(Inverness, FL; 7/29/00) Some strange things occurred at Citrus County Speedway Saturday night. Almost every division was plagued with problems that caused three feature races to get cut short and totally wiped out the Limited Sportsman and Street Legal Junker races. Only two feature races went the distance and they were the Mini-Stock and “Collision Tech Run What You Brung” Figure-8 25-lap main event.

Late Model action saw Herb Neumann, Jr. get into the win column for the third time this season. The race finished under caution after a major wreck on the back chute in lap 23 when Cyrus Robinson and Robert Elting got together, totally destroying both cars. Al Lawrence finished a solid second ahead of Tim Sharrone, Fred Stoner and Keith Zavrel. Lawrence and Tate Pierce won the heat races.

Tech inspection took out the Street Stock feature winner Mike Bell for illegal rocker arms and Victor Stanley picked up the win. Ernie Reed, Jr. took the early lead and was able to salvage a second place finish after the disqualification. Harley Wilson, Sr., Wayne Lewis, and Don Teague took the other top five slots when the race was called after 18 of the 20 laps for the sixth caution flag. Heat winners were Wes Wilson, Harley Wilson Sr. and Curtis Flanagan.

Point leader, George Neumann locked onto the point from the green flag and never looked back for his third win of the season. Rob Whatley has been back for six weeks and picked up his best finish outrunning Kevin Harrod, John Coleman and Mark Sowell in a nose-to-tail finish for second. Heat wins went to Frank Coleman and Mark Sowell.

Point leader Chris Hooker outran a 23-car Hobby Stock field to pick up his 6th win of the year. Rookie Richie Smith was right on his rear bumper at the finish line when the race was called after 15 laps of the scheduled 20-lap main. Roy Perkins had the early lead and had to settle for third over Mike Ruff and Kreg Belcastro. It took four restarts to get this one into the first completed lap. Heat winners were Larry Schreckengost, Richie Smith and Kreg Belcastro.

St. Petersburg’s John Lavalle pulled off a 24th lap win in the “Collision Tech Run What You Brung” Figure-8 Challenge. Floral City’s Gary Swing led for 23 laps and when the two lap to go signal came out, his motor totally shut down on him. Pinellas Park’s Charlie Myers and St. Petersburg’s Bob Hage took the second and third spots. Local point leader Robbie Aaron drove Mark Wilkins modified figure-8 car and came up with a fourth place finish ahead of J.R. Meyer and Curtis Yoamans. Gary Swing had to settle for 7th.

The largest field of the year saw 21 cars register for the Sportsman action but the gremlins were really working on this division. Three heats were run with Jim Smith, Rex Struble and Mark Dominique taking the wins. Multiple attempts were made to get the 20-lap feature started to no avail after one motor after another blew or some mechanical problem cropped up. Major clean-ups took up all twenty minutes allotted to the feature and the race was called after just two laps. No make up has been scheduled yet.

The Pro Truck Series will attempt to get back on track next Saturday night with a scheduled 35-lap event. Sportsman will run in the M. Dominique Mobile Home Restoration 40 lap special. The Country Fox “Great American Lawnmower Challenge” takes to the infield in two divisions. The “J.D. Concessions Late Model Big Purse Challenge” will attract another strong field of Late Models plus Street Stocks, Mini-Stocks, Hobby Stocks and Street Legal Junkers are on the schedule.

-Larry MacMillan-

Citrus County Speedway Results for Saturday, July 29,2000

Late Model Feature ­ 23 Laps ­ 18 Cars
1. #98 Herb Neumann Jr. Inverness
2. #90 Al Lawrence Spring Hill
3. #32 Tim Sharrone Floral City
4. # 7 Fred Stoner Hernando
5. #47 Keith Zavrel Brooksville
1st Heat Winner - #90 Al Lawrence ­ Spring Hill
2nd Heat Winner - #81 Tate Pierce ­ Wesley Chapel

Limited Sportsman Feature ­ Incomplete ­ 21 Cars
Feature called after 2 laps and 6 caution flags
1st Heat winner - #32 Jim Smith ­ Inverness
2nd Heat Winner - #69 Rex Struble ­ Homosassa
3rd Heat Winner - # 7 Mark Dominique ­ Lecanto

Street Stock Feature ­ 18 Laps ­ 22 Cars
1. #26 Victor Stanley Brooksville
2. #55 Ernie Reed Jr. Crystal River
3. #85 Harley Wilson Floral City
4. #28 Wayne Lewis Zephyrhills
5. #2X Don Teague Homosassa
1st Heat Winner - #20 Wes Wilson ­ Floral City
2nd Heat Winner - #85 Harley Wilson ­ Floral City
3rd Heat Winner - 1 Curtis Flanagan ­ Inverness

Mini-Stock Feature ­ 20 Laps ­ 14 Cars
1. # 1 George Neumann Inverness
2. #88 Rob Wheatley Hernando
3. #34 Kevin Harrod Bushnell
4. #21 John Coleman Brooksville
5. # 5 Mark Sowell Hernando
1st Heat Winner - #20 Frank Coleman ­ Brooksville
2nd Heat Winner - # 5 Mark Sowell ­ Hernando

Hobby Stock Feature ­ 15 Laps ­ 23 Cars
1. #24 Chris Hooker Floral City
2. #42 Richie Smith Hernando
3. #07 Roy Perkins Inverness
4. #23 Mike Ruff Homosassa
5. # 3 Kreg Belcastro Inverness
1st Heat Winner - #61 Larry Schreckengost ­ Inverness
2nd Heat Winner - #42 Richie Smith ­ Hernando
3rd Heat Winner - # 3 Kreg Belcastro ­ Inverness

“Run What You Brung Figure-8 Challenge” ­ 25 Laps
1. #19 John LaValle St. Petersburg
2. #A5 Charlie Meyer St. Petersburg
3. #78 Bob Hage Pinellas Park
4. #98 Robert Aaron Brooksville
5. #A3 J.R. Meyer Pinellas Park
6. #83 Curtis Yoaman Floral City
7. #22 Gary Swing Floral City
8. #34 Scott Knight Floral City
9. #74 Robbie Hage St. Petersburg


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