Juliette, Georgia driver, Beau Slocumb wins his second ASALMS Southern Division Feature
By Bram • Jul 16th, 2007 • Category: ASA
Birmingham, Alabama (07/15/2007): The fourth race of the 2007 Season in the ASA Late Model Series Southern Division Presented by GM Performance Parts is now complete. The famed Birmingham (AL) International Raceway in Birmingham, Alabama was the site for the Crimson 125 Presented by FLF Racecars.
The historic 0.625 Mile Semi-Banked Paved Oval, the longest track on the 2007 ASALMS Southern Division schedule, survived a very long and treacherous battle with Mother Nature all morning and into the late afternoon to complete the show in the ASALMS' first ever appearance in the Yellowhammer State.
As for the extended distance 125-lap Feature, Beau Slocumb grabbed the lead from race long leader, Brandon Johnson on Lap 100 and from there, the Juliette, Georgia driver pulled away to win his second ASALMS Southern Division Feature of the 2007 season in the Crimson 125 Presented by FLF Racecars.
Earlier in the season, the 22-year-old Peach State driver won the Watermelon Bowl 125 back on May 5, 2007 at his home track of the Watermelon Capital (GA) Speedway in Cordele, Georgia. With the win in Birmingham, Alabama, Slocumb is now two for two in extended distance 125-lap Features and his two feature wins have come in just three starts after missing the 2007 season opener in Bronson, Florida.
Stout Rookie competitors, Jeff Choquette and Brandon Johnson led the 25-car field to the green flag to begin the 125-lap Feature on the huge 0.625 Mile Semi-Banked Paved Oval in Birmingham, Alabama. Things happened very quickly as at the drop of the green with the field heading into Turn One, Brent Seeley got sideways and slammed the Turn One wall and collected Jeremy Gerstner in the process! Both drivers were done already after having only traveled roughly a few hundred yards!
As Chief Starter, Joey Aycock dropped the green flag again for the restart, Johnson used the outside groove to his advantage and drove around pole-sitter Choquette to take over the early lead in the ASALMS' first ever appearance in the state of Alabama while Choquette and the rest of the field quickly got into a single file line around the still green race track.
In one of the hardest hits of the season in the entire ASALMS, 14-year-old Tyler Townsend tried to follow Travis Wilson by Michael Seeright coming out of Turn Two for the Fifth spot, Townsend got sideways, spun and after sliding in the still wet grass, slammed backwards into the backstretch retaining wall! Townsend was shaken but ok, and the car was destroyed!
In another extremely hard crash, Owensboro, Kentucky freshman, 16-year-old Dakota Stroup lost control of his machine and slammed hard into the Turn One wall at almost the identical spot that Seeley hit during the opening lap! Stroup's car was also done for the evening but the Blue Grass State teenager was ok!
Johnson continued to lead Choquette and the rest of the pack as several more cautions for harmless spins slowed the action down. In the meantime, Beau Slocumb has quietly worked his way up to Choquette's back bumper and followed him around the Birmingham, Alabama speed plant and was looking to make his move for second when on Lap 83, Jimmy Lang found the Turn Three wall and his night was over.
Eight laps later, Logan Dernoshek, who started 13th was battling for Sixth when he lost control of his Pontiac Grand Prix and the Canonsburg, Pennsylvania driver found the wall in between Turns 3-4 and was done for the night as well. By this time, Slocumb had gotten around Choquette and was battling with Johnson for the lead.
Slocumb wasted no time on the next restart as he looked high and low, trying to figure out a way around Johnson, the winner of the last ASALMS South event at the New Smyrna (FL) Speedway on June 23, 2007. Slocumb won the event before at the Watermelon Capital (GA) Speedway way back on May 5, 2007 so the last two feature winners in ASALMS South competition were running 1-2.
Finally on Lap 100, Slocumb made his move to the inside of Johnson and took over the top spot. Fuel became a concern for the ASALMS Southern Division teams in the extended distance 125-lap feature around the huge 0.625 Mile Semi-Banked Paved Oval as drivers within the Top 12 began slowing due to running out of fuel!
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