Alex Yontz Comes Close to Winning Second Bailey’s 300 Event

North Carolina Racer Wrecked Out While Going to the Front

Alex Yontz knows what it is like to win the Bailey’s 300 Late Model Stock Car race at Martinsville Speedway (VA).  The 2006 winner of the event still remembers that victory well, and looked to be on his way back to the winner’s circle in this year’s event, but a mechanical issue mixed with a late-race restart ended his chances at victory as his car was turned into the wall.

Yontz was one of the favorites to win the event, even before the green flag dropped, due to his solid practice times and showing in qualifying, which locked him in the show without having to race in the qualifiers.

“All weekend we had a top-three car,” said Yontz.  “We were quickest in practice.  We went out to qualify and the track had been sitting there getting all greasy, so we had a better car than where we qualified it.  We started eighth, which was still a good spot to start.  Getting a top 10 there is saying a lot.  You can work with that for the race since it is such a long race, you can easily make your way to the front if you stay out of trouble.”

During the first half of the race, Yontz made his presence known at the front of the pack, and was able to take the halfway bonus money by being the leader when the break occurred.

“We got to the lead around lap 50 or so and led until the halfway break,” explained Yontz.  “We had a really good car and made some small adjustments as well as putting on two tires.  They inverted the top five, so we started fifth and got to third pretty quick.  I told the guys on the radio we would ride right there until about 15 laps to go, and then we would start pressuring them to get the lead back.  The car was perfect the second half.  I couldn’t think of anything we could have done to make it better.”

With about 25 laps remaining in the 200 lap feature (the other 100 laps in the "Bailey’s 300" name are qualifier events), Yontz was preparing for his charge back to the lead when mechanical issues struck his car.  He was able to drive through the issues until another driver drove through his car, turning him into the wall and out of the event.

“We had a caution around lap 175 or so and had clutch trouble right before we went back green.  We were running second and made it through that restart and fell back to third.  We had another restart, and whoever it was behind me hit me real hard coming across the start-finish line and turned us straight into the wall.  If we wouldn’t have had the problem with the clutch, it probably wouldn’t have happened, but at the same time, we just couldn’t get enough breathing room behind us. 

“That is part of it.  When you have a mechanical problem like that, it just leads to other problems.”

Yontz will regroup and head to Myrtle Beach Speedway (SC) for a Late Model Stock Car race on November 22nd.

Alex Yontz at Martinsville.  (Jim Carson Photo)