The fans and competitors got exactly what they came for in Citrus County Speedway’s Spring Crash Fest 2006 Saturday night. It was a perfect night for racing and the program had everything a race fan could possibly want in the way of solid competition and just plain fun racing. The infamous Figure 8 School Bus Race, the Boat Trailer Race and the regular Figure 8’s kept the fans on the edge of their seats from start to finish with plenty of action in the intersection.
Added to the race card for the purest race fan were the Super Late Models, Limited Sportsman, Mini Stocks, Thunder Stocks and 4 Cylinder Bombers with a car count of 126 plus 14 busses and 12 Boat Trailer racers totaling 152 participants in the night of wild action to a grandstand and pit.
At the drop of the green flag for the 22 car Late Model field it was all over but the race for second when Wayne Anderson won the pole position on the pill draw for the top 12 positions. Anderson led all 35 laps and took the checkered flag by a full straight away lead over the battle for the runner up spot. Former Late Model Champion Herb Hoefler held off another former champ Gary Grubbs, track speed record holder Scott Grossenbacher and young gun Daniel Webster who finished in that order. Heat wins went to Grubbs, Grossenbacher and Herb Neumann Jr.
Scott Hendrickson rocketed his Limited Sportsman to the front of their 21 car feature run from the get go for their 20 lap main and set the pace from flag to flag with only 3 caution flags interrupting his first run to Victory Lane. A.J. Isbister was back in action after his injury suffered last week and played it safe staying in Hendrickson’s tire tracks for the entire race for a second place finish over Ernie Reed, Bobby Taylor and Mike Veltman. Hendrickson also took the win in the first heat with Bobby Taylor taking the win in the second.
The most competitive race of the night saw Mini Stock defending champion Chris Hooker move from 14th to the winner’s circle in their 20 main. The race saw lots of the 3 & 4 abreast racing and numerous position changes but when the checkers flew 12th starter Johnathon Camp out ran 17th starter and last week’s winner Clint Foley in the race for second. Johnny Siner moved from 9th to fourth just ahead of early leader Don Faunce. Heat wins went to Siner and Faunce. Thirty four starters in the Thunder Stock 20 lap feature proved that it’s just too much for a 3/8ths mile race track to handle. What used to be a beginner division sees a lot of talented drivers involved with quite a few rookies and the combination saw Cassie Selvage, one of six ladies in the division, take her first checkered flag. That bubble was burst in Tech post race inspection when her car was P & G’d and her race car was found to be illegal. The race was shortened when time ran out on a major crash on the back straight involving 5 cars. Randy Spicer inherited the win from his 14th starting spot followed by Richard Henick who was involved in the wreck and would not have been able to finish had the race continued. Jason VanOchten, Dennis Sanderson and Jim Kruse balanced out the top five. Heat wins went to Mike Dubbs, Steve Stinedurf and Ted Taylor.
The Durban Brothers dominated the 15 car 4 Cylinder Bomber Division for the sixth week in a row with Joey Durbin taking his second win in two weeks followed by his brother Justin. Both cars came from row six when the green flew. Jeremy Root, Kevin Stone and Jim Nocella rounded out the top five. Heat winners were Jon Doucette Justin Durbin.
Fifteen Figure 8’s put on the intersection action show of the season with traffic getting spread out by lap three making for a very busy criss cross for the balance of their 20 lap feature. Bobby Tome set the pace from the get go and was put to the test early in threading the needle at the intersection but held on with perfect timing for his first win at Citrus County Speedway. Darryl Hage stayed on his rear bumper from start to finish followed by John Thomas, Robbie Hage and Joey Catterelli. This has been the most interesting field of Figure 8 cars to appear on a regular basis with most of them making Citrus County Speedway their home track since Sunshine Speedway closed.
Fourteen Buses took on the Figure 8 intersection for 20 laps with Gary Swing taking the early lead while the balance of the field fought for a lane to work in without crashing in the intersection. 5 Laps into the race Swing and Chick Whitehead got together from different directions turning Whiteheads bus over on the driver’s side and ending the night for Swing. Whitehead had a couple of passengers riding with him that got out O.K. but emergency rescue personnel had a tough time getting Whitehead out of the driver’s seat and all had to use the rear emergency door to exit the bus. An ambulance took Chick to the hospital for a check up after possibly suffering a concussion and some cuts. On the restart four buses dropped out of the field and it went non stop from their with a three lap dual for the checkers between Dwayne and Brent Fults. Brent made it two wins in a row at Citrus over Dwayne followed by Mike Bresnahan, Chris Hooker and Glenn Fleming who was one lap down. Only 4 buses finished.
Not a fan left the grandstands for the grand finale for the night which was the Boat Trailer Race with 12 vehicles of various descriptions, non sea worthy boats and some unbelievable trailer rigs. They used the chicane race course and Larry Welter had it all figured out from beginning to end with boats and trailers scattered from one end of the speedway to the other. One boat was dropped on the front straight in front of the flagger’s stand early and Brent Fults was showered with fiber glass on several occasions when the boat was hit by a car or trailer. When it was all over only two trailers still had boats on board and Larry Welter took home the $500 win purse with boat, trailer and race car unscathed by all the mayhem. Robert Aaron claimed second followed by Curtis Youmans, Melvin Farmer and Rex Mullis.
Next Saturday night Citrus will bring in the FAST Trucks with two divisions plus the local Open Wheel Modifieds, Mini Stocks, Hobby Stocks and Thunder Stocks locking horns for point supremacy. FAST Trucks are just one step below the Craftsman Truck Series and they always put on an exciting show. Practice is set for Friday night from 5 until 8 P.M.
Citrus County Speedway Results 5/6/06
Late Model Feature – 35 Laps – 22 Cars
1. #84 Wayne Anderson – 1st Feature Win 2006
2. #22 Herb Hoefler
3. #10 Gary Grubbs
4. #09 Scott Grossenbacher
5. #11 Daniel Webster
1st Heat Winner - #10 Gary Grubbs
2nd Heat Winner - #09 Scott Grossenbacher
3rd Heat Winner - #98 Herb Neumann Jr.
Limited Sportsman Feature – 20 Laps – 21 Cars
1. #03 Scott Hendrickson – 1st Feature Win
2. #81 A.J. Isbister
3. #55 Ernie Reed
4. #66 Bobby Taylor
5. #77 Mike Veltman
1st Heat Winner - #03 Scott Hendrickson
2nd Heat Winner - #66 Bobby Taylor
Mini Stock Feature – 20 Laps 17 Cars
1. # 6 Chris Hooker – 3rd Feature Win
2. #13 Johnathon Camp
3. # 7 Clint Foley
4. #01 Johnny Siner
5. # 2 Don Faunce
1st Heat Winner - #01 Johnny Siner
2nd Heat Winner - #2 Don Faunce
Thunder Stock Feature – 20 Laps (10 Laps run) – 34 Cars
