IT'S TIME TO RACE!!

July 11, 2004 FSCR Citrus Race Fans Welcome Back Super Late Models by Larry MacMillan (Inverness, Fl. 7/10/04) Seven divisions kicked off the second half of the 2004 Citrus County Speedway racing season after a week off for the July 4th break. One hundred 117 racers braved threatening weather that fortunately spared the eastern part of Citrus County and it was non stop action all evening for a successful restart to what appears to be an outstanding season schedule featuring a variety of race cars for the fans to enjoy. Herb Neumann Jr. opened the first of 7 Super Late Model point races with a heat win and had little trouble holding off the 12 car field for his first point win of the season. Danny Johnson moved from his 4th starting spot to second at the checkered flag in their 30 lap main. Rex Struble won the hard charger award, advancing from 7th when the green dropped to a third place finish over 6th starter Richie Smith and John Chance, who had to move from the back of the pack after tangling with Daniel Webster in a race for fourth in the early going. Webster took the win in the first heat. Richie Smith turned a 14.838 for fast qualifier in the Sportsman time trials. He pulled the 8 pill for the inversion and despite starting 8th took home his 3rd win out of four races for the season and continues to lead the point race. Johnny Sanders had early problems that put him at the back of the pack for the start. He is the only other winner in the division and pulled off a brilliant second place finish over Phillip Rook, Dwight Pinner and David White to round out the top five. Steve King, Joe Rankin, Mike Veltman, Bob Gregg and John Smith locked in the top ten spots. Sportsman will run again on August 7th in another scheduled 40 lap main event. Fifteen Mini Stocks took on the 3/8ths mile bull ring and first time visitor Lee Davis outran 3 time champion George Neumann to the flag for his first win at Citrus. Neumann and Chris Hooker battled for the lead in the final 10 laps when Hooker finally made the pass off turn four on Neumann but lost it on turn one ending his night when David Curry had no place to go in traffic and damaged both cars. Neumann lost the lead two laps after the restart being chased to the checkers by Johnny Siner, point leader Jim Curry and Richard Stroup. Hooker took the win in the first heat with Davis locking in the second heat. Another first time winner went to Victory Lane in the 29 car Hobby Stock feature. Artie Hewitt came into Saturday night’s action running 16th in points and managed to take the lead from his sixth starting spot in the final five laps of their 20 lap, caution flag filled race, for his very first win in quite a few years. When the dust settle from all the accidents that the large field experienced it was Tim Whitehead right on Hewitt’s rear bumper at the checkered flag. Tommy Smith moved from 14th to third to regain the point lead in the division. Todd Downs and Tim Anderson held out for 4th and 5th respectively. Bill Ryan celebrated his birthday and a successful repair of the speedway score board with a sixth place finish. Bobby Taylor came into the night tied for the point lead and had to come from 27th to finish 7th. Heat winners were Cody Moore, Hewitt and Taylor. Speedway officials threw a curve at the Thunder Stock division trying to overcome non stock chassis setups on the race cars with an unannounced change in the race course. Originally they ran right and left turns using the figure 8 track access off turn two into the intersection making a right turn back to turn three rather than the back chute straight away. This was reinstituted Saturday night and it caused some major confusion to the drivers but proved to be a fan favorite idea. Most of the fans were going to bypass the Thunder Stock feature until the change was announced and most came back to their seats to see what transpired. They loved it but the drivers were not at all happy except the top five who managed to complete the course without problems. When it was all over Jerry Hoover logged his third win of the season being chased by Gary Johnson, Wayne Heater, Louie Cioe and Ted Taylor who came from the rear of the 23 car pack. The chicane will be added once a month and unannounced until race time. Heat wins went to Gary Budek, Lee Keller and Ted Taylor. Justin Durbin logged his 5th feature and 3rd heat win of the season in his third different race car of this season. Clark Pittsley continues to lead the point race with a second place finish over Rusty Adams, Brian Curry and Rick Fort. The Florida Mini Series made its third appearance of the season and Terry Tullis took his second win in a row over the 20 car field. Rick Auriemma nailed down second over Bobby Payton, Carlos Gonzales, and scratch starter Ed MacKenzie. Three of the ½ scale NASCAR Cup cars managed to turn the 3/8ths mile in the 16 second bracket with Brett Jameson taking fast time at 16.770 seconds, Doug Smith at 16.778 and Terry Tullis at 16.924. This Saturday night will feature the Pro Modifieds, Super Stocks, Mini Stocks, Hobby Stocks, Thunder Stocks and 4 Cylinder Bombers in heat and feature action. Late Models are back in Twin 50’s with the Open Wheel Lites on July 24th and the Florida Pro Series moves in on July 31st. Citrus County Speedway Results – 7/10/04 Late Model Feature – 30 Laps – 13 Cars 1. #98 Herb Neumann Jr. – 1st Feature Win for Points 2. #96 Danny Johnson 3. #3X Rex Struble 4. #42 Richie Smith 5. #61 John Chance 1st Heat Winner - #1X Daniel Webster 2nd Heat Winner - #98 Herb Neumann Jr. Sportsman Feature – 30 Laps – 12 Cars 1. # 3 Richie Smith – 3rd Feature Win 2. #36 Johnny Sanders 3. #59 Phillip Rook 4. #40 Dwight Pinner 5. # 6 David White Fast Qualifier - # 3 Richie Smith 14.838 Seconds Mini Stock Feature – 20 Laps – 15 Cars 1. #94X Lee Davis – 1st Feature Win 2. # 1 George Neumann 3. #01 Johnny Siner 4. #20 Jim Curry 5. #95 Richard Stroup 1st Heat Winner - #1X Chris Hooker 2nd Heat Winner - #94X Lee Davis Hobby Stock Feature – 20 Laps – 29 Cars 1. # 9 Artie Hewitt – 1st Feature Win 2. #35 Tim Whitehead 3. #42 Tommy Smith 4. #00 Todd Downs 5. #88 Tim Anderson 1st Heat Winner - #12 Cody Moore 2nd Heat Winner - # 9 Artie Hewitt 3rd Heat Winner - #66 Bobby Taylor Thunder Stock Feature – 20 Laps – 23 Cars 1. #30 Jerry Hoover – 3rd Feature Win 2. #40 Gary Johnson 3. #71 Wayne Heater 4. #88X Louie Cioe 5. #77 Ted Taylor 1st Heat Winner - #05 Gary Budek 2nd Heat Winner - #21 Lee Keller 3rd Heat Winner - #77 Ted Taylor 4 Cylinder Bomber Feature – 15 Laps – 5 Cars 1. #79 Justin Durbin – 5th Feature Win 2. #64 Clark Pittsley 3. #67 Rusty Adams 4. #61 Brian Curry 5. #43 Rick Fort Heat Winner - #79 Justin Durbin Mini Cup Series Feature – 25 Laps – 20 Cars 1. # 8 Terry Tullis – 2nd Feature Win at Citrus 2. #12 Rick Auriemma 3. #22 Bobby Payton 4. #19 Carlos Gonzales 5. #47 Ed MacKenzie Fast Qualifier - #70 Brett Jameson – 16.770 Seconds Have an opinion on this story? 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