Strategy propels Luke Baldwin to victory lane in Carteret Clash

SWANSBORO, NC – A late race caution changed the complexion of Saturday night’s SMART Modified Tour race at Carteret County Speedway, shuffling the field and putting Luke Baldwin in position to return to victory lane and pad his points lead.

Baldwin struggled at Coastal Plains on Friday night, finishing 13^th, allowing Ryan Newman to close in on the 28 point advantage he entered the weekend’s Crystal Coast doubleheader with.  However, on Saturday night, Baldwin would come out on top.

“We needed it,” Baldwin told Short Track Scene.  “It was a rough day [Friday].  We really needed a pick me up and a bounce back and got it.  Good points day as well.  [Newman] might have still gained a little bit on me but we’ve still got a decent lead so we’ll take it and move on to Caraway.”

Baldwin was among several competitors who elected to pit to change a tire with 52 laps remaining, while most of the frontrunners stayed out.  Baldwin methodically worked his way up to the third position prior to a late race caution.  When the caution came out with 17 laps to go, Danny Bohn and Ryan Newman made their pitstop, allowing Baldwin to inherit the lead at a track he liked.

“When I come to race, I don’t like points racing,” Baldwin said.  “I like going to win.  I love coming to Carteret.  It’s hard to race, it’s hard to pass, and it’s hard to race side-by-side.  I like wrapping the inside fence here.  It’s one of my favorite things to do when we go to a track with an inside wall in the corner.”

His older brother Jack Baldwin, who employed the same pit strategy, finished second.

“It was a great race,” Jack Baldwin said.  “We made the right strategy call there to come in around lap 50 hoping that, when everybody came in later, they’d be a little too tight.  We ended up being really tight as well but it also worked out for us.  It stinks to lose to my brother but we’ll take second.  It’s our best finish of the year and I feel like we’re really starting to get some momentum going.”

Paulie Hartwig finished third while Joey Coulter and Danny Bohn rounded out the top-five.

Saturday night’s Carteret Clash was eventful, seven cautions and three red flags.  The most notable incident took place early in the race when Jonny Kievman and Joey Coulter tangled, taking Kievman out of the race.  Kievman expressed his frustration by hitting the windshield of Coulter’s car repeatedly with his head and neck restraint device.

The next stop for the SMART Modified Tour is a return to Caraway Speedway on Saturday, September 6.  Last time the series competed at Caraway, Danny Bohn scored the victory.

Unofficial Results
SMART Modified Tour
Carteret County Speedway – Swansboro, North Carolina

1. #7VA – Luke Baldwin
2. #7NY – Jack Baldwin
3. #73 – Paulie Hartwig
4. #02 – Joey Coulter
5. #25 – Danny Bohn
6. #33 – Carsten Digiantomasso
7. #99 – Jake Crum
8. #79 – Joey Braun
9. #1 – Burt Myers
10. #2 – Ryan Newman
11. #16VA – Jonathan Cash
12. #4 – Sloate Myers
13. #18 – Daniel Yates
14. #17 – Bryce Bailey
15. #21 – Jimmy Wallace
16. #15 – Jeremy Gerstner
17. #45 – Max Handley
18. #48 – Jonny Kievman