IT'S TIME TO RACE!!

May 12, 2007 Smoke Clears For Fantastic Finishes at Ocala by BJ Cavin Ocala Speedway had been shrouded in a thick blanket of smoke from hundreds of wildfires throughout the past week, but the smoke cleared on Friday afternoon and the winds of change blew through the area, bringing fresh air and thousands of fans to the speedway. The Southern Sportsman Series and the Florida Mini Stock Challenge Series joined four regular racing divisions from Ocala to put on a monster of a show that had zero to do with the Monster Trucks that had invaded Ocala Speedway the past weekend. And the grandstand full of race fans got to see plenty of hot action as real racing returned to Ocala. The V8 Pure Stocks were the first feature race of the evening as Don Milam placed his number 69 race car on the pole, but in the end it was racers from deeper in the field that stole the show. Don Welter managed to make a pass for the lead as problems developed for Milam. Don Milam would eventually have to park his crippled car and take a last place finish. The race had to be briefly red flagged on lap 11 after a frightening accident that saw Hall Robertson smash head on into the retaining wall just outside of the pit gate. Robertson walked away from the crash but his car is probably finished as a racer. On the restart it was Bobby Taylor jumping to the lead but he was passed 6 laps later by a hard charging Matt Schell. Schell would lead the field to the finish and take the win, followed by Don Welter in second and James Erickson in third place after problems in post race tech caused tow competitors to be disqualified. Richard Kuhn is a former 4 Cylinder Stock Champion at Ocala who seems to be back to his winning ways with an impressive run to the pole in that division. Kuhn dominated all 20 laps of the race to take the win, followed by Brandon Elwood who developed engine problems and hung on to manage a second place finish. Brandon's less than perfect race car was challenged in the end by Justyn Elwood who had raced from the rear, but Justyn failed to find a clear path to pass and had to settle for third place. When Bill Wadlington put his number 18 Street Stock on the pole for the feature race he had hoped to maintain that lead for as long as he could, but the handling on that car went away early and Shane Nichols passed Wadlington's loose car to take the lead early on. Meanwhile it was the winner from the last Street Stock feature race, Pete Close Jr, who came charging from the rear, passed Nichols on lap 15, and battled his way to a win. He was followed by Shane Nichols in second place and Dan Tremblay in third place. --Advertisement-- In the Thunder Stock division featuring rookie racers in their first year on the track, two cars failed to take the green flag to begin the feature race. That left Scott Anderson, Josh Brown, and Chris Oliveri, as the contenders who would finish the race, and they took the top three spots in that order. Oliveri had challenged for the lead on lap 5 but an overly aggressive move backfired with a spin out on the front stretch and put him in a hole from which he could not recover. Scott Anderson again proved that by racing with controlled determination that you can win. The Southern Sportsman Series fielded 21 car to begin their 50 lap feature, but two pile ups in the first two laps thinned that field before everyone settled down to do some racing. Ron Heard held the pole position and lead most of the race while Joey Cantarelli settled in behind a hard charging Craig Cuzzone in second place. Cuzzone aggressively challenged Heard for the top spot, but a mistake on lap 29 caused him to slip back into the field after a brief excursion through the infield grass. Joey Cantarelli advanced to second place and stayed there to the finish. Ron Heard was awarded the win while Cantarelli went home with the second place trophy and Chris Peludat raced to third place at the checked flag. Winding up racing for the evening was the Florida Mini Stock Challenge Series with another 50 lap feature event. Cody Blair began the race on the pole but later faced serious challenges from two other racers. Jonathan Camp blasted his number 13 racer into the lead on lap 8 and stayed there, while Robbie Storer settled into third place. A caution and restart on lap 33 opened the door for Storer to advance to second place when Cody Blair made a minor error, and from there Storer began challenging Heard for the top spot. But in the end it was Jonathan Camp who proved too strong for all challengers and raced to the checkers to take the win. Robbie Storer followed close behind in second place and Cody Blair finished in third place. Next week Ocala Speedway welcomes the FAST Pro Trucks and kids, plus Figure 8 racing returns after some time off. And the Open Wheel Modifieds will join the regular Ocala Speedway divisions as well, rounding out the night. There will also be another Street Car Challenge. And in order to show appreciation for their sacrifices, all active and retired military personnel will be admitted free with their military ID. Results For May 11, 2007 Southern Sportsman Series Ron Heard Joey Catarelli Chris Peludat Richard Elkins Jr. Craig Cuzzone Bart Weatherford Tommy Conquest Jr. Rikk McMehan Derrick Heath Roger Welch T.C. McElyea Gordon Cade Tom Raiser Kyle Alford Greg Gorniak Arthur Conquest Chad Cushing David Kinsey David Williamson Derek Slade DNS Steve Gainey DNS Mark Peterson Florida Mini Stock Challenge Series Jonathan Camp Robbie Storer Cody Blair Rick Sirmans Paul Combast Chris Zimmerman S.C. Klinger Mike Birk Jr. Mark Moniz Bob Pilkinton Rex Christensen Brandon Elwood Rick Partridge Gary Roebuck DNS Robbie Yoakam V8 Pure Stock Matt Schell Don Welter James Erickson Aaron Welter Bruce Schell Kenny Thornton Geoff Danielson Steven Visneski James Sullivan Hall Robertson Don Milam DNS: Bruce Pernitza DQ Bobby Taylor DQ Jessie Corbett Street Stock Pete Close Jr. Shane Nichols Dan Tremblay Rick Bass Justin Durbin Joe Boyd Bill Wadlington David Foster Carl Carr John Buzinec Norm Brown Mark Trexler 4 Cylinder Stock Richard Kuhn Brandon Elwood Justyn Elwood Karl Born Shawn Evans Mike Taylor DNS Kenny Maddox Thunder Stock Scott Anderson Josh Brown Chris Oliveri DNS Chuck Ervin DNS Jason Henry Have an opinion on this story? Post a message on The Real Racin USA Florida Fan Message Board! or Email KARNACto send a letter to the editor!