IT'S TIME TO RACE!!

August 15, 2007 FASCAR Tours Puts on Show At Citrus County Modifieds, Sportsman And Mini Stocks On Tour By Rick Warren Saturday night at Citrus County Speedway, with the Gulfcoast Modifieds in town,local favorite Curtis Neumann showed the meaning of “home track “ advantage. In qualifying, Neumann set fast time, with a lap of 14.146. Right behind was Wayne Jefferson with a time of 14.184. After clearing tech, Neumann drew for the inversion, and pulled a zero, starting the field heads up, by qualifying times. The field rolled onto the speedway for the start with Neumann and Jefferson on the front row, followed by Chet Senokossoff, John Sappriacone Jr, Sean McLaughlin, Alan McCafferty, Eric Rudd, Teddy Nelson, Chris Escott, and Robbie Cooper filling the top ten starting spots. The racers were anxious to roll into the 50 lap feature, and the start had to be waved off a couple of times before the race got underway. In one start attempt, several cars got together in turn 1, causing damage to several cars. The 98 of point leader Robbie Cooper was damaged badly enough to end Coopers night. The race fnally got under way, and Neumann powered to the lead, followed by Jefferson. Apparently, the pre-start incidents had heated up some tempers, and it began to show, as very few of the drivers had much patience left, causing the race to be slowed by several cautions. A lap 17 restart had the cars of McCafferty and Sappriacone made hard contactin turn 1, ending the evening for both drivers. The top two were unfazed by the action behind them, and continued to have a very god race for the lead. Jefferson appeared to be slightly better entering the turns, and Neumann seemed to have the advantage driving off the corners. At the halfway mark, Neumann had opened a lead of several car lengths over Jefferson, who in turn held a lead of several lengths over third place Senokossoff. Several more cautions for minor incidents slowed the pace of the race, and allowed the top runners to bunch up. Lap 32 has Senokossoff slowing, and giving up third spot, a tough break after racing hard. Neumann went on to take the win, his first in the Gulfcoast Modified Series. Jefferson was a close second, followed by Sean McLaughlin. In the tech area after the race, Neumann commented that he was happy to win on his home track, but he really wants a series win at a track other than Citrus County, to prove that this race wasn’t a fluke. “We have had good runs at other tracks, but just haven’t been able to hit the winners circle yet”, Neumann commented. --Advertisement-- Ronnie “Bubba” Heard Takes SSS Win The racers of the Southern Sportsman Series were glad to see the bright sunny skies Saturday afternoon at Citrus County Speedway. In town for a 50 lap feature race, 20 drivers signed in to compete in this re-scheduled race. Patrick Thomas, in the Specialty Construction entry, set fast qualifying time with a lap of 14.925 seconds. Scarcely a tic behind was Richard Elkins Jr, in the Elkins Repair Service entry, with a lap of 14.945 seconds. After the top qualifiers cleared tech inspection, Thomas pulled a 7 for the inversion, placing Ronnie Heard Jr. and Aaron Williamson on the front row. Heard and Williamson led the field onto the track for the 50 lap feature, followed by Tommy Conquest, Richie Smith, Craig Cuzzone, Elkins, Thomas, Mark Peterson, Bart Weatherford, and Steve Gainey filling the top ten starting positions. The drivers were anxious to get this race started, and it showed. The first attempt was waved off, due to some starting just a bit to early. Attempt #2 resulted in a red flag situation, with a nasty crash in turn 3. Arthur Conquest ended up on top of the wall, David Williamson ended up hard against the wall, with several other cars involved. All the drivers were uninjured, but the race cars didn’t fare so well. Conquest and Williamson were both done for the night,along with Craig Cuzzone. As the field was being lined up for the restart, the car of Mike Soukup had mechanical issues and was done for the evening. The came to the green flag one more time, but attrition was still a big factor, as Steve Gainey also had engine problems and exited to the pit area. As the race finally got underway, Heard powered to the lead followed closely by Williamson, Conquest, Smith and Thomas. In the early stages of the race, Thomas was making some serious moves toward the front, in his pursuit of the leader. By lap 15 Thomas had moved into 3rd position, and was looking to move up. By lap 20 the front three were close enough to read each others lips. The halfway point had all three working hard, and looking to force an error by the others. Lap 27 had Thomas drive under Williamson entering turn 1, looking to take the spot. Williamson was not ready to give the position away, and the cars traded a little paint before they exited turn 2. Thomas was able to take the position, with Williamson working hard to take it back. Meanwhile, the racing in the rest of the field was exciting as well. At one point, the 42 of Smith, in 5th spot got into the rear of the 72 of Tommy Conquest, and had him very out of shape. Smith did the sportsman like thing, and backed off, letting Conquest get the car back in control, and then they went back to hard racing. Lap 35 had Thomas working Heard for all he was worth. Thomas