IT'S TIME TO RACE!!

November 2, 2008 Keith Butler Makes it Two in a Row in CFSS By Curtis Whalin The Checkered Flag Sprint Series (CFSS) was at Charlotte County Motorsports Park on Saturday November 1 for the Halloween race weekend. Amanda Ferguson in the 21A car had the pole for the first heat race alongside Mickey Kempgens in the78 car. The 78 car got the better start and took the race lead from start to finish, taking the heat win. Behind the 78 car there was three wide racing and a close call for second place position between Keith Butler in the 19 car and David Slawiak in the 79 car, with Keith taking second position by just half a car. The front row for the second heat was supposed to be the 5s of Stephen Sinwlad and the 10N of Shawn Namor, but the 10N elected to go the rear with possible car problems and the 5s needed to have a second push off, which meant that he also had to go the rear, giving the front row to the 11X of Bryan Riddle and the 29 of Gary Gimmler. While the 29 car got a good start, it was his brother Mark Gimmler in the third place starting position who got the best start and was in the race lead by the end of the first lap. The 51 led the entire race and took the second heat win. During intermission, all cars from all of the classes were on the front straightaway and the infield handing out candy to the children and other spectators who were allowed onto the track for the trick and treat session. Once the spectators and other cars had been cleared from the track, the cars were pushed off and ran their hot laps. Stephen Sinwald in the 5s started on the pole alongside the 21A car driven by Amanda Ferguson. The 5s made a good start, but something appeared to break on the 22 car driven by Scott Adema coming out of turn 2 and the car spun off into turn 3 bringing out the caution flag and a complete restart. The 22 car was not able to rejoin the race and remained in the infield. The 5s made another good start on the restart and had the lead for one lap before being passed by Mickey Kempgens in the 78 car who had started the race in third position. Behind the 78 car, a close battle was being fought between the 11X of Bryan Riddle, the 79 of David Slawiak and the 19 of Keith Butler. On lap 6, the 19 found a space and took the race lead away from the 78. The move of the race came on the next lap when the 29 car driven by Gary Gimmler got airborne coming out of turn 4. The caution flag was thrown but somehow Gary kept the car not only on its wheels but also running and drove out of the corner unscathed. Unfortunately for Gary, because the caution flag had been thrown for him, he had to go back to the rear of the field for the restart. The race got back to green with no more cautions from lap 7 to the end of the race, any anyone who has seen a sprint car race with a long green flag run knows that there was some exciting driving to be seen in those 23 laps. With plenty of three wide racing and battling for positions in the field, it was a great race to watch, but no-one was able to catch Keith in the 19 car and he took the win, followed by Mickey Kempgens in the 78 car, David Slawiak in the 79, Mark Gimmler in the 51 car and fifth place was claimed by Gary Gimmler who had fought his back from last place on lap 7. The Real Racin USA hard charger award went to Keith Butler who started in ninth position and finished in first place. Another reminder that Keith Butler and the sponsors of his car, the 19 car that has been named “The Patriot”, have started an initiative called “Race for Freedom” to collect supplies and donations for the troops overseas. Fans coming to the track can donate money or bring supplies (razors, deodorant, shampoo, baby wipes, etc) and drop them off at the track entrance. Any cash donations will be used to buy additional supplies and pay for the mailing costs. So far the Butlers have sent over 250 pounds of supplies to troops overseas thanks in a large part to the generosity of the CCMP racers and fans. The donation boxes will be available at the next CFSS race for anyone that would like to contribute. If you can’t make it to a race but still want to contribute or would like more information, you can contact Keith or Jennifer at kjmotorsports@aol.com. CFSS will be back at Charlotte County Motorsports Park on December 6th for their final race of the 2008 season. Our continued thanks to the fans and the racers for their support. Checkered Flag Sprint Series Charlotte County Motorsports Park, November 1, 2008 Barfields Gift Fruit Feature 1) 19 Keith Butler; 2) 78 Mickey Kempgens; 3) 79 David Slawiak; 4) 51 Mark Gimmler; 5) 29 Gary Gimmler; 6) 11X Bryan Riddle; 7) 21A Amanda Ferguson; 8) 15 Billy Boyd Jr.; 9) 5s Stephen Sinwald; 10) 2 Dustin Henderson; 11) 10N Shawn Namor; 12) 37 Mike Koss; 13) 7 Robert Parrow; 14) 22 Scott Adema JB Banta Heat #1 1) 78 Mickey Kempgens (Dade City, FL) 2) 19 Keith Butler (Riverview, FL) 3) 79 David Slawiak (Brandon, FL) 4) 22 Scott Adema (Ft. Myers, FL) 5) 21A Amanda Ferguson (Montverde, FL) 6) 37 Mike Koss 7) 7 Robert Parrow (Fort Lauderdale, FL) ROD End Supply Heat #2 1) 51 Mark Gimmler (Palm Beach Gardens, FL) 2) 11X Bryan Riddle (Thonosassa, FL) 3) 29 Gary Gimmler (Palm Beach Gardens, FL) 4) 15 Billy Boyd Jr. (Gibsanton, FL) 5) 5s Stephen Sinwald (New Port Richey, FL) 6) 2 Dustin Henderson (St Cloud, FL) 7) 10N Shawn Namor (Deerfield Beach, FL) Have an opinion on this story? 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