| ORANGE BLOSSOM 100 RETURNS - FOR THE FIRST TIME AT ORLANDO SPEEDWORLD | By Dave Westerman
The Super Late Models will make their 2009 Season debut at Orlando Speedworld this Friday night with the running of the Orange Blossom 100.
The Orange Blossom was a yearly event at the now defunct West Palm Beach Fairgrounds Speedway then was resurrected by Clyde Hart at New Smyrna Speedway in 1989.
The race was run at Speedworld's sister track through 2005, the last three years being called the Pete Orr Memorial-Orange Blossom 125. The race stopped being run when the Pete Orr race was moved to the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing.
The race was a mainstay for many years at the Palm Beach track attracting the big names of the day including Bobby Brack, Red Farmer, the Allison brothers Bobby and Donnie, Gary Balough, Jimmy Crowe, Dumont Smith, Speedy Reeves, Dan Daughtry, Billy Barnwell, Chargin' Charlie Ragan and Mike McCrary along with a host of others.
Leroy Porter won the first Orange Blossom 100 at New Smyrna in 1989, but over the years a pair of drivers dominated the event. Ormond Beach legend Jack Cook won the race five times in 1990, 95, 97, 98 and 2001. Pete Orr won three in a row from 1991-93 and again in 2000. Orr's teammate David Russell was a two-time winner in 1994 and 1996.
David Rogers and Travis Kittleson took single wins in 1999 and 2002. Wayne Anderson won the first two Pete Orr/Orange Blossom races in 2003-04 and Jeff Choquette took the win in 2005. Local favorite Rogers is riding a hot-streak heading into Friday night, which includes two World Series victories just a month ago at New Smyrna, the 2009 World Series Championship and most recently, a feature win this past Saturday at the high-banked half-mile to open up the 2009 regular season.
Among the competitors expected are two-time Bright House Challenge Series Champion Tim Russell out of Longwood, Deland's Jeremy Colangelo in the Mark Martin Performance Special, and Wayne Anderson out of Wildwood, who is rumored to be behind the wheel of his dad Dick Anderson's familiar black #92. There will be an on-track Autograph Session with the stars of the Super Late Models at 7:30pm, with racing action set to begin at 8:00pm.
Also on the schedule for Friday night will be the Taylor Racing Products Pro-Trucks and Mini-Stocks for their first appearances of the season.
Super Stocks and Strictly Stocks will also be in action with Billy "The Brush" Cuddy and Tim Walters, Jr. hoping to repeat their wins from opening week. The new Novice Trucks and Bandoleros will be in action for the 'Early Show' which is scheduled to roll out at 7:00pm.
General Admission is $15.00 Adults, $10.00 Students and Seniors, and asalways, Kids 11 & under are FREE.
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