"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
April 11, 2009, Bradenton, FL. It was a night meant for racing as the largest crowd in years showed up to enjoy a night of racing at the South’s Fastest Short Track. Over 2,000 fans stood and cheered as David Steele put on a driving exhibition along with Troy DeCaire, Bo Hartley, Shane Butler and a cast of talented drivers like no others in the state of Florida.
David Steele in the #14 car took the lead in the 24th lap of the Feature Race and cruised to the finish line and on to victory circle. It looked early on that Bo Hartley would go from flag to flag but that did not happen as Hartley in the #03 car took second. Troy DeCaire in the #68 car won third place, after starting near the rear of the field.
The TBARA winged Sprints also ran three Heat Races, Dude Teate in the #0 car won the first Heat Race. Wendy Mathis in the #80 car won the second Heat Race while Tommy Nichols in the #55 car won the third Heat Race. There was also a “Dash for Cash” for the sprint cars and Dude Teate won the dash and collected the most money. Shane Butler in the #18 car took second place and Joey Aguliar in the #52 car won third place.
Before the race many of the TBARA drivers had a lot to say about the track and racing. They are a club and they all get along and help each other, and support each other. Dude Teate said that he loves to race at Desoto Super Speedway as it is so “Racey” and “fast”. Teate lives over 2 hours away in Leesburg FL but still considers Desoto one of his favorite places to race. Ben Fritz driver of the #16 car said that Desoto Super Speedway is fun to run, the four corners are the same and having two grooves makes it great.
The 26 year old Mortgage Broker by day would love an opportunity to go big time. Shane Butler who drives the #18 car grew up coming to Desoto Super Speedway in the 80’s and watching his father race. He feels at home at Desoto and considers it his “home track.” He said that he loves driving on the high banks and enjoys the quickness and speed the track can allow. He also said that “there is lots of space to get around someone and not be worried about walls.”
utler will be traveling North in May to run in the Little 500 in Anderson, Indiana. Kipp Beard from Land O Lakes, drives the #66 car and said that he really enjoys driving at Desoto Super Speedway as well. He said “it is wide open with plenty of room to pass and the high banks equal high speed for him.” Joey “The Ace” Aguilar had plenty to say about Desoto Super Speedway. He said he likes everything about Desoto Super Speedway. The lights, the pits, the large grandstands, the flagman, the announcer, he likes it all. He went on to say that the entire staff does a great job. When he wrecked his car a couple weeks back the tow crew took special care and made sure the car was well taken care of and not just towed to the pit and dropped for further damage, as he has had that happen at other tracks.
Wendy Mathis driver of the #80 car said “I love to race at Desoto because it is fast, racey, and forgiving.” Dustin Perez who drives the #70 car and was the Modified Mini Champ at Desoto Super Speedway last season said that “Desoto is an awesome track and facility, you can pass here, other places you can’t.” That is pretty awesome coming from the drivers that the fans consider Florida’s most exciting series to watch. “TBARA is the best show in Short Track Racing” said an excited veteran race fan Billy Devine, who goes wherever the TBARA series goes.
At intermission the Extreme Bullet Car did an exhibition of speed for an affordable price. The car turned many laps in the low 15 second time frame which equals Super Late Model times. The builders of this wickedly fast car have put together a test run package that includes 4 or 5 hours of instruction and an opportunity to drive the Extreme Bullet Car at a cost of $350. They had fans lined up to find out more about this exciting opportunity as it looks like this Extreme Bullet Car is really taking off. If you have an interest in the car or test driving it, call Gus Coorssen at 941-809-3857.
Pro Trucks. The Pro Trucks had a good turnout of trucks and fans too. There were two Heat Races for this class. The first Heat Race was won by Todd Bontrager in the #8 truck. The second Heat Race was won by Danny Anderson in the #50 truck. The 50 lap Feature Race was a great race. For the first time ever, the “Lucky Dog” award was given to the #8 truck of Todd Bontrager and the #37 truck of Nick Hernandez. The two trucks got tangled up and the officials were not in agreement on who was at fault, so they both got their positions back. (Lucky Dog’s) “The twins” took 1st and 2nd place in the feature event. The winner was Tyler Lau in the #12 truck. Taking a close second was Stephen Darvalics in the twin truck #41. Third place was won by Todd Bontrager in the #8 truck. There was a lot of great racing in this 50 lap event.
Pure Stocks. At 5:45 PM there was no motor in the #2 Pops Thorbin car. At 7:45 PM the #2 Pops Thorbin car won the second Heat Race for the pure Stock class. It was incredible to watch and the results almost unbelievable. Drivers and other car owners all pitched in to help the crew of the #2 car put it back together, fire it up and go racing. “It is all about being a family” said a very happy driver, Robert Crisp. The Pure Stocks ran two Heat Races with Dave Davis in the #6 car winning the first Heat Race. The second Heat Race was won by Robert Crisp in the #2 Pop’s Thorbin car. The feature 25 lap race was also won by Robert Crisp in the #2 car, with Troy Theim taking a close second. Richie Shepherd in the #30 car won third place. The exciting finish to this race had all three leading cars side by side coming out of turn four and into the final stretch for the checkered flag.
