Bithlo, Fla (August 1, 2003) If you looked up, you would think it would never happen Friday night. Threatening clouds surrounded SpeedWorld once again and it looked like doom and gloom but for once, the weather held and all features and the Sunbelt was run.
Jonny Kay of Deerfield Beach set fast time of the twenty two car field with a 13.612 lap or 132.23 mph. Four cars were not able tomake qualifying, Joe Boyd of Riverview, Fla.; Larry Osteen of Clermont, Fla.; Rich Pratt of Anthony, Fla.; and Jacob Warren of Orlando, Fla.
After the pill draw, it was Chris Fontaine on the pole for the 125 lap event. Wayne Anderson took the point on the green followed by Dick Anderson, James Powell, Michael Williams and Jonny Kay. The top five never changed during the entire 125 lap event.
Jim Rider brought out the caution when he spun at the bottom of turn 4. The race was restarted with Anderson, Anderson, Powell, Williams and Kay in the top five.
Justin Drawdy and Chris Fontaine have alittle bumper tag going which ends with Fontaine spinning. Both drivers were put to the rear of the field for the restart. Also involved during the caution was Bruce Lawrence, Jr. who dusted the wall and Jim Rider pulls out of the race.
Wayne Anderson holds the point on the restart followed by Dick Anderson, James Powell, Michael Williams and Jonny Kay. Daniel Keene, Jr. brought out the next caution when he spins in turn 2. Jay Middleton, who was second in points for the Sunbelt Series, has a mechanical problem and retires from the race early.
Wayne Anderson holds the point on the restart and leads the way until Robert Jenkins brings out the caution when he spins down at the bottom of the bandolero track. Bruce Lawrence, Jr. returns to the race at this point after some quick repairs from his caution.
The race goes back green with the same top five: Anderson, Anderson, Powell, Williams and Kay. Michael Williams now finds a very fast Jonny Kay on his rear but Williams holds strong and Kay is not able to pass Williams. Just as the racing is getting tight, Bruce Lawrence brought out the caution as Chris Fontaine gives Justin Drawdy a little boot in the rear.
Wayne Anderson leads the way on the restart and the race until Kevin McMichele decides to go three wide using the Bandolero track just alittle. McMichele pushes up tapping Daniel Keene, Jr. who in return puts Chris Fontaine in the wall.
A short green flag with Anderson in the lead until Bruce Lawrence, Jr. and Dick Ruckh bring out the caution when they tangle in turn 2. Wayne Anderson once again takes the lead on the green followed by Dick Anderson, Powell, Williams, Kay, Brian Finney, David Rogers, Barry Willoughby, Eric Deffendall and Chet Morrison. The caution comes out again for Chet Morrison and Justin Drawdy.
The race goes back green with Wayne Anderson on the point. But it is not long before the caution flies again, this time for Daniel Keene, Jr. who has spun in turn 2 and dusted the wall. Justin Drawdy retires from the race at this point.
Again, the green is thrown with Wayne Anderson on the point. But the red flag is flown when Bruce Lawrence, Jr. spun at the bottom of the pit entrance with Dick Ruckh hitting Lawrence head on with no where to go. Both Lawrence, Jr. and Ruckh were fine but the same can't be said for their cars.
The green is thrown but before a lap is even down, the yellow comes out for the flagman who has dropped a flag on the track. The flag is retrieved and the race goes back to green with Wayne Anderson on the point. Once again, Kay is charging Williams for the fourth place but Williams holds strong.
Two incidents happen to bring out the next caution when Fain Skinner and Robert Jenkins spin on turns 3 and 4 and Bruce Lawrence and Kevin McMichele tangle on turn 2. The race goes back green one more time with Wayne Anderson, Dick Anderson, James Powell, Michael Williams, Jonny Kay, Brian Finney, David Rogers, Barry Willoughby, Chet Morrison and Eric Deffendall in the top ten.
The last caution of the race was thrown for Bruce Lawrence, Jr. who spun on the bottom of the frontstretch. Wayne Anderson holds the point on the restart but Dick Anderson gets right on his butt and makes him work for the money. Kay is still trying to take over fourth but Williams holds strong.
Suddenly James Powell slows with 2 laps left to go and slowly makes his way to the pit road. Wayne Anderson takes the checkered followed by Dick Anderson, Michael Williams, Jonny Kay and Brian Finney.
