Steve Smith
Stevie Smith opens Pennsylvania Speed Week with back-to-back wins. His latest triumph at Path Valley Speedway Park earned the Oklahoma driver $5,000. (Jeremy Elliott | jelliott@pennlive.com)
SPRING RUN: Stevie Smith's road to a Pennsylvania Speed Week title could have taken a hit at Path Valley Speedway Park.
There were plenty of disadvantages heading into Night 2 of the nine-race series. The most glaring was that Smith had only been at Path Valley once, and that was 25 years ago.
Then again, there was a time when Smith raced for a living. He raced with the World of Outlaws and was used to unfamiliar territory.
Sunday night was a flashback to those days. Smith not only looked like a Path Valley regular, he dominated the 40-lap Party at the Path for his second-straight Speed Week win and a $5,000 payday.
"It just felt like another track," Smith, 49, said. "I had a really good racecar and when I got to lapped traffic, it helped me a lot.
"We were able to maneuver good and made good decisions. It was another good night. We started on the front row... I, mean, I can't really explain it."
The win was Smith's eighth career Speed Week triumph and makes him perfect through two nights of series action. It also gives the Oklahoma driver a comfortable point lead.
Smith has 348 markers, 68 ahead of second-place Danny Dietrich, who finished second Sunday. Greg Hodnett is third with 273, followed by Lucas Wolfe (254) and Brent Marks (243).
The drag race between pole-sitter Ryan Taylor and Smith at the start was a short one. It lasted all of one corner.
Taylor had the advantage through Turn 1, but Smith shot by on the low side of Turn 2. He stretched his lead going down the backstretch and was in front by a straightaway in a blink.
"We had a really good racecar, and I just had to ride it around," Smith said. "I didn't have to over extend.
"It really helps a driver when you have a car that is that close. It's all about that racecar."
Curt Stroup rolled to a stop between Turns 3 and 4 with three laps down. On the restart, Smith wasted little time pulling away from the field.
Meanwhile, Brady Bacon and Taylor swapped second three times in two laps. Finally, Bacon won the scrum in lapped traffic on lap 7 and set sail after Smith, who checked out.
Danny Dietrich started 11th but took fourth from Lucas Wolfe on lap 15. Two laps later, the Gettysburg driver made a daring three-wide, outside move going into Turn 1 to pass Hodnett for third.
The surge didn't stop there. Dietrich could put his car anywhere on the track and disposed of Bacon with a similar move around the cushion in Turns 1 and 2 on lap 23.
The problem for Dietrich was that Smith was equally good if not better. He had a half-track lead on the quarter mile by lap 25.
"I wanted to watch, because I didn't want to lose the race," Smith said. "I didn't want to get into the side of somebody, but I also knew lapped traffic is where I was going to win the race.
"I had to get by some cars, and it's a hard balance. It worked out for us, but it goes back to the racecar. It was awesome."
No doubt.
Hodnett spun in Turn 4 after an altercation with Cole Duncan on lap 28. Smith had a six-car cushion and was able to open up a straightaway lead within two laps.
Alan Krimes got into the back of Taylor in Turn 4 and spun on lap 38. This time, there were only three laps between Smith and Dietrich, but it didn't matter in the outcome.
Smith drove away to the easy win and is now the favorite to earn his first Pennsylvania Speed Week title.
"We're building momentum, and I'm really looking forward to all the races," Smith said. "But I've been doing this 30 years, and I know how the light switch works.
"We are going to go, forget about everything we have done and do our very best. We are going to try our best to win, but the outcome could be totally different. That's racing, that's the sport."
Dietrich was a solid second. Bacon won an entertaining battle for third over T.J. Stutts and Lance Dewease, who finished fifth.
"We were really, really fast," Dietrich said. "Jake [Hinkle] and the guys did a great job, and it made my job easy. It's just really frustrating running second again."
Brad Howard earned $1,700 for winning the non-qualifiers race. Tyler Walton captured the 25-lap 600 Sprint feature.