PINELLAS PARK, Fla. — L.J. Grimm proved his Jan. 30 non-winged sprint car victory at Showtime Speedway was no fluke after he captured a second victory Saturday night at Showtime Speedway.
Grimm, who set fast time during qualifications with a lap of 13.770 seconds, drew a four for the inversion. Grimm wasted no time at the drop of the green and quickly settled into the second position behind early race leader Sport Allen.
The only serious accident of the evening occurred on lap eight When Stan Butler flipped on his side exiting turn two after contact with another car. Travis Bliemeister was also collected in the melee and flipped upside down as well. Both drivers escaped unharmed.
On the double-file restart, race leader Allen chose the outside lane. Allen and Grimm would run side-by-side for a few laps before Grimm would take the point and build a sizable lead of 3.562 seconds over eventual runner-up Kyle O’Gara.
Allen finished third, followed by Butler and Johnny Gilbertson.
In victory lane, Grimm explained that advice he gave teammate Sport Allen earlier in the night almost cost him a victory.
“I wasn’t expecting Sport to take the outside lane on that restart,” explained Grimm. “We had a talk before the feature and I told him the outside was a little better between one and two. I didn’t think he was gonna listen to me. It kinda bit me in the ass on that restart. We had a pretty good race, and I could get by him and it worked out good for us. I don’t know what combination we got with this car and motor, but it’s working pretty good these last two non-wing races. We got some big dogs coming down next week and I’m looking forward to it.”
Midwest teams will begin arriving in Florida in only a few days to compete in next weekend’s second annual Dave Steele World Non-Wing Sprint Car Championship 125 at Showtime Speedway.
The finish:
L.J. Grimm, Kyle O’Gara, Sport Allen, Shane Butler, Johnny Gilbertson, Mickey Kempgens, Colton Bettis, Tommy Nichols, Branden Blenden, Nick Andrade, Jeff Smith, Brian Gingras, Duane LeCornu, Troy DeCaire, Stan Butler, Travis Bliemeister, J.J. Dutton.