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| Memorial Day Races Highlighted by Powder Puff Derby at Ocala Speedway | May 26, 2002 - Ocala, FL - It was another full moon Saturday night and the Staff and Management of Ocala Speedway held their breath and wondered if they had made a mistake scheduling any racing on this night, let alone the first of three scheduled Powder Puff Derbys. The last time there was a full moon the entire night was crazy, with lots of cautions and some really bad accidents. Time would tell!
The evening began with the Coca Cola 4 Cylinder Bomber division. Joel Eckman and A. J. Schreier shared the front row with Bill Brezner and Ric Fort behind them. Eckman took the lead but couldn't hold off Schreier, who passed him on Lap 2. Brezner held off Fort for most of the race, but Fort finally passed him on Lap 14. Steve Gallagher and Kyle Helt stayed in the top ten all night and when Brezner and Dan Sanderson had problems on the final lap, they got around both of them to finish in the 4th and 5th positions, respectively. One race down with no cautions! So far, so good!
The next feature race was the Thrifty Nickel Hobby Stock division. Tommy Roberts, once again, blistered the track. Frank Buchanan couldn't do anything about getting around Roberts, so he just ran a good 2nd position race, hoping Roberts might make a mistake, which he didn't. The same was true for Moose Alderman, Chauna Johnston and John Betts and the remainder of the field. A few positions were swapped around, but when the checkered flag fell, the top five finishers were Roberts, Buchanan, Alderman, Johnston and Betts. Once again, no cautions! Maybe this night would be okay after all, but no one dared to voice that yet!
The WTRS Pure Stock division was next on the track. Michael Fiddia sat on the pole with Darren Dukes on the outside of him, Michael Rosa behind him and Paul Fletcher behind Dukes. Returning to the racing surface this week was the "8 Ball", Chuck Stewart. The last time there was a full moon, Stewart was involved in a terrible crash and thought to have severe injuries. Everyone took a little deeper breath hoping history would no repeat itself. The green flag flew and the race was on. Fiddia took the lead and Dukes dropped in behind him. On Lap 3, Fletcher and Rosa were involved in an incident bringing out the 1st caution flag of the night. When the race restarted Dukes picked up where he left off, trying to get by Fiddia. He was able to make the pass on Lap 8 and went on to take his first win in this division. Rounding out the top five were Fiddia, Kyle Helt, Bobby Carter and Fletcher.
The next regular feature was the Steven A. Bagen Sportsman division. Bob Masciarelli took home the trophy once again with Pete Close, Jr. finishing in 2nd followed by Michael Mennenga, William Edwards and Tom Posavec. Masciarelli and Posavec shared the front row with Close Jr. and Kenny Abney in the second row. Posavec got hung on the outside on the start and got shuffled back to the 6th position. At the front of the field, Masciarelli had to fight to retain his lead. Close, Jr. tried to pass him on the high side and then on the low side. A couple of times it looked like he might be successful, but Masciarelli was strong and held his line. Both drivers did a great job of side by side racing without incident. With the drop of the checkered flag, two-thirds of the nights events had been run with only one caution. Maybe there wasn't anything to this "full moon" superstition after all.
The Diamond "H" Air and Heat Modified division was the last regular division of the night. The cars were few, partly because of a big $$ race at another track and the holiday weekend, but those that were there came to race. Eddie Kilbury started on the pole, due to his win in the heat race, with David Baxley on the outside of him. Troy Robinson and Mark Rider made up the second row. Baxley took the lead at the start and Kilbury dueled it out with Robinson for a couple of laps before Robinson was able to make the pass. The race ran without incident and when the checkered flag flew it was Baxley with the win followed by Robinson, Kilbury, Jack Icard and Rider. With only one more race to go everyone was feeling good because, after all, it was just a Powder Puff Derby with girls driving one behind another, slowly around the track. Right? Wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There were 14 cars entered in the derby and these girls really put on a show for the fans. The girls starting position was determined by how much money they were able to collect for the Driver's Points Fund which was then matched by Management. Darrian Dukes collected the most money followed by Rita Parker and Karen Brezner. These three girls all collected over $100.00 each. Dukes led the race for a couple of laps before Allysia Davidson and Holly Abney got by. On Lap 7, Davidson tried to make a pass under Abney coming out of Turn 2 and Abney spun bringing out the caution. Abney and Davidson were sent to the rear of the pack. Parker assumed the lead followed by Dukes and Laura Fletcher. Fletcher got around Dukes on the next lap to take the 2nd position, but coming up through the pack, in a hurry, was Davidson and Abney. In four laps they had come from 13th and 14th positions to 4th and 5th. There was another caution on Lap 11 when Kimberly Kuhn spun on the backstretch and then again on Lap 12 involving Lynn Visneski. On Lap 13, Davidson blew by Fletcher and Parker to take the lead once again. Davidson went to take the win followed by Fletcher, Abney, Parker and Dukes.
Join us next week, June 1st when we host a 100 Lap Allison National Legacy event plus all of our regular divisions and on June 8th when the T.B.A.R.A. Winged Sprints return. Also, each Saturday night, every Adult General Admission ticket that is sold is entered to win $100.00 cash.
For more information, contact the Speedway office at 352-622-9400 or check out our web site at www.ocalaspeedway.com.
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