IT'S TIME TO RACE!!

October 28, 2007 Halloween Madness at Citrus County Speedway Saturday Night by Larry MacMillan Race fans and the kids got more than their monies worth Saturday night at Citrus County Speedway. It was Trick or Treat night for the kids and an all feature program for the 166 race drivers going in 11 feature races and bringing at least a ton of candy for the hundreds of kids who got up close and personal with most of the drivers during intermission. Open Wheel Modifieds and Figure 8’s went in double features plus the Sportsman, Street Stocks, Mini Stocks, 4 Cylinder Bombers, Pure Stocks, V8 Thunder Stock Rookies and the visiting Mini Cup cars made for a full night of racing despite some very iffy weather. Fortunately Mother Nature was considerate for this very heavy schedule. Open Wheel Modifieds opened the night with their 30 lap rainout make up from September 29th. Richie Smith came off the outside pole and locked onto the point from the green flag with point leader Teddy Nelson in hot pursuit and the two drivers set the pace all the way to the checkered flag for Smith’s second modified win in only four starts. Billy Bechtelheimer, returning from his terrible road accident that had him in a wheel chair for most of the season, got up on the wheel and motored from his 13th starting position to finish third being chased by Doug Miller and James Glover to round out the top five. The second feature went to another local driver as Teddy Nelson and Curtis Neumann locked horns for quite a few laps before Curtis was able to make the pass in the low groove and went on to his 2nd feature win of the season. Nelson settled for a solid second place finish again and has just about put a lock on the Modified Championship for 2007 at Citrus County Speedway. Billy (Bad) Bechtelheimer is back in Black as he drove from his fifth starting spot to another 3rd place finish followed by Doug Miller and Mike Wilson. Stephen Harbuck, Curtis Neumann and Kyle Bookmiller took the only heat races of the night. Figure 8’s came to Citrus 18 cars strong to make up their September 29th rainout and run their regular scheduled race. Up until this race night there were 12 different winners in the 12 races that had been run. Two drivers became the first to make it 2 wins for the season after the smoke cleared in their 2 action packed double features. A first lap crash took out several of the front runners early and rookie Danny Hage capitalized on the miscue of the front 4 leading the pack to the checkered flag for his second win of the season. --Advertisement-- John Thomas borrowed a race car after his bad crash in the 50 lap race two weeks ago for a solid second place finish ahead of Wayne Calkins who won the 50 lap non points race for his second win of the year. Robbie held out for fourth followed by Clifford Rousseau. In race number two, outside pole sitter Paul Grynewicz won the race to turn one and never looked back for his second win of the season. Despite several red flags Grynewicz managed to hold off 6th starter Clifford Rousseau who picked up the point lead by virtue of his 2nd place finish. Danny Hage looked like he might make it two in a row but had to settle for third when the checkers flew followed by John Thomas who moved into second in the points race. Joey Catterelli, coming off that bad wreck he had when leading the 50 lapper two weeks ago, took a fifth place finish for the night. Sportsman were back 20 cars strong after two weeks off and they came ready to race. Johnny Zuidema looked at the green flag fly and never looked back as he went on to win his first of the season. J.T. Reneau kept him honest throughout the race and had to settle for second just ahead of 9th starter Ernie Reed and 10th starter Tom Posavec who is trailing point leader Fred Tuski by 24 points with two more races in the season. Rounding out the top five was Chris Cross who survived an early mishap in the 20 lap main event. Twenty three cars made the field for the Street Stock Feature Mike Loudy motored his way from 12th to Victory Lane for his second win of the season. Richie Smith started 15th and raced through traffic with point leader Curtis Flanagan following in his tire tracks. Smith moved to within one (1) point of the championship when Flanagan crashed on the final run for the flag and wound up 9th for the night. Frank Stromquist finished right where he started in third followed by Artie Hewitt and Tim Nocella who has taken over the drivers’ seat for Herb Hoefler. The Street Stock Championship run will go right down to the final two races next week and the following week. Point leader Steve Griffin showed some muscle when the green dropped for the Mini Stock feature but Clint Foley has been on a roll since he became a daddy and has devoted all his efforts to his Mini Stock car and parked his Sportsman. Clint worked his way from 8th to the lead by lap 12 and left George Neumann and Steve Griffin to battle for second. Neumann picked up two points on Griffin with his second place finish followed by Griffin, former Mini Stock Challenge Champion Chris Thornton and pole sitter Johnny Siner. Neumann trails Griffin by 36 points in his quest for his 6th championship in the division with only two races left before it’s all over. Four Cylinder Bombers continue to come out in great numbers with 22 cars taking the green flag Saturday. Second generation