IT'S TIME TO RACE!!

March 22, 2009 Jason Fitzgerald Does It Again at Volusia Speedway Park Barberville, FL (March 21, 2009) It was the first day of spring but it sure did not feel like it Volusia Speedway Park Saturday night. With overcast skies and a really cool breeze, you saw a lot of jackets and even a few blankets in the stands. Even with the Spring Chicken in the pits doing the Chicken Dance with all the kids, it was definitely a cool evening. Twenty three Sportsman were in the field for the Sportsman feature race. Trevor Gamble had the pole and quickly took the point over Drew Smith, Danny Vogel, Jr., Shane Williams, and Ken Hall, Sr. Shane Nichols took no time in taking over fifth as Hall went to sixth. The first caution came out on lap 3 for John Peacock who spun in the top of turn 4. Peacock goes to the rear of the field for the restart. Double file restart and it is still Gamble leading the way but it is a very short green as the yellow comes out for Drew Smith who has spun high in turn 4. Smith now joins the rear of the field for the restart. Once again Gamble leads the way over Shane Williams, Danny Vogel, Jr., Shane Nichols, and Todd Ponce. Ponce wastes no time taking over fifth as Nichols goes to sixth. The yellow comes out again on lap 5 for Todd Ponce and Josh Byrd who get together in turns 3 and 4. Both go into the pits for some crew attention with both rejoining the field in there rear for the restart. On the green, Shane Williams puts his #1x on the point followed by Gamble, Vogel, Jr., Nichols and Steve Shead. Drew Smith is now making his way back to the front from an earlier caution that put him in the rear of the field. The caution comes back out on lap 8 for a number of cars that have gotten together in turns 3 and 4. Involved were Ken Hall, Sr., Steve Shead, Karl Heinz Hass, Aaron Barsness, Blaize Hetznecker and Marc Kinley. The field is realigned and goes back green as Williams leads the way over Gamble, Vogel, Jr., Nichols and Ken Hall, Jr. Shaun Daugharty is now on the move as he goes side-by-side with Hall for fifrth. Daugharty takes fifth and then sets aim on Nichols in fourth. Daugharty then takes fourth putting Nichols in fifth. At this point, Smith has worked his way back to ninth. The caution comes out again on lap 13 for Collin Wright who has spun in turn 4. The race goes back green only to see the caution come out again on lap 13 for Steve Shead who has spun on the backstretch. It is a single file restart as the race is half over with Williams leading the way over Vogel, Jr., Gamble, Daugharty, and Nichols. Lap 17 sees Daugharty taking over second as Gamble goes to third. Lap 18 sees the caution again for Matt McGillivary who has stopped high in turn 4. The tow truck is summoned and McGilliary is pushed off the track. With two laps to go on the restart, it is Williams, Vogel Jr., Daugharty, Gamble, and Nichols leading the way. On the last lap, Daugharty takes over second as Vogel, Jr. goes to third. Williams crosses the checkered taking the win although as the field is coming to the checkered, Aaron Barsness gives the crowd one of those moments as he hits the retaining wall hard. Barsness is okay but not how he wanted to end his night. Danny Vogel, Jr. won heat 1 of the Sportsman with Ken Hall, Sr. winning heat 2 and Drew Smith winning heat 3. Only four Thunder Stocks were in the field for their heats and features although James Strehle was not able to compete in the feature and left the track after the heats. James Sullivan III had the pole for the feature but it was Scott Mooers who took the checkered followed by James Sullivan III and Richard Calmes. Scott Mooers also took the heat win. Twenty Late Models were in the field for their feature race. Heat winners were Tyler Ivey, Dillon Wood, and David Clegg. But it was week number one winner Jason Fitzgerald on the pole for their feature. However, it was David Clegg who quickly took the point over Fitzgerald, Tyler Ivey, Dillon Wood, and Darell Padgett. Fitzgerald battles back for the point but Clegg wants nothing to do with it and holds his position. Fitzerald tries again but Clegg holds on. They battle for the first 15 laps until the caution comes out on lap 15 for Stanton Mills who has slowed on the track with a flat tire. On the restart, Clegg just can no longer hold off Fitzgerald as Fitzgerald takes the point over Clegg, Wood, Padgett, and Ivey. John Rankin puts heat on Ivey and takes over fifth as Ivey slides to sixth. Jason Fitzgerald takes the checkered for his second win of the 2009 season over Dillon Wood, David Clegg, Darell Padgett, and John Rankin. Danny Lunn and RJ Glaser took the heat wins for the 4 Cyl Challengers. Casey Feaster had the pole for the feature race but it was Tony Laporta who quickly took the point over Lunn, Kevin Dugan, Glaser, and Gilbert Espy. With lap 1 just completed, the yellow comes out for Dalton Strehle who is stuck at the entrance to the pits. The field is quickly realigned and the race goes back green as Laporta leads the way. On the restart, Lunn is shuffled out of the way and