September 24, 2024
A year’s worth of dominance has finally paid off for Casey Roderick and Anthony Campi Racing.
The pride of Lawrenceville, Georgia not only reached victory lane at 5 Flags Speedway, but also clinched both the ASA Southern Super Series championship and the Blizzard Series track championship with his victory.
An astoundingly fast day in Pensacola saw Roderick top the first Super Late Model practice session of the day, followed by setting the quick time in qualifying, winning the redraw, and finally winning the night’s main feature.
Simply put, no one was going to stop Casey Roderick, par for the course in 2024.
Roderick had a late-race battle with fellow late model juggernaut Cole Butcher, making the winning pass on lap 98 of 100. Butcher ultimately fell out of contention when contact from Matt Craig resulted in a spin shortly thereafter.
The ensuing restart saw Roderick pull away from John Bolen and Gio Ruggiero, who finished second and third respectively.
“I was just trying to keep my car underneath me and not burn it up the whole race,” said Roderick. “We had those cautions and on that last one with me and [Cole Butcher], I just dug deep and gave it all I had.”
“I’m not sure what happened with [Butcher] and the other cars behind us, how all that transpired, but it’s pretty cool to come out with a Blizzard win and a championship.”
Roderick is still in the hunt for the ASA STARS National Tour championship, with only two races remaining at Winchester and Nashville later this year.
“There’s still a lot of racing left to go, and you just gotta keep digging hard. I’m not saying we’re the best right now, but I feel like Toledo was a turning point.”
Second-place finisher John Bolen started the race at the very back of the field, but surged his way through to become runner-up.
“As I was watching, I could tell a lot of guys were falling off there at the end. I was able to pick off a couple cars every restart.”
“I could tell that Roderick and [Butcher] were really battling it out, and once I got around [Matt Craig], I felt like we were in a really good spot. Caution came out and that kinda set us back. I feel like the way they were racing, I feel like we had a shot maybe to win.”
The defending Southern Super Series champion heading into the weekend, Gio Ruggiero, rounded out the podium in third.
“There were a ton of wrecks tonight. Our team fought hard, came into the pits one or two times to make some adjustments. Got the car a little better but still was struggling there at the end. Just a lot of wrecks for sure, and that’s what helped us get to the front.”
Southern Super Series/Blizzard Series Finale Results
- Casey Roderick
- John Bolen
- Gio Ruggiero
- Michael Hinde
- Dylan Fetcho
- Gavan Boschele
- Billy VanMeter
- Buddy Shepherd
- Dustin Smith
- Matt Craig
- Timothy Watson
- Jacob Gomes
- Jake Finch
- Cole Butcher -2 laps
- Stephen Nasse -3 laps
- Preston Peltier -8 laps
- Dawson Sutton -28 laps
- Michael Goddard -37 laps
- Nicholas Naugle -46 laps
- Bubba Pollard -46 laps
- Kaden Honeycutt -47 laps
- Connor Okrzesik -71 laps
Cover photo: Reid Scott/Liberty Racing Review
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