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| Results from July 30th, 2010 |
After coming off of a win from July 23rd, the X Motorsports crew were hungry for another.
Sotomayor started the day off with a great surprise, pulling a very low pill, the best of the American Stock division. This would put Matt on the pole for the heat race. After a mishap with a car on the start, heat #1 lined up yet again and started very clean with Matt on the inside and the #44m of Matt Kile on the outside. Sotomayor would gain the lead out of turn 4 as Kile hit the cushion, and the #63 would never look back, scoring his 8th heat win of the season and 4th heat win in a row.
The black and orange Firebird would start 3rd in the dash, trying to capitalize on points with 2 top competitors being out of it. After the first lap, the #63 would find himself once again chasing down the #44m, this time losing by inches which brought the crowd to its feet on the final lap.
The main event would be a challenge, due to Sotomayor having to start 12th after the previous week's win. A second lap incident, however, would change everything. Nearly half of the American Stock main event would get caught up in a turn 2 incident that poured on the backstretch, putting the top 3 in points in reverse order from 3rd to 5th. As the dust settled, the field would double up for the 2nd time, only to be stopped yet again in 2 more laps by another caution flag as the #6w and #0 would collide, sending the #0 into the backstretch wall.
Sotomayor and Silva would take the reigns of the field, leading them to the 2nd restart. After a few laps of battling, the #11 of Billy Nelson suffered a flat tire, leaving him to stop on the track, causing the 3rd caution. The #63 and #56s would start again, this time without cautions. A few laps in, Sotomayor took the lead on a turn 1 inside pass, completing it out of turn 4 of the same lap. Matt would lead the final 7 laps to get his second straight win, making #5 on the year. This ties his amount of wins at Ocean Speedway from the 2009 4-Banger Championship year and would also cut the point lead nearly in half from 51 to 27.
Next week is Test and Tune, followed by an off-week for the American Stocks. Sotomayor plans on coming back refreshed and ready to try for a 3rd win in a row.
07/31/2010 @ 6:22PM
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| Results from June 11th, 2010 |
After a great points night the previous week, the #63 team came to the track with one thing in mind: "Do it all over again."
Things began sour as usual with another typical high pill draw, pulling a 140. Luck would change though, as cars would drop out of the heat race, leaving Sotomayor with a 4th place starting position rather than 6th. The first lap of the heat race was a messy one, with the 1w and 6w cars slamming and scraping from turn 2 all the way onto the front-straight. Coming out of turn 4, Matt managed to fly through a gap between the lead cars, collecting some scratches as he made it to the lead. Never looking back, Sotomayor would claim his 4th heat win of the season.
 The trophy dash was not as friendly as the heat race. A slick spot had began to show in turns 1 and 2, and would claim many victims throughout the night. The #63 Firebird would be one of them. Headed into turn 1 with a great start, Sotomayor would hit the slick spot, spinning him around. The same happened to the #56s car as well the following lap. All was not lost, as Sotomayor would yet again claim fast lap of the race and pick out his line for the main event.
Matt started the main event from the 4th position. This would give him a solid look at the top spot, hoping to pounce early. Sotomayor would get his shot, passing the #44m car into turn 3 on lap 1, claiming the lead. Sotomayor led the remaining laps and finished first, followed by Nelson and Silva. This shaved another 3 points into the point lead for Sotomayor and increased the win total to 3, turning even more heads towards the young rookie.
The next race for the American Stock division is in two weeks, June 25th, 2010. Be sure to catch all the action as they are joined by the Taco Bravo 360 Sprints, Wingless Sprints, and 4-Bangers.
06/14/2010 @ 2:37PM
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| Results from May 28th, 2010 |
3 weeks of top 2 finishes would only be increased this week for the #63 Pontiac Firebird. Although another mid-pack pilldraw was pulled, Matt was confident in the newly created dry-slick setup him and Art had come up with. Matt lined up 7th for heat race 1.
After a couple laps of battling, Sotomayor managed to slip into 3rd place ahead of Bill Sorg. The #10 car would prove difficult to pass, having some problems with turn 4 and wiggling down the front stretch. Matt and the #10 would touch into turn 1, coming out sideways, but managed to save it preventing a yellow flag. The #44 of Matt Kile had a straightaway lead by now, leaving Sotomayor with a 2nd place finish and an entry into the trophy dash.
Matt was confident with his pole starting position, hoping to finally claim the last trophy that has evaded him this year. But this wasn't to be. On the initial start, the #197 would cut down on Sotomayor, causing him to fall behind and settle for a 2nd place finish by inches over a charging Steve Montgomery.