managed to drive under Heard in turn 1, but Heard wasn’t giving up. The two raced side by side into turn three, and out of turn 4. Continuing side by side into turn 1, the cars made contact, resulting in Thomas flattening a tire, and pulling off the track, ending a great run. A late race caution brought the field together for a dash for the finish. With a great deal of rubbing and swapping paint, the race wound down toward the final laps, with Heard still in the lead, and receiving a lot of pressure from Richie Smith. Smith made a last ditch charge, but was unable to get by the hard charging Heard, who had driven a smart and consistent race. After the top finishers cleared tech, the results were declared official. --Advertisement-- Thornton Takes FMSC Win Although early afternoon rains threatened to cause a replay of the last time the FMSC racers came to Citrus County, Mother Nature was kind and ended the rains early, allowing the show to go on. The racers of the Mini Stock Challenge Series have been looking forward to returning to the track at Citrus County, as the racing is always exciting. In qualifications, Chris Thornton ran the fastest lap, in the Gulf to Bay Enterprises entry, at 15.170 seconds. Second fast, in the Lynn Blair Interiors/Pro Image entry, Cody Blair ran a lap of 15.296 seconds. After the fast qualifiers cleared tech inspection, Thornton pulled a 3 for the inversion, placing James Ellis on the pole position. The 50 Lap Feature race lined up with Ellis and Blair on the front row, followed by Thornton and Jim Smith in the second row. The third row was filled by Robbie Storer and Jonathan Camp, followed by Brian Dorer, Chris Zimmerman, Chris Hooker, and Chris Allen filling the top ten starting positions. As the field of racers took the green from flagman Derek Molloy, James Ellis powered to the front, with Thornton and Storer right behind, leaving Blair hung on the outside, looking for an opening to get to the bottom of the track. The first caution was displayed as the 33 of Chris Allen spun exiting turn 4. The field was quickly reset, with Ellis continuing to lead, followed by Thornton, Storer, Smith and Camp in the top 5 positions. When the field took the green flag to restart the race, Thornton turned up the pressure on Ellis, and after a short battle, was able to take the lead, with Storer following to grab second position. The battled for position continued through out the field, with cars passing and re-passing, creating some very exciting racing. Lap 17 sees Smith making a pass on Ellis to grab 3rd position, and begin to chase down the leaders. The caution was again displayed on lap 25 as the cars of Camp and Zimmerman made contact, with Zimmerman spinning. The field was reset with Thornton, Storer, Smith, Ellis, and Blair in the top 5 positions, while Camp and Zimmerman were restarting from the rear of the field. Lap 27 has Smith making the pass on Storer to grab second position, while Ellis and Blair stayed right on the bumpers of the lead pack. As the laps wound down toward the finish, Smith started to make a run at the leader, but Thornton was strong enough to hold off the charge and take the win. After the top finishers cleared tech inspection, the results were declared official. FINISHING ORDERS: MODIFIEDS Final Results Gulfcoast Modifieds Citrus County Speedway. August 11, 2004 1. #00 Curtis Neumann Inverness, Fl. 2. # 1 Wayne Jefferson Pinellas Park, FL. 3. #99 San McLaughlin Port Charlotte, Fl. 4. #12 Eric Rudd Naples, FL. 5. #34 Teddy Nelson Pinellas Park, FL. 6. # 2 John Rogers Naples, Fl. 7. #61 Chet Senokossoff St. Petersburg, Fl. 8. # 8 Chris Escott St. Petersburg, FL. 9. #32 Alan McCafferty Clermont, Fl. 10. #88 John Sappriacone Jr. Myakka City, FL. 11. #98 Robbie Cooper Bronson, Fl. SOUTHERN SPORTSMAN Final Results Southern Sportsman Series Citrus County Speedway August 11, 2007 50 Laps. 1. #00 Ron Heard Jr. Seffner, Fl. 2. #42 Richie Smith Hernando, Fl. 3. #55 Richard Elkins Jr. Auburndale, Fl. 4. #72 Tommy Conquest Jr. Bronson, Fl. 5. # 1 Bart Weatherford Lakeland, FL. 6. #21 Daniel McClain Auburndale, Fl. 7. #15 Joey Catarelli Pinellas Park, FL. 8. #73 Mark Peterson Sarasota, Fl. 9. #12R Rikk McMehan Hudson, Fl. 10. #19 T.C. McElyea Dania Beach, Fl. 11. #13 Aaron Williamson Mulberry, Fl. 12. #51 Kyle Alford Haines City, Fl. 13. #25 Patrick Thomas Oviedo, Fl. 14. #98 Roger Welch St. Petersburg, Fl. 15. #21X Phillip Bessette New Smyrna Bch, FL. 16. #79X Steve Gainey Bradenton, Fl. 17. #78 Arthur Conquest Bronson, Fl. 18. #12 David Williamson Mulberry, Fl. 19. #45 Michael Soukup Deltona, Fl. 20. #97 Craig Cuzzone Lakeland, FL. MINI STOCK CHALLENGE SERIES Florida Mini Stock Challenge. 50 Laps Citrus County Speedway 1. #24 Chris Thornton Clearwater, Fl. 2. #32 Jim Smith Inverness, Fl. 3. # 9 Robbie Storer Zephyrhills, FL. 4. #98 James Ellis Brooksville, FL. 5. #81 Cody Blair Winter Park, Fl. 6. #13 Jonathan Camp Beverly Hills, FL. 7. #29 Chris Zimmerman Largo, Fl. 8. #97 Brian Dorer Lakeland, Fl. 9. # 6 Chris Hooker Floral City, FL. 10. #33 Chris Allen Bushnell, Fl. 11. #V3 Rex Christensen Port Orange, FL. 12. #26 Kenny Uhl Lakeland, Fl. 13. #10 Mike Birk Jr. Pinellas Park, FL. 14. #96 Dan Roebuck 15. # 2 Don Faunce Spring Hill, Fl. 16. #23 Jesse Henley Homosassa, FL. 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!