In other action at SpeedWorld, the rained out Super Stock race that was stopped on lap 7 was restarted with Sean Bass in the lead. But it was Ron Whaley who took over the point and took the checkered followed by Sean Bass, Cory Freed, Andy Nichols, and Bob Beiler.
Robert Hight had the pole for the rained out Sportsman race but it was Donnie Smith who took the lead on the green and lead every lap for his first win. Only one caution was thrown for Justin Hall who spun on the backstretch. Following Smith to the checkered was Richard Hight, Rob Kayse, Bill Hall and Cory Kaiser.
Josh Hermann had the pole for the make-up Mini Stock feature and lead from green to checkered. Following Hermann on the green was Tim "Missileman" McPhail, Dick Laszlo, Sean Bass and R.J. Arnone. Bass moved into third with Laszlo slipping to fourth then fifth when Arnone took over fourth. Hermann took the checkered followed by Tim "Missileman" McPhail, Sean "Weasel" Bass, R.J. Arnone, and Dick Laszlo.
Bobby Crites had the pole for the rained out Strictly Stock feature and won his first feature followed by Richie Laszlo, Glen Bach, and Jim Leslie.
No score sheets were available for the rained out Legends race.
The Bandolero Bandits saw Josh Williams lead from green to checkered. With no cautions in this event, it was a battle between second, third, fourth, and fifth. In the end, it was Williams taking the checkered followed by Chad Akins, Matt Bowers, Gerald White, Jr., and Derrick Wood.
Dalton Zehr had the pole for the Bandolero Young Guns but it was Brandon Thompson who jumped to the early lead. Zehr came back to pass Thompson but his lead was short as Kevin Henry took over the point and never looked back. Following Henry to the checkered was Dalton Zehr, Brandon Thompson, Scott Jarrett, and Jessica Murphy.
R.J. Arnone had the pole for the Mini Stock feature and looked like he was on his way to his first win. Josh Hermann brought out the caution when he spun. Arnone holds the point on the restart but before the race could really get going, Josh Hermann, Sean Bass and Danny Bohing got together at the bottom of pit entrance. Hermann hits Bohing as he sits at the bottom having no place to go. The race is red flagged but thankfully, all drivers are fine just mad at this point.
Arnone holds the point on the restart but it is Tim "Missileman" McPhail that passes Arnone with Scott Reeves going along for the ride with McPhail. Arnone slips to third. McPhail takes the checkered followed by Scott Reeves, R.J. Arnone, Dick Laszlo, and Don Hall.
Richard Hight has the pole for the Sportsman feature but before the field could really get going, the caution came out for Kory Kaiser and Bill Hall who spin on the frontstretch. The race was restarted with Richard Hight on the point followed by Rob Kayse, Justin Hall, Donnie Smith and Robert Hight. Justin Hall spun in turn 2 bringing out the caution.
On the restart, it is Richard Hight, Rob Kayse, Donnie Smith, Robert Hight, and Tony Wilson. Suddenly Kayse slows, goes onto pit road, and is done for the night with engine problems. Kory Kaiser spins in turns 3 and 4 and the caution is thrown once again.
Richard Hight holds the point on the restart with Donnie Smith, Robert Hight, Tony Wilson and Joe Adams in the top five. Smith tries to pass Hight but is unable to do so. Hight takes the checkered followed by Donnie Smith, Robert Hight, Tony Wilson and Joe Adams.
Bob Beiler with his "Banana Boat" had the pole for the Super Stock feature and was well on his way to his first win. Following Beiler on the green was Mike Soukup, Ron Whaley, Cory Freed, and Andy Nichols. Whaley takes over second with Soukup sliding to fourth. Soukup develops problems and retires.
Beiler holds the point until lap 13 when he is run over by Cory Freed as Freed and Whaley are running wild for the point. Beiler is able to control his car and slides to third. Ron Whaley takes the checkered followed by Cory Freed, Bob Beiler, Rich Clouser, and Bob Wines.
Richie Laszlo took his second win of the 2003 season in the Strictly Stocks. Donald Springer had the pole but it did not take Laszlo long before he passed Springer and took the lead. Following Laszlo to the checkered was Roger Benton, Donald Springer, Jim Leslie, and Glen Bock.
