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| Excitment Filled Night at Ocala | By Diana Brake
Ocala, FL, April 21, 2001 - A brisk breeze brought cooling winds to Ocala Speedway. To see great racing is the reason the fans come to fill the stands, and great racing is exactly what they got.
The Junior Cup Cars raced first tonight. Conner Baxley (64) sat on the pole after winning the heat race. Eddie Kilbury, Jr. (82) sat on the outside. Hunter Overton (24) started third. Kilbury jumped to the front early and held the lead for most of the race. After some fender rubbing and jockeying around, Conner Baxley managed to drive around Kilbury to take the checkered flag. Eddie Kilbury, Jr. finished second followed by Hunter Overton.
The Coca-Cola Four Cylinder Bombers provided plenty of excitement tonight. The full field was headed by Richard Kuhn (47) on the pole. Justin Durbin (72x) quickly took the lead from the outside pole, and Marlon Durbin (72) moved up to take second. Bobby Valeo (8) was moving up quickly through the pack. A yellow flag flew for the #32 car when it spun in turn two. On the restart, Valeo slipped by Marlon to challenge Justin. After a couple of laps, Valeo flew by a fading Justin Durbin who drove into the pits. Another yellow flew for a spun car in turn four, but racing restarted quickly. Valeo quickly opened up a good lead, but another yellow was not far away when a car spun and hit the back wall. After a final yellow flag, it only took a few more laps to finish the story. Bobby Valeo took the checkered flag going away. Marlon Durbin finished second followed by Joey Durbin.
The WTRS Pure Stocks roared from the pits. The best way to describe this feature is with one word. WOW! Pete Close (89) sat on the pole and Mark Mitchell (71) sat on the outside. Before the first lap could be completed. Jack Pate (69) and Mitchell got hooked together side-by-side, and they slid all the way down the front stretch wall with Mitchell sandwiched between Pate and the wall. Pate was able to continue the race, but Mitchell had to be towed. A full double-up restart was called. Again the race came under caution when another car spun. On the restart, Pate and Close got very tight and as Pate was coming inside Close, the two traded some pretty hard bumps. At one point, Close's car climbed up and over Pate's right side and then came down hard. Close took a black flag and Pate was given the lead. A very tight race continued, but now it was Moose Alderman (7) who was challenging Pate. Roger Brass (81) was close behind in third. Several times it looked like Alderman would manage to get by Pate, but each time, Pate was able to hold on. The close action kept people on the edges of their seats. Jack Pate drove a fast race to take the checkered flag. Moose Alderman finished second by half a car length, and Roger Brass was very close in third.
The Steven A. Bagen Sportsmen filled the track. You would think it was a full moon or Friday thirteenth all over again the way this feature started. After several fast laps with Mike Wilson (79) leading the way, Bob Masciarelli (72) and Tommy Roberts (44) got a little to close while battling for second and the both spun in turn one. Both restarted in the rear, but after short bit, the yellow flag returned when two cars tangled again in turn one. The red flag was thrown almost immediately when a fire was spotted under Michael Mennenga's (69) car. After some clean-up, Mike Wilson continued to lead the charge with Charles Kopach (53) running second. Wilson had a comfortable lead so the fun was in watching Kopach and Doug Levesque (68) battle for second. Mike Wilson raced away to take the checkered flag. Charles Kopach finished second, closely followed by Doug Levesque.
The Budweiser Modifieds roared onto the track. John Clair (44) sat on the pole with Glenn Baum (15) sitting outside. Clair quickly took the lead, but holding against Red Vann (32) is a serious undertaking. Clair kept the lead for two laps, but then he gave way to Vann, and soon to Raymond Vann (99) also. The Vann brothers raced away, leaving Clair to fight with Baum for third. Baum had the power, but it wouldn't stick to the track as he tried to pass Clair several times only to lose traction. A yellow flag was thrown when a car spun coming out of turn three to land against the wall. Red Vann finished first to take the checkered flag. Raymond Vann rode in second, and John Clair came in third.
Unlimited Figure 8 came to race at Ocala Speedway tonight. The crazy racing syndrome was still in effect for this last exciting feature. Within one full lap, there were already cars strung around the track. The crossroads became the hot spot with several exciting near-misses. Then two cars tangled coming into the crossroads from turn three, leaving one stalled directly in the middle of the crossroads. A red flag was thrown so that the driver and car could be cleared. Racing resumed quickly. With a smaller field now, Gordon Brown (19) was leading the way with Charles Kopach (53) running second. Phillip Rook (17) and the number 8 car sped by Kopach but when the 8 got loose, Kopach regained third only to give way to Ken Crews (81). By the end of the race, Brown had completely lapped the whole field. Rook excused himself on the backstretch with a steaming radiator, leaving only four cars to finish the race. Gordon Brown roared in to take the checkered flag. Ken Crews (81) finished second followed by Charles Kopach in third.
The Ocala Speedway 2001 season will continue with weekly racing. Next week, April 28th, will feature all the regular divisions plus the Outlaw Winged Sprints. Come out every Saturday night during the regular season for the many exciting features. This is high-action racing fun for the whole family.
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