 Starting 3rd, Sotomayor would have a solid chance at taming the now very rutty and dry 1/4-mile. After a few laps of calm racing, the red flag would fly for a car sitting on the front stretch. The field was bunched up again for a restart. Sotomayor fell back on the start, but recollected and slipped passed 2nd and 3rd in turns 3 and 4, now chasing down the leader. After nearly half the race of following and leaving 3rd place behind, Sotomayor found an opening and passed the #87 down low, taking the lead. Lapped traffic proved to be an issue, nearly taking out both lead cars on more than one occasion.
On the final lap, the #87 and #63 rubbed down the front stretch, and again into turn 1 as the #87 slid up the track. Both cars rear tires would touch, sending Sotomayor airborne as he slid around turn 2, somehow coming out onto the backstretch free of any popped tires. The #87, however, did not fair as well. Matt sailed away from the field again around the final corner, claiming his 2nd win of the season.
Week 11 and race 9 for the American Stocks is next week and more intense racing action will come with it.
05/30/2010 @ 12:12AM
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| Results from May 7th, 2010 |
Coming off of a win from the previous week, Matt Sotomayor came into race 6 with a completely different mentality. With a few changes made to the front end, the #63 crew was hoping that the corner exit push was gone. And it was.
The heat race started off tarnished, with the #9 pushing Sotomayor up to the backstretch wall. After a few laps of collecting himself, Matt still managed to get passed the #9 clean, winning his 3rd heat of the year.
For the dash, Sotomayor started 5th. During the event, the seas began to part, allowing the #63 to maneuver to 2nd place, behind the #9. Sotomayor came into lap 3 on the low side, and with a slight over-correction, slid up the track and was hit by a car following closely behind. A yellow/checkered would fly with the #63 ending up 2nd.
Due to winning race 5, Sotomayor was required to start in the 12th position. The word patience was cemented into Matt's head as the green flag flew, trying to avoid any more incidents. Slowly but surely, Sotomayor picked off cars one by one, eventually landing in the 4th position. After a few laps of battle with the #9 and #44m, the #63 would take the 2nd spot with the #11 in his sights on lap 19. Unfortunately, it was too little too late for a chance at a win as the checkered flag flew. Post-race tech included an intake manifold check, which all cars passed.
This week, the American Stocks get a break from racing as the Taco Bravo sprints come back for another round of racing. The #63 Firebird will be back in action on May 21st, running with the IMCA Modifieds, Dwarf Cars, 4-Bangers, and Ocean Late Models.
05/09/2010 @ 8:44PM
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| Results from April 30th, 2010 |
Race 4 proved to be as bad as the 3 previous, but the problem that had been chasing the #63 was now being chased down. The X Motorsports crew was more confident than ever heading into race 5, feeling as if all of their bad luck had run out.
The heat race draw wasn't a great beginning to the night. Sotomayor pulled a high pill, starting 6th place in the second heat. This didn't stop the #63, however. After a few close calls, Sotomayor ended up finishing 1st in the heat. Some officials didn't like some of the #63's driving, docking him 2 spots to 3rd place and a lost chance for a first trophy dash win.
Matt lined up 5th for the main and waited patiently for a chance to improve the night. A cautionless first 16 laps made it difficult to move up through the field. Sotomayor was able to pick off cars until he was positioned behind the leader. Lapped cars were beginning to come back to the leaders and the #56s and #63 weaved in and out of traffic while battling for the lead. Coming down the backstretch, the #09 of Darrell Daniels running the middle of the track was split by the 2 leaders leaving the #56s up top and Sotomayor down low. After the corner tightened, all three cars collided and sent the #56s into the turn 4 wall, leaving Sotomayor with the lead.
A caution flag would fly on lap 17 as the #16 of Braden Donovan's car sat motionless on the bank of turn 3. Sotomayor chose the outside at the restart, putting a lapped car on the inside followed by the #11 and #56s. The #63 took off and never looked back, gaining a half-straightaway lead over 2nd and 3rd place. A yellow/checkered would fly on lap 19, leaving Matt with his first American Stock main event.
Post-race tech was stalled as 2 more main events finished up, allowing the engines to cool off for a compression test. All 5 cars passed tech inspection, finalizing the win for Sotomayor as well as putting some speculation to rest about the #63 Pontiac Firebird.
Next week, Matt will be racing again along with the 360 Sprint Cars, Dwarf Cars, and Ocean Late Models.
05/02/2010 @ 6:29PM
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View all news |
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| Races: |
17 |
| Top 5s: |
11 |
| Top 10s: |
14 |
| Wins: |
5 |
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| Last Race - 8/20 |
| Heat: |
1st |
| Dash: |
4th |
| Main: |
3rd |
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| P |
Driver |
Behind |
| 1 |
Billy Nelson |
-- |
| 2 |
Matt Sotomayor |
-41 |
| 3 |
Matt Kile |
-67 |
| 4 |
Nick Silva |
-140 |
| 5 |
Tony Oliveira |
-196 |
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Shirts - $10 (S, M, L)
Hats - $10 (L/XL Fitter)
Both available at the #63 pit behind the scoreboard
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