IT'S TIME TO RACE!!

June 8, 2008 Eight Divisions Take on Citrus County Speedway Saturday by Larry MacMillan (Inverness, Fl. 6/7/08) Race fans got to see all but two regular divisions Saturday night and despite some short fields there was plenty of action and close finishes to keep it interesting. The Florida Open Wheel Lites joined the regulars to round out the busy race card. Open Wheel Modifieds are feeling the economy pinch and only 8 of the 28 registered racers made the show this week. Drivers voted to run a 30 lap feature and drew pills for their starting positions rather than run time trials. Doug Miller won the pole and the race for turn one when the green flag flew, holding the lead for 15 laps with plenty of heat behind him. Meanwhile Curtis Neumann made his way from 6th to second and after several caution flags got a long green in the chase for the lead when Miller went a little wide and Curtis went under him to take the lead at the half way point and went on to win his 5th out of 11 races for the year and added some more cushion in his point lead. Doug Miller held out for second followed by Richie Smith from the back of the field on one of the cautions. Bobby Taylor out dueled Bobby Blake in the race for fourth to round out the top five. Sportsman action saw only 8 cars out of 34 registered for the season and they also opted to run a feature only. Bobby Miller took the pole but lost the race to turn one and two to Clint Foley who took the point and never looked back locking in his 3rd win in week 11 of their season. JoJo Viverito locked on Foley’s rear bumper and stayed there right to the checkered flag. Tom Posavec started fifth and moved into third locking down another top five finish and maintained his lead in the point’s race. Ernie Reed looked like he might make it two wins in a row but faded late in the race for a 4th place finish followed by pole sitter Bobby Miller. Fourteen Mini Stocks lined up for their 20 lap main and when the green flag flew Mark Powers came off the outside pole slot after two racers elected to give up their starting positions. Powers took the point from the get-go and got a great run on the heavy hitters back in the pack. The race only saw two caution flags and Powers held off late runs by Clint Foley and George Neumann for his first win of the season in the flag to flag win. Rounding out the top five were last week’s winner Kevin Harrod and Johnny Siner. Heat wins went to Harrod and Neumann. The most competitive race of the night came when twenty one 4 Cylinder Bomber cars took the green flag for their 20 lapper and Shawn Evans backed up his win in the first heat and motored from his 10th starting spot to Victory Lane for his 3rd win of the season. The only car that had anything for Evans was Bobby Richardson who started 20th and locked onto a 2nd place finish after Jeremy Root lost power with just 3 laps to go to wind up 17th after a good run. John DeGeorge moved from 18th to 3rd followed by Tim Scalise who jockeyed in and out of the top five for most of the race. Locking down the 5th spot was 9th starter Patric Conner. Heat wins also went to Root and Conner. A new hot shoe came on the Pure Stock scene moving up from the Thunder Stock Rookie division after winning his first 2 races in his first 2 starts. The move didn’t hinder his winning ways as Mike Hinde started 15th in the 17 car field and drove to the front in lap 17 and taking away point leader John Drye’s opportunity for his first win of the season. Drye finished second just in front of point runner up Bill Ryan with Drye leading by just 2 points. Ricky Henick held out for 4th over another Thunder Stock Rookie who moved up Dustin Swearingen. The young guns are making a point with impressive driving in their new division. Heat winners were Rick Shahid and John Drye. Another exciting Figure 8 Race had the fans on the edge of their seats. Fourteen cars took the green flag with Neal Herne leading the pack into turn one and a caution coming out behind him when 5 cars got together causing a complete restart. Neal Herne went right back to the front on the restart with John Baranauskas in hot