June 17, 2000
St. Augustine, FL - Troy Kruse stated before the start of the Action Heating & Air Mini-Rama that more than likely he would begin the feature behind the eight ball. Prophecy or confidence, Kruse, who set the fastest qualifying time, proceded to draw an 8, inverting himself to the 8th position for the start of the 50 lap, $1,000 to win event Saturday night at Florida Speed Park.

By lap 17, Kruse's reservations about starting so deep in the field disappeared as he passed Jason Miller for the lead, holding off Mickey Leth and Jake Hartley late in the race for the win.

Kruse ended the night with a $1,300 payout, including the $300 8-Ball bonus and a new track Mini-Stock record. Jared Cooper and Mark Smith went on to round out the top five.

Larry Osteen took advantage of late race antics that took out leader Scotty Lagasse with four laps remaining in the 35-lap Late Models feature. Osteen withstood solid efforts on the night by Donnie Oden and Jeremy Fitch, who finished second and third. Dustin Chambers and Jody Turner turned in top five performances.

Ron Thomas also took advantage of strong positioning in the Thunder Trucks due to a late race incident involving Mike Ponce and Wade Lynn. Lynn, who had trailed closely behind Ponce all evening in second, passed Ponce on the inside heading into turn 3 on lap 20 and then lost control exiting turn 4, bringing both trucks to a halt.

Ponce's contact with the #28 truck sent Ponce to the rear with only five laps remaining, where he was unable to overtake the speedy Thomas. Ponce would end up with a second place finish, while Les Burl finished third.

Brad Pilinko, Chris Manucy and Randy Wilkes took the top three in the Alpha Communications Hobby Stock division. Manucy, who grabbed the lead from pole sitter Randy Moody on the second lap, could not hold off division points leader Pilinko, who took the lead on lap 14 and cruised to the win. Seth Caudill, in his first race of the 2000 season had a strong fourth place showing while rookie Glenn Nedrow took fifth.

Todd Ponce suffered mechanical problems in the Sportsman feature and dropped from the race, opening the door for a spectacular shootout between Joey Haslauer and Jason Garver for the win and the $500 bounty payoff. Haslauer held off Garver for the checkers, however, following a post-race engine protest by the Garver team; Haslauer was found by track officials to have a technically illegal carburator and was therefore disqualified. Haslauer has appealed the ruling to the ARA governing body and final Sportsman results are pending.

Late Models, Sportsman, Modifieds, Trucks, and Hobby Stocks are all in action this coming Saturday night, along with a visit by the 1st Coast Car Council and a classic car show. Adding to the excitement will be a burnout competition, which is all a part of the Speedway's Summer Meltdown program on June 24th.

Action Heating & Air Mini-Rama Results
1. Troy Kruse
2. Mickey Leth
3. Jake Hartley
4. Jared Cooper
5. Mark Smith
6. Mike Gibbs
7. Jody Miller
8. Jay Farris
9. Mike Stover, Jr.
10. Vern Rozier

Late Models Results
1. Larry Osteen
2. Donnie Oden
3. Jeremy Fitch
4. Dustin Chambers
5. Jody Turner

Thunder Trucks Results
1. Ron Thomas
2. Mike Ponce
3. Les Burl
4. Brent Hobbs
5. Wade Lynn

Alpha Communications Hobby Stocks Results
1. Brad Pilinko
2. Chris Manucy
3. Randy Wilkes
4. Seth Caudill
5. Glenn Nedrow
6. Jody Stratton
7. Bucky York
8. Randy Moody
9. Jim Reynolds
10. Brenda Little


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