Tim Russell came into the 43rd Annual World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway as the hottest driver in Florida. Russell had recently won the Red Eye 125 at the same track and he is also the 2008 Sunbelt Super Late Model Series Champion. Spirits were high in the Russell pits entering the nine nights of action, but they quickly changed with a crash on the opening night of racing. After repairs and a bunch of adjustments, Russell rebounded to finish second on the final night of competition in the Pete Orr Memorial 100.
“I wish we could keep going now that we have the car going good,” said Russell. “All week we were fighting the track, fighting the car, and we had a problem on Friday night. I am just happy to end up second. The guys were really courageous. They worked their butts off all weekend. They never gave up and I never gave up on them.”
Russell also knows having run a few Speedweeks in the past that you have to be ready for anything. The wrecked car put a kink in their game plan. Russell spent the rest of the week trying to adapt to the changing track and his back up car.
“It’s tough,” added Russell. “This is almost half a year’s racing, all in one week. We thought we were prepared going into this week. I made a mistake on Friday with a loose car, but our car was awesome tonight (Saturday). It took a while to get it that way after last Friday. We’ll go on from here and I am looking forward to going to the Rattler.”
Tim Russell will spend the next few weeks recuperating as he prepares for his trip the Rattler 250 at South Alabama Speedway on March 8th.
