Red Light Racing at New Smyrna

Red Light Racing
Skitter Creek SK Modifieds
Season 13 Race 1
New Smyrna

By Tim Corder – January 9, 2025

Red Light Racing’s Skitter Creek SK Modifieds kicked off the first race of Season 13 with an action-packed 150 laps at New Smyrna Speedway. The race was a cornucopia of excitement including classic short track racing, a “Big One” that would make Talladega jealous, pit-strategy, and a green-white-checkered finish.

After a pole-winning 17.383 second qualifying lap Jeff Aho (#21) brought the RaceDayCT.com starting grid to the green-flag under the New Smyrna Speedway lights. Aho would continue to set the pace for much of the first two-thirds of the race, leading 72 of the first 100 laps. Aho’s night took a turn after he pitted during a caution on lap 98. Aho would rejoin the field in 12th, the last car on the lead lap, and he would gain 3 spots to finish the event in 9th.

Ultimately it was Bradley Stefane (#89) that would claim the first trophy of Season 13. After starting in 5th, Stefane would lead an impressive 53 laps of the event. Stefane also recorded the fastest lap of the race, completing lap 105 in just 17.354 seconds. Stefane passed Luke Allen (#6) on lap 101 following a restart and would keep the point for the remainder of the event.

The most memorable part of the night for many spectators, and drivers, likely was the massive lap 34 pile-up that appeared to involve every car in the field to some degree. The chaos was triggered when Aho and Eric Stout (#12) made contact in turn 2 while leading the field after a restart on lap 33. After the contact, the two leading cars turned sideways and blocked much of the backstretch leaving the already tightly packed field with essentially nowhere to go other than into each other. Searching for words to describe the melee announcer Soup Zahn summarized the scene in the best way possible, “It’s an octopus trying to put on its socks.” This kerfuffle, and other contact of much less magnitude, ensured that none of the 25 drivers would leave the event without incident points.

While Aho and Stefane led a combined 125 of the green-white-checker extended 151 laps, five other drivers lead at least one lap. The other leaders were Luke Allen and Eric Stout as well as Chris Haizlip (#93), Kenny Allen (#81), and Bruce Pearson (22).

Due in large part to the field-encompassing lap 34 pile-up, only 11 drivers would finish on the lead lap. Allen Wannamaker (#9) was the last car to finish on the lead lap, and the top ten finishers were Stefane, Rob Higgins , Kenny Allen, Bruce Pearson, Adin All-Vecchione, Fred LeClair, Chris Haizlip, Luke Allen, Aho, and Rex Hoyle.

With 4 bonus points for the win, Stefane left the event with 47 points. Higgins and Allen are tied for second in the points, each have 41 points after Season 13’s inaugural event. The series visits Langley Speedway Thursday, January 16th, with a 7:55 Eastern start. All the series races will be broadcasted live on Virtual Grip Network (VGN).