SATSUMA, FL (10/18) - Although the Fall Brawl at Putnam County Speedway is scheduled for this upcoming weekend, the racers took the theme to heart last Saturday night as bumpers were bashed, doors were slammed, and fans were clamoring for more.
Marion Sizemore left his familiar red #2 mount at home this evening and brought out the heavy artillery in the form of the #0 car. This proved to be a tactical coup as he thoroughly dominated his heat race and summarily crushed the competition in the Modified feature in starting on the pole and leading every lap.
Eddie Newell was similarly dominant in his heat and was equally unchallenged for second. Action behind the runaway duo was tight as some new faces graced the top five with Mark Wortman, Chris Hammond, and Jerry Morgan finishing third through fifth.
After weeks of trailing Rick Singler in the Limited Late Model points standings, Jeff Terrell finally passed Singler for the number one spot when Singler had mechanical difficulties two weeks ago. Tonight was Terrell's first chance to defend the lead and he discovered that it's not any easier being the pursuee than the pursuer. The race itself was a wadfest with many cautions brought out by a few overly eager players. Barely half of the field survived to the finish as the pits began to resemble a wrecking yard. Singler withstood early challenges from Peyton Nesmith, then later from Bill Kopka to capture another win. Terrell, on the other hand, had to battle tooth and nail to avoid the carnage and capture fifth which allowed him to hold on to the overall points lead. Second was awarded to Kopka, third went to Nesmith, and fourth fell to Floyd Martin Sr.
Pure Stocks stole the hearts of the crowd with a nearly caution-free 30 laps of competition that saw points leader Mike Tripp and Hollywood Owen dueling through extremely heavy traffic. Only 7 of the 19 starters could stay on the lead lap as the leaders set a torrid pace. Tripp pulled alongside Owen on laps 18 and 23 yet couldn't complete the pass on either occasion. Owen drove the high groove well, stayed consistent, and won by a car length. Rick Ferraro made the Ford fans happy with a third place run, Scott Booth wound up fourth, and Bubba Watson came home fifth.
Kenny Hall was the class of the 17-car field and led from stem to stern in the Street Stock feature. Bobby Layman would have won on any other night as his car also showed strength, but on this evening Hall was a mountain too high. Kenny Durham had narrowly held off Billy Costello at the stripe for third and Glenn Kelly motored to a fifth place finish.
Be sure and join us next Friday AND Saturday evenings as Putnam County Speedway presents the Fall Brawl. The United Sprint Car Series will be the main attraction and will be joined by the Super Late Models, the Limited Late Models, Open-wheel Modifieds, Street Stocks, and Pure Stocks. Friday night will be qualifying, heat races, and other events that will determine the lineups for Saturday's B-main and A-main features. Gates open at 5 PM both evenings. For more information call the speedway at 386-649-5210.
