IT'S TIME TO RACE!!

April 11, 2004 FSCR Pratt perfect in Florida Pro 100 By CLAUDE LEWIS -Sports Writer Rich Pratt is out to make some noise this year in the Florida Pro Late Model Series. His red No. 0 car was heard loud and clear Saturday night at Charlotte County Speedway. Pratt, a 31-year-old who hails from the Ocala outpost known as Anthony, recorded fast time and then drove the perfect race in taking the checkered ahead of hard-charging youngster Jay Middleton in the $2,500-to-win 100-lapper. It was the first career Florida Pro victory for Pratt, who has been involved with the series since 2000. "I was their Rookie of the Year," Pratt recalled. "I ran with them part time in 2001, 2002 and 2003. This year I'm gonna hit all their races." It should be some shootout between Pratt and Middleton. In the first and only other Florida Pro race this year at Columbia Motorsports Park in Lake City, Middleton ran first and Pratt was second. Pratt recorded a 14.88-second lap in qualifying around the Punta Gorda 3/8-mile paved oval. He drew starting position number two on the outside of Mike Franklin Jr. Franklin led the first 89 laps before getting high on the track in turns one and two. Pratt was right there to pounce on the opportunity. Middleton also came with Pratt, making it a two-car duel to the checkered. The blue No. 74 car of Middleton came up just short. "He's only 19 years old and has a great future," Pratt said. "I'm happy just to beat him. He is the definition of the word sportsman." Pratt could be congratulated for his own strategy. "Franklin was digging hard the first 70 laps," Pratt said. "With Jay behind Steve Dorer, I was able to baby the car, which was important. I didn't want to spin my rear tires the first 70 laps." Franklin's tires went away from him late in the race, allowing Pratt to cash in. Franklin salvaged a third-place finish. Middleton was bottled up behind Dorer until lap 75. Dorer, who won the big $4,000-to-win 100-lapper at CCS on April 1, ended up fourth. "We were running on different tires and we weren't as fast," Dorer said. We were a whole second slower than a week ago." Florida Pro runs on McCreary tires while the track tire at Charlotte County Speedway is Goodyear. Saturday's Florida Pro race was was clean only two cautions. Twenty one cars started. Former CCS Modified champion Chris Turner was eighth. Brad Barkis of Fort Myers was seventh. There were five other feature races Saturday night at Charlotte County Speedway. The most controversial came in the night's last race Road Warrior. With two laps to go in the 25-lap feature, there was contact between the second place car of Jesse Gargus and leader Larry Rudd. Rudd spun out and had to restart in the back. Gargus went on to take the checkered ahead of Bob Waltz Jr. But after the race was history, the call was reversed. It was ruled that Gargus was at fault and Rudd was awarded the victory. Gargus was handed a ninth-place finish. The most exciting finish came in 4-Cylinders, where Michele Riley gave Chris Loney a serious run to the checkered. She danced her pretty red No. 31 car outside of Loney's blue No. 33 for several laps. Loney got the win just ahead of Riley. Punta Gorda's Robert Benning came in third in the 15-lap race. John Hanuschik returned to victory lane in Super Stocks. He finished ahead of Clete Trimmer and George "Bat Out of Hell" Tanner. It was the same three in Thunder Trucks, John Garrett, Cheryl Weaver and Mike Bialecki. Jack Duffy ruled in TQ Midgets. Only seven cars made that feature. Related Story: A Patient and Persistent Rich Pratt Finds Winners Circle The racing results from Charlotte County Speedway for April 10, 2004 are as follows: Florida Pro Super Late Model 1. 0 Rich Pratt 2. 74 Jaqy Middleton 3. 97 Mike Franklin 4. 10 Steve Dorer 5. 32 Jim Smith 6. 64 Bobby Coyle 7. 10x Brad Barkis 8. 94 Chris Turner 9. 80 Brian Finney 10. 16 David Hodges 11. 57 Doyle Boatwright 12. 2 Brian Richardson 13. 12 Stephen Weaver 14. 16x Ray Derry 15. 07 Troy McNabb 16. 31 Al Beckelheimer 17. 87 Gary Grayer 18. 17 Mark Mitchell 19. 86 Chet Morrison 20. 8 Tal Etheridge 21. 180 Kevin Finney Road Warrior 1. 88 Larry Rudd 2. 8 Bob Waltz Jr. 3. 7 Jonathan Abraham 4. 73b Del Beckner 5. 29 Rob Popkin 6. 00 Larry Grabowski 7. 22 Ann Marie Ricardi 8. 21 Lee Rhodes 9. 1 Jesse Gargus 10. 23 Jeff Rumbold 11. 11 Robert Hendry 12. 31 Willard Hedden 13. 30 Chris Huntoon 14. 18 Shane Leonard 15. 09 Doug Raastad DNS 13 John Muff DNS 5 Bob Waltz Thunder Truck 1. 22 John Garrett 2. 37 Cheryl Weaver 3. 8 Mike Bialecki 4. 56 Bob Charette 5. 9 Ray Scott 6. 04 Todd Feeley 7. 6 James Wright Super Stock 1. 83 John Hanuschik 2. 0 Clete Trimmer 3. 8 George Tanner 4. 31x Elbert Butts 5. 4w Wayne Wilson 6. 85 Roger Wolfe DNS 1 Tommy Hill 4 Cylinder 1. 33 Chris Loney 2. 31 Michelle Riley 3. 99 Robert Benning 4. 53 Lee Bates 5. 20 Justin Girling 6. 8 Ray Lang 7. 42 Daniel Shanaway 8. 22 Ruby Clay 9. 12 Imran Sattar 10. 6 Shawn Bates 11. 72 Paul Smith TQ Midgets 1. 1 Jack Duffy 2. 3 unknown 3. 26 Paul Huffstutler 4. 30 Joey McKinney 5. 4 Ted Durfee 6. 17 Buster Feasel 7. 10 unknown Have an opinion on this story? 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