IT'S TIME TO RACE!!

May 18, 2008 Four of Six Citrus Division Drivers Win Two in a Row by Larry MacMillan Mike Hinde took his third win in a row in the Thunder Stocks Seven divisions went to the car wars at Citrus County Speedway Saturday night and it turned out to be repeats for four out of six drivers in Victory Lane when the dust settled on the action. Sportsman, 4 Cylinder Bomber, Pure Stock and V8 Thunder Stock Rookie drivers went on to make repeat performances. Super Late Models saw a first time winner for the season and Street Stocks saw a familiar face in the Winner’s Circle for that Kodak moment. Super Late Models had 18 cars register for their return to action after a week off. Seventeen cars took the green flag for their 35 lap main with new comer Steven Simpson just not able to get the car set up for the difficult 3/8ths mile at Citrus and he called it a night early. Daniel Webster drew the #1 pill and won the pole starting position and then commenced to set the pace for the entire 35 laps for his first win of the season. Meanwhile outside pole sitter Scott Millar came off his heat win and locked onto second place for the entire 35 laps being chased to the flag by 11th starter Herb Neumann Jr. who gets the Hard Charger Award for the race. Richie Smith put on a strong performance at the beginning of the race but wound up right where he started in 4th spot With 7th starter Raymond Lovelady right on his rear bumper. Dustin DesChamp and JoJo Viverito logged wins in the other two heats. Thirteen Sportsman cars took the green flag for their 20 lap main event and 11th starter Mike Veltman wasted no time working the outside groove and putting his racer up front for a repeat performance from his last outing and logging his fourth win of the season leaving him in the point lead by 25 points on his way to what may be his 7th championship of his career. JoJo Viverito looked like he may be the spoiler in that repeat win taking the early lead from his sixth starting spot after passing pole sitter D.J. Macklin who set the early pace. They finished in that order, being chased by new comer Bobby Miller who is in his second week out and may be getting close to figuring out the setup for Citrus County Speedway. Runner up in the point race, Bobby Ervien started 8th in the field and locked down a 5th place finish. Macklin and Viverito took the heat wins. Street Stocks saw Jason Murphree log his 3rd win of the season but last week’s winner James Crawford prevented him from making it two in a row. Team mate and point leader Tim Quick launched his race car from 14th to put the heat on the front runner in the final two laps and just couldn’t make the pass, settling for second. Tim Alexander held the lead for several laps before he slipped to the outside groove opening the door for Murphree and had to settle for 3rd in the three wide finish. James Crawford managed to get into the 5 car run for the checkers finishing 4th over Doc James Batson. Murphree added his fourth heat win on his resume earlier in the evening. Tim Alexander and Tommy Smith logged the other two heat wins. Chris Harvey became another driver to make it two in a row in 4 Cylinder Bomber action and despite 4 wins for the season he is in 5th place over the 54 car field of cars earning points for the season. When the green flag flew for the 22 car field one car spun on turn four in the first lap and a chain reaction took 5 cars to the pits before the restart for the first lap. Chris had quite a drive ahead of him from his 18th starting position. John DeGeorge followed Chris through traffic from 16th to 2nd when the checkers flew. Phil Edwards moved from 8th to the lead but slipped to third before it was all over. Patrick Connor moved from 14th to 4th at the finish line with Chris Eberly logging a 5th place finish. Heat winners were Brandon Watson, Shawn Evans and Bryson Ward. It was the Tim Wilson show again in the Pure Stock action as he drove from 19th and locked down his second win a row and now has 4 wins in the feature column and 6 wins in the heat column. Richie