IT'S TIME TO RACE!!

March 30, 2004 FSCR Durden Takes Bronson Modifieds While VanAernam Gets First Sportsman Win By Rick Warren CENTER>Kimbo VanAernam Gets First Sportsman Win At Bronson It was a great night to be at Bronson Motor Speedway with pleasant weather, lots of race cars, and some great competition was the order of the evening. The always popular Figure 8 racers were back in town, as well as the Florida Open Wheel Lites. The Sportsman Feature was full of surprises with the start of the race delayed for track clean up, as Larry Welters Jr. had a major engine problem, and oiled down turns 3 & 4 on the first lap. When the race finally started, rookie Scott Wilkerson took the lead, and was driving a consistent race. Kimbo VanAernam in his good looking racer, and Doc Batson in his new racer were both right on Wilkersons tail, looking to make a clean pass. Wilkerson slipped coming off turn 4, and got shuffled to the high side, as several cars got by. VanAernam ran a good low line, and was making it difficult for Batson to get around him, but the veteran Batson finally got the room he needed and drove by VanAernam to take the lead. Batson was opening a comfortable lead, and looked to cruising to an easy win, but fate stepped in and took over. Batsons racer had a mechanical problem, and the back half of the car went up in a spectacular fireball. Batson was able to safely stop the car, and get out safely and uninjured. After the fire was out and the track cleaned, racing resumed with VanAernam retaking the lead and holding on for his first ever Sportsman Feature win. Second went to the hard charging Dwight Pinner, followed by Wilkerson. When the green flag waved to start the WORKPARTTIME.COM Modifieds race, Kyle Owen jumped to the early lead, with his father, Gene Owen right on his bumper. While the elder Owen was working on a way around Kyle, Kevin Durden was riding close, looking to see which lane would go. Kyle Owen finally succumbed to the pressure his Dad was applying, and slipped high off turn 4, allowing Gene Owen and Kevin Durden to drive by, and begin the chase for the checkered flag. Owen And Durden opened up a good lead on the field as they raced for the win, with Durden trying to find the opening he needed to make a clean pass. Durden finally got the run he was looking for, and drove into turn 1 on the outside of Owen. The pair raced thru the corner and down the back straight side by side, with Durden going very deep into turn 3, and making it stick. CENTER> As the pair hit the front straight, Durden was able to keep up his momentum, and beat Owen to the first turn. With Durden in the lead, Owen wasnt about to give up, and worked Durden hard trying to retake the lead. A Caution with 4 to go almost gave Owen the opening he was looking for, but he didnt quite have enough to make the pass, and Durden held on for the win, chased hard by Owen. Larry Goolsby ran a strong third followed by Chip Owen and Kyle Owen. The figure 8 racers were next up, and Robbie Powell was loaded for bear, after knocking the front end off his racer on his last trip to Bronson. When the green flag waved, it took Powell only a few moments to put his Retro Elevator entry into the front of the pack. Powell Opened a comfortable lead, but the action behind him was fast and furious, as the battle for second place played out. After several near misses, and quite a few passes, Ronnie Schreifels finished a strong second, followed by Seth Nistok and Ken Crews. The Pure Stock Division, next on the track, had some extremely close battles all thru the field. A.J. Northup took the lead at the start, and was running strong in front as John Mamph was trying to take the lead. Northup was challenged every lap by Mamph, as Mamph was trying high and low to get by. Mamph finally took a shot at the outside, and pulled alongside Northup on the front straight. As they raced through turn1 and 2, Northup buzzed the tires getting off turn 2 and spun into the infield. The race ended with Mamph taking the win, holding off the challenge of Krystal Batson, with Joey Hunt taking third. In Mini Stock action, several drivers took turns leading the early part of the race, but it was Chris Hooker who showed the way home. After a lot of jockeying and moving in the pack, Hooker came to the front. Once Hooker took over the lead, he checked out on the field, and left the rest to settle the battle for second. Billy Smith ended up in second, followed by Andrew Robertson and Ronnie Hicks. In V8 Bomber action, Charlie Kennedy looked like a man on a mission. Kennedy took the lead early and never looked back. A good race took place for second, with lots of fender rubbing action. Gerry Hodge came home in second place, followed by Ken Sheffield and Larry Welters Sr. Shawn Evans took the win in 4 Cyl. Bomber action. Be sure to mark your calander for next week as the Sunbelt Super Late Models open their season on the high baks of Bronson Motor Speedway. See Ya There ! Final Results 03-27-04 Workparttime.com Modifieds 1. #56 Kevin Durden 2. #11 Gene Owen 3. #16 Larry Goolsby 4. # 2 Chip Owen 5. # 1 Kyle Owen Sportsman 1. #5 Kimbo VanAernam 2. #40 Dwight Pinner 3. #12 Scott Wilkerson 4. #13 Eddie Sapp 5. # 4 Doc Batson Figure 8 1. #25 Robbie Powell 2. #64 Ronnie Schreifels 3. #27 Seth Nistok 4. #81 Ken Crews 5. # 6 Robert Aaron Pure Stock 1. #65 John Mamph 2. # 4 Krystal Batson 3. # 5 Joey Hunt 4. #02 Michael Baker 5. #95 Jeff Tillman Mini Stock 1. #1X Chris Hooker 2. #00 Billy Smith 3. #93 Andrew Robertson 4. # 8 Ronnie Hicks 5. #04 Josh Hars V8 Bombers 1. #34 Charlie Kennedy 2. #27 Gerry Hodge 3. #25 Ken Sheffield 4. #58 Larry Welters Sr. 5. # 4 Mitchell Bell 4Cyl Bombers 1. #30 Shawn Evans 2. #64 Clark Pittsley 3. # 6 Edward Frances 4. #23 John Hagans Kimbo VanAernam Have an opinion on this story? Post a message on our Message Board! news@karnac.org or send a letter to the editor!