The TBARA pavement pounders made their first visit of the 2005 season to Ocala Speedway on Saturday March 12, 2005. 23 cars made it to the track to compete in the nights events.
During the practice session, the 14 car driven by Rod Anderson hit the wall at turn 4 which meant the end of the night for that car.
The 5W of Randy Woodall and the 29 of Gary Gimmler made up the front row for the first of 3 heat races. At the start of the race the 18 car driven by Shane Butler pushed through from third place to take the race lead and he went on to win the heat with Dude Teate in the 0 car coming in second.
The second heat saw Jeff Van Deusen in the 99K on the pole with Ray Bragg in the 66 alongside. As the race started, the 66 car took off but then slowed down causing the 19 car of Keith Butler who was behind him to run over the back of the car. The 19 car suffered some front shock damage and was towed off the track, while the 66 car rejoined the field for the full restart. The 99K made a better start and took the early race lead.
The caution flag was brought out on lap 3 when the 33 car died at the top of the track coming out of turn 1, with what turned out to be an engine problem that ended the nights racing for that car.
Once the 33 car was cleared from the track the race got back underway with the 99K still in the lead. On lap 7 the 3X passed the 99K to take the race lead and the heat win, with the 99K settling for 2nd place.
J.J. Dutton in the 6F had the pole for the start of the third heat race with Jim Alvis in the 29T on the outside. The 29T made the better start and took the race lead.
The 59 driven by Dan Statter retired to the infield on lap 5 and the closing laps saw a close battle between Jim Avis in the 29T in first place, Troy DeCaire in the 118 in second and David Slawiak in the 68 in third.
Despite getting alongside the 29T on several occasions, the 118 was unable to complete the maneuver and they finished in those positions.
J.J. Dutton took his second pole staring position of the evening for the feature race. The 99K driven by Jeff Van Deusen started alongside in the second spot.
The 99K made a good start and took the early race lead. The leaders caught up to the back markers very quickly. On lap 6 and while moving through the traffic, Bo Hartley in the 3X saw an opportunity and passed the 99K to take over the race lead.
The 75 driven by Curtis Sutton retired to the infield on lap 11 and was followed one lap later by Dan Statter in the 59. A hectic race ensued with cars passing constantly. The 3X seemed to be stretching away from the rest of the field and had lapped over half of the field at least once by lap 20.
The 6 car driven by Skeeter Faulconer retired on race lap 18, followed by the 6X driven by Frank Scimeca on race lap 19 and the 44 driven by Bill Pettijohn on race lap 20. On lap 22, the 7L driven by Mike Love spun out coming out of turn 4, hit the wall and was moved to the infield ending his nights racing.
The race got back to green with the 3X still in the lead, but just one lap later the 91 driven by David Steele got loose at turn 1 and spun out. He got pushed back off and the field got back to racing, until one lap later when a plug wire came off the 0 driven by Dude Teate and the car slowed to a stop on the low side of the track on the front straightaway.
Once he was pushed clear of the track the race got back underway. With the field bunched up, the last few laps were close but Bo Hartley in the 3X held on to the lead and won the race, with Shane Butler in the 18 taking second place, initial race leader Jeff Van Deusen had to settle for third, the 19 of Keith Butler was fourth and the 68 driven by David Slawiak rounded out the top 5.
The TBARAs next scheduled event is at Lake City next Saturday, March 19, 2005.
HEAT 1
1) 18 Shane Butler
2) 0 Dude Teate
3) 29 Gary Gimmler
4) 7 John Gilbert Jr
5) 5W Randy Woodall
6) 7L Mike Love
7) 6X Frank Scimeca
8) 44 Bill Pettijohn
HEAT 2
1) 3X Bo Hartley
2) 99K Jeff Van Deusen
3) 66 Ray Bragg
4) 91 David Steele
5) 6 Skeeter Faulconer
6) 33 Paul Madden
7) 19 Keith Butler (DNF)
HEAT 3 1) 29T Jim Alvis
2) 118 Troy DeCaire
3) 68 David Slawiak
4) 6F J J Dutton
5) 80 Wendy Mathis
6) 75 Curtis Sutton
7) 59 Dan Statter
FEATURE 1) 3X Bo Hartley; 2) 18 Shane Butler; 3) 99K Jeff Van Deusen; 4) 19 Keith Butler; 5) 68 David Slawiak; 6) 118 Troy DeCaire; 7) 29T Jim Alvis; 8) 66 Ray Bragg; 9) 91 David Steele; 10) 7 John Gilbert Jr; 11) 6F J J Dutton; 12) 80 Wendy Mathis; 13) 29 Gary Gimmler; 14) 5W Randy Woodall; 15) 0 Dude Teate (DNF); 16) 7L Mike Love (DNF); 17) 44 Bill Pettijohn (DNF); 18) 6X Frank Scimeca (DNF); 19) 6 Skeeter Faulconer (DNF); 20) 59 Dan Statter (DNF); 21) 75 Curtis Sutton (DNF)
