IT'S TIME TO RACE!!

September 9, 2007 Dude Teate Rockets to TBARA Win at Citrus by Larry MacMillan (Inverness, Fl. 9/9/07) After two weeks of down time due to weather conditions Citrus County Speedway racers and fans were ready to turn up the wick and make up for lost time. Twenty TBARA Winged Sprinters made the trip to get back into action after their rained out race last Saturday night and again proved that there are no limits to the excitement and speed they can turn on at Citrus. Joining them were the PBG Legends, The Bandelaros and racing for local points were the Street Stocks, Pure Stocks and 4 Cylinder Bombers plus the V8 Thunder Stock Rookies getting some seat time for their eventual move to the Pure Stocks or above. Only 19 of the 20 Sprint cars registered were able to make the field for the 30 lap main event with Jim Alvis on the pole and Shane Butler on the outside lane after winning the first two heats. It took three attempts to get the race going as Jim Alvis was a little too anxious to take the point. On the third attempt they got a good start and Alvis launched his 800 horsepower rocket to the point and continued to set the pace for the first 16 laps. The rest of the field tried to find their way through some very heavy traffic and three extremely slow cars that were definitely outclassed by the regulars on the series trail and caused some passing problems. The race only saw four caution flags and saw Keith Butler, point leader Troy DeCaire and 5 time winner David Steele getting disqualified by officials with TBARA. Dude Teate moved from 5th to the point in lap 17 and led the field to the checkered flag for his first win of 2007. Jim Alvis held out for a distant second with Shane Butler chasing him to the line for a third place finish. Bo Hartley moved from his 10th starting spot to outrun rookie of the year competitor Brian Gingras in the race for fourth. Rounding out the top ten were Gary Gimmler, Mark Gimmler, Larry Brazil Jr., all finishing 30 laps with the final two, one lap down, Stan Butler and Tommy Nichols. Dude Teate also added the third heat to his resume for the evening. Ben Fritz did not start his heat or the feature. In local action the Street Stocks hit the track 20 strong and it was a battle royal for the big guns coming from the rear of the field who spent the evening chasing pole sitter Alvin Williamson. Artie Hewitt spent most of the race in a side by side battle for the lead with Williamson. Several cautions came out and the two front runners continued to battle before 13th starter Jay Witfoth took advantage of the final caution and made the move around the front four to take the point and the checkered flag for his first win of the season. Eighteenth starter Richie Smith looking for his 14th win of the season got caught up in traffic and was running fifth for the final restart and made the move to second when he crossed the start finish line. Alvin Williamson salvaged a third place finish over 8th starter Todd Downs and 11th starter Curtis Flanagan. Williamson won the first heat, Flanagan picked up the win in the second heat and Artie Hewitt took the checkers in the third heat. Pure Stocks put 24 cars on the starting grid for their 20 lap feature and again the hot shoes were in the rear of the field and had to battle their way through some very heavy traffic to get to the front. Several crashes took out some of the big guns early but when the dust cleared 15th starter Bobby Taylor took his 7th win of the season outrunning 10th starter Mike Veltman in the race for the checkers. Point leader Bill Ryan was in the mix for his 7th win but had to settle for third over Steve Hise and early leader Victor Shahid. Heat winners were John Drye, Steve Stinedurf and Mike Veltman. Brandon “The Hammer” Elwood burned the 4 Cylinder Bomber 19 car field from his 14th starting spot to take his 4th win of the season leaving the field in his dust for the final five laps of their 20 lapper. Pole sitter Chris Harvey managed to hold off the rest of the field for a second place finish being pushed by 11th starter Bobby Richardson, 9th starter John DeGeorge and Joshua Fairchild rounding out the top five. Fairchild was running second and challenging for the lead when he apparently lost power on the final run for the flag, coasting