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| Citrus Mini Stocks Go For $1,000 in 50 Lap Special | By Larry MacMillan
(Inverness, FL. 6/5/02) Mini Stocks have a lot at stake for their Saturday night special when they take the green flag for a 50 lap main event and a $1,000 win purse on the line. Robbie Yoakam appears the man to beat sporting six feature wins and four heat wins plus a 332-point lead over Rob Wheatley in the race for the points crown.
Forty-five drivers have earned points in the twelve races they have run in 2002 with only four other drivers in the win column. Wheatley has a pair and Kevin Harrod has two holding out in third in the point race. Jay McKenzie is in a tight race for fourth with Phillip Joyner Jr., who logged a feature win several weeks ago. Jacob Garver and Ron Bartley are tied for sixth place with rookie Lance Taylor holding out in 8th spot. Jimmy Bartley trails young Taylor by 24 points followed by Steve Griffin and the only other winner in the division Jim Desnoyer. With the big money on the line we are liable to see some heavy hitters come in from outside to see if they can take some of the big bucks away from the local hot shoes.
Raymond Lovelady continues to improve and bounced back to the top of the Late Model race after a second place finish last week. He feels he is due for his first win of the season any time now and this weekend may be the one. Mike Bresnahan moved to within 10 points of Lovelady after taking his fourth win last week and shares the win column with only five other drivers out of fifty two who have tried out the new track layout this season. Rex Struble managed a fourth place finish but slipped to third just two points behind Bresnahan. Teddy Nelson is the only other driver sporting more than one win with a pair. Jim Smith is still putting his car back together and holds out in fifth place over Billy Bechtelheimer with an 84-point edge
The top ten in the Sportsman race got a little shuffle after last weeks event. Mike Veltman continues to hold the lead with Bill Oestreicher chasing him. George Neumann who is still looking for his first win moved around Mark Dominique in the race for third. Terry Cater, Chris Hooker, Jimmy Thompson, Rex Struble and Buddy Kessler take up the balance of the top nine with Johnny Sanders moving up a notch to tenth. Sportsman will go in regular action this weekend.
Travis Nichols had to settle for second in the 40 lap run last Saturday and saw feature winner James Green pull to within four points of taking over the point lead. Both drivers are sporting 3 feature wins and share the win column with six other drivers after 13 races. Mike Bell continues to hold out in third being chased by Danny Cretty, Don Teague and Ernie Reed. Kathy Ray, Dwayne Fults, Scott Hendrickson and Dwayne Thompson continue to hold up the top ten with 430 points separating first through tenth.
Tommy Smith continues to be the top winner at Citrus County Speedway for the season, logging his 7th last week and is now two wins and 160 points up on his brother Richie in the race for the crown. Working on week fourteen the real battle is for third in the point race and Brandon Johnson is the man they are chasing. Daniel Webster, Roy Perkins and Chris Cross are still in the hunt. Joe Rauner moved around Tim Whitehead in the race for seventh. Kreg Belcastro slipped two spots in a no show moving Glen Colyer and Dean Lawyer up to 10th and 11th spots.
The Thunder Stocks seem to be creating their own problems by making modifications to what was intended to be a beginner, inexpensive class. The only way that can continue is to keep it strictly stock so when they are found to be running something other than stock parts they will be declared illegal. That has happened to at least a half dozen cars in the division and is causing a need for a big attitude adjustment within the division.
Over the forty five years I have been involved with racing promotions I have seen ten different divisions price themselves right out of the racing program just to become more competitive. If you want to get really competitive and make modifications to your racecar than get into another division that allows for this. The dissension within the division is going to lead to its demise and it is a shame to see what is happening to what used to be a fun group to race with and for the spectators to watch. Josh Teague moved around Stuart Madison and is 18 points up on the defending champion. Robert Jordan, Lee Keller, Tim Wilson, Todd Downs, Terry Sharrone, Robin Bauer, Rick Badessa and Dale Shelton round out the top ten with 54 cars registered in the division.
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