Smith drove from 18th to 2nd for his final ride in Mike Hinde’s race car. Early leader Tom Potts held off the 20 car field for 18 laps before falling to Wilson and Smith in the race for the flag holding out for a 3rd place finish over Victor Shahid and Chad Markland. Wilson, Potts and Smith took the heat wins in the very competitive field. V8 Thunder Stock Rookies wrapped up the evening of action in what turned out to be a bit of a crash fest but ending with the same car in Victory Lane for the third week in a row. Mike Hinde got a late start to the season but when he got it set to his liking he made it three for three in the first races of his career. With his 3rd win in the division he will be kicking Richie Smith out of the drivers’ seat in Pure Stock action and moving up with the pros. Cory Swanston came off the pole and led the early laps before Hinde caught him from his 12th starting spot. Swanston held out for second being pushed by Randy Werstein for third, point leader Alex Wilder holding out for 4th and rounding out the top 5 was Ron Sellers III. Action was hot and heavy at Citrus Saturday Topping off the full night of racing was the Florida Mini Cup Racing Association with 11 cars taking the green flag. Devin McLeod made short work of pole sitter Brady Marshall and checked out on the rest of the field for win. Brady Marshall won the first heat and ran a solid second off the pole. Seventh starter Zack Hoyt drove through traffic to pick up 3rd ahead of Rick Fiore and Jacob Calloway. Bobby Rogers took the win in the second heat. Next Saturday night it is the return of the Open Wheel Modifieds, Sportsman, Mini Stocks, Street Stocks, Pure Stocks, 4 Cylinder Bombers, V8 Thunder Stock Rookies and the wild Figure 8’s in another exciting 8 division race night. Citrus Count Speedway Results 5/17/08 Super Late Model Feature – 35 Laps – 18 Cars 1. # 3 Daniel Webster – Brooksville – 1st Season Win 2. #20 Scott Millar – Ocala 3. #98 Herb Neumann Jr. – Inverness 4. #33 Richie Smith – Hernando 5. # 7 Raymond Lovelady – Lakeland 1st Heat Winner - #20 Scott Millar 2nd Heat Winner - #51 Dustin DesChamp – Brooksville 3rd Heat Winner - #72 JoJo Viverito – Inverness Sportsman Feature – 20 Laps – 13 Cars 1. #155 Mike Veltman – Crystal River – 4th Season Win 2. #72 JoJo Viverito – Inverness 3. #14 D.J. Macklin – Tampa 4. #27 Bobby Miller – Ocala 5. #88 Bobby Ervien – St. Petersburg 1st Heat Winner - #14 D.J. Macklin 2nd Heat Winner - #72 JoJo Viverito Street Stock Feature – 20 Laps – 20 Cars 1. #95 Jason Murphree – Homosassa – 3rd Season Win 2. #97 Tim Quick – Lecanto 3. #63 Tim Alexander – Floral City 4. #34 James Crawford – Ocala 5. # 7 Doc James Batson – Inverness 1st Heat Winner - #95 Jason Murphree 2nd Heat Winner – #63 Tim Alexander 3rd Heat Winner - #93 Tommy Smith – Floral City Four Cylinder Bomber Feature – 20 Laps – 23 Cars 1. #00 Chris Harvey – Belleview – 4th Season Win 2. #122 John DeGeorge – Dunnellon 3. #21 Phil Edwards – Crystal River 4. #444 Patric Connor – Dunnellon 5. #56 Chris Eberly – Spring Hill 1st Heat Winner - #66 Brandon Watson – Dunnellon 2nd Heat Winner - #46 Shawn Evans – Williston 3rd Heat Winner - # 4 Bryson Ward – Crystal River Pure Stock Feature – 20 Laps – 20 Cars 1. #93 Tim Wilson – Floral City – 4th Season Win 2. #142 Richie Smith – Hernando 3. #29 Tom Potts – Floral City 4. #88 Victor Shahid – Floral City 5. #34 Chad Markland – Inverness 1st Heat Winner - #93 Tim Wilson 2nd Heat Winner – #29 Tom Potts 3rd Heat Winner - #142 Richie Smith V8 Thunder Stock Rookie Feature – 20 Laps – 13 Cars 1. #142 Mike Hinde – Hernando – 3rd Season Win in a Row 2. #33 Cory Swanston – Aripeka 3. # 9 Randy Werstein - ? 4. #14 Alex Wilder – Floral City 5. #32 Ron Sellers III – Spring Hill Fla. Mini Cup Feature – 20 Laps – 11 Cars 1. #00 Devin McLeod 2. #20 Brady Marshall 3. #67 Zack Hoyt 4. #60 Rick Fiore 5. # 7 Jacob Calloway 1st Heat Winner - #20 Brady Marshall 2nd Heat Winner - #12 Bobby Rogers Have an opinion on this story? Post a message on our Message Board! or Email KARNACto send a letter to the editor!