IT'S TIME TO RACE!!

April 27, 2009 Burrows Claims the Spring Sizzler at Ocala by BJ Cavin ZUBER FL- The last Friday of racing before the Monster Jam break offered a big money winner's purse to the Open Wheel Modified division at Ocala Speedway, and a solid field of racers entertained an excited crowd with their efforts to win. The 30 lap Spring Sizzler Race offered $1500 to the winner, and a full field of modifieds were after the cash. Four heat races and a B main set the field for the Spring Sizzler, which began with Chris Littrell on the pole. But as the green waved there were problems deep in the field, thus leading to several restarts before the first two laps could be completed. Through that process, one car was parked for three cautions, while others sustained damage or elected to leave the track. Things settled down somewhat later on as John Bradley held the early lead, but the 01 car of Shane Burrows was on the move forward and took the lead on lap 9. Burrows kept Bradley at bay for the remainder of the race to finish first and take home the $1500, and difficulties in tech would determine the remainder of the finishing order. John Bradley finished behind Burrows, but a problem with the post race weigh in wound up in a disqualification. In addition, the third place finisher, Kyle Owen, also ran afoul of the tech inspector. So after disqualifications were handed down, it was Jason Davis who earned the second place finish behind Burrows, with Jeff Mathews rounding out the top three. Dave Barber Jr. moved up to a fourth place finish as Chris Littrell wound up in the fifth spot. The Amsoil V8 Thunder Stocks featured a three way free for all up front as Joey Durbin started from the pole, but James Erickson, Augie Burtram, and Jason Gamble, wasted no time in challenging him for the top spot. Durbin found himself slipping into the third spot early on. Erickson led early, but was passed by Augie Burtram on lap 4. Burtram would hold the lead until Jason Gamble made his way to the front and passed him on lap 10. Jason Gamble would never look back after grabbing the lead and picked up another win, followed by Augie Burtram for second place. James Erickson posted a third place finish as Jessie Corbitt recovered from last week's barrel roll on the backstretch to place fourth. James Sullivan III overcame some early race woes to wind up in fifth place. The most hotly contested race of the night came from the Mini Stock division as Kristopher Prouty raced his dad's 14 car to the pole position. Prouty would lead early, but a mechanical issue would end his night early on, leaving the top spot in dispute between Paul Combast and Danny Vogel Jr. Vogel was very strong on the night and battled head to head with Combast before finally gaining control of the race. Combast raced hard, managing to steal the lead twice, but Vogel overpowered him in the end. Danny Vogel claimed the victory while Paul Combast settled for second. William Stalnaker had a good showing and got the third place trophy, while Sean Babcock raced hard but settled for fourth. Jon Layerd also looked strong on the night and managed a fifth place finish. Larry Langston led most of the Gladiator division race but Paul Hahn had something to prove. Hahn drove aggressively in order to put his car out front, and with two laps remaining he stole the victory from Langston. Larry Langston finished second, followed by Harold Lewis in third place. 12 year old Kody Fisher hung tough and finished fourth, while Austin Gamble left with a broken race car and a fifth place finish. Ocala Speedway will not be racing on May 1st as the Monster Jam Summer Tour arrives for their annual visit. Gravedigger and Maximum Destruction lead a thrilling list of top monster trucks into Ocala for a show on Friday, two shows on Saturday, and a Sunday matinee. Tickets are available through the Ocala Speedway office during the week, or online through TicketMaster. Regular racing will return to Ocala Speedway on May 15th with the Late Models, Hobby Stocks, Amsoil V8 Thunder Stocks, and the Gladiators. Ocala Speedway Results for 4/24/09 Open Wheel Modified ($1500 to win/30 laps) 1- 01 Shane Burrows 2- 145 Jason Davis 3- 33 Jeff Mathews 4- 56 Dave Barber Jr. 5- 00L Chris Littrell 6- 15 Jamie Carter 7- 54 Lary Burkins 8- 8 Rick Scott 9- 66 Dale Murray 10- 64 Austin Saunders 11- 95 James Edgley 12- 27B Bruce Harvey 13- 0 Richard Dickinson 14- 74B Jacob Buie 15- 8J Chuck Gustafson Jr. 16- 19T Keith Briggs 17- 40 James Smith 18- 11 Charlie MacNichols 19- 57P Zach Perrman 20- 41 Gary Sexton 21- 12 Chip Hollywood Owen 22- 00B Kyle Bronson DQ (tech)- 2 Kyle Owen DQ (tech)- 27 John Bradley V8 Thunder Stock 1- 17 Jason Gamble 2- 03 Augie Burtram 3- 66 James Erickson 4- 3D Jessie Corbitt 5- 14 James Sullivan III 6- 38 Mike Dubbs 7- 35 David Walls 8- 7H Charles Howard Jr. 9- 63 Brian Brogan 10- 40J Chris Willis 11- 72 Terry Dunbar 12- 55 Joey Durbin 13- 81 Courtney Eubanks 14- 11 Edward England 15- 55W Donald Winne 16- 28 Glenn Vincent DNS- 118 Chris Watson DNS- 5W Vaughn Woodall Mini Stock 1- 99 Danny Vogel Jr. 2- 19C Paul Combast 3- 59 William Stalnaker 4- 9B Sean Babcock 5- 02 Jon Layerd 6- 44 Greg Bonynge 7- 40M David Miller 8- 14 Kristopher Prouty Gladiator 1- 78 Paul Hahn 2- 49 Larry Langston 3- 8 Harold Lewis 4- 83 Kody Fisher 5- 23 Austin Gamble 6- 69 Eddie Lentz 7- 21 Ephren Souther 8- 63 Brad Dover 9- 12 Josh Hale Have an opinion on this story? 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