New Smyrna Notebook - Sommerville & Smith at the World Series Feb 5 to 13...

Saint John's Lonnie Sommerville and Halifax's Wayne Smith are at New Smyrna Speedway (NSS) in Florida this week competing in the 44th Annual World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing. It's the first attempt at the series for both drivers; both are using the same cars they race on home turf - but modifed to suit NSS rules for their respective World Series divisions. Sommerville is competing the Super Late Model division and Smith in the Crate division ("Crate" refers to the crate motor in the car).

We've been making entries in our Tidbits section every day but decided to permanently chronicle the event on one page to include photos and recaps - so here goes - most recent dates are first...

Day 9 - Saturday

Lonnie Sommerville qualified fourth for and started second in the 100-lap feature. He took the lead early and held it until lap 17 when series hotshoe Jeff Choquette got by to take the point. Sommerville was running third on lap 32, sixth on lap 40 and fifth on lap 50. On lap 60 he fell off the pace and pitted, with problems bad enough that he didn't return to the track. Sommerville was scored with a 15th-place finish and ended the week fourth overall in final point standings for the SLM division, 64 points behind winner BJ McLeod. David Rogers was second overall, Choquette third...

This concludes the 2010 edition of the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway.

Sommerville heads home this week to start preparation for the next race on his 2010 schedule, the April 2-3 PASS National event at Hickory Motor Speedway in North Carolina...

Wayne Smith makes the even longer journey home to get ready for the 2010 CARQUEST Pro Stock Tour season, expected to start in late May...

Day 8 - Friday...

After monitoring current weather conditions and no change in the forecast for this afternoon and evening, officials at New Smyrna Speedway have postponed Friday's racing at New Smyrna Speedway.

The 25th Annual running of the Richie Evans Memorial - Tour-Type Modified 100 will be on Saturday along with the Pete Orr Memorial 100 for the Super Late Models.

The rain cut short Wayne Smith's week since Crate division competition was scheduled to conclude Friday night. Smith will finish his first World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing tied for 13th in final points.

Lonnie Sommerville will compete in a 100-lap SLM feature Saturday night hoping to make up a 40-point deficit behind division leader BJ McLeod...

Day 7 - Thursday...

Wayne Smith qualified and started eighth in a 50-lap feature*. He finished 15th. The race was won by Sean Bass. *The 50-lap feature was originally scheduled for Friday, but with a wet forecast for Friday organizers rearranged the schedule. Smith sits tied for 13th in the point standings, 112 behind leader Sean Bass...

Lonnie Sommerville's SLM division also had a 50-lap feature Thursday night; unfortunately Sommerville was only in the first five laps of it. he started fourth on the grid, was running fifth on lap two and then on lap five tried a three-wide move to advance his position. He spun and hit the wall, resulting in his first DNF of the week. Final results show Brian Finney with the win; Sommerville was scored as 26th-place finish. Sommerville holds his second-place point standing, now 40 behind BJ McLeod...

The 2010 edition of the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing wraps up Friday night for Smith and the Crate division and Saturday for Sommerville and the SLM division.

Got more pix from Stacey Clements yesterday...Thanks Stacey!







Day 6 - Wednesday...

Lonnie Sommerville started second in a 30-lap SLM feature, took the lead on lap two but slipped high and was passed by several cars. He crossed the finish line eighth but was awarded sixth after the top two finishers - Jeff Choquette and Tim Russell - were DQ'd for too soft tires, for the second time this week. The official win went to third place finisher BJ McLeod who now has the point lead with Sommerville in second, 20 markers behind...

Wayne Smith started 11th in the Crate division 25-lap feature. He was involved in a lap seven incident that brought out the caution. Smith was able to continue the race and finished 17th. Quebec's Patrick Laperle won the race. Smith is now tied for 11th in the point standings, 84 out of the lead...

Day 5 - Tuesday at New Smyrna

Heavy rain all afternoon resulted in a four-hour track drying operation. Each division got a short practice session starting at just after 9 p.m. during which time the fog rolled in. Officials called a meeting with the drivers to decide whether they should race, or not. "Not" was the answer. Action resumes tonight...


Many thanks to Stacey Clements for sending this photo of Wayne Smith's car from New Smyrna Tuesday night...


And this one of the banner signed by the fans who helped sponsor Smith's excursion to the World Series...


And this one of Lonnie Sommerville on the way to his pit stall...