OFFICIAL RESULTS ORLANDO SPEEDWORLD, AUGUST 1
SUNBELT SUPER LATE MODELS 125 LAPS
1. #84 Wayne Anderson, Wildwood, Fla. 2. #92 Dick Anderson, Wilwood, Fla. 3. #40 Michael Williams, Mims, Fla. 4. #48 Jonny Kay, Deerfield Beach, Fla. 5. #80 Brian Finney, Merritt Island, Fla. 6. #11 David Rogers, Orlando, Fla. 7. #74 Barry Willoughby, Pt. St. Lucie, Fla. 8. #86 Chet Morrison, Houma, LA 9. #26d Eric Deffendall, Vero Beach, Fla. 10. #17 Robert Jenkins, Ft. Pierce, Fla. 11. #37 James Powell III, Astor, Fla. 12. #116 Bruce Lawrence, Jr., Sorento, Fla. 13. #16 Bruce Lawrence, Sorento, Fla 14. #9 Kevin McMichele, Davie, Fla. 15. #5k Daniel Keene, Jr., Tampa, Fla. 16. #8 Dick Ruckh, Chicago, Ill. 17. #12 Justin Drawdy, Ft. Pierce, Fla. 18. #1 Fain Skinner, Live Oaks, Fla. 19. #47 Chris Fontaine, Lakeland, Fla. 20. #74J Jay Middleton, Lake City, Fla. 21. #57x Jim Rider, Vero Beach, Fla. 22. #51 Jacob Warren, Orlando, Fla. DNS 23. #5 Joe Boyd, Riverview, Fla 24. #22x Larry Osteen, Clermont, Fla. 25. #0 Rich Pratt, Anthony, Fla. 26. #78 B.J. McLeod, Wauchula, Fla.
RAIN OUT FEATURES
SUPER STOCKS
1. #2 Ron Whaley 2. #17x Sean Bass 3. #12 Cory Freed 4. #66 Andy Nichols 5. #44 Bob Beiler 6. #45 Mike Soukup 7. #7b Bob Wines 8. #28 Ron Edwards 9. #98 Bobby Woodley 10. #28R Robert Ward
SPORTSMAN
1. #48 Donnie Smith (First Time Winner) 2. #23 Richard Hight 3. #75 Rob Kayse 4. #56 Bill Hall 5. #48x Cory Kaiser 6. #62 Joe Adams 7. #13 Robert Hight 8. #50 Justin Hall
MINI STOCKS
1. #98 Josh Hermann 2. #7 Tim "Missileman" McPhail 3. #28 Sean Bass 4. #88 R.J. Arnone 5. #07 Dick Laszlo 6. #31 Don Hall
STRICTLY STOCK
1. #B2 Bobby Crites 2. #07 Richie Laszlo 3. #8x Glen Bach 4. #45 Jim Leslie
REGULAR FEATURES FOR AUGUST 1
BANDOLERO BANDITS
1. #06 Josh Williams 2. #60 Chad Akins 3. #02 Matt Bowers 4. #38 Gerald White, Jr. 5. #33 Derrick Wood 6. #17 Blake Eden 7. #74 Eric Salvensen
BANDOLERO YOUNG GUNS
1. #9 Kevin Henry 2. #63 Dalton Zehr 3. #54 Brandon Thompson 4. #97 Scott Jarrett 5. #40 Jessica Murphy
SPORTSMAN
1. #23 Richard Hight 2. #48 Donnie Smith 3. #13 Robert Hight 4. #71 Tony Wilson 5. #62 Joe Adams 6. #56 Bill Hall 7. #50 Justin Hall 8. #26 Charlie Vest 9. #48x Cory Kaiser 10. #75 Rob Kayse
SUPER STOCKS
1. #2 Ron Whaley 2. #12 Cory Freed 3. #44 Bob Beiler 4. #3 Rich Clouser 5. #7b Bob Wines 6. #45 Mike Soukup 7. #28 Ron Edwards 8. #28R Robert Ward 9. #98 Bobby Woodley 10. #71 Bryan Anderson 11. #66 Andy Nichols
MINI STOCKS
1. #7 Tim "Missileman" McPhail 2. #21 Scott Reeves 3. #88 R.J. Arnone 4. #07 Dick Laszlo 5. #31 Donnie Hall 6. #28 Sean "Weasel" Bass 7. #68 Danny Bohing 8. #46 Gary Green 9. #33 Bob Delmastro 10. #98 Josh Hermann
STRICTLY STOCKS
1. #07 Richie Laszlo 2. #14 Roger Benton 3. #66 Donald Springer 4. #45 Jim Leslie 5. #8x Glen Bock 6. #B2 Bobby Crites