Rockem Sockem Bombers. The bombers ran two Heat Races with Michael Crooks in the #33 car winning the first Heat Race and Lou Russell in the #3 car winning the second Heat Race. The Feature Race was won by Jody Collins in the #32C car and what a race it was. Steve Elder in the #42 car took an early lead and held it to lap 9 and Collins in the #32C got it back on lap 16. The two (#32C and #42) battled the whole race and it was two by two racing for several of the laps. Crossing the finish line for his 6th straight win was Jody Collins in the #32C. Steve Elder in the #42 car took second and third place was won by Dean Butrum in the #32B car. The Orange Crush team of Collins and Butrum took 1st and 3rd and had a great night. The drivers after the race all commented on how much fun the race and night was for them.
School Bus Figure 8’s. The action packed School Bus Figure 8 Feature Race was a nail biter all the way with so many close calls it would take a mathematician to figure it all out. Crossing the finish line first was Earnest Helfrick in the #4 bus. Helfrick drove an unbelievable race and everyone wonders how the man of steel nerves does it. Taking the second spot was Christopher Dodson in the #21 bus. Billy Carlbert Jr. took third place with his #11X Red bus. The evening is best summed up as great weather for great racing with great fans on a great track.
Join us next Saturday for another night of racing action with the gates opening at 5PM and races start at 7PM sharp. Racing will be Outlaw Modified, Modified Mini’s, Pure Stocks, Bombers, Magic 4, Flyin 4, and Open Wheel Modified classes. Check us out at www.desotosuperspeedway.com or you can give us a call at 941-748-3171. We are located just 9 miles East of I-75 on SR#64 in Bradenton, FL
DeSoto Speedway Race Results April 11, 2009
BOMBERS - BOMB 20L Pos Driver Car # 1 JODY COLLINS 32C 2 STEVE ELDER 42 3 DEAN BUTRUM 32 4 MICHAEL CROOKS 33 5 LOU RUSSELL 3 6 TODD JACOBS 44 7 JOHN STEWART 02 8 ALEX PATTEN 13
BOMBERS - HEAT 1 Pos Driver Car # 1 MICHAEL CROOKS 33 2 DEAN BUTRUM 32 3 STEVE ELDER 42 4 TODD JACOBS 44
BOMBERS - HEAT 2 Pos Driver Car # 1 LOU RUSSELL 3 2 ALEX PATTEN 13 3 JODY COLLINS 32C 4 JOHN STEWART 02
DS TRUCKS - DS TRUCKS 50L Pos Driver Car # 1 TYLER LAU 12X 2 STEPHEN DARVALICS 41 3 TODD BONTRAGER 8 4 BRENT HUBER 64 5 LANCE DAUBACH 77 6 NICK HERNANDEZ 37 7 BILL MANFULL 48 8 DANNY ANDERSON 50 9 KYLE MUSSELMAN O7 10 PAT MAHONEY 84 11 TATE LINDSAY 1 12 BLAIR PONTIOUS 39
DS TRUCKS - HEAT 1 Pos Driver Car # 1 TODD BONTRAGER 8 2 STEPHEN DARVALICS 41 3 TYLER LAU 12X 4 LANCE DAUBACH 77 5 BILL MANFULL 48 6 TATE LINDSAY 1
DS TRUCKS - HEAT 2 Pos Driver Car # 1 DANNY ANDERSON 50 2 NICK HERNANDEZ 37 3 PAT MAHONEY 84 4 BRENT HUBER 64 5 KYLE MUSSELMAN O7 6 BLAIR PONTIOUS 39
PURE STOCKS - HEAT 1 Pos Driver Car # 1 DAVID DAVIS 6 2 TROY THIEM 18 3 SCOTT DAWLEY 74 4 JASON GRAHAM 30G 5 CHELSEA LAU 13 6 WILLIAM CARLBERT JR 47
PURE STOCKS - HEAT 2 Pos Driver Car # 1 ROBERT CRISP 2 2 RICHARD SHEPHERD SR. 30A 3 ROBERT YOHO 75X 4 MARK PICKLESIMER 17 5 AUSTIN CRAIG 10 6 RICHARD McCLOUGH 14
PURE STOCKS - PS 20L 19 OR LESS Pos Driver Car # 1 ROBERT CRISP 2 2 TROY THIEM 18 3 RICHARD SHEPHERD SR. 30A 4 DAVID DAVIS 6 5 WILLIAM CARLBERT JR 47 6 ROBERT YOHO 75X 7 SCOTT DAWLEY 74 8 RICHARD McCLOUGH 14 9 MARK PICKLESIMER 17 10 AUSTIN CRAIG 10 11 JASON GRAHAM 30G 12 CHELSEA LAU 13
SCHOOL BUS FIGURE 8 - FEATURE Pos Driver Car # 1 ERNEST HELFRICK 4 2 CHRISTOPHER DODSON 21 3 WILLIAM CARLBERT JR 11X 4 JAMES VOLK 76 5 PETER BOHN 11 6 JOHN SARPPRAICONE JR 2 7 ROBERT COON 8UP 8 ROBERT LATINKA 47 9 MIKE VOLK 41 10 SCOTT DAWLEY 74 11 WAYNE CALKINS 14 12 MARK JACKSON 25 13 JEROME WATLAND 31 14 TROY DECAIRE 46 15 ALLEN BRAGG 89 16 MICHAEL GAMACHE 0 17 EUGENE HELFRICK 44
