| A Long Day In Ocala Brings Rewards | By BJ Cavin
Photos By Ricky Ellison
There are many theories on how you win a 12 hour marathon race run on a 3/8ths mile speedway. Some believe that slow and steady wins the race, while others believe that one must accumulate as many laps as possible on the track before ducking into the pits for gas, tires, and a driver change. Still others seemingly had no plan, but took the race as it came and tried to be adaptable. No matter what the plan was for all 19 teams and 55 drivers, the day of the only 12 hour endurance race in America run on a local short track dawned dismally with steady rain, overcast skies, and a radar image that looked more green than anything else. Apparently everyone was going to have to come up with Plan B. Or then again, maybe not?
 Everything from 4 cylinder cars to V8 bombers, sportsman racers and open wheel modifieds, and even an outlaw figure 8 car with a huge wing on top, found themselves in the Ocala Speedway pits Saturday morning in the rain. And since the 12 Hours of Ocala is a rain or shine event, the big question on everyone's minds was who has a bottle of Rain-X and can I use some of it? Despite the rain, breakfast was served, the lines formed for the pill draw and tech inspection, and a very long day got underway.
The cars were allowed onto a soaking wet race track under threatening skies just before 9AM. Transponders were tested and everyone waited at a standing stop for the scoreboard clock to hit 9:00. The wait was not long, and the race began on a very slick racing surface. Most drivers managed to deal with the water and drove conservatively, but some pushed the limits and there were multiple spins. Thankfully none resulted in a stoppage of the race and all cars made no contact and were able to continue. And as time passed the track began to dry and the skies cleared, and as a result the lap times began to drop.
The rain was not only causing headaches for the teams on the track as the race began. It also delayed one team in getting to the track by slowing things down on the highway. The number 71 open wheel modified from Tampa, Florida, arrived quite late and entered the race 60 laps down, but Shane Palmer, Bryan Rogers, and Bud Rogers, never gave up. By the time they had a transponder installed and joined the race, the track was virtually dry and the sun was shining. Still another team was involved in an accident on the interstate and never made it to Ocala. That team was delayed to the point that they opted to turn around and head back north out of Florida, never getting to unload and race.
The first hour of the race was dominated by the 87 machine driven by John LaValle, Gordon Brown, and Steve Nistok. It may have been a strange looking contraption, but it was fast, and it took the lead from the start and looked to be a major factor in the race. The team had a plan in place after racing in the 12 Hours of Ocala last season and going home early with mechanical problems, and that plan seemed to be working quite well. Even though the 87 spun out and ventured through a muddy infield, the car remained out front for over an hour before an encounter with the turn 4 wall brought a major setback. At 10:12AM the 87 went high and smacked the wall hard, but the battered car was able to limp into the pits with a broken tie rod and with the front brake rotor left on the track. The brake rotor had to be removed, so a red flag was displayed to stop the race a few seconds after the car had gone into the pit entrance, so no time penalty was assessed.
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With the 87 in the pits and the race resuming, the number 4 sportsman from Auburndale was able to quickly overcome a small deficit and assume the lead, followed by the defending 12 hour champion in second place. The number 4 team of David Williams, Dustin Breeden, and Tommy King, became the dominant car at that point, turning the fastest laps and staying just out of reach of the number 8 street stock from Ocala. If there was a team to beat in the second 12 hour race, the number 8 with Michael Stalnaker, Jeff Stalnaker Jr, and Jeff Stalnaker Sr, was it. They had won the race handily the year before and had stated that they had a solid plan in place to repeat as champions. It was up to everyone else to prove them wrong.
The 87 team made their repairs and the outlaw figure 8 car was back on track by 10:36AM, but after fixing a broken car in only 25 minutes they were now down by 71 laps to the leader. And with what seemed to be the fastest car on the track and with over 10 hours to go, they were far from being out of the chase for the money. They began posting some very fast laps, passing cars as often as possible and posting a race best lap time of 17.291 seconds in the process. Helping them in this process was the number 4 team and current leader, who made their first stop for gas at 10:38 after 298 laps. This allowed the Stalnaker team in the 8 car to make up part of their deficit and gave the 87 team a huge boost towards the front. Just over an hour after the 4 team returned to the track, they left again with a broken crank, loaded up, and headed home, becoming the first car to officially drop out of the race and allowing the 8 team to take the lead after a few laps.
