Most Laps Lead Doesn’t Translate to a Sommerville Win
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tex Motorsports Marketing
Contact: Chris Ragle
Saint John, NB, CA 4/13/09- When some guy by the name of Lonnie Sommerville came down south last October to compete in a few PASS South events, very few knew who he was or where he raced. Two top ten finishes at Greenville-Pickens (SC) and South Boston (VA) sure gave everyone a brief introduction, but now after this weekend’s PASS South-National Easter Bunny 150 at the Hickory (NC) Motor Speedway, a more formal introduction was made.
That introduction was made over and over again when Sommerville and his A. E. McKay Builders team lead by team consultant Gary Crooks lead fifty plus laps of green flag racing. It was what many experts called the best and toughest super late model race in the country so far this year, so leading a lap would have been an accomplishment in itself. To give many an idea of how stiff the playing field was, forty one race cars attempted to make the thirty car field and three former PASS winners had to take provisional starting positions just to make the field.
The Lonnie Sommerville Racing team quickly showed they had what it took to get around the 3/8th mile oval by posting the seventh quickest speed in qualifying, picking up almost three tenths from the day’s practice session. After the series top ten qualifiers redraw Lonnie moved to the outside of the second row.
It didn’t take long for drivers and fans alike from what many refer to as the Charlotte, NC region as the “Stock Car Capital of the World” to notice the capabilities of the Canadian based team. Just seventeen laps in Lonnie took over the lead from PASS South points leader Ben Rowe. The #23 Chevy held the top spot for the next fifteen laps before former Nascar Sprint Cup series regular Aric Almirola bumped Sommerville up the track sending him back to third. That wasn’t quite enough to hold the Lonnie Sommerville Racing team down as once again Lonnie managed to make his way to the point until a lap 117 caution brought the field back together.
With the outside groove being the idle groove for restarts, Ben Rowe managed his was around A.E. McKay Builders Chevy with just twenty five to go. A solid runner up finish looked to be in the books for Sommerville when luckily the yellow was displayed for the final time with just nine to go because that was about the time the left front shock heim broke which could have easily made a bad night go worse. A disappointing twenty second place finish was all the team had to show for their efforts at night’s end, but many around took quick notice of who Lonnie Sommerville was.
“They knew we were here, that’s for sure. That’s about the only way to look at it because when you run that good and then you see the results sheet and you see a twenty second place finish next to your name it leaves you pretty disappointed. The one good thing was the fact that the shock broke when it did because we could have ended up with our brand new car needing a clip. All we can really do now is turn our attention to wining a championship back home,” said Sommerville after the race.
To view news, photos, and learn more about Lonnie Sommerville visit his website at www.lonniesommerville.com. For more information on public relations related items with Lonnie Sommerville Racing contact Chris Ragle with Tex Motorsports Marketing at 704-706-3666 or via email at cragle02@yahoo.com.