drivers Jeremy Sharrone started 8th and motored his way to win number 3 for the season. Peter Nelson led a good deal of the race but came across the finish line in second and then lost out with a D.Q. in post race inspection. Phil Edwards drove from 15th to inherit a 2nd place finish by virtue of the disqualification. Patric Conner gets the Hard Charger award from 17th to third followed by 13th starter Anthony LaPoint and point leader Jeff Eberly who goes into the final race with a 20 point lead over Travis Hoefler. Pure Stocks put on a great show with 23 cars in the running. Bobby Taylor driving through the front 12 to take his 9th win of the season. Point leader Bill Ryan is going to be impossible to catch with a second place finish and going into the final two weeks of the season with a 165 point lead. John Drye one of four drivers that have moved up from the Rookie Division marched from 14th to third when the checkers flew. Joe Rauner went from 12th to 4th at the finish line followed by Jesse Mullis to round out the top five. The V8 Thunder Stocks had a 18 car crasharama in their 20 lap main event. Cotee Clark has been consistent throughout the season but pulled off his first win of the season from his 9th starting position. In his fourth race of the season Ed Steinmann motored from 13th to second followed by Anthony Martinez II, Austin Roberts in his second race of his career pulls up fourth and new comer Anthony Jacobs locking in fifth after a couple of cars were disqualified. Rounding out the wild night of action were the Mini Cup Cars from all over the state of Florida. They came in 12 cars strong and put on a solid race that looked like NEXTEL in miniature. Ty Larsen and Carlos Nando battle for several laps for the lead while Devin McLeod made his way through traffic from his 7th starting spot. McLoeod and Brady Marshall battled for the lead swapping positions several times before Marshall took charge for the final laps and took the win followed by McLeod, Carlos Nando, Brenton Franklin and pole sitter Ty Larsen. Going into the final two weeks of the 2007 season the Super Late Models return for their final race of the season joined by the Sportsman, Mini Stocks, Street Stocks, 4 Cylinder Bombers, Pure Stocks and V8 Thunder Stock Rookies. Added to the program will be “Dare To Win” races for all those division participants who haven’t ever made it to Victory Lane. November 10th will close out the season with the TBARA Winged Sprint Cars finishing their season at Citrus plus a full race card for the grand finale to the 52nd year of racing at Citrus County Speedway. The Awards Banquet will be at the Citrus County Auditorium on Friday night, December 14th so get your tickets on race nights or at the Speedway Office. No tickets will be available at the door for the banquet. Citrus County Speedway Results 10/27/07 Modified Rainout Makeup Feature – 30 Laps – 18 Cars 1. #42 Richie Smith – Hernando – 2nd Season Win 2. #34 Teddy Nelson – Pinellas Park 3. # 6 Billy Bechtelheimer – Dover 4. #53 Doug Miller – Largo 5. #20 James Glover – Pinellas Park Modified Feature – 30 Laps – 19 Cars 1. #01 Curtis Neumann – 2nd Season Win 2. #34 Teddy Nelson – Pinellas Park 3. # 6 Billy Bechtelheimer – Dover 4. #53 Doug Miller – Largo 5. #79 Mike Wilson – Dade City Figure 8 Rainout Makeup Feature – 20 Laps – 18 Cars 1. #11 Danny Hage – St. Petersburg – 2nd Season Win 2. #77 John Thomas – St. Petersburg 3. #14 Wayne Calkins – St. Petersburg 4. #74 Robbie Hage – St. Petersburg 5. # 3 Clifford Rousseau – St. Petersburg Figure 8 Feature – 20 Laps – 18 Cars 1. #40 Paul Grynewicz – Hudson – 2nd Season Win 2. # 3 Clifford Rousseau – St. Petersburg 3. #11 Danny Hage – St. Petersburg 4. #77 John Thomas – St. Petersburg 5. #15 Joey Catterelli – Pinellas Park Sportsman Feature – 20 Laps – 20 Cars 1. #147 Johnny Zuidema III – Homosassa – 1st Season Win 2. #29 J.T. Reneau – Floral City 3. #55 Ernie Reed – Lecanto 4. #01 Tom Posavec – Dunnellon 5. # 3 Chris Cross – Crystal River Street Stock Feature – 20 Laps – 23 Cars 1. #21 Mike Loudy – Holiday – 2nd Season Win 2. #142 Richie Smith – Hernando 3. #57 Frank Stromquist – Lecanto 4. # 9 Artie Hewitt – Port Richey 5. #22 Tim Nocella – Floral City Mini Stock Feature – 20 Laps – 11 Cars 1. #7 Clint Foley – Dunnellon – 9th Season Win 2. # 1 George Neumann – Inverness 3. # 3 Steve Griffin – Inverness 4. #24 Chris Thornton – 5. #01 Johnny Siner – Homosassa Four Cylinder Bomber Feature – 20 Laps – 22 Cars 1. #32 Jeremy Sharrone – Floral City – 3rd Season Win 2. #21 Phil Edwards – Crystal River 3. #444 Patric Conner – Dunnellon 4. #88 Anthony LaPoint – Zephyrhills 5. #001 Jeff Eberly – Spring Hill Pure Stock Feature – 20 Laps – 23 Cars 1. #127 Bobby Taylor – Crystal River – 9th Season Win 2. #33 Bill Ryan – Bushnell 3. #39 John Drye – Inverness 4. #75 Joe Rauner – Brooksville 5. #99 Jesse Mullis – Beverly Hills V8 Thunder Car Rookies – 20 Laps – 18 Cars 1. #39 Cotee Clark – New Port Richey – 1st Season Win 2. #60 Ed Steinmann – Homosassa 3. # 7 Anthony Martinez – Spring Hill 4. #22 Austin Roberts – Inverness 5. #173 Anthony Jacobs – Unknown Florida Mini Cup Racing Assn. Feature – 20 Laps – 12 Cars 1. #20 Brady Marshall 2. #00 Devin McLeod 3. #16 Carlos Nando 4. #11 Brenton Franklin 5. #07 Ty Larsen Have an opinion on this story? Post a message on our Message Board! or Email KARNACto send a letter to the editor!