across the line for his fifth place finish with point leader Jeff Eberly right beside him. Chris Harvey and Jon Layard locked in the heat wins. The PBG Legend Series had 17 cars make the trip to Citrus and qualified on the clocks with Brandon Thomson out of St. Cloud running a 15.407 time as fast qualifier. When they got the green flag for the start of their 35 lap main Thomson’s racer died at the start finish line and he was out before it really got started good. Chelsea Schillig got the pole and second fast qualifying time and held the lead for the first part of the race before Kory Abbott made the pass and left the field behind to race Chelsea for the second spot. Josh Williams, Darin Koker, Mike Fazio, Tony Sansom and Jimmy Norman were all in the mix but Chelsea held them off and they finished in that order. Only 5 Bandeleros made the trip and driver simply known as Critter took the #12 car to the front for the win in both their heat and 15 lap feature. Mark Hoven and Donovan Ponder were the only two other cars to finish the feature for second and third. Gerald Campbell ran fourth having to pull out in lap 12 and Donovan Ponder only got 7 laps in before he broke. --Advertisement-- Wrapping up the night were seventeen V8 Thunder Stock Rookies in what appeared to be a demolition derby on three attempts to get the race started. On a fourth attempt they got underway with a single file restart and managed to keep things going for 20 laps. Mike Martin started 5th and picked up the point early in the race setting the pace all the way to the checkered flag for his first win of the season. Richard Dinkins started 10th and finished second ahead of 9th starter Donnie Buckner, 12th starter Eddie Rosasco and 6th starter James Zuidema. Next Saturday night will feature the return of the Open Wheel Modifieds, Figure 8’s, Sportsman, Mini Stocks plus Street Stocks, Pure Stocks, 4 Cylinder Bombers and V8 Thunder Stock Rookies for an all local point race show. Citrus County Speedway Results 9/8/07 TBARA Winged Sprint Feature – 30 Laps – 19 Cars 1. # 0 Dude Teate – Leesburg – 1st Season Win 2. #21 Jim Alvis – Seffner 3. #14 Shane Butler – Riverview 4. #3X Bo Hartley – Zephyrhills 5. #99 Brian Gingras 6. #29 Gary Gimmler – Palm Beach Gardens 7. #51 Mark Gimmler – Palm Beach Gardens 8. #21B Larry J. Brazil Jr. – Tampa 9. #18 Stan Butler – Bushnell 10.#55 Tommy Nichols – Tampa 1st Heat Winner - #14 Shane Butler 2nd Heat Winner – #21 Jim Alvis 3rd Heat Winner - #0 Dude Teate Street Stock Feature – 20 Laps – 20 Cars 1. # 4 Jay Witfoth – Beverly Hills – 1st Season Win 2. #142 Richie Smith – Hernando 3. #09 Alvin Williamson – Odessa 4. #00 Todd Downs – Homosassa 5. # 3 Curtis Flanagan – Floral City 1st Heat Winner - #09 Alvin Williamson 2nd Heat Winner - # 3 Curtis Flanagan 3rd Heat Winner - # 9 Artie Hewitt – Port Richey Pure Stock Feature – 20 Laps – 24 Cars 1. #127 Bobby Taylor – Crystal River – 7th Season Win 2. #94 Mike Veltman – Crystal River 3. #33 Bill Ryan – Bushnell 4. #42 Steve Hise – Inverness 5. # 8 Victor Shahid – Floral City 1st Heat Winner - #39 John Drye – Inverness 2nd Heat Winner - # 0 Steve Stinedurf – Brooksville 3rd Heat Winner - #94 Mike Veltman 4 Cylinder Bomber Feature – 20 Laps - 19 Cars 1. #28 Brandon Elwood – Anthony – 4th Season Win 2. #00 Chris Harvey – Belleview 3. #22 Bobby Richardson – Lecanto 4. #122 John DeGeorge – Dunnellon 5. # 6 Joshua Fairchild – Crystal River 1st Heat Winner - #00 Chris Harvey 2nd Heat Winner - #02 Jon Layard – Ocala V8 Thunder Stock Rookie Feature – 20 Laps – 17 Cars 1. #76 Mike Martin – Citrus Springs – 1st Season Win 2. #34 Richard Dinkins – 3. #198 Donnie Buckner – Okahumpka 4. #10 Ed Rosasco – Spring Hill 5. #47 James Zuidema – Brooksville PBG Legends Feature – 35 Laps – 17 Cars 1. #5 Kory Abbott – Apopka 2. #75 Chelsea Schillig – Apopka 3. # 6 Josh Williams – Punta Gorda 4. #00 Darin Coker – W. Palm Beach 5. #38 Mike Fazio – Miami Fast Qualifier - #54 Brandon Thompson – St. Cloud Bandeleros Feature – 15 Laps – 5 cars 1. #12 Critter – Casselberry 2. #17 Mark Hooven – Orlando 3. # 8 Donovan Ponder – Orlando 4. # 6 Gerald Campbell – Sebring (DNF) 5. #27 Shawn Hooven – Orlando (DNF) Have an opinion on this story? Post a message on our Message Board! or Email KARNACto send a letter to the editor!