IT'S TIME TO RACE!!

March 8, 2009 Volusia Opens up 2009 Season with Plenty of Racing Action by Jane Smith Barberville, FL (March 7, 2009) Volusia Speedway Park opened it's 2009 season with plenty of racing action. Under a clear sky and almost full moon, fans saw heats and features in six divisions. As it got closer to race time, the fans began to come in and by the time the first heat hit the dirt, the stands were fairly well packed. Up first was the Sportsman division. On the pole for the feature race was David Clegg who did double duty as he also ran his Late Model. As the green waved, Clegg quickly took the point followed by David Foster, Jr., Josh Byrd, Danny Vogel, Jr., and Shane Williams. The caution came out on lap 2 for Trevor Gamble who rejoined the field in the rear for the restart. Clegg once again took the point on the green as Josh Byrd and Shane Williams fight for second. Byrd and Williams do touch but neither lose control but just as it is getting really hot and heavy, Drew Smith brings out the caution for a spin in turn 1. Garrett Stewart and Todd Ponce both take this opportunity for a quick in and out of the pits for some crew attention on their machines and rejoin the field in the rear along with Smith for the restart. Clegg is right on it once again as the race goes back green followed by Williams, Vogel, Jr., Shaun Daugharty, and Josh Byrd. Steve Shead puts the heat on Byrd and takes over fifth as Clegg holds the point. The yellow comes out again on lap 7 for Todd Ponce. The field is quickly realigned however it is a very short green as the caution comes out again on lap 8 for Steve Shead who is stopped still in turn 4. Shead is quickly pushed into the pits and the race goes back green. On the restart, Williams puts pressure and takes the point from Clegg. Now it is Williams, Clegg, Daugharty, Byrd, and Vogel, Jr. Daugharty puts pressure on Clegg for second but Clegg will have nothing to do with it and holds his position. Williams does a great job of keeping the point and takes the checkered for his first win of 2009 at Volusia Speedway Park followed by David Clegg, Shaun Daugharty, Danny Vogel, Jr., and Richard Wells. Heat winners were Shaun Daugharty and Danny Vogel, Jr. Up next were the Street Stocks with Alan McCafferty on the pole. McCafferty, also known to wheel a modified in asphalt racing, quickly took the point on the green followed by Charles Christian, Grady Christian, Michael Tovet, and Steve Mooers. But it did not take Grady Christian long before he took over the point leaving McCafferty second and Michael Tovet third. It was the fourth and fifth positions that were constantly shifted between a few drivers. The yellow comes out on lap 10 for Justin Simmons who spun in turn 4. The field is quickly realigned as Grady Christian holds the point followed by McCafferty, Tovet, Jarvis, and Mooers. Christian takes the checkered for his first feature win in 2009 followed by Alan McCafferty, Michael Tovet, Steve Mooers, and Dean Jarvis. However, remember, the race is not over until the fat lady sings and in tech both Dean Jarvis and Michael Tovet were dq'd making the official finishing order Grady Christian, Alan McCafferty, Steve Mooers, Charlie Macnichol, and D.J. Nobles. Heat winners were Steve Mooers and Charlie Macnichol. Modifieds saw James Smith on the pole for their feature but it was Jim Passino who quickly took the point over Smith, Jason Davis, Barry Sheffield, and Charlie Macnichol. The caution comes out on lap 3 for Chris Littrell. The field is realigned for the restart however it is a very short green