|
| Scranton Survives Wild Hobby Stock Affair at Putnam | by Jon Harney
SATSUMA, FL - After enduring several rained out shows, Putnam County Speedway took advantage of a break in the weather to run a full show last Saturday evening. The racers were more than happy to be back in action at the 3/8-mile clay track and some made the most of their break by catching up on repairs and fixing bent sheetmetal.
The Hobby Stock division is currently the track's most hotly contested and roughest division. What the teams lack in technical sophistication they more than make up in sheer desire and will to win. Nineteen cars took the green flag. Dave Dowling Sr. grabbed the early lead and looked set on winning his second feature in a row. Cars were in full-contact mode in this race as metal bent, tires blew, and tempers flared. In between the frequent cautions some hard first-class racing entertained the crowd and Mike Scranton made the most of traffic to pass Dowling on lap 11. The race continued to run a lap at a time as overly anxious drivers scrapped mightily for every position and frequently tangled. When the dust settled Scranton was the victor. He also survived tech inspection and the order after tech was Scranton, Dowling Sr., Glenn Baum, and Eddie Holton.
Pure Stocks put on another solid performance. The difference between the fastest and slowest cars was considerable and leaders found themselves in traffic within three laps. David Miller Jr. took advantage of his outside pole starting position to outdrag Mike Tripp for the initial lead. Miller withstood tough challenges from points leader Tripp to score his first feature win of 2001. L. J. Klemons' car sported new sheetmetal and kept it intact while finishing third. Floyd Martin Jr. scored a solid fourth and Ken Durham was fifth.
Kenny Hall won the Street Stock main, but not without earning his stripes. Billy Costello outdragged Hall on the initial start and led the early stages. Costello did all he could to hold off Hall but drifted high on lap 7 which gave Hall the room to pass. Mitch McCoy also slipped by Costello and made a solid bid for the lead, but this was not going to be his night as Hall ran consistently en route to the checkers. Following Hall and McCoy were Costello, Robert Ammons, and Mike Howsare.
What J. O. Nobles did to the Limited Late Model field could best be described as felonious assault as he thoroughly thrashed all challengers to take a wire-to-wire win. Nobles was on rails during the nearly caution-free race and effortlessly threaded through traffic. Marion Sizemore finished three-quarters of a lap behind Nobles to take second. Third place Chris Vogel was the only other car on the lead lap. Ronnie Grubb and Raymond Larsen rounded out the top five.
Sizemore, however, didn't come away empty handed this evening. He started the Modified feature on the pole, led every lap, and was never seriously challenged. Garry Flynn and Robby Barris battled for second throughout the event and finished in that order. Gary Sexton came from the ninth row to come home fourth trailed by John Gamble.
Colt Taylor held off Mickey Leth to capture his first win in Mini Stocks. Taylor would build a large lead, then Leth would erase it. This pattern repeated several times but Taylor kept his composure throughout the 15-lap distance. Following Taylor and Leth to the stripe was Mike Gibbs, Charlie Staats, and Art Souther.
All regular Putnam County Speedway divisions will race this Saturday night. Pits open at 2 PM, Grandstands open at 5 PM, and racing starts at 7 PM. With exciting action for all and three playgrounds for the children, Putnam County Speedway is fun for the entire family.
Have an opinion on this story? Post a message on our Message Board!
or send a letter to the editor!
|
