LAKE CITY, FL (6/17) - Twenty-one Hobby Stocks answered the challenge at North Florida Speedway as both Brown Motorsports and Father & Son Fence Company donated extra money to the Hobby purse.
It was a father and son front row as Dave Dowling Jr. sat on the pole and was flanked by Dave Dowling Sr. When the green dropped Junior took the early lead but Senior stormed back on the second lap to claim the spot and was on his way to having a happy Father's Day.
Dowling Jr. couldn't concentrate on chasing down his dad as he faced stiff competition from Heath Walker and Windal Clark. Clark got the best of the exchange on the 13th lap and Walker followed suit around Dowling Jr. shortly thereafter.
Clark reeled in Dowling Sr. and the battle was just beginning when a late-race caution caused the leaders to make contact and resulted in Dowling Sr. spinning in turn two. After making a stop in the pits to repair damage, Dowling Sr. found himself at the rear of the field with only a few laps remaining.
The race resumed under green and Clark had his hands full with a late-race charge from Walker, whose fortunes faded on the final lap as his #55 broke while rounding the last corner. Clark took the win and $700 first place money ahead of Sammy Hatcher. Walker managed to salvage third ahead of Dowling Jr. and Lee Brinkley.
Dean Sands saw his streak of Street Stock feature wins snapped as Clay Bedenbaugh rocked the field by leading from green flag to checkered flag. The race was not without drama as Keith Philman, driving son Kelly's #83, gave Bedenbaugh all he could handle until both made contact and Philman was sent to the rear.
Sands inherited second but had nothing for Bedenbaugh at the end. The final order was Bedenbaugh, Sands, Philman, Michael Pitts, and Cliff Crawford.
Mark Ruel led the 21-car Sprint field to the green flag but could only watch as Larry Pickett blasted past him for the front position. The cars strung out quickly and the race ran uneventfully with the exception of a highlight reel grade moment brought about by the leader.
Pickett, while well in front, lost control in turn four and spun his #32, but kept the tires rolling until he did a complete 360 and continued on his way, still holding on to the lead in the process. Pickett ran the rest of the race unchallenged to earn a spin-and-win victory. Otto Scrape made a valiant charge from the back of the field to finish second ahead of Ruel, Robert Henderson, and Barry McCance.
Mini Sprints returned to NFS and, like their larger brethren, quickly spread out during their feature. Greg Skyta stayed above the fray for second behind him being waged by Russ Heider, John Craddock, Paul Gottschalk, and Jesse Teed. The quartet boiled down to a duet between Gottschalk and Teed for runner-up honors while Skyta skated off in the distance and earned the win. Gottschalk got the better of Teed tonight by capturing second. Following Teed across the line several lengths behind was Craddock with Heider rounding out the top five.
The Pure Stock feature proved to be another cautionfest. Michael Havard was one of the very few cars not involved in a racing incident as he led every lap convincingly for his fourth win of 2006. Ken Lovett had a good NFS debut as he finished second over Gerald Lewis, Frank Premorel, and David Hart.
Racing next week will see action in the Modified, Pure Stock, Hobby Stock, Street Stock, and Mini Stock divisions. For more information, log on to www.northfloridaspeedway.com.
