Finksburg, MD native Jason Smith loaded up the AJF Racing crew and the Mayola Motorsports Mustang Four Cylinder and headed off to Winchester, Virginia on October 10th and 11th for the Winchester Speedway Virginia Nationals.
What a night it was. Jason “The Juice” started the qualifying heat race at the back of the pack and had to fight his way into the B Main.
Once the B Main started, Jason poured on the Juice. A little luck played its part as the No. 05 was scheduled to start 3rd but when the pole sitter couldn’t make the field due to mechanical failure, Smith was awarded the 1st starting spot. The Juice maintained the lead in front of the hungry
pack in a caution filled 12 lap race. Jason never looked back out powering the competition on the straight away and out driving them in the corners.
This top place finish secured him a 22nd place start in the main event. The Winchester 4 Cylinder Nationals drew 46 drivers from as far away as Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee.
Smith stated “Some of these cars are the equivalent of 4 cylinder dirt late models featuring purpose built tube chassis and all the suspension goodies found on our Chevrolet Dirt Late Model.”
In spite of a race where the high level competition was way out in front, attrition was prevalent. When the two fastest qualifiers broke, the competition became more even for Smith. He once again showed his legendary patience and persistence, picking off drivers lap after lap.
In the end there weren’t enough laps for a top 5 finish but Smith found himself in 9th place when the checkers fell.
John Mayola, the car owner stated, “I am always impressed with Jason. He is cool, calm and collected, it doesn’t matter if he is on pavement driving a NASCAR Late Model, an American Race Truck or our 4 cylinder you know Jason is going to finish. As a matter of fact the car is untouched,
we could go out and race again tomorrow night.”
Jason Smith known as “The Juice” is a member of CBS radio’s Pit Crew heard on 106.7 WJFK in Washington DC. You can listen to IN THE PITS racing radio on the air live from 8-9 AM each and every Saturday morning. Visit www.wjfk.com to listen on the web.
