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2001
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| CLASSIC CARS INVADE SUNSHINE SPEEDWAY ON KARNAC.COM NIGHT | by Thom Watson
The Classic Auto Racing Series made an appearance at Sunshine Speedway on Saturday night, along with KARNAC.COM. The series put on a quite a show with lots of fender banging and more than a few spins.
Turn one seemed to be the designated spin corner as no less than four separate cars picked that corner to spin, with most of them able to remain in the race. Danny Shearer, #77, started on the pole and was able to lead the first half of the race. The #2 of Dan Hammerbeck started in the 12th position in the 15-car field and was able to work his way up to fourth by lap seven. By the halfway point he had worked his way to lead and never looked back as he was able to build his lead and went on to take the checkers. Shearer and the #74 of Ed Yates put on a heated battle for the second spot, with Shearer able to hold on to the spot until lap 19 when Yates shot past him under the white flag.
The Hornet class had the privilege of opening the feature races tonight and had plenty of action, both during the race and after. The #72John Vandenberg took the early lead and held it until his wheel came off on lap six. The #55 of Mike Galvin, then took over the lead no one could take away from him, at least until he went through tech. But he was not the only one, as the first four finishers were disqualified. All were disqualified for illegal camber. This left the fifth place finisher, # 68, as the winner, who started last when the race began.
The Mini Stock class had one leader and he was able to make it through tech. The #65 of Joey Caterelli, took the lead on the first lap and was able to hold on through a 30 minute delay when the #14 of Tina Reiner, and the #70 of Marty Neikens got tangled up in turn four of the first lap and it took two wreckers and what looked like most of the officials and trackers workers to finally get them free. After the delay, the race for second was the highlight. At the halfway point the first four cars were each separated by about one car length. On lap 15, the #10 of Mike Birk, Jr. took the outside route and passed the #32 of Troy Meredith on turn four. On the next two laps Birk was able to move into second place, but just as quickly he went high in turn four and fell back to fifth. Chris Thornton in the #24 followed Catarelli the entire 20 laps and he finished second. In the closing laps the #55 of Tom Zimmerman was able to grab the third spot. And hold on until the finish.
In the Open Wheel Modifieds, the #51 of Mike Hinegardner started on the pole and led every lap in capturing his first feature of the season. Being the smart driver he is, Hinegardner slapped a KARNAC.COM sticker on his car before the feature and went on to collect the $50 bonus for winning with the sticker from KARNAC.COM and Dayton Andrews Dodge. Last week's winner, #29 Phillip Kessler, looked strong early but faded in the last half of the race to fall from second to fourth as he was passed on the last lap. The #4 took over second on lap 11 from Kessler and rode Hinegardner's back bumper hard but could never mount a real threat to pass him and he finished second.
The Outlaw Late Model class started nine cars and put on quite a show. The #20 of Steve O'lone started on the pole and lead all laps to take the feature win. The real racing was for second. The #76 of Jim Altobelli took the early point in the second position, but on lap seven tangled with the #77 of Rick Haugh and fell back in the pack. This allowed the #69 of Tim Henault to take over second and held that position until the final laps. Henault and Haugh went side by side for about eight laps and Haugh was able to take the second spot on the last lap, as Henault had to settle for third.
The Street Stock class sent 10 cars home from the heat races and had several of the points leaders starting deep in the pack. The #82 of Gopher Mangual took the point on the first lap and held it for eight laps until the #98 of Roger Welch took over the lead. Once in the lead, Welch took off and built a six-car length lead in just a few laps. Meanwhile the #1 of Danny Rieger, the current Street Stock points leader, was hanging around the top five and moved into third place on lap 17. On the next lap Rieger passed the #82 of Jimmy Kruse to move into second place, but was not able to mount a threat to Welch before the laps ran out. The #24 of David Cleary followed the lead of Rieger and moved up to third place.
The Figure 8 race ended the racing on KARNAC.COM night at Sunshine Speedway and as usual provided the crowd with a show. The #59 of Jack Boswell, Jr. took the early lead and was able to lead the train for the first 14 laps. On lap seven, the #70 of Rick Bots, slowed at the "X" for the leaders to come by, but mysteriously tried to shoot the gap between the first three cars and the next three. He missed it by about a trunk, as the #17 of Bobby Moctezuma slammed him around, but was able to avoid further damage. On lap 14 the #11 Art Calkins went low in turn four to pass the #31 of Donnie Thomas, then on the next lap took over the lead. On the same lap, The Thomas went high and slammed the turn four outside wall extremely hard, with sparks flying everywhere. Calkins was able to hold on to the lead and was not seriously threatened and he went on take the win. The #89 of Ron Davis had to settle for second and the #94 of Charlie Meyer was third.
-Thom Watson
Also See: PHOTOS FROM SUNSHINE MAY 5,2001
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