by Rick Warren
The weather was absolutely beautiful in Bronson, Florida on Saturday, as the Southern Sportsman Series rolled into Bronson Motor Speedway, for the long awaited first race of the 2007racing season. After having the scheduled first race rained out, the drivers were chomping at the bit for some competition, Southern Sportsman style.
With 29 racers signed in to compete, it was shaping up to be a great race on the tight, high banks of Bronson. The cars of David Williamson and Tommy Conquest Jr. both fell victim to mechanical problems in the practice session, and were forced to be scratched from the field.
27 cars hit the track for their qualifying attempts, and the times were very quick, with the fastest 11 cars posting laps in the 14 second bracket. When it was all said and done, Richard Elkins Jr had claimed the fastest time with a lap of 14.337 seconds. Right behind was Craig Cuzzone at 14.406, followed by Arthur Conquest at 14.476.
After the top qualifiers cleared tech inspection, The draw for inversion was held, and Elkins, as top qualifier drew a 3, inverting the front three positions, and the line up was set.
The field of racers rolled onto the track for the feature with the R&B Doors entry of Arthur Conquest on the pole, and Mike White Carpentry entry of Craig Cuzzone on the outside of the front row. Richard Elkins Jr in the Elkins Repair Service entry, and Joey Catarelli in the Eagles Nest Racing machine filled the second row. Ronnie Heard Jr and Aaron Williamson took the third row, followed by Roger Welch, Steve Gainey, Rikk McMehan, and Mark Peterson Rounding out the top ten starting positions.
When the Green flag waved to start the 50 lap feature, Conquest powered to the lead, followed by Elkins. Cuzzone was making a valiant effort on the outside, but was making no headway, and no one was opening a spot on the inside for Cuzzone to dive in. On lap 6, after fighting a losing battle on the outside line, Cuzzone spun going into turn 1, caused by a flat right rear tire. The field lined up for the restart with Conquest out front followed by Elkins, Catarelli, Heard, Williamson, Gainey, Welch, McMehan, Peterson, And Scott Wilkerson in the top ten. Cuzzone made a quick pit stop, and rejoined the field at the rear. Cuzzone’s luck had gotten no better, as he had a flat right front on lap 11 bringing out another caution, and once more sending the 97 to the pits for a quick tire change.
The race restarted and stayed green to lap 17, when the 51 of Kyle Alford spun on the front straight, bringing out the caution. After a quick clean up, the field was reset for the start with Conquest still leading the way, followed by Elkins, Heard, Gainey, Catarelli, Williamson, Wilkerson, McMehan, Peterson and T.C. McElyea. The green only lasted 1 lap, as Williamson and Catarelli got together in turn 4 and spun.
The field lined up for the restart with Conquest, Elkins, Gainey, Heard, and Wilkerson holding the top 5 spots. When the race restarted, Gainey, last years series champion, went to work on Elkins, looking for a chance to drive by and challenge for the lead. Elkins, however, had other ideas. The two racers ran side by side, with neither gaining on the other.
Elkins finally pulled ahead of Gainey, but Gainey wasn’t about to let Elkins relax.
As the laps wound down, Conquest was able to put his home track experience to work and open a small lead, about 2 car lengths. The race was slowed by a few more cautions for minor incidents, with the last coming on lap 45, setting up a five lap shoot out. When the race resumed, Conquest held on for the win, followed by Elkins, Gainey, Heard and Wilkerson.
After the top finishers cleared tech inspection, the results were declared official.
Talking in the pits after the race, Conquest said “ It means a lot to finally win one of these races. We’ve been close so many times, and had dumb things take us out. Maybe we finally got this thing turned around,
And can win some races this year”
1. #78 Arthur Conquest Bronson Fl.
2. #55 Richard Elkins Jr. Auburndale, Fl.
3. #79X Steve Gainey Bradenton, Fl
4. #00 Ronnie Heard Jr. Seffner, Fl.
5. #12X Scott Wilkerson Bronson, FL.
6. #13 Aaron Williamson Mulberry, FL.
7. #73 Mark Peterson Sarasota, Fl.
8. #12R Rikk McMehan Hudson, FL.
9. #2 Derrick Heath Parkland, Fl.
10. #9 Wes Filyaw Brooksville, Fl.
11. #19 T.C. McElyea Dania, Fl.
12. #41 Micheal Carr Palm Bay, Fl.
13. #44 Bob Beiler Melbourne, FL.
14. #26 Derek Slade Clermont, FL.
15. #21 Daniel McClain Auburndale, FL.
16. #45 Michael Soukup Deltona, Fl.
17. #51 Kyle Alford Haines City, FL.
18. #7 Tom Raiser Naples, Fl.
19. #98 Roger Welch St. Petersburg, Fl.
20. #15 Joey Catarelli Pinellas Park, Fl.
21. #97 Craig Cuzzone Lakeland, Fl.
22. #36 Chad Cushing Largo, Fl.
23. #121 Gordon Cade Ocala, Fl.
24. #07 Jeff Prescott Wellborn, Fl.
25. #21C Chris Peludat New Smyrna Beach, Fl.
26. #6 Greg Gorniak Homestead, Fl.
27. #89 Ronnie Davis Jr. St. Petersburg, Fl.
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