New Smyrna World Series Point Update

Heading into Tuesday's action Saint John's Lonnie Sommerville is tied for the lead in the SLM division and Halifax's Wayne Smith is tied for 10th in the Crate division (-72 behind the leader). The SLM's run every night through Saturday to determine the overall title while the Crate's finish Friday. Go Guys!

Day 4 - Monday at New Smyrna

Heard from Wayne Smith's team Monday afternoon. The team has been struggling a bit to learn the track rules and shocks (different than they run at home) which affect so much with the setup. They felt they were getting closer as of Monday afternoon's practice session. Turns out the unofficial results for Saturday night were wrong; track scoring had confused Smith's #44 with someone else's #4x - so Smith finished 18th, not 24th. Monday night they used the flip of a coin to decide whether Saturday's finishing order would be inverted to start the 25-lap feature. It was not - so Smith started 18th, finishing 14th...


Wayne Smith was running eighth when he got involved in an incident with Quebec's Patrick Laperle on lap 12. Smith spun and pitted to change a flat tire, starting at the rear and making headway only to be involved in another spin which resulted in a bent control arm - with which Smith finished the race 14th. The team fixed the damage in time for the track opening on Tuesday... (Ellen Smith photo)

Day 3 - Sunday at New Smyrna

Saint John's Lonnie Sommerville got the win in the SLM division. Sommerville finished the race in the sixth spot but was moved to the top of the chart when the top five cars were DQ's during post-race tech - all found with soft tires. Sommerville had qualified sixth in a 22-car field, started second and led the first three laps before being passed by Jeff Choquette, the '08 series champ, who crossed the finish line first but was among the five who were DQ'd. Others were David Rogers ('09 series champ), Tim Russell, A.J. Curreli and Jack Landis. Sommerville becomes the first Maritime Canadian to win a World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing event at New Smyrna since the late Scott Fraser won two features en route to third overall in 1999 . Nova Scotia native Junior Hanley won the series title in 1981 and again in 1990. Wayne Smith's Crate division was off Sunday night. Sommerville's SLM division is off tonight; Wayne Smith is back on track in the Crate division.


Check out this YouTube video to see interviews with NSS tech and the drivers involved, including Sommerville...

Day 2 - Saturday at New Smyrna
Saint John's Lonnie Sommerville qualified seventh, started first and finished fifth (of 35) in the 30-lap Super Late Model feature at New Smyrna Speedway Saturday night while Halifax's Wayne Smith qualified 19th, started 19th and finished 24th (of 27) in the 25-lap Crate division feature. SLM's race Sunday night; Crate's do not...

As of 6 a.m. this morning the weather forecast for New Smyrna Beach in Florida says the rain will clear early this morning with sunshine and temps in the high 60s by mid-day. This evening should see clear skies and temps in the 50s - so it looks like the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing should get cranked up tonight at New Smyrna Speedway...

Day 1 - Friday at New Smyrna

4 p.m. Rain has cancelled night one of the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway in Florida. Maritimer's Wayne Smith and Lonnie Sommerville will have to wait for Saturday night. And - totally unofficially we are hearing Wayne Smith was second-fast in Thursday's final practice session for the crate division, trailing only Quebec's Patrick Laperle. Go Canada!

2/5: Heard it through the grapevine...that Halifax's Wayne Smith has arrived at New Smyrna Speedway in Florida - and that Saint John's Lonnie Sommerville had the track rented Wednesday (yes, even after he finished fifth there last Saturday in the PASS race). Smith was on track Thursday during open practice. The first night of the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing series is tonight; the track opens for practice today at 11 a.m. (ET), time trials are at 4 p.m. and racing (features only) starts at 7:30. Both Smith and Sommerville race tonight; Smith in the Crate division and Sommerville in the Super Late Models. Go Guys!

2/1: Attn Maritime race fans heading for Florida Speedweeks. If you are at New Smyrna Speedway and would like to send photos or updates of "our boys" Wayne Smith and Lonnie Sommerville, we'd love to have them for all our readers to enjoy. Emails/photos can be sent to stockcarsc@aol.com; calls can be placed to 902.444.0703 anytime between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m...

1/28: Wayne Smith has his racecars loaded and is ready to leave for Florida's New Smyrna Speedway where he will compete in the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing. The event runs the same week as Daytona Speedweek and the track is just a 25-minute drive from Daytona Beach. Smith, a five-time Maritime pro stock touring series champion, will practice next Thursday (Feb 4) and race February 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11 & 12. We're hoping to have updates from the 44 team as the week progresses. Good Luck Wayne!


Smith's cars are loaded and ready for the Florida road-trip (Ellen Smith photos)...