pursuit. Herne held on for the first 12 laps while 7th starter Daryl Hage and 9th starter Joey Catterelli (celebrating his 36th birthday) came up through traffic. Hage had too much for the rest of the field and became the third Figure 8 driver out of 24 to lock down 2 wins after 8 races. Catterelli had to settle for second with Wayne Calkins right on his rear bumper at the finish line. Robert Aaron and T.J. Sharrone rounded out the top 5 when the dust cleared. Rounding out the regulars were the V8 Thunder Stock Rookies with 15 cars taking the green flag. James Peters put the hammer down from his 10 starting spot and drove to the front by lap 15 for his second win of the season. Ninth starter Randy Werstein found his way to second when it was all over followed by Cory Swanston, Austin Roberts and Lawrence Wilder. Peters is just one win away from moving up to the Pure Stock action. Auburndale’s Billy Gise pretty much had his way with the 13 car Florida Open Wheel Lites in both the heat and feature. The only driver who gave him any heat was Johnathan Guy who had to settle for a hard fought second place finish. Rick Lundeen out of Jacksonville locked down third over Jeff Ripley from Kissimmee and John Bailey from Sarasota. Father’s Day eve will be featuring the Super Late Models, Mini Stock, Street Stocks, Pure Stocks, V8 Thunder Stocks and Mini Cup cars. On Saturday night the 21st of June Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s #88 National Guard Sprint Cup car will be on display at the speedway and all active duty military personnel will be admitted free to the grandstand for the race which will feature the Thunder/Pure Stocks in a 50 lap feature plus Open Wheel Modifieds, Sportsman, Street Stocks, 4 Cylinder Bombers, Figure 8’s and PBG Legend Series. TBARA Sprint cars will highlight the race card on June 28th so there is plenty of action and excitement ahead during the month of June. Citrus County Speedway Results 6/7/08 Open Wheel Modified Feature – 30 Laps – 8 Cars 1. #01 Curtis Neumann – Inverness – 5th Season Win 2. #53 Doug Miller – Largo 3. #42 Richie Smith – Hernando 4. #66 Bobby Taylor – Crystal River 5. #75 Bobby Blake – Grand Island, Ga. No Heat Races Run Sportsman Feature – 20 Laps – 8 Cars 1. #56 Clint Foley – Dunnellon – 3rd Season Win 2. #72 JoJo Viverito – Inverness 3. #01 Tom Posavec – Dunnellon 4. #55 Ernie Reed – Lecanto 5. #27 Bobby Miller - ? No Heat Races Run Mini Stock Feature – 20 Laps – 14 Cars 1. # 9 Mark Powers – Hernando – 1st Season Feature 2. # 7 Clint Foley – Dunnellon 3. # 1 George Neumann – Inverness 4. #34 Kevin Harrod – Floral City 5. #01 Johnny Siner – Homosassa 1st Heat Winner -#34 Kevin Harrod 2nd Heat Winner - # 1 George Neumann 4 Cylinder Bomber Feature – 20 Laps – 21 Cars 1. #46 Shawn Evans – Williston – 3rd Season Win 2. #22 Bobby Richardson – Lecanto 3. #122 John DeGeorge – Dunnellon 4. #48 Tim Scalise – Lutz 5. #444 Patric Conner – Dunnellon 1st Heat Winner - #46 Shawn Evans 2nd Heat Winner - #002 Jeremy Root – Zephyrhills 3rd Heat Winner - #444 Patric Conner Pure Stock Feature – 20 Laps – 17 Cars 1. #142 Mike Hinde – Hernando – 1st Season Win (2 Wins Rookie) 2. #39 John Drye – Inverness 3. #33 Bill Ryan – Bushnell 4. #60 Ricky Henick – Inverness 5. #11 Dustin Swearingen – Floral City 1st Heat Winner - #3 Rick Shahid – Floral City 2nd Heat Winner - #39 John Drye Figure 8 Feature – 20 Laps – 14 Cars 1. # 8 Darryl Hage – St. Petersburg – 2nd Season Win 2. #15 Joey Catterelli – Pinellas Park 3. #14 Wayne Calkins – St. Petersburg 4. # 6 Robert Aaron – Brooksville 5. #59 T.J. Sharrone – Floral City V8 Thunder Stock Feature – 20 Laps – 15 Cars 1. # 5 James Peters - ? – 2nd Season Win 2. # 9 Randy Werstein – Belleview 3. #33 Cory Swanston – Aripeka 4. #31 Austin Roberts – Inverness 5. #28 Lawrence Wilder – Inverness Fla. Open Wheel Lites Feature – 20 Laps – 13 Cars 1. # 1 Billy Gise – Auburndale 2. #42 Johnathan Guy – Auburndale 3. #04 Rick Lundeen – Jacksonville 4. #14 Jeff Ripley – Kissimmee 5. #45 John Bailey – Sarasota Have an opinion on this story? Post a message on our Message Board! or Email KARNACto send a letter to the editor!