Five divisions took on the Citrus County 3/8ths mile Saturday night highlighted by the 2nd race of the Sunbelt Super Late Model series in a 125 lap main. Local driver Mike Bresnahan proved that he owned the race track where he began his racing career as a teenager with fast time in qualifying for the Sunbelt 125.
He pulled the zero pill giving him the pole and when the green flag flew he took the point from the get-go and never looked back for the entire 125 laps. Wayne Anderson was about the only driver that had anything for Bresnahan. After several caution flags for spins and minor accidents Bresnahan was able to put plenty of separation in between him and the top five at will.
Anderson ran into mechanical problems sending him to the pits from his runner up spot late in the race and wound up 8 laps down when he finally got back into the race. Jeff Scofield Rich Pratt, Daniel Webster and Scott Millar battled for second after Anderson’s departure and when the checkers flew finished in that order.
Jeff Scofield continues to lead the Sunbelt point’s race.
Twenty two Mini Stocks chased 16th starter Chris Hooker to the checkered flag for the second week in a row. Early leader Johnny Siner had his hands full battling with Hooker early in the race then getting a mirror full of James Ellis, Don Faunce and Dan Smith holding them off for a second place finish. Don Faunce started 11th and finished third followed by 18th starter Dan Smith. Clint Foley also put on a show in a chase for the lead but gave out of steam late in the race and coasted across the line for a 15th place finish for his effort. Heat wins went to Siner and Foley.
Hobby Stocks brought out 39 drivers after a five week layoff and they came ready to race. Doc James Batson didn’t lose the handle on his race car taking 3 wins at 3 different tracks during the layoff and he made it four Saturday night over the 26 starters plus taking the win in the second heat. Don Paugh see sawed back and forth in the top five race and managed a late pass in the dash for the finish line for a second place finish with Don Teague right on his rear bumper. Alvin Williamson held out for fourth and Thomas Peet picked up a fifth place finish. Jason Murphree and Curtis Flanagan took the wins in the two other heats but both wound up in the pits before the checkers flew. Jay Witfoth won the six lap B Main.
Thunder Stocks came to run a pair of 20 lap features after last week’s postponement due to the 11 p.m. curfew. Twenty seven of the 29 racers that were registered for the makeup feature kicked off the evening of racing and put on quite a show, if crashing and banging is what you came to see. Gary Johnson came off the pole and held the lead for the entire race which was cut short due to multiple caution flags and clean up using up most of the allotted time. The race ended under caution due to time constraints with Johnson taking the win, Louie Coie running second, Christine Henick third, Randy Spicer, fourth and Mike Dubbs rounding out the top five. In the second 29 car feature they got their act together and ran all 20 laps in a wild race that saw several leaders before the checkers flew giving 26th starter Ted Taylor the win on a final lap pass on Steve Stinedurf. Tim Wilson moved through a lot of lapped traffic to hold out for third over Randy Spicer and Rick Ray. Heat winners were Wilson and Stinedurf.
Wrapping up the night of wild activities all the fans stayed for the 14 car, Figure 8, 20 lap feature. Daryl Hage took off from the pole position and never gave up the lead despite several heavy duty runs at him and a couple of caution flags tightening up the lineup for the restarts. Wayne Calkins moved from 8th to 2nd when the checkers flew with Joey Catterelli right on his rear bumper at the finish line. Robbie Hage and James Poole locked up the final five positions. Figure 8’s will be back on April 22nd.
Next Saturday night will feature the Gulf Coast Open Wheel Modifieds that will see quite a few of our local mod squad running. Limited Sportsman, Hobby Stocks, Thunder Stocks and 4 Cylinder Bombers are also on the race card. The Gulf Coast Modifieds will probably time trial for their main event. The speedway has instituted a new start time and for the rest of the season the regular start time for the heat races will be 5:30 p.m., starting a half hour earlier than we have over the past several years. This is an attempt to give plenty of time to avoid postponing feature races due to the 11 p.m. curfew. Each race will be given a sufficient amount of time to allow for caution flags and if the race cannot be finished within the time constraints it will be cut short. In most cases it will be 20 laps or 20 minutes for regular feature races. So plan on coming a little earlier and enjoy all the action. Time trials will usually start 45 minutes before the regular races are scheduled to begin. This time frame worked just fine Saturday night.
