"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
(Inverness, Fl. 5/4/09) Citrus County Speedway fans were treated to some of the best racing of the year with five local division bringing in 79 racers and three traveling series adding another 39 race cars. Again it was a variety of racing divisions from Super Late Models to the Bandelaros.
The lineup included a 15 car Super Late Model 50 lap main event that saw only 2 early caution flags and had the fans on their feet as the top 6 diced for position for the final 40 laps. Scott Grossenbacher turned fast qualifying lap and pulled the 6 pill for the inversion in the starting lineup in the feature. Raymond Lovelady returned to Citrus after a long absence and won the pole position with Kevin Ingram outside for the start.
Ingram shot to the point in the drag race to turn one with Lovelady falling in behind him. Dustin DesChamps managed to make his way around Raymond early in the going while Dave Pletcher worked to hold off Herb Neumann Jr. and Scott Grossenbacher.
The caution flag came out in the early going when DesChamp lost it going for second and on the restart DesChamp and Lovelady went to the rear moving the rest of the field up two spots. Then it really got hot and heavy as Neumann and Grossenbacher took advantage of Ingrams attempt to cover both the inside and outside lane protecting his lead and finally went too wide leaving the door open for the top two qualifiers.
Neumann finally got a run on Grossenbacher and went on to win his third Late Model race of the year in defense of his 2008 Championship. Grossenbacher held out for second over Kevin Ingram, Dave Pletcher, Kyle Maynard, Dale Sanders, Raymond Lovelady, John Gerstner, Perry Lovelady and Patrick Mennenga rounding out the top ten.
Eighteen Street Stocks took the green flag for their regular 20 lap main event and Tim Quick made short work of the three cars that started ahead of him for his first win of the season in defense of his 2008 division championship. Tim says he wont be going for the championship this year just for the wins and you are liable to see him at a lot of other race tracks through the season. Tim Alexander started 9th and finished second well ahead of point leader Dr. Mark Fallows. Jay Witfoth started off strong with a heat win, started 6th in the field and finished 4th ahead of Frank Stromquist who started 12th when the green flag flew. Jim Hand got his first heat win of the season taking the second heat.
Mini Stockers also came out 18 cars strong and put on quite a show but Clint Foley drove from the scratch position at the green flag right on to Victory Lane for the second week in a row and his third win of the season. David Mothershed started on the pole and held off the entire field for 16 laps before Foley made the pass leaving Mothershed to continue his battle for a second place finish. Robbie Yoakam was right there but had to settle for third followed by George Neumann and Marty Neikens who ran in the top five for all 20 laps. Neumann and Foley took the wins in their respective heats.
Tommy Smith continued his dominance in the Pure Stock Division winning his heat race and then notching his 4th win out of 7 races thus far this season. Richard Dinkins held the lead for the first few laps before Tommy went on by and led the entire 19 car field for the balance of the race. Dinkins managed to hold off the rest of the field for a second place finish over John Drye who experience electrical problems in his heat race and was a questionable starter for the feature. Drew Matissek started 6th and finished 4th just ahead of pole sitter Patrick Conner. Richie Smith took the win in the second heat and looked like he was going work his way up to challenge his brother for the win when he lost a rear wheel in turn one that hit the wall and flew about 30 feet in the air before coming down and bouncing into the infield without hitting anything.
V8 Thunder Stock Rookies wrapped up the local racing division action with 13 cars going at it for the final race of the night. It was all Thomas McKay from the green flag to the checkers with multiple caution flags interrupting the race. Ninth starter Arden Franklin managed to avoid the caution flag crashes and spins for a second place finish. Rounding out the top five were Jammie Shahid, Shane Goff and Scott Werstein.
The Florida Legend Cars showed up with 16 cars and when the green flew for their 35 lap feature fast qualifier and pole sitter Gerald White made a statement by taking the lead and never giving it up right to the checkered flag. Fifth starter Shaugan McCormick worked his way through heavy traffic and made numerous passes at the leader to no avail and had to settle for a solid second place finish over Jake Perkins. Mason Ketterman came from 11th to 4th when the checkers flew. Rounding out the top 9 were Mitch Verhaugh, Rick Wetmore, Doug Hall, Justin Brown and Zach Harris. The rest of the field were at least one lap down or didnt finish.
In Min Cup action Brenton Franklin and Jacob Calloway took the wins in the heat races. Sixteen cars lined up for their 20 lap main event with Brady Marshall, Franklin, and Carlos Pinto swapping the lead in the later laps before Marshall finally broke away from the threesome to take the win. Franklin held off Pintos charge for a second place finish. Blake Haddock locked onto 4th over Rick Cline Jr. to round out the