as the yellow comes out again for Charlie Macnichol, Chris Littrell, and Larry Burkins who have all gotten together in turn 2. Only Burkins was unable to continue as he was towed into the pits, down for the night. Jason Davis holds the point for the restart but as fast as the green is shown, the yellow comes out again for debris on the track. The debris is cleared and it is back to racing as Davis once again leads the way. But the yellow is shown again for Littrell who is stopped still with a flat rear tire. Littrell takes his machine to the pits for a new tire as the race goes back green with Davis on the point followed by Dave Barber, Jim Passino, Jr Hotovy, and Rob Underwood. Lap 12 sees Daron Smith in the wall but okay. The green is shown again only to have the yellow come out to restart the race single file now that the halfway point has been reached. Davis takes the point on the restart followed by Barber, Passino, Hotovy, and Underwood. Lap 16 sees Dale Murray bring out the yellow. The race has one more caution for Nick Kirkus. Jason Davis takes the checkered for his first feature win of 2009 followed by Dave Barber, Jim Passino, Jr Hotovy, and Barry Sheffield. Dave Barber and Charlie Macnichol took the heat wins. Thunder Stocks did not have such a good night. This is the newer class at Volusia with six cars in the field for the night. However, this class is the class who gave the fans the most thrill for the night as Robert Schrunk did a spectacular roll over for the fans. Schrunk was okay but his car will need alittle work for next week's action. Due to the number of cars left in the field, the race was cut to ten laps with Scott Mooers taking his first feature win followed by Augie Buttram, C.J. Johnston, Todd Roberts, and Matthew Schell. Matthew Schell took the heat win. The UMP 4-Cylinders had a great race as R.J. Glaser had the pole for the feature. Glaser quickly took the point over Danny Lunn, Tony Laporta, Jamie Anderson, and Gilbert Espy. With only one caution in the race for Gilford Williams, it was a race for the win. Taking his first feature win of 2009 was Tony Laporta followed by Danny Lunn, RJ Glaser, Ashely Espy, and Gilbert Espy. Twenty Late Models were in the field for their feature race with Joe Kump on the pole. Kump quickly took the point over Darrell Padgett, Dillon Wood, Matt Hartley, and Jason Fitzgerald. Wood passes Padgett and takes over second as Fitzgerald begins his moves to the front. Bobby Richardson brings out the caution on lap 10. The field goes back green with Wood on the point but as fast as the green comes out, the yellow comes out again on lap 11 for Chris Freeman and Larry Anderson. The restart sees Jason Fitzgerald on the point followed by Wood, Kump, Padgett, and Clegg. As Fitzgerald and Wood pull away from the field and seem to run a race of their own, the caution comes out on lap 17 for the third place car of Joe Kump. Kump is still on the top of the track, done for the night after a fantastic run. Kump makes his way down into the pits to see his night end on lap 18. Single file restart shows Fitzgerald leading the way over Wood, Padgett, Clegg, and Matt Hartley. Fitzgerald takes the checkered for his first feature win over Dillon Wood, Darell Padgett, David Clegg, and Matt Hartley. Next Saturday, March 14, it is Late Models, Modifieds, Street Stocks, Thunder Stocks, and 4 Cylinder Challengers at Volusia Speedway Park. The Sportsman division will have the night off. For more information on Volusia Speedway Park, go to www.volusiaspeedwaypark.com. OFFICIAL RESULTS VOLUSIA SPEEDWAY PARK MARCH 