IT'S TIME TO RACE!!

April 18, 2009 Ivedent Lloyd Drives Borrowed Car to Victory at Ocala ZUBER, FL- Another picture perfect weather night greeted a large contingent of fans and racers that came to Ocala Speedway on Friday night, and those who were there saw what probably was the best night of racing so far in the 2009 season, plus the most violent and spectacular wreck in years. Late Models headlined the evening at Ocala, and no one was disappointed in the turnout. Twenty three cars took the green flag for the feature race, after four heats and a B Main were used to determine the field. Shane Williams, Marshall Austin, Adam Beedenbaugh, and Jeff Mathews were heat winners, while Dennis Williams captured the B Main event. Ivedent Lloyd ended up in the pole position as the feature event got underway, and he wasted no time establishing himself as the man to beat. Lloyd was in the 07, a car borrowed from David Clegg, and it seemed at times that no one could touch him. Shan Smith was the closest competitor, but never managed to make a pass for the lead. The real battle for the night seemed to be the racers versus the track, as the clay dried out and left the competitors dealing with a dry and slick surface. Some adapted while others struggled, and those that did not adapt led to quite a few caution flags for spins and mishaps. Ivedent Lloyd reigned supreme in his borrowed car and won the event, saying in his post race interview that he loves a dry and slick surfce to race on. Shan Smith finished second, Adam Beedenbaugh raced hard to take third spot, while Jeff Mathews placed fourth and Billy Costello earned a fifth place finish. As usual, the Amsoil V8 Thunder Stocks drew a large and competitive field of cars, and wasted no time in bringing the fans to their feet. The race featured three complete restarts, the third of which resulted after a violent barrel roll down the backstretch by Jessie Corbitt. Corbitt's car was launched into the air and flipped at least twice before smashing down onto the backstretch wall and ending up right side up on the track. Courtney Eubanks found herself in harm's way as Corbitt flipped, and Corbitt's car smashed down onto the hood of her car. Neither driver was hurt in the incident, and the crowd was thrilled to see Jessie Corbitt walk away from such a violent crash that almost totally destroyed his race car. Jason Gamble would eventually take control of the race and run away from all challengers to win, followed by Chris Fontaine for second. Harold Erickson would settle fro third after starting from the pole, while Augie Burtram and Luke Sadler rounded out the top five. Tony LaPorta has run very well no matter what track he chooses to race on, and Ocala is no exception. With masterful drivers like Shane Williams helping him get his car properly set up for race night, it is no wonder that he is hard to beat! And LaPorta did it again, taking another convincing win at Ocala. Cory Howard came on strong in the end to grab the second spot, while Paul Hahn hung in there for third. Mike Lane and Brad Dover also wrapped up top five finishes. Bubba Christian has been making waves in the Hobby Stock division at Ocala and at other tracks, but this night out he accidentally got a little over zealous and ended up with a bent race car. As the green flew it was Bubba who seemed to be the man to beat, quickly making easy game of the cars in front of him and challenging for the lead. But a passing attempt sent him wide in turn 4, and that resulted in hard contact with the front stretch wall, and Bubba ended up in the pits. Bubba's uncle Grady Christian stepped up his game and took the lead, only to lose it to David Kinsey after a side by side battle that lasted for several laps on the track. Christian made every attempt to regain what he lost, but finally tried too hard and spun in turn 2. That opened the door for James Powell and Michael Tovett, who wound up finishing in second and third places behind Kinsey. Heath Walker claimed the fourth spot while Mike Eubanks rallied for a fifth place finish. Next week, Friday the 24th of April, marks the return of the Open Wheel Modifieds and the annual $1500 to win Spring Sizzler at Ocala Speedway. Joining the mods will be the Amsoil V8 Thunder Stocks, the Mini Stocks, and the Gladiators. Ocala Speedway Results for 4/17/09 Late Model 1- 07 Ivedent Lloyd Jr. 2- 17SS Shan Smith 3- 26 Adam Beebenbaugh 4- 33 Jeff Mathews 5- 00 Billy Costello 6- 0W Shane Williams 7- 9 Jimmy Waldrop 8- 5K Ryan Mitchell 9- J17 Joe Kump 10- 16 Wayne Shugart 11- 42 Marshall Austin Jr. 12- 66 Mike Bresnahan 13- 115 Roger Crouse 14- 2 Chris Waldrop 15- Z Tim Zackery 16- 51 Bobby Clark 17- RP1 William "Bug" Rose 18- 35 Christian Augspuirger 19- 53 John Rankin 20- 0 Rich Pratt 21- 72P Len Parrish 22- 00D Shaun Daugharty 23- 24 Dennis Williams DNS- 17 Richard Ferry V8 Thunder Stock 1- 17 Jason Gamble 2- 47 Chris Fontaine 3- 66 Harold Erickson 4- 44X Augie Burtram 5- 15 Luke Sadler 6- 44 Todd Roberts 7- 35 David Walls 8- 11 Edward England 9- 7H Charles Howard Jr. 10- 5W Vaughn Woodall 11- 30 Robin Martin 12- 40J Danny James II 13- 13 James Edwards 14- 72 Terry Dunbar 15- 28 Glenn Vincent 16- 3D Jessie Corbitt 17- 81 Courtney Eubanks 18- 71 Jackson Nay DNS- 07 Ryan Lisak Gladiator 1- 3T Tony LaPorta 2- 4H Cory Howard 3- 78 Paul Hahn 4- 911 Mike Lane 5- 63 Brad Dover 6- 69 Eddie Lentz 7- 23 Austin Gamble DNS- 12 Jim Bergfeld Hobby Stock 1- XX David Kinsey 2- 58 James Powell 3- 4B Michael Tovett 4- 55 Heath Walker 5- 18E Mike Eubanks 6- 83 Joe Boyd 7- 89 Trey Cameron 8- 36 Grady Christian 9- 81 Donald Woosley 10- 08 William Edwards 11- 04 Bubba Christian 12- 23 Glenn Baum 13- 7 John Shelnut NEXT WEEK: $1500 to win Open Wheel Modified Spring Sizzler! Have an opinion on this story? Post a message on our Message Board! or Email KARNACto send a letter to the editor!