 As all of this was playing out on the track, another team was having issues and had ducked into the pit area. The 45 car, driven by Chris Zimmerman, John Bailey, and Mike Kerriman, from the Bradenton-Clearwater area, had an engine showing signs of failing and were making a gutsy call. The team had no hoist, but decided that since it was early and anything could happen, they would manhandle the old engine out and another one into the car. After a lengthy delay in the pits they returned to the track at 11:15AM and rejoined the race, far behind the leaders. And at 11:20 they suddenly discovered that someone neglected to tighten some bolts so the car was up in smoke and again in the pits. Another quick repair was done and the car was back out within 10 minutes. They would run well but have overheating problems during the afternoon that officially ended their day at 3:55PM.
An accident and driver error created problems for the number 1 street stock car from Ocala. The car wound up against the backstretch wall after contact with another car at 10:40AM. This brought out a red flag, and while the race was stopped the driver of the 1 got out and pulled out a bent fender, then drove under its own power to the pits. As announced in the pre race driver's meeting, driver adjustments under red were a penalty as were moving to the pits without being pushed or towed during a stoppage, and despite the damage the 1 got 30 minutes in time out for the infractions. The car would not return until 12:26PM running 370 laps behind the leaders.
When running in an endurance race that lasts for 12 hours, it is important to know exactly how far your race car can go on a fuel cell full of gas. Two teams apparently had done their homework and knew exactly when they would have to stop, going far longer than any of the other teams on the track. The number 8 street stock from Ocala went to the pit for gas the first time 3 hours into the race after 538 laps. They were in and out with a full fuel cell and a new driver in 2 and 1/2 minutes, hardly giving up anything to the second place team. The number 20 team of Justin Durbin, Curtis Clark, and Marlon Durbin, managed to go a little longer in their 4 cylinder stock car, staying out the longest but not driving as far as the 8 team had gone. They entered the pits at 12:03, just two minutes after the 8 car, and were out almost as fast.
As time passed and the race continued, cars would come and go and much would happen that had a later impact on the race and who was in contention. The number 28 sportsman of Derek Slade, Gary Terry, and Dustin Henderson, of High Springs went up in flames and hit the turn 4 wall, stopping the race at 1:30PM. The 77x car from Sebastian, Florida, moved to the pit under its own power under red, and thus was hit with a 30 minute penalty. That team seemed to never recover from that setback and later left the race for good.
The 71 team which had arrived late managed to make up quite a bit of lost time with fast driving, but a bad clutch caused their car to have to be pushed to the pits everytime the red flag was displayed. The car would not be able to move under its own power so no penalty was issued, and the crew push started the car in the pit area and rejoined the race after the green was displayed again, not really losing any ground to the leaders. By 4:30PM the 71 was in 5th place, still climbing the leaderboard, and seemed ready to challenge for the top spots. Even a flat tire in the 9th hour of the race seemed unable to deter the team.
And yet another team was able to overcome major problems to finish the race running. The 8X was a CRX driven by Brent and Shane Yoder, along with Jessie DuTilly. Just after 4PM contact with another car caused the 8X to hit the turn 4 wall hard, bending the little car so badly that everyone thought their day was over. But the team was undaunted and made repairs, returning to the race less than 30 minutes later with a car that was bent so badly that it went diagonally down the frontstretch. In addition, the rear end was shifted sideways so badly that the rear wheels were almost on their sidewalls. The drivers had to manhandle the car around the track, and the pressure on the rear tires led to 7 trips to the pits for more repairs and to replace blown out rear tires. Each trip into the pits for a tire led to more repairs, and by the time the race was into the final hour the car was almost as fast as it was when the race began. The team from Sarasota, Florida, managed to finish the race running in 8th place, and were awarded with the hastily created "No Fear Award" for going above and beyond for almost 5 hours of racing in order to finish.
By the time the track lights came on at 6:55PM, seven teams had been forced to give up and go home. The 8 car had been driven by Michael and Jeff Stalnaker Jr all day, and was still operating according to the team's game plan by posting repeated laps at just over 18 seconds. Doing the math, one could see that the Stalnakers were extending their lead by a lap almost every 15 minutes on average. Should something go wrong for the team then others were in striking range, including the 87 outlaw figure 8 car from Palm Harbor, Florida, and the 3D team of Bo Allison, Jerry Coffman, and Mike Hale, from Decatur, Tennessee. Also in the hunt was the 71 open wheel mod which had begun the race 60 laps down after arriving late, still running with no clutch.
 The 11th hour came at 7PM with 1717 laps and ten hours of racing in the books, and was the cue for what should be the final pit stops for the teams. The 3D team ducked off the track at 7:20 for their final stop, running in third place. But just 17 minutes after returning to the race the car suffered a mechanical failure that sent it to the pits billowing smoke and ending their race. The team started the long trip back to Tennessee with a fifth place finish thanks to laps they were able to complete before the car expired. The 97 team from Marietta, Georgia, also suffered a failure in the 11th hour as sparks flew from a possible brake problem. The team of Jim Murphy, Tyler Speer, and Bob Midgette, had enough laps to manage a 12th place finish.
