"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
Citrus County Speedway closed out the first month of the 2009 season with the Super Late Models making their first appearance of the year in a 75 lap special feature.
Time trials set up the starting lineup with Dustin DesChamp taking his #51 hot rod through the clocks at a fast lap of 13.88 seconds and taking the United Speed World $100 bonus money. Herb Neumann Jr. won the pole starting position over the ten car field and from the drop of the green flag set the pace right to Victory Lane.
DesChamp locked onto Neumann from the get go but give up the second spot to second fast qualifier Scott Grossenbacher after the first 15 laps. DesChamp chased Grossenbacher and hung onto third through several caution flags before he was being pressed by Dale Sanders who managed to avoid Dustin spinning off turn four bringing on a caution sending him to the rear of the field.
Sanders locked onto third and held off the charges of Ron Lofquist right to the checkered flag. Rounding out the rest of the field in the finish order was John Gerstner, Dustin DesChamp, Todd Brown, Randy Plantz and Patrick Mennenga. Jeremy Gerstner gave up his ride to his brother John after the qualifying run left Johns car sidelined.
Ernie Reed came off the pole, set the pace for the 13 car field and picked up his first win of the season in the Sportsman 25 lap feature. 2008 Figure 8 Champion Joey Catterelli worked his way from 11th to put the heat on Reed in the final laps for his second place finish for the second time in the early season that put him at the top of the points standings in his rookie year in the division.
Bobby Ervien rolled from 9th to a third place finish followed by Mike Veltman who trails Catterelli by 4 points in the race for the crown. Defending Champion Tom Posavec started 5th and finished 5th as the competition is really flexing their horsepower early in the season. Sportsman only had 13 cars registered with a minimum of 14 required to run heat races.
Mike Stallnaker proved to be the man to beat in their 20 lap main event over the 19 car Street Stock field after taking the win in the first heat.
On the pill draw Mike got a 5th starting position and had his work cut out for him to get the lead in a battle with pole sitter Mike Ruff and then assuming the lead when Tim Quick ran into mechanical problems while leading the race and pulling into the pits.
Richie Smith won the second heat and after his win last week had to start at the rear of the field but as usual he worked his way through heavy traffic to lock down a second place finish. Point leader Jay Witfoth who won the first race of the year picked up a third place finish and holds a 3 point lead in their race for the 2009 championship.
Dr. Mark Fallows started 10th and gave the front runners a run for the money in a race car that was questionable to even start during practice. Runner up in the points race Mike Ruff held onto the top five to round out the top five finishers.
It was a three car battle royal in the Mini Stock race for the checkers in their 20 lap feature run. Robbie Yoakam, James Ellis and Clint Foley locked horns in the early going before Robbie went to the point and set the pace for the majority of the race for his second win of the season and 9 point lead early in the run for the crown.
Clint Foley gave him a run for his money but had to settle for second after taking the win in his heat. Clint trails Robby in the points race by 9 points. James Ellis came off the pole and managed to hold out for a third place finish over first heat winner Johnathon Camp and Mark Powers who ran a distant 5th.
Rounding out the night of points action was a 20 car field of 4 Cylinder Bombers. Sonya Heater launched her car from her 3rd starting spot to the point after a side by side battle with Chris Snow who crashed early in a hard hit into the wall on turn 4.
Her next competitor was Anthony LaPoint who had to ride the outside lane for quite a while before he let Sonya take the lead. Meanwhile defending champion Richard Kuhn drove through heavy traffic from his 16th starting spot to put the heat on before making the pass for the win in lap 18 and again is at the top of the points ladder.
Sonya finished second only to lose the position in post race inspection. Bryson Ward stayed in the top five throughout the race and inherited a 2nd place finish by virtue of the D.Q. Anthony LaPoint held out for third followed by Jeff Eberly and Shaun Cater. Heat winners were Bryson Ward and John DeGeorge.
Doug Rose turned up the heat with the Green Mamba Jet blasting away a derelict car that put on quite a fireworks display that the fans really enjoyed. You might say that the car was well done after Doug hit the after burner several times before he really cooked the car. His jet dragster was stolen 3 years ago and when he got it back it was in pieces. He had to totally restore it after it was stolen to get back into business.
Citrus County Speedway will be dark for the next three weeks while the County Fair lights up the midway and gets underway with numerous activities. The season will restart on the 28th of March with Figure 8 School Bus and Boat Trailer Races which are always popular with the fans. The Daytona Antique Racing Association will make their first trip to Citrus. Sportsmen, Mini Stocks, Street Stocks and 4 Cylinder Bombers will restart their 54th racing season at the historic venue.
Super Late Model Feature 75 Laps 10 Cars 1. #98 Herb Neumann Jr.-Inverness- 1st Season Win 2. #09 Scott Grossenbacher San Antonio 3. # 1 Dale Sanders Lecanto 4. #49 Ron Lofquist Auburndale 5. #62 John Gerstner Eustis 6. #51 Dustin DesChamp Brooksville 7. #23 Todd Brown Lake Panasoffkee 8. # 4 Randy Plantz St. Petersburg 9. #16 Patrick Mennenga Ocala 10.#70 Jeremy Gerstner Wesley Chapel Did not Start
United Speedworld Fast Qualifier Dustin DesChamp 13.88 Secs.
Sportsman Feature 25 Laps 13 Cars 1. #55 Ernie Reed Lecanto 1st Season Win 2. #15 Joie Catterelli Pinellas Park 3. #88 Bobby Ervien St. Petersburg 4. #71 Mike Veltman Crystal River 5. #01 Tom Posavec Dunnellon No Heats Run
Street Stock Feature 20 Laps 19 Cars 1. # 8 Mike Stalnaker Ocala 1st Season Win 2. #42 Richie Smith Hernando 3. # 4 Jay Witfoth Beverly Hills 4. #007 Mark Fallows Crystal River 5. #23 Mike Ruff Homosassa 1st Heat Winner - #42 Richie Smith 2nd Heat Winner - # 8 Mike Stalnaker
Mini Stock Feature 20 Laps 14 Cars 1. # 8 Robbie Yoakam Hernando - 2nd Season Win 2. # 7 Clint Foley - Dunnellon 3. #98 James Ellis Brooksville 4. #13 Johnathon Camp Beverly Hills 5. # 9 Mark Powers Hernando
