"I'm
noticing a turn of the tide on racing Web sites like Florida's
Karnac.com, the gathering place for the most dedicated race
fans in the state." -Orlando Sentinel
(Inverness, Fl 1/19/08) Despite a gloomy weather forecast of a 70% chance of rain 73 racers in 5 divisions made the trip to Citrus County Speedway for Winter Spectacular VI, Part 2. The weather forecast certainly postponed any planned trips to the speedway by drivers and fans who were planning to make the trip from all over central Florida for the Winter Special featuring 275 laps of racing to kick off the 2008 racing activity.
Registration and practice sessions went very smoothly and the sky was getting darker and darker as they approached the end of the practice session at about 5 p.m. The first rain drops turned into a deluge as racing official were preparing for qualifying time trials at 5:30. General manager Don Cretty had a meeting with the drivers before the rain came to advise them of what the outlook was for getting the race in to get a feel for whether they wanted to hold out and see if the storm passed quickly enough to get the show in.
It moved in a lot more quickly than it moved out and pretty much washed out any outdoor activity in the entire central Florida area with tornado watches and severe weather advisories. About the only thing the racers accomplished was testing and tuning when the races were called at 6 p.m. due to the severe storms with lightning and tornados reported in Pasco and Hernando counties.
Radar observations was the final deciding factor with fan and driver safety, the biggest concern in waiting out a storm that rapidly moved into the area and cancelled any outdoor activity up and down the central Florida area.
There is no open date available to reschedule the entire program but the track will make every effort to make up the lost special races at some point during the regular season.
The 2008 season will officially open on Saturday night February 2nd featuring the Open Wheel Modifieds, Sportsman, Mini Stocks, Pure Stocks, V8 Thunder Stocks, 4 Cylinder Bombers and Figure 8’s.
The T.B.A.R.A. Winged Sprint cars are scheduled to open their season at Citrus County Speedway on Saturday February 9th and racing will continue through the month of February before the Citrus County Fair break in March. Racing will resume on Saturday March 29th with School Bus Figure 8, Boat Trailer races and 6 regular divisions.
Check the speedway web site at www.citruscountyspeedway.com for a full schedule and special announcements and 2008 rules and registration forms for car numbers.
