Satsuma, FL (4/26) – An impressive field of seventeen Super Late Models waged war on Putnam County Speedway this evening. Polesitter Chuck Chitty was outflanked by two time winner Jason Fitzgerald on the initial start and looked to be relegated to second place honors until lap 18 when a lapped car wrecked Fitzgerald. Chitty then found himself battling in the trenches with Eric Platt and Peyton Nesmith for the remainder of the skirmish. When the final offensive was over, Chitty proved to have the superior track generalship. The rest of the rank from second to fifth was Nesmith, David Crews, Fitzgerald, and Gary Champion.
Robby Barris pulled off a dominating win in Modifieds. An early caution eliminated some of the contenders while ongoing incidents pecked away at the rest of the field. Barris remained smooth and consistent as he led every lap of the race without challenge. Marion Sizemore survived several on-track scrapes to come home second. Dave Dowling Sr. had a successful Modified debut with a third place run. Morgan Bass and Greg Vandergriff rounded out the top five.
Mike Tripp was 4-0 in feature races going into the Pure Stock main. Tripp lost his “0” as Dave Woodward ran a precariously high line that all but dared Tripp to dive underneath for the pass. Tripp pulled up beside the leader on several occasions yet couldn’t capitalize on the offer and had to settle for second. Pete Parkes, Hollywood Owen, and polesitter Scott Booth were third through fifth.
Rick Singler overtook Wilson Griffis on the opening lap to take a wire-to-wire win in a limited field of Limited Late Models. Tony Lewis Sr. kept Singler busy throughout the first ten laps before being overtaken by David Shugart. As was the case last week, Singler pulled away from the field on the closing laps to take the checkers. Shugart was second and was followed by Jason Davis, Shane Nichols, and Jeff Terrell.
Street Stocks saw Ronnie Soltis take the early lead over the 19-car field. His lead was short lived as eighth-starting Kenny Hall methodically picked his way to the front and attained the throne on lap 9. Soltis then cut down a tire which removed Hall’s only real threat. As the rest of the pack slugged it out for second, Hall had smooth sailing and won by three-quarters of a lap. Dave Dowling Sr. was the best of the remaining pack as he nailed down second over Martin Johnson, Richard Adams, and Dave Dowling, Jr.
Sprint Cars will be the main event at Putnam County Speedway next Saturday night. Grandstands open at 5 PM and racing begins at 7 PM.