The final hour of the race arrived to find that the Stalnaker team had quietly constructed a 93 lap lead with consistent lap times, quick pit stops, excellent planning, and by staying out of trouble. The 87 team driving the outlaw figure 8 car was in second place, and the 3D was shown in third place despite being loaded onto a trailer in the pits. Still in the hunt was the 71 from Tampa which had overcome the late start 11 hours earlier, and the 61 car of Mike and Scott Myroski, and Doug Webb, from Orlando. The 1 car from Ocala, driven by David Baxley, Kevin Terry, and Shane Nichols, finally expired just after 8PM showing heavy smoke. The 1 would finish in 8th place.
 The 15 car driven by Terry Dunbar, along with Joey and Neal Durbin, slowed to a crawl at 8:22 and left the race after a couple of attempts at continuing. They held onto their 6th place standing to the end because no other team was able to complete enough laps in the remaining time to overtake them. The car had never been fast the entire race, but it hung in there, running slower but completing laps as other faster cars fell by the wayside.
At exactly 9PM the checkered flags waved and the race officially ended. And for the second straight year the Stalnaker family had the winning plan and stuck to it, going 2095 laps around Ocala Speedway. That gave them a 91 lap victory over the 87 machine which finished second. After arriving late and overcoming a bad clutch and a flat tire, the 71 modified wrapped up a third place finish, 195 laps in back of the 8 car.
There was no cheering throng in the grandstand as the race ended to applaud the winners for a job well done. Just a smattering of hearty fans wandered in during the day to watch parts of the race, and a few more arrived in the last couple of hours. As Ocala Speedway owner Michael Peters stated, if the fans want to come and watch any of a 12 hour race, then let them come. But such races are run for the drivers, to challenge them with something unique and different, and not to attract throngs of race fans to the speedway and make a lot of money. The teams were not required to purchase gas or tires from the speedway, and many did not, so money was never the issue. Even some of the speedway employees volunteered time and effort to make the event happen.
And whether or not the race teams were there when it all ended, a unique challenge is exactly what they got. It was their race and they embraced it, ran it to the best of their abilities, and went home having done something that few short track drivers ever get the opportunity to do. The 12 Hours of Ocala remains the only short track 12 hour endurance challenge race in America, and according to the racers it was a huge success. It is their race after all, and they should know. The rest of us were only invited to watch.
2nd Annual 12 Hours of Ocala Endurance Challenge
1- 8 Mike Stalnaker/Jeff Stalnaker Sr./ Jeff Stalnaker Jr.- Ocala FL- 2095 laps- Running
2- 87 John Lavalle/Gordon Brown/ Seth Nistok- Palm Harbor FL- 2004 laps- Running
3- 71 L. B. Skaggs/John Allen- Ft. Myers FL- 1900 laps- Running
4- 61 Mike Myroski/Doug Webb/Scott Myroski- Orlando FL- 1833 laps- Running
5-3D Bo Allison/Jerry Coffman/Mike Hale- Decatur TN- 1745 laps
6- 15 Terry Dunbar/Joey Durbin/Neal Durbin- Ocala FL- 1682 laps
7- 09 Bert Daugherty/Justin Ellison/Wesley Daugherty- High Springs FL- 1648 laps- Running
8- 1 David Baxley/Kevyn Terry/Shane Nichols- Ocala FL- 1597 laps
9- 8X Brent Yoder/Shane Yoder/Jessie Dutilly- Sarasota FL- 1540 laps- Running
10- 20 Justin Durbin/Curtis Clark/Marlon Durbin- Ocala FL- 1390 laps- Running
11- 51 Clarence Smith/Brandon Russ/Mike Budka- Sebring FL- 1174 laps
12- 97 Jim Murphy/Tyler Speer/Bob Midgette- Marietta GA- 1103 laps- Running
13- 26 Derek Slade/Gary Terry/Dustin Henderson- Clermont FL- 943 laps
14- 45 Chris Zimmerman/John Bailey/Mike Kerrivan- Bradenton/Clearwater FL- 805 laps
15- 77X Todd McCreary/Ron McCreary- Sebastian FL- 737 laps
16- 4 David Williams/Dustin Breeden/Tommy King- Auburndale FL- 510 laps
17- 18 Chris Watson/Daniel Miller/Dawn Lavan- Ocala FL- 482 laps
18- 65 Bobby Towe/Danny Towe/Jeff Towe- Pinellas Park FL- 446 laps
19- 77 Bryan Rogers/Bud Rogers/Shane Palmer- Tampa FL- 377 laps
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