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| Auburndale Starts 2002 Season | By Billie May
Happy New Year and welcome to the 2002 Racing Season!!
Auburndale Speedway had their start to 2002 with some
special racing in January including 4 cylinder Bombers,
V-8 Street Stocks, Super Street Stocks, Mini Stocks,
Open Wheel Modifieds and the Monster Truck "Awesome".
With it being in the middle of the regular off season,
the car count was low and the scheduled Limited Late
Models were cancelled but they are scheduled to race
again January 26th. But the rest of the races had
some familiar names in the Winner's Circle.
All the racing classes have been moved up a notch so
what was the Street Stocks last year are now the Super
Street Stocks this year. The #40 of Robert Eddie and
the #97 of Sam Cressman were side-by-side with Sam
Cressman on the outside for the lead. In the first
lap, the #80 of Dustin Breeden pulled into the infeld
with mechanical problems but still under green, the #26
of Ronnie Miller was running third and the #1 of Bubba
Edwards was running fourth. By lap 10, Sam Cressman had
a big lead only to have the caution come out for debris.
On the restart, the #97 of Sam Cressman showed the way to
the checkered flag winning the Super Street Stock race
with #40 Robert Eddie second, #26 Ronnie Miller third and
#1 Bubba Edwards fourth.
Next up were what was the old V-8 Pure Stocks but now the
V-8 Street Stocks. On the green, it was #89 Brian Harbin
taking the lead and the #2 of George Gorham, Jr. running
in second. The #32 of David Holland and the #31 of Donnie
Harp were racing side-by-side for the third place spot with
the #17 of Alex Abbott in fifth, all running in single file
and spreading out the laps. David Holland tried the outside
of Alex Abbott only to have Abbott go to the inside and take
Holland's spot away. On the last lap, leader #89 Brian
Harbin got a little "love" tap from #2 George Gorham, Jr.
who went to the outside for the lead and win of the race.
Second was the #89 of Brian Harbin, third was the #31 of
Donnie Harp, fourth was the #17 of Alex Abbott and fifth
#32 David Holland. I have to make a note of the "Great
Sportsmanship" between Brian Harbin and George Gorham, Jr.
who were both on top of the car celebrating - great job
guys!!!!
The 4 cylinder bombers were next. This is a beginners class
consisting of Toyota, Nissan, Volkswagon, Ford, Dodge and a
YOGO!!! This is a fun class to watch, mostly single file
racing, but the driving styles of these guys was the
entertainment especially the #32x of Kevin Thompson in his
YUGO. Robert Height in the #7 Toyota took the early lead
with the #97 Volkswagon of Donald McCalley in second. The
#6 Nissan of Christ Chump ran third, the Dodge of Mark
Montero was fourth and the #99 Ford of Jacob Antis rounded
out the top five spots. The #32x YUGO of Kevin Thompson
rode the high side of the track with his YUGO, not even up
to speed and almost hitting the wall every time, battled
for second spot. Donald McCalley and Chris Clump got
together coming out of turn 4 with Clump getting knocked
out of gear and losing a number of positions. On the next
lap, the #97 of Donald McCalley had mechanical problems with
his car and pulled off the track. The #7 of Robert Height
won the race with the #96 of Mark Monte in second.
Mini Stocks were up next with some new names added to the
top five list. The #9 of Robbie Storer set fast time and
started the race in the pole position jumping to the lead
in the beginning. Randy Storer's #90 ran second, #61 of
Rick Sirmans third. The caution flag came out when the
#55 of Tom Zimmerman and the #12 of Wes Pyburn spun due
to fluids coming from the #90 car of Randy Storer. Storer
went into the pits and made repairs during the red flag.
Coming out of the pits just in time to rejoin the race,
Storer sees the #97 of Ritchie Acres get loose allowing
the #70 of Marty Neikens to get to the inside and take
the third place spot. A good battle for the fifth place
position went on between the #12 of Wes Pyburn and the
#55 of Tom Zimmerman. But it was the #90 of Randy Storer
coming from the rear of the field after repairs taking
the fifth place spot. Winner was Robbie Storer followed
by Rick Sirmans, Marty Neikens, Randy Storer and Ritchie
Acres.
Open Wheel MOdifieds were the last division of the night
with alot of new names in this class. The #7 of Darren
Jackson set fast time and started on the pole with the
#18 of Jared Allison on outside pole. Jackson took the
lead from the green with Allison running in second. The
#6 of Ron Campbell had something to break on his car
pulling to the high side of the track and causing the
caution to wave. On the restart, it was Jackson and
Allison followed by #47 Jeff Conyers, #72 Kevin Hampton,
and #71 Dave Dunkin. Dunkin went to the outside for
the fourth spot held by Kevin Hampton. But Hampton and
the #17 of William Sullivan got together coming out of
turn 4 causing each to spin. After a single file restart,
Jackson took the lead and won the race.
SUPER STREET STOCKS
1. #97 - Sam Cressman
2. #40 - Robert Eddie
3. #26 - Ronnie Miller
4. #1 - Bubba Edwards
5. #80 - Justin Breeden
V-8 STREET STOCKS
1. #2 - George Gorham, Jr.
2. #89 Brian Harbin
3. #31 Donnie Harp
4. #17 Alex Abbott
5. #32 David Holland
4 CYLINDER BOMBERS
1. #96 - Mark Montero
2. #8 - Matt Bozeman
3. #99 - Jacob Antis
4. #32x Kevin Thompson
5. #97 - Donald McCalley
6. #6 - Chris Clump
7. #7 - Robert Height (dqed for wrong wheels & tires)
MINI STOCKS
1. #9 - Robbie Storer
2. #70 Marty Neikens
3. #97 Ritchie Acres
4. #55 Tom Zimmerman
5. #12 Wes Pyburn
6. #31 Jeff Stalnaker
7. #33 David Fair
8. #61 Rick Sirmans
9. #90 Randy Storer
10. #2 Chuck Frazier
OPEN WHEEL MODIFIEDS
1. #7 Darren Jackson
2. #18 Jared Allison
3. #47 Jeff Conyers
4. #72 Kevin Hampton
5. #71 Dave Dunkin
6. #17 William Sullivan
7. #5 Ron Campbell
Next week at Auburndale Speedway join us for a 100 lap
Super Street Stock race, Demo Derby, Open Wheel Modifieds,
Mini Stocks, V-8 Street Stocks. Gates open at 5 p.m.
with racing starting at 7 p.m.
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