quickly finds himself going backwards in the field where he is fifth. The caution comes out on lap 3 for Jamie Anderson and Kevin Dugan who have gotten together in turn 2. The race goes back green with Laporta leading the way over Glaser, Espy, Lunn, and Daniel Laird. Lap 6 sees a lead change as RJ Glaser takes over the point from Laporta but it is a quick change as Lunn passes Glaser and takes over the lead with Laporta in second followed by Glaser, Espy, and Anderson. But it was not over as Laporta fights back and takes back the lead followed by Lunn, Glaser, Espy, and Anderson. Espy passes Glaser for third. Running order now is Laporta, Lunn, Espy, Glaser, Anderson, Laird, and David Ladrie. Glaser gives it a try and tries to take back third but Espy closes the door on him. On the last lap, Espy and Glaser get together coming to the checkered as Tony Laporta takes his third straight win over Danny Lunn, Jamie Anderson, Daniel Laird and Gilbert Espy. The Mini Stocks made their first appearance in 2009 for a 20 lap - $500.00 to win race. Winning the heats were Dan Kerr and Nick Kerr of Umatilla. On the pole was Blake Spencer but before a lap was completed, the yellow came out for Josh Intoppo who spun in the bottom of turn 2. A complete restart was in order. On the second green, it was Nick Kerr who took the point over Spencer, Dan Kerr, Jason Intoppo and Travis Staats. Staats wastes no time and quickly takes over fourth as Intoppo goes to fifth. The caution comes out for Mark Taylor and Eddie Johnson. Johnson had spun with Taylor having no place to go and hit Johnson. Carl Thomas was also involved. Thomas goes into the pits as Johnson and Taylor are towed into the pits, done for the night. The race goes back green on lap 5 but the yellow comes out for a bad start. The cars are once again realigned for the 14 laps remaining as Travis Staats leads the way over Dan Kerr, Charlie Staats, Intoppo and Spencer. Dan Kerr does a great job of saving his ride as he gets very, very loose but hangs on. Charlie Staats takes over second followed by Intoppo, Spencer, and Dan Kerr. Intoppo puts the heat on Charlie Staats and takes over second as Staats goes to third. The caution comes out on lap 13 for Richard Keith and Rodney Wright who have gotten together on the backstretch. Only six cars are left for the seven remaining laps as Travis Staats leads the way over Jason Intoppo, Charlie Staats, Blake Spencer, and Dan Kerr. Kerr and Spencer put on a show for the crowd as they go side-by-side for fourth with Kerr winning the battle and taking over fourth. Kerr then puts the heat on Charlie Staats for third but Staats will have nothing to do with the battle and maintains his position. With two laps to go, Spencer spins in turn 2 bringing out the yellow. With only four cars now left in the field and two laps to go, it is a green, white, checkered. Travis Staats holds on to take his first win of the 2009 season and $500.00 cash home followed by Jason Intoppo, Charlie Staats, Dan Kerr and Blake Spencer. Next Saturday, March 28th, the Late Models will be off but it will be Sportsman, Modified, Street Stock, Thunder Stock and 4-Cylinder Challenger on the program. OFFICIAL RESULTS VOLUSIA SPEEDWAY PARK MARCH 21, 2009 LATE MODEL 1. #7 Jason Fitzgerald 2. #26 Dillon Wood 3. #07 David Clegg 4. #46P Darell Padgett 5. #53 John Rankin 6. #47 Tyler Ivey 7. #1 Wayne Shugert 8. #145 Jason Davis 9. #23 Lawton Minchew 10. #32P Jeff Phipps 11. #5K Ryan Mitchell 12. #45 Bobby Richardson 13. #J17 Joe Kump 14. #10 Mike Warren 15. #71S David Shugart 16. #31 Tracey Butler 17. #21Q Chris Freeman 18. #2 Chris Waldron 19. #16 Stanton Mills 20. #6 Clay Bedenbaugh SPORTSMAN 1. #1x Shane Williams 2. #00 Shaun Daugharty 3. #99 Danny Vogel, Jr. 4. #64 Trevor Gamble 5. #65 Shane Nichols 6. #29 Drew Smith 7. #007 Todd Ponce 8. #46 Richard Wells, Jr. 9. #03 Ken Hall, Jr. 10. #5 John (Alan) Peacock 11. #22 Mike Haney 12. #3 Ken Hall, Sr. 13. #10 Steve Shead 14. #17 Marc Kinley 15. #05 Dan Lane, Jr. 16. #38 Collin Wright 17. #17H Blaise Hetznecker 18. #11 Aaron Barsness 19. #9 Matt McGillivray 20. #57 Karl Heinz Haas 21. #42 Josh Byrd 22. #4 David Foster, Jr. 23. #3C Levi Cribbs 24. #67 Garret Stewart MINI STOCK - $500 TO WIN 1. #1AR Travis Staats 2. #18 Jason Intoppo 3. #9AR Charlie Staats 4. #73 Dan Kerr 5. #82X Blake Spencer 6. #777 Ron Adams 7. #25K Richard Keith 8. #22R Rodney Wright 9. #16 Josh Intoppo 10. #88 Rodney Alexander 11. #60 Brian Chisolm 12. #75 Nick Kerr 13. #39 Eddie Johnson 14. #77 Mark Taylor 15. #19 Carl Thomas 16. #311 Paul Shumway 4 CYL CHALLENGERS 1. #3T Tony Laporta 2. #39.5 Danny Lunn 3. #57A Jamie Anderson 4. #29L Daniel Laird 5. #6E Gilbert Espy 6. #004 RJ Glaser 7. #11 David Ladrie 8. #20 Casey Feaster 9. #66 Leonard Underwood, Jr. 10. #58 C.J. Johnston 11. #5S Kevin Dugan 12. #88 Dalton Strehle 13. #75 Gilford Williams THUNDER STOCK 1. #10 Scott Mooers 2. #14 James Sullivan, III 3. #07 Richard Calmes 4. #5X James Strehle DNS Have an opinion on this story? Post a message on our Message Board! or Email KARNACto send a letter to the editor!