Seventeen-year-old Dakoda Armstrong's goals for his first-ever Late Model event were simple - finish the race with a solid result and gain as much stock car racing experience as possible.

Those goals, as simple as they may seen on paper, were made rather difficult to accomplish due to the 20 caution-flag periods during the Watermelon 100 ASA Southeast Asphalt Tour event at Watermelon Capital Speedway in Cordele, Georgia on Saturday night. There was carnage throughout the field all race long, and even under caution, as Armstrong was victim of a mistake by another driver under one of the mid-race yellow-flag periods that caused extensive damage to the Country Inns & Suites #51 BDI Racing Chevrolet.

Undeterred, Armstong moved up from his 19th-place starting position to post a 13th-place finish, duct-taped body panels and all, in an experience and confidence-building run.

"The one thing I definitely learned was how to drive these cars and how they handle compared to the other stock cars I've raced," said Armstrong, "That seat time was definitely key. With all the cautions, I was able to practice restarts, which was a benefit to me. It wasn't good that we had so many cautions, but it was a good experience getting used to shifting on those restarts. The

finish wasn't what I wanted, but overall it was a good experience."

Armstrong spent all day on practice day Friday and early on Saturday adjusting to the rigors of Pro Late Model racing and getting experience at the tough Watermelon Capital Speedway. By qualifying, Armstrong had a handle on the track and posted a 19th-place effort. From the drop of the green flag, Armstrong was trying all he could to get into a rhythm, but the many caution flags interruped that plan more often than not. Just when it seemed like things were calming down, Armstrong lined up for a restart with about 30 laps to go and was immediately driven into by another driver attempting to pass several cars under caution. The damage caused extensive damage to the left-rear of the #51, but the BDI crew, led by Crew Chief Jason Ricker, fixed Armstrong's car enough to keep him on the lead lap for the remainder of the race with an impressive 13th-place finish, considering the wild night on the track.

"I still don't really know what happened," added Armstrong. "We were under caution and I don't know if the #31 (Tyler Millwood) just didn't see me or what, but it was like he was trying to gain positions under yellow and he just slammed right into me and climbed up the side of my car. He tore the whole left side off. That was definitely different. It's never happened to me before and probably won't ever happen again."

With his first race under his belt, Armstrong now focuses on his two other Late Model starts with BDI Racing, with the first coming at his home track, Indiana's Anderson Speedway for the Redbud 300 on June 16th. Armstrong won a 400-lap USAC Midget race last season and will be a teammate to BDI Racing house driver Michael Pope in the Redbud 300.