Polesitters Sweep Features As Putnam Resumes Racing
by Jon Harney SATSUMA, FL (9/13) - After a dormancy that spanned the predominant part of the Spring and Summer, Putnam County Speedway welcomed the return of racing action. A healthy turnout of both fans and racers enjoyed a highly exciting 5-division card.
Every feature race this evening was won from the first starting spot. While some victories were runaways, many were hotly contested events in which the winner earned his checkers the hard way.
The best race was saved for last as Jason Lowe led an enthusiasticfield of Modifieds to the green flag. Robby Barris gave Lowe plentyto think about early on before making a successful bid for the lead on lap 7. Barris’ big break turned to heartache on lap 23 as his mount fell victim to mechanical failure. Lowe had no time to celebrate his good fortune for at his heels was Marion Sizemore. On several occasions it appeared that Lowe would lose the lead, yet on each occasion he found a way to rebound. Lowe survived the white-knuckle ride and held off Sizemore by only one car length at the stripe. Following the lead duo was Chris Hammond, Jerry Morgan, and Garland Spangler.
Rick Singler continued his march towards the Limited Late Models points championship as he cruised to an easy win. Gary Flynn held the lead briefly at the start, but had no answer as on lap three Singler sailed by on the outside and never looked back. Travis Rhoden was a distant second while Jeff Terrell, Bill Kopka, and Donnie Higginbotham took third through fifth.
Dean Woodward shot from the outside front row to earn the early lead in the Pure Stock main. Mike Tripp soon made his presence felt as he assumed the lead after a few short laps. They continued to battle through heavy traffic for the balance of the event. Woodward faded in the stretch which allowed Tripp to take the win by a commanding margin. Jason Pipkins continues to show weekly improvement with a strong third place run. Scott Booth and David Moody finished out the first five.
Super Late Models ran a sloppy race as the number of cautions thrown in their 30-lap crashfest counted well into the teens. Somewhere in the mess a race managed to break out as Jeff Choquette and Jason Fitzgerald gave their all in the second half of the race to claim top honors. At the line Choquette bested Fitzgerald by a car length. Remaning survivors included Jeremy Morgan, Homer Leonard, and the #41.
Kenny Hall led the Street Stock feature from stem to stern and won in a laugher. The real racing was found in the early battle for second as Tim Dowling, Billy Costello, and Mitch Wise traded paint lap after lap. Attrition wore down most of the field as there were few cautions to allow the drivers and cars to rest. Hall was followed by Costello, Tiny Greene, Wise, and John Reiter.
Racing returns next Saturday evening as the Winged Sprint Cars join the four regular divisions of Limited Late Models, Modifieds, Street Stocks, and Pure Stocks. Grandstands open at 5 PM and racing begins at 7 PM.