7, 2009 Late Model - Feature Finish Start Car Driver Hometown 1 7 7 Jason Fitzgerald 2 4 26 Dillon Wood New Symrna, Fl 3 2 46P Darell Padgett Jacksonville , Fl 4 6 07 David Clegg Bunnell , Fl 5 3 66H Matt Hartley Jacksonville , Fl 6 9 1 Wayne Shugert St Augustine, Fl 7 13 16 Stanton Mills St Augustine, Fl 8 5 47 Tyler Ivey Tallahassee , Fl 9 10 23 Lawton Minchew Deleon Springs, Fl 10 11 145 Jason Davis Hawthorne , Fl 11 16 2R John Rankin Ocala , Fl 12 12 32P Jeff Phipps Longwood , Fl 13 22 71S David Shugart 14 15 30 Larry Anderson Jacksonville , Fl 15 8 10 Mike Warren Umatilla , Fl 16 18 143 Clyde Herron 17 19 21Q Chris Freeman Enterprise , Fl 18 14 RP1 William Bud Rose Holly Hill, Fl 19 1 J17 Joe Kump Lake Helen, Fl 20 21 99 Mike Tripp 21 23 45 Bobby Richardson Eustis , Fl 22 17 2 Brandon Dewitt 23 20 41 John Kellum Sportsman - Feature Finish Start Car Driver Hometown 1 5 21 Shane Williams Deland , Fl 2 1 P4 David Clegg Bunnell , Fl 3 7 00 Shaun Daugharty Deleon Springs, Fl 4 6 99 Danny Vogel Jr. St Augustine, Fl 5 10 46 Richard Wells St.augustine , Fl 6 3 42 Josh Byrd San Mateo, Fl 7 11 29 Drew Smith 8 16 11 Aaron Bargness 9 13 65 Shane Nichols Ocala , Fl 10 14 05 Dan Lane Astor , Fl 11 12 64 Trevor Gamble Deleon Springs, Fl 12 17 9 David Hite 13 8 10 Steve Shead Orange City, Fl 14 2 4 David Foster, Jr. 15 4 3C Levi Cribbs East Palatka, Fl 16 15 007 Todd Ponce St Augustine, Fl 17 9 67 Garret Stewart Fruitland Park, Fl 18 18 57 Karl Heinz Haas Pierson , Fl Modified - Feature Finish Start Car Driver Hometown 1 3 145 Jason Davis 2 7 56 Dave Barber Alachua , Fl 3 2 34A Jim Passino Clermont , Fl 4 8 13 Jr Hotovy Hartford , Mi 5 5 41B Barry Sheffield Leesburg , Fl 6 11 49 Justin Tilton Dunnellon , Fl 7 9 77 Rob Underwood Umatilla , Fl 8 21 410 Nick Kirkus 9 16 ZO6 Larry Mott Leesburg , Fl 10 12 8 Rick Scott Charlotte , Fl 11 10 COOL Chris Littrell 12 14 66 Dale Murray St Augustine, Fl 13 6 11M Charlie Macnichol 14 15 F90 Alan Thomas Fruitland Park, Fl 15 13 41D Daron Smith 16 19 51 Jeff Sweeney 17 1 40 James Smith 18 4 54B Larry Burkins St. Augustine, Fl 19 18 21 Randy Hecker 20 17 7E James Erickson Mcintosh , Fl 21 20 2 Cory Hupp Apopka , Fl Street Stock - Feature Finish Start Car Driver Hometown 1 5 36 Grady Christian Altoona , Fl 2 1 1 Alan Mccafferty Clermont , Fl 3 7 95 Steve Mooers Belleview , Fl 4 6 12M Charlie Macnichol 5 4 20 D.j. Nobles Bunnelll , Fl 6 3 04 Charles Christian Altoona , Fl 7 8 13 Phillip Brown Palm Coast, Fl 8 9 2S Mick Kulak Deleon Springs, Fl 9 12 94 Justin Sirmons 10 14 89B William Palmeri Summerfield , Fl 11 10 77M Mark Maresca Altoona , Fl 12 11 33 Jeffrey Duncan Pierson , Fl 13 15 36S Kenny Sowers 14 16 44 Dean Jarvis Ocala , Fl 15 2 4B Michael Tovet Seville , Fl 16 13 9 Robert Donaly Bertrand , Fl Thunder Stock - Feature Finish Start Car Driver Hometown 1 3 10 Scott Mooers Osteen , Fl 2 6 17 Dave Burttram, Jr Anthony , Fl 3 4 17X C J Johnston 4 5 44 Todd Roberts Summerfield , Fl 5 7 57 Matthew Schell Summerfield , Fl 6 2 03 Robert Schrunk Ormond Beach, Fl 7 1 07 Richard Calmes Sanford , Fl 8 8 1 Wally Douglass UMP 4-Cyl - Feature Finish Start Car Driver Hometown 1 7 3T Tony Laporta 2 5 39.5 Danny Lunn Altoona , Fl 3 3 004 Rj Glaser Lake Helen, Fl 4 4 37E Ashley Espy Holly Hill, Fl 5 6 6E Gilbert Espy Port Orange, Fl 6 2 57A Jamie Anderson Pierson , Fl 7 8 29L Daniel Laird Palm Coast, Fl 8 10 01 Davey Wolf Ormond Beach, Fl 9 11 75 Gilford Williams Paisley , Fl 10 9 20B Greg Bryson Lake Como, Fl 11 1 20 Casey Feaster Port Orange, Fl Have an opinion on this story? 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