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by Penny Lumpkin
The clouds moved in as race time drew near, but the rain held off and we had a full evening of racing consisting of all of our regular classes plus School Bus Figure 8's, a Demolition Derby and a Limited Late Model exhibition.
The Jr. Cup cars were the first feature of the night. The field of four included the #60 of Victoria Gentry, the #39 of Elizabeth Gentry, the #64 of Connor Baxley, and the #82 of Eddie Kilbury, Jr. The green flag dropped and Baxley wasted no time making his move. He slid between the Gentry sisters in Turn 1 and took the lead. On the third lap, Kilbury, Jr. started his move to the front. By the halfway point, he had passed both Victoria and Elizabeth and set his sights on Baxley. He didn't have enough time to catch him and make the pass, but did bump Baxley coming out of Turn 4 on the final lap, letting him know he was there. Connor Baxley won, followed by Kilbury, Jr., Victoria Gentry and then Elizabeth Gentry.
The Coca Cola 4 cylinder Bombers were next. Thirteen cars started the 15 lap feature. A.J. Schreier (#98) sat on the pole with Jeff Ogelsby (#88) on the outside. After the first lap was completed, Ogelsby was leading the race followed by the #24 of Robert Oxendine and then Schreier. On the second lap, Oxendine slid down under Ogelsby for the lead. While that was going on, Darren Dunes (#4) and John Naber (#3) were beginning their charge towards the front. Schreier was putting pressure on Oxendine and passed him on the fifth lap. Neal Lucas (#88x) spun on lap nine bringing out the caution. The race restarted and it was a dash to the finish. Schreier took the checkered flag followed by Dukes, Naber, Oxendine and Ogelsby.
The WTRS Pure Stocks came rolling out of the pits next. Pete Close, Jr. (#86) sat on the inside pole with Michael Perry (#66) on the outside. The first lap was led by Close, Jr. followed by Frank Buchanan (#07) and then Perry. On the second lap, Moose Alderman (#7) and Mark Mitchell (#71) got under the third place car of Perry and passed him. Michael Fiddia (#113) and Kyle Maynard (#72) spun in Turn 4, bringing out the caution. After the restart, there were a few attempts to pass throughout the field, but they finished pretty much as they restarted. Close, Jr. took the checkered flag, followed by Buchanan, Alderman, Mitchell and Roger Brass (#81).
Next up was the Steven A. Bagen Sportsman division. There were fifteen cars signed up to race, but only thirteen took the green flag. The #79 of Mike Wilson sat on the inside pole with the #96 of Ronald Lentz on the outside. Lentz spun on the second lap bringing out a caution. He was sent to the back of the field, the field was reset, and the green flag flew with Wilson still in the lead followed by the #72 of Bob Masciarelli and the #31 of Jamie Tinkham. On lap three, the # 69 of Michael Mennenga spun bringing out another caution. When the green flag was dropped this time, the #44 of Tom Roberts, who was deep in the pack, was ready and began charging to the front. On lap twelve the #28 of Gary Wayne spun in Turn 3, after losing a rear tire, bringing out the final caution of the race. The race was restarted and on the final lap Masciarelli was side by side with Wilson as they passed the flag stand and took the white flag. Masciarelli was able to make the pass, make it stick and took the checkered flag followed by Wilson, Tinkham, the #01 of Tom Posavec and Roberts.
The last regular feature of the night was the Budweiser Modifieds. Troy Robinson (#0) started on the pole with Gary Southard (#39) on the outside. Robinson jumped out to an early lead followed by Southard, Eddie Kilbury, Sr. (#71), and Scott Millar (#20). On lap four, Monty Morgan (#46) spun in Turn 2 bringing out the caution. Morgan was sent to the rear of the field and the race was restarted. On the fifth lap, Southard passed Robinson in Turn 4 and stayed in front for the remainder of the race to take the checkered flag followed by Robinson, Kilbury, Sr., Millar and Kelly Lawrence (#11).
The "race" the fans were anxiously waiting for was next--School Bus Figure 8' s. There were a total of 12 buses that started. Most of the drivers were drivers from other regular divisions at the Speedway, one was the Tech Inspector, some were bus owners, and then there was one special guest. Rick Anges, from KARNAC.com drove all the way to Ocala to drive a bus. The buses lined up in single file and the race was on. The crossover was congested from the start. Some drivers honked their horn, don't know why because no one paid the least bit of attention to it, and there were alot of really close misses (and I mean really close), but in the end there was no contact. The red flag was thrown, though, when the battery from the bus Tom Roberts was driving fell out on the track. Once the battery was removed the race was restarted. Due to overheating and other mechanical problems, only six buses restarted for the final three laps. Ted Visneski led the restart and went on to win the race.
The final excitement of the night was the Demolition Derby. There were fifteen cars that started the derby. There was a lot of banging and burning rubber. After most of the cars had stopped, a red flag was thrown because the #911 of Robert Kissam caught on fire. The fire was extinguished and the green flag flew, but only three cars were still running; the #8 of Jason Bradshaw, the #331 of Tim Mathieu and amazingly, the #911 of Kissam. The bumping and banging between the three cars resumed then the red flag had to be thrown again because Kissam was on fire, again. When the green flag flew again it was down to Bradshaw and Mathieu because Kissam was cooked. Bradshaw and Mathieu swapped alot of paint and did alot of damage to each other until finally Bradshaw's car quit. Tim Mathieu kept his car running through the count down and claimed the Demolition Derby win.
Join us next Saturday night when we host, for the very first time at Ocala Speedway, the PARTS Pro Trucks. We will also run all of our regular classes. The cost for General Admission Saturday night is $15.00 for Adults and $2.00 for Children 55" and under. Admission to the Pits is $25.00. Gates open at 5:00 p.m. and racing starts at 7:00 p.m.
Modifieds
Place Car No. Driver
1st 39 Gary Southard
2nd 0 Troy Robinson
3rd 71 Eddie Kilbury
4th 20 Scott Millar
5th 11 Kelly Lawrence
6th 64 David Baxley
7th 46 Monty Morgan
8th 44 John Clair
9th 57 E.J. Wise
Sportsman
Place Car No. Driver
1st 72 Bob Masciarelli
2nd 79 Mike Wilson
3rd 31 Jamie Tinkham
4th 01 Tom Pasovec
5th 44x Tom Roberts
6th 53 Charles Kopach
7th 08 William Edwards
8th 69 Michael Mennenga
9th 96 Ronald Lentz
10th 76 James Higginbothan
11th 28 Gary Wayne
12th 101 Davis Chastain
13th 42 John Cafazzi
Pure Stock
Place Car No. Driver
1st 86 Pete Close, Jr.
2nd 07 Frank Buchanan
3rd 7 Moose Alderman
4th 71 Mark Mitchell
5th 81 Roger Brass
6th 66 Michael Perry
7th 8 Chuck Stewart
8th 24 Jamie Dunn
9th 72 Kyle Maynard
10th 113 Michael Fiddia
4 Cylinder Bomber
Place Car No. Driver
1st 98 A.J. Schreier
2nd 4 Darren Dukes
3rd 3 John Nabor
4th 24 Robert Oxendine
5th 88 Jeff Oglesby
6th 2 Ric Fort
7th 33 Neal Durbin
8th 47 Richard Kuhn
9th 19r Bill Brezner
10th 23 John Hagen
11th 33 Joey Durbin
12th 61 Harry Drier
13th 88x Neal Lucas
Junior Cup
Place Car No. Driver
1st 64 Conner Baxley
2nd 82 Eddie Kilbury, Jr.
3rd 60 Victoria Gentry
4th 39 Elizabeth Gentry
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