Originally posted at: http://newsfromthepits.com/articles/sunset-speedway-month-of-may-late-model-review-four-races-four-winners--2

Four different winners in four races. That’s all that needs to be said, right?

Coming into the season, the Late Model division was the most talked about as everybody was expecting there to be heavy competition with the returning drivers, and the new faces. So far this year, this division is living up to early season expectations as the final two weeks, the battle for the win has gone right down to the last corner on the last lap.

Last year’s runner-up Mike ‘Lights Out’ Bentley would start off the year, winning the first feature of the season. Tom Walters finished second, followed by Chris Morrow, Scott Beatty and Dwayne Baker. Below is a video of the feature as taken by myself.

Last year’s champion Stompin’ Tom Walters would win the feature the second night out after a thrilling side-by-side battle with Jason ‘Bam Bam’ Witty in the closing five laps of the feature.  Witty finished second, followed by Kerry Micks, Bentley and Sean Grosman.

Third generation driver Billy ‘Z3’ Zardo would pick up his first ever career Late Model victory after giving Bentley the bump and run on the last lap of the May 18th feature. Bentley would finish second, followed by Walters, Beatty and Bruce Rankin.

The last feature of the month would go to Ex-NASCAR Canadian Tire Series competitor Anthony Simone, who battled side-by-side with Bentley right to the checkered flag. There was no secret about it, too, that Simone did get into Bentley a little on the way to victory lane. Bentley would once again finish second, followed by Taylor Holdaway, Andrew Kamrath and Walters.

Best Feature Average for May: Mike Bentley – 2.25

With finishes of first, fourth, second and second in the four races this month, the driver of the No. 51 Latitude Land Effects Late Model has the best average finish of the month with a 2.25. It’s no secret that’s why he is also leading the points right now, nine points ahead of Walters.

Walters had the second best average of the month – 2.75. He has also finished in the top five every night, putting down finishes of second, first, third and fifth for the month. The third marked a hard fought third after Walters had to come down pit road to fix some damage after contact with teammate Sean Grosman.

With his first feature win and consistency, Zardo has the third best average of those drivers who have started every week – sixth. A ninth on opening night and an eighth last week are what brought Zardo’s average done as the young driver continues to learn.

Fourth best average of drivers to start every feature this month – ‘The Bully’ Dwayne Baker at 7.5. Baker has three top 10s thus far this year, though would finish 12th on May 18th after late race contact with Kamrath.

Fifth best average of drivers to start every feature this month – Beatty at 8.25. Beatty also has three top 10s thus far like Baker, though would finish 16th last week after hitting pit road early in the race with a problem.

It should be mentioned that NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Kerry Micks made two starts this season and had an average finish of 4.5 with a sixth on opening night, followed by a third on May 12th. The sixth on opening night was a tough feat as Micks started at the rear of the feature after suffering some damage in a first lap heat wreck.

Best Heat Average of the Month – Mike ‘Lights Out’ Bentley and ‘Mr. Excitement’ Chris Morrow – 2.5

Both drivers, after their eight heats are put together and averaged out, have the same exact average finish. And no, they don’t have the same exact finishes. Bentley has three heat wins and eight heat top fives while Morrow has three heat wins and seven heat top fives. So with less heat top fives, you’d think Morrow would have the lower average, right?

Wrong. Let the results tell the tale…

Morrow 1 1 6 2 3 2 4 1 2.5
Bentley 1 1 1 5 2 3 5 2 2.5

While Bentley has been strong in the features (as noted above), Morrow has been having a tough go at it this year. He started the year off good with a third, though the bad luck started biting on the second night. Morrow would finish 12th on the second night with mechanical issues. He would finish 16th on the third night due to being wrecked as the caution came out. He slowed, while Walters did not, causing Morrow to hit the backstretch wall hard. The Morrow boys would make the repairs and make it out for last week, though Morrow would be out of the feature on lap six after contact with Grosman.

Speaking of the ‘Frequent Flyer’ Sean Grosman, him and Kamrath had the third best heat averages – 3.25. Grosman has two heat wins and eight top fives this year, while Kamrath hasn’t cracked heat victory lane yet, but has finished top five each night thus far. As I did above, let the stats tell this tale…

Grosman 5 5 3 3 1 4 1 4 3.25
Kamrath 2 5 2 4 5 3 2 3 3.25

Last heat average to include? Tom Walters at a 3.375. He has two heat wins and seven top fives so far this year.

Next to hit victory lane?

Before the season began, there were those who predicted that seven, nine – even 11 different drivers would find victory lane this year. So far, four for four races has us on track with that goal. So who will be the next?

Mentioned in our feature average list, but not able to hit victory lane yet – Scott Beatty and Dwayne Baker. Both teams have been tweaking on their cars weekly and have been improving. Could one of them do it?

Morrow has been bit by some bad luck as of late, though finds himself up front when he can avoid it. Will Morrow find victory lane in June?

Andrew Kamrath says he’s has worked out the bugs with his new chassis and found their problem. With it solved, can he pick up a win?

Taylor Holdaway had his best run of the season last weekend. Is it time for Holdaway Motorsports to return to Sunset victory lane?

Three nights this year, Witty has been bit by bad luck. Two wrecks and a motor problem. The night he wasn’t bit by bad luck, he finished second after leading the majority of the opening feature of the season. Can Witty find some luck and put it to good use with a win?

If Kerry Micks returns to the wheel of the No. 40 Baker Performance Late Model, he has looked strong in his two starts this year and could hit victory lane.

2011 Super Stock Champion Lane Zardo will make his second career Late Model start this month in the No. 6 Late Model owned by Mombourquette. He finished top 10 in his first Late Model start, filling in for his brother Billy Zardo. Can Zardo find victory lane?

Or, will our streak of different winners be put to an end? Simone and Billy Zardo both had to fight off Mike Bentley to earn their wins. Will Bentley finally block the charge and return to victory lane for the second time this year? Or will Walters, Zardo or Simone pick up their second victories of the second? All three have been quick each week, also.

All of these questions are why I expect you to be at Sunset Speedway each Saturday night this summer, following along with the battles for the wins. Miss a night, you miss a lot 😉