| Fireworks at Citrus County Speedway Points Finale | by Larry MacMillan
One hundred eleven race cars crowded the pits at Citrus County Speedway for the 2003 points finale Saturday night and the fans got more than they bargained for. Six divisions put it together to wrap up the division crowns and maintaining a spot in the top ten to pick up their share of the 2003 points fund at the Annual Awards Banquet at the Citrus County Auditorium in Inverness on December 19th.
Two Division crowns were still in question coming into the Saturday night action and the Hobby Stockers were the big question with young Curtis Neumann chasing two time champion Richie Smith in the closest race at the speedway in 2003. Curtis trailed by just 43 points which was not an insurmountable difference in the final race of the season. Oddly enough, that was not what had the fans on their feet at the finish of the 25 car, 20 lap barn burner. Sport Wilson came out of the second row and rocketed to the point before the end of lap two. He had a half lap lead on the second running car when the first caution came out in lap 8. On the restart, Wilson again set the pace and Point leader Richie Smith locked in behind Sport and it looked like he was going to settle for a second place finish until the final lap. Smith moved in on Sport’s rear bumper and coming off turn four Richie nailed Sport turning the two of them around. Sport did a 360 and stopped cold just 20 feet from the start finish line. Third running Roy Perkins went to the top of the race track and slipped into the winners circle with Dean Lawyer taking the same lane to second and Smith backied across the line in third. The final finish was contested and officials changed the order leaving Perkins in the winner’s circle with Sport Wilson taking second and denying him his 12th win of the season. Dean Lawyer took third followed by David Kingsbury. Lucky Whitton ended his long racing career at 56 years of age with a fifth place finish in one of the BamBam Racing team’s Chevrolets making their first appearance of the season at their home race track. Lucky started his career and ended his career at Citrus County Speedway after thirty years of racing. Richie Smith was penalized 5 spots to finish 8th but maintained his third consecutive point’s Championship.
Chris Hooker and Chris Thornton managed to bring their race for the Mini Stock championship right down to the final flag. Chris Thornton scored a second in his heat with a feature win to draw a little closer to Hooker but Chris managed a second place finish in both races. Thornton finished his second season in a blaze of glory, closing the 83 point gap on Hooker by 17 points but it just wasn’t quite enough. Hooker made his rookie year in Mini Stocks another championship run with Thornton having to settle for second. Thirteen cars competed in the Mini Stock 20 lap finale with former champion George Neumann taking a third place finish ahead of Dustin DesChamps and Dan Smith. Heat wins went to Dan Smith and Tom Giddings
The Late Model championship was another possible race that could have gone to the runner up but mechanical problems kept Jim Smith out of the battle and he had to sit this one out before the green flag even dropped giving Mike Bresnahan his second Late Model Championship in a borrowed ride since he sold his primary racer. Former Late Model Champion Herb Neumann Jr. made his fourth trip to Victory Lane and the win moved him into second place in the point race. Dale Sanders held out for second followed by Danny Johnson, Herb Hoefler and Ricky Carlton. Heat wins went to Sanders and Hoefler.
Four Feature wins and 14 top five finishes won rookie Mike Bell his second championship in two years. Bell moved up from the Street Stock championship to the Sportsman championship and closed out the season with his fourth win of the season as the division raced its last race at Citrus County Speedway. With some modification the division will be integrated with the Street Stocks in the 2004 season and will be called the Super Street Stock division. Mike Veltman ended his quest for his fifth consecutive Sportsman Championship with a second place finish followed by Kyle Bookmiller, David White and Stephen Anderson. Bill Oesterreicher ended his season with a DNF but will maintain his second place finish in the point’s championship in the division.
Doc James Batson made his first 2003 season start at his home track and it paid off with a heat and feature win over the 16 car Street Stock division. Roger Damron made his first appearance for the season and turned it into a second place run. Mickey Burns picked up a new ride for a third over Travis Nichols and 2003 points champion Ernie Reed. Reed added another 10 points to his total with a win in the second heat.
Rick Badessa ended the Thunder Stock point season with his second win of the season over a 29 car field. Rex Mullis gave him a run for his money followed by Derek DeSomma. Pat Quick locked up the point’s championship several weeks ago to become the first female to take a crown in the 48 year history of the track. She was looking to cap off the season with her 15th win but she had to settle for a fourth place finish over her closest contender Lee Keller. Louie Cioe finished third in the race but lost the position in post tech inspection. Three heat winners were Badessa, DeSomma and Jerry Hoover.
With just two more weeks left in the regular season the Super Stock Saturday will feature Street Stocks and Hobby Stocks will go for 50 laps plus the Mini Stocks and Thunder Stocks go for 30 laps and the Open Wheel Lites take on Citrus County Speedway to round out next week’s program. Saturday, November the 8th will feature the 2nd leg of the Super Late Model Triple Crown 125. December 13th has the Winter Spectacular featuring the Super Late Models in a 150 lap off season race.
Citrus County Speedway Results – 10/25/03
Late Model Feature – 30 Laps – 17 Cars
1. #98 Herb Neumann Jr.
2. # 1 Dale Sanders
3. #96 Danny Johnson
4. #22 Herb Hoefler
5. # 3 Ricky Carlton
1st Heat Winner - #1 Dale Sanders
2nd Heat Winner - #22 Herb Hoefler
#3x Mike Bresnahan – 2003 Champion
Sportsman Feature – 20 Laps – 11 Cars
1. #17 Mike Bell – 2003 Champion
2. #55 Mike Veltman
3. #03 Kyle Bookmiller
4. # 6 J.D. Goff
5. #48 Stephen Anderson
1st Heat Winner - #03 Kyle Bookmiller
2nd Heat Winner - #0 Bill Oesterreicher
Street Stock Feature – 20 Laps - 16 Cars
1. #B4 “Doc” James Batson
2. #76 Rodger Damron
3. #17 Mickey Burns
4. # 2 Travis Nichols
5. #55 Ernie Reed – 2003 Champion
1st Heat Winner - #B4 “Doc” James Batson
2nd Heat Winner - #55 Ernie Reed
Mini Stock Feature – 20 Laps – 13 Cars
1. #24 Chris Thornton
2. #1X Chris Hooker – 2003 Champion
3. # 3 George Neumann
4. #51 Dustin DesChamps
5. #72 Dan Smith
1st Heat Winner - #72 Dan Smith
2nd Heat Winner - #83 Tom Giddings
Hobby Stock Feature – 20 Laps – 25 Cars
1. #07 Roy Perkins
2. #94 Sport Wilson
3. #19 Dean Lawyer
4. #73X David Kingsbury
5. #77X Lucky Whitton
1st Heat Winner - #94 Sport Wilson
2nd Heat Winner - #42 Richie Smith
3rd Heat Winner - #19 Dean Lawyer
#42 Richie Smith – 2003 Champion
Thunder Stock Feature – 20 Laps – 29 Cars
1. #88 Rick Badessa
2. #13 Rex Mullis
3. #99 Derek DeSomma
4. #55 Pat Quick – 2003 Champion
5. #21 Lee Keller
1st Heat Winner - #88 Rick Badessa
2nd Heat Winner - #99 Derek DeSomma
3rd Heat Winner - #30 Jerry Hoover
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