IT'S TIME TO RACE!!

July 19, 2004 FSCR Nick Pistone Dominates RE/MAX Legends Regional Qualifier at SpeedWorld by Dave Westerman Bithlo, Fla. (July 17, 2004) The RE/MAX Legends Cars had their moment in the sun this weekend at Orlando Speedworld with 26 competitors in town for the INEX/600 Racing Regional qualifier looking for a guaranteed starting spot in the National Championship feature race in Las Vegas later this year. Action began on Friday night with Nick Pistone, Jason Reisman and Ben Stancill making it a North Carolina sweep of the heat races. Clermont's Patrick Conrad, a ten-time winner at Speedworld this year, had the pole for the 25-lap feature event and grabbed the early lead but this race would turn ugly in a hurry. Conrad and Stancill were racing side by side through turn two on lap three when they got together. Conrad's car was turned head-on into the backstretch wall then bounced back out into the path of the rest of the field where it was broadsided by Darin Coker's machine. Conrad emerged from the car under his own power, then began to feel a bit wobbly. After a few minutes, Conrad was able to walk back to the pits, however, he was having trouble remembering the crash so he was taken by family to a nearby hospital. After a thorough check-up, the only thing found to be wrong with him was a sinus infection unrelated to the crash. Conrad's car was destroyed while the cars of Coker, Stancill, Larry Friddle, Kevin Abbott, Mike Verhaagh, Brandon Thomson and Kory Abbott were also involved and received damage. The remainder of the race was relatively uneventful but saw some great dicing up front as Pistone held off teammate Scott Knox for the win closely followed by Jason Reisman. Wesley McLeod was the top finishing "local" in fourth while Thomson came back from his involvement in the big crash to get fifth trailed by Bobby Byars, Derrick Wood, Jeremy Colangelo and Jarred Cawley. Saturday's activities started with some heavy rain showers early in the afternoon, but the skies cleared and time trials for the RE/MAX Legends cars got under way a bit later that originally scheduled. Again the North Carolinians put a "hurtin'" on the Florida boys with Pistone setting quick time while Patrick Conrad was offered a back-up car from Bobby Byars and qualified in the top five despite being extremely sore. Stancill and Friddle used back-up cars for the Saturday program with only Coker unable to compete after being involved in the big Friday night crash. A.J. Fulgenzi was also unable to race Saturday after blowing an engine during Friday's feature. Engine problems also kept Mark Whitley from racing Saturday as well. Conrad finally broke the domination of the NC drivers by winning the first heat in his back-up machine which was actually one of his former cars which had been sold to Byars. Nick Pistone stayed perfect by winning heat two while Jason Reisman took the third heat. With the field lined up from points accumulated through time trials and heats, Pistone had a front row starting slot and that would pretty much be all she wrote as Pistone grabbed a quick early lead in the 50-lap, $1000 to win feature. Again, this race would be a tough one to get started with three caution flags in the first six laps although none were for anything close to the carnage of the previous night. James Rodriguez spun in turn two on lap two and was collected by Mitch Verhaagh with Verhaagh done for the night. One lap later Kevin Howard spun in turn two, then Jarred Cawley did likewise on the restart. Lap six saw the worst incident of the night as Cawley, Wesley McLeod and Doc Richardson tangled in turn with Richardson hitting the wall ending his evening. The next 24 laps would be all green flag racing with Pistone leading comfortably. Conrad was doing his best to hold on for second, but could not hold off Scott Knox and Jason Reisman as they were looking to try and catch the high-flying Pistone. Action was slowed on lap 30 as Howard spun in turn four. The remaining twenty laps were wild as Pistone was trying to hold off Knox and Reisman while also dealing with lapped traffic. Pistone held on for the win with Knox following closely in second and Reisman right on his bumper in third. Ben Stancill drove a solid race in his back-up machine to checker fourth while Conrad salvaged the weekend with a good fifth place finish. Jordan Richardson had a good run for sixth with Jeremy Colangelo netting seventh. Larry Friddle drove his back-up machine to eighth with Kevin Howard and Kory Abbott rounding out the top ten. "The crew did an awesome job getting this car prepared," said winner Pistone. "This race track is fantastic and we'll definately be back in February for the Winternationals," he said. Second place Scott Knox was equally impressed. "This place is fast. It really takes some b*lls to get around here and I just can't wait to come back," he said. It was also a big weekend for 16 year old racing rookie Kara Clarke. Clarke won the Bandolero Outlaw feature race on Friday night for her first career win then proved that was no fluke on Saturday as she grabbed the lead from Evan Russell and went on to win the special Outlaw Challenge race worth $200 to win. Great Grandpa Dave Jarrett came home second on Saturday night over Russell and Sam Gearhart. Russell won the heat race Gerald White, Jr. took the Bandolero Bandits win in impressive fashion over Blake Eden, Ryan Rust and Donovan Ponder. Rust drove to victory in the heat. Derrick Wood dominated the Bandolero Young Guns action as he won both the heat and feature races. Trailing Wood in the main event were Chelsea Schillig, Matthew Jarrett, Brandon Thomson and Scott Jarrett. The RE/MAX Legends and Bandoleros now get a well-deserved week of rest as the track will host Crash-A-Rama this coming Saturday night to be filmed for Spike TV. The Legends Cars and Bandoleros will be joined by the Florida Mini Cup Racing Association for action on July 31st. RESULTS - ORLANDO SPEEDWORLD - 7/17/04: RE/MAX LEGENDS CARS INEX REGIONAL QUALIFIER (50 Laps) 1) Nick Pistone, Charlotte, NC #99 2) Scott Knox, Cornelius, NC #86 3) Jason Reisman, Concord, NC #25 4) Ben Stancill, Greenville, NC #24 5) Patrick Conrad, Clermont, FL #2 6) Jordan Richardson, Palm Harbor, FL #100 7) Jeremy Colangelo, Longwood, FL #05 8) Larry Friddle, Greenville, NC #8 9) Kevin Howard, Apopka, FL #129 10) Kory Abbott, Apopka, FL #5 11) Mike Verhaagh, Bonita Springs, FL #7 12) Bobby Byars, Palm Bay, FL #12 13) Wesley McLeod, Altamonte Springs, FL #22 14) Bob Wilson, Beverly Hills, FL #27W 15) Tom Clarke, Palm Beach Gardens, FL #66 16) Brandon Thomson, St. Cloud, FL #29 17) Kevin Abbott, Apopka, FL #98 18) James Rodriguez, West Palm Beach, FL #19 19) Kyle Dombeck, Palm Bay, FL #20 20) Derrick Wood, Orlando, FL #33jr. 21) Jarred Cawley, Clermont, FL #31 22) Doc Richardson, Palm Harbor, FL #3 23) Mitch Verhaagh, Bonita Springs, FL #9 DNS Darin Coker, Palm Beach Gardens, FL #00 DNS A.J. Fulgenzi, Jacksonville, FL #33 DNS Mark Whitley BANDOLERO OUTLAW CHALLENGE (15 Laps): 1) Kara Clarke #21 2) Dave Jarrett #9 3) Evan Russell #37 4) Sam Gearhart #26 BANDOLERO BANDITS (15 Laps): 1) Gerald White, Jr. #38 2) Blake Eden #71 3) Ryan Rust #18 4) Donovan Ponder #8 BANDOLERO YOUNG GUNS (15 Laps): 1) Derrick Wood #33 2) Chelsea Schillig #75 3) Matthew Jarrett #9 4) Brandon Thomson #54 5) Scott Jarrett #97 Have an opinion on this story? Post a message on our Message Board! news@karnac.org or send a letter to the editor!