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| Sunshine Outlaw Late Models goes to Robby McAuliffe | by Thom Watson
PINELLAS PARK, FL-- The controversy of illegal valves in the Mini-Stock division at Sunshine Action Speedway is over.  The #10 car of Michael Birk, "the kid," started dead last in the feature and was unable to move up to the front as he did last week. Michael, who is only 17 years old, is much more mature than his actual age would suggest.
On This past Monday, after Sunshine Speedway officials finally ruled on the valves, Michael took it upon himself to post his response on the Sunshine Speedway Message board on KARNAC.com. He essentially took the final responsibility for the illegal valve himself; it was his car and he felt he was ultimately accountable. He deflected the heat off his unique crew, which consists of his father and stepfather, and the company from which they purchased the motor head.
His mother Cecelia said "He did it on his own; we are very proud of him." With both his stepfather and his father working side-by-side for a common goal, young Michael obviously has been taught the proper values to be successful in racing or any other endeavor he may choose.
 Hear Mike Birk Jr. Interview on KARNAC.com Racin' Talk Radio.
On Saturday, the engine was put back into the car and "the kid" was ready to show it wasn't the motor that propelled him to the front last week. He wanted to show that he could drive to the front legally. It didn't happen this night, but it will in the near future. The kid is too determined to let this get him down and with the help of his family and fans it will happen. Keep an eye on the #10 Mini-Stock this year and remind yourself of what the future could be in the capable hands of youth like Michael.
In the Street Stock division, Dave Ochenwald took his second win in a row and stretched his point lead, but not without rubbing a few cars and drivers the wrong way. Right from the green flag, the racing was fierce as the #22 of Mike Hill, the #77 of Bryan Rogers, and the #18 of Larry Brannon went three-wide in turn one back in the middle of the pack.
Butch Bassett, #23, who started on point, kept the lead until lap four when he and the #27 of Harold Ashley got together in turn four, and Ashley took over the lead. He was able to hold on to the lead for only one lap as the #98 of Roger Welch took over the point on lap five.
By the midpoint of the race, Welch had lengthened his lead to 4 car lengths. Meanwhile, Ochenwald had moved up to fifth and was marching to the front. He passed the #1 of Danny Rieger in turn one on the next lap, and then went to the inside of Tom Phelan's #17 car in turn three as the two went door handle to door handle until the backstretch, when Ochenwald finally edged ahead of Phelan to take over second.
With Ochenwald right on his tail, Welch went wide a few times coming of the corners but was able to hold the lead until lap 19. Coming off turn four and to the white flag, Ochenwald squeezed Welch up high enough for Welch to scrape the wall at the flagstand. After this little "racing incident" Ochenwald went on to take the checkers.
On the cool-down lap, Welch gave Ochenwald a little reminder tap, as he obviously didn't appreciate the earlier tap he had received. "I kept running smooth laps and digging hard" said Ochenwald.
20 LAP AUTO TRADER STREET STOCK: 1. #61, DAVE OCHSENWALD; 2. #1, DAN RIEGER; 3. #22, MIKE HILL; 4. #98, ROGER WELCH; 5. #17, TOM PHELAN; 6. #50, JAMES ELLERSHAW; 7. #56, JIM KELLY; 8. #18, LARRY BRANNON; 9. #01, BRIAN SABADO; 10. #23, BUTCH BASSETT
Eric Cuchta, in the #12, started on the pole and was able to lead the entire 20 laps in the Mini-Stock feature. This was his first feature win. No caution flags and not much passing was the order of this race. The #3 of Matt Rotkis held second place until lap 16 when the #15 of Doug Hopper was able to pass him in turn two to move into second, with Rotkis regulated to third place. 20 LAP ONE STOP AUTO PARTS MINI STOCK: 1 12 ERIC CUCHTA (FIRST FEATURE WIN) 2 15 DOUG HOPPER 3 3 MATT ROTKIS 4 33 RALPH KELLEY 5 65 JOEY CATARELLI 6 55 TOM ZIMMERMAN 7 70 MARTY NEIKENS 8 51 TOMMY BOWER 9 11 MARY MONGOLD 10 14 TINA REINER
The #56 car of Allyn Summers started on the pole, for the Open Wheeled Modifieds and was able to lead the first 12 laps, even though being spun by a lapped car on lap nine. The #7 of Darren Jackson, who started on the outside of row six, was on the move, grabbing third place by the midpoint in the race. On the next lap, Jackson went to the inside of Jay Zoliciak, in the #61, to take over second. One lap later, Jackson passed Summers on the backstretch to take the lead. On lap 19, the #76 of Doug Catalano spun in turn four setting up a two-lap shootout. On the restart, Jackson was able to pull away from Summers and cruise to his second consecutive win of the season. 20 LAP OPEN WHEEL MODIFIED: 1 7 DARREN JACKSON 2 56 ALLYN SUMMERS 3 66 JOHN MOORE 4 8 RANDY RHODES 5 80 JIMMY HOULE 6 34 WAYNE JEFFERSON 7 55 HERMAN BRAME 8 28 PHIL KESSLER 9 90 MARK MCKNIGHT 10 51 MIKE HINEGARDNER
In the Outlaw Late Model feature, the #76 of Jim Altobelli started on the pole and was able to lead the first four laps. By lap two, the #56 of Robby McAuliffe had moved from his sixth starting position into third place and was on the move. Within two laps, McAuliffe was able to catch and pass Altobelli to take over the lead. By the lap 10 he was able to stretch the lead to eight car lengths as the fight for second was contested by the #77, Rick Haugh and Altobelli. On lap 14, the #2 of the Robert Crisp was able to get to the inside of Altobelli in turn three and complete the pass in turn to take over the third spot. By the end of the race, McAuliffe stretched his lead to a full straightaway as Altobelli finished second and Crisp was third. 20 LAP OUTLAW LATE MODEL: 1 56 ROBBY MCAULIFFE 2 77 RICK HAUGH 3 2 ROBERT CRISP 4 6 ED KIDD 5 76 JIM ALTOBELLI 6 27 PETE COON 7 69 TIM HENAULT 8 7 TROY JOHNSON 9 12 CORKY CRAVER 10 1 SCOTT HOLLY
In the figure 8 race, the #84 of Cliff Rosseau went high in turn three, tangled with #89, Don Davis, and was sent to the rear. Jack Boswell, #59, was able to get the lead from his fourth starting position on lap one, with #17, Bobby Montezuma and #69, Tim Henault trailing close behind. On lap five, in the back of pack, Rosseau, spun out with the #37 of Zach Perry in the intersection. While coming towards the grandstand, leader Boswell's hood flew up covering his entire windshield and he had to head to the pits. Rosseau was not finished spinning himself or others for the night as he ran up the right side of Boswell's car. The leaders, since lap four, were Henault, Shane Grigsby, #28, and Donnie Thomas, #31. They were able to finish that way, but not without a few close calls in the dreaded "X". The #15 of Joey Catarelli was able to hang around the tail end of the pack and provided several of the close calls as he continued to find openings just big enough to get through at the intersection. Henault, Grigsby and Thomas were able to keep their positions and finish 1-2-3. 20 LAP Q AUTO & INJURY ATTORNEYS FIGURE 8: 1 69 TIM HENAULT 2 28 SHANE GRIGSBY 3 31 DONNIE THOMAS 4 11 ART CALKINS 5 17 BOBBY MOCTEZUMA 6 21 J.R. MEYER 7 89 RON DAVIS 8 94 CHARLIE MEYER 9 7 WAYNE CALKINS 10 84 CLIFF ROUSSEAU
In the Hornet class, for 16-19, year olds, all sorts of things happened in just 15 laps. The previous winner, Abbie Haugh, #10, started in fifth, shot to third on the first lap then took over first on lap three. On lap six, the #3 car of Gerald Rocks took over third place, while Haugh and the #72 car of John Vandenberg tangled in turn four. Vandenberg was sent to the rear while Haugh was able to retain her point position. About this time Haugh's car started overheating and dropping water on the track. In turn three her car let go and right behind her the #22, Mark Nelson, #34, Matt Damoth, # 23, Jesse Schwendeman, and Rocks all starting spinning. Haugh's night was over. After the melee was over, the top three were Nelson, Rocks and Damoth. On lap 11, heading into turn one, Nelson and Rocks decide to do a little synchronized spinning and somehow managed to bang each other out of their power slide to continue battling for the lead. On the following lap, the #27 of Chris Levy went to the inside to take the lead while Schwendeman followed him into second place. Going down the backstretch, Levy tried to block Schwendeman on the inside and was a little too aggressive as he caused a spin and was sent to the rear. On lap 14, the top three were Schwendeman, Rocks and the #5 of Kevin Felgenhauer. On the final lap, Felgenhauer was able to pass Rocks for second and had his sights on the lead, but heading into turn four, he pushed and hit the wall hard as Jesse Schendeman held on for the win, with Rocks in second and Nelson coming in third. Felgenbauer was shaken but climbed out of the car, apparently ok. 15 LAP HORNET FEATURE:
1 23 JESSE SCHWENDEMAN
2 3 GERALD ROCKS
3 22 MARK NELSON
4 44 MATT MCGARR
5 27 CHRIS LEVY
6 5 KEVIN FELGENHAUER
7 10 ABBIE HAUGH
8 34 MATT DAMOTH
9 63 DONALD CLARK
10 72 JOHN VANDENBERG
By Thom Watson
www.karnac.com
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