to win it I think. (Jeff) Choquette and I swapped leads a few times in the mid part of the race, so we were up front contending. I just wasn’t able to pull it off at the end.
“I think TJ was just sitting back, saving his stuff and watching things unfold. That was probably the thing to do the way the race played out. He was there at the end and able to win that one. I’m really pleased with second though. We started running a different type of setup on the car this week, so I wasn’t sure how we would do. In the end, our team was good this weekend.”
Max Gresham and Jeff Choquette each spent time at the front of the field as well, but contact with other cars derailed their hopes for victory. Gresham came into the race second in the point standings, but had to settle for a 23rd-place finish. Choquette was able to hold onto a top-10 run, coming home ninth after getting off the track at one point.
ASA SAT point leader Jason Hogan spent all night long working his way into the top-10 before engine problems cut his run to the front short. He held on for 14th and was able to hold onto the point lead over Gresham and Choquette.
Parker Hammons and Austin Hill each picked up their best career finishes, coming home third and fourth respectively. Hammons also spent some time at the front of the field.
“The car was really good,” said Hammons, a former Legends car racer in his first year in a Late Model. “I was able to lead my first laps in a Late Model, which was cool. My goal coming into the year was to just earn respect from these guys here and finish up front. It is better to go out there and earn respect than to wreck them and win.
“My car was good all night long. It didn’t fall off at all. Everyone else was racing really hard and I was just waiting for them to make a mistake. I just tried to stay on the track and keep my nose clean. You just got to play give and take. You give guys room and you back off earlier. You just have to think.”
Keeton Hanks, making his first start of the season, finished fifth. Florida Late Model superstars Tim Russell and Jeff Scofield each grabbed top-10 finishes, coming home sixth and seventh respectively.
The ASA Southeast Asphalt Tour will return to action at Montgomery Motor Speedway on June 20th.
For more media inquiries, sponsorship and promotional information regarding ASA SAT, contact John Kee by emailing him at j.kee@charter.net and be sure to visit an all new www.asasoutheastasphalttour.com soon for all RC Cola / MoonPie ASA Southeast Asphalt Tour news. For technical and rule information, call Micky Cain at (678) 373-9851.
To learn more of the Daytona Beach, Florida-based Racing Speed Associates or the American Speed Association Racing Member Track program, call (386) 258-2221 or send an e-mail to info@asa-racing.com. For news and information from racetracks and regional tours involved in the American Speed Association, visit www.asa-racing.com.
ASA™, ASA Racing™ and American Speed Association® are trademarks of Racing Speed Associates, LLC. Racing Speed Associates, LLC is not related to or affiliated with ASA Late Model Series, LLC.
Watermelon 100 Watermelon Capital Speedway June 5, 2009 Unofficial Results 1. #41 TJ Reaid 2. #23 Paul Kelley 3. #24 Parker Hammons 4. #24h Austin Hill 5. #09 Keeton Hanks 6. #36 Tim Russell 7. #21 Jeff Scofield 8. #29g Allen Gordan 9. #33 Jeff Choquette 10. #38k Kevin Dicks 11. #40m Tyler Miles 12. #19a Chuck Abell 13. #51a Dakoda Armstrong 14. #92 Jason Hogan 15. #04 Jerrod Foley 16. #2c AJ Curelli 17. #63 Austin Pickens 18. #51 Stephen Nasse 19. #101 Jimmy Weller 20. #31 Tyler Millwood 21. #4 Michael Pilla 22. #9 Chase Elliot 23. #7-11 Max Gresham 24. #28h Terry Horak 25. #33f Gary Fountain 26. #89 Jess Mattox 27. #83 Scotty Ellis 28. #38 Shane Sawyer 29. #28 Lee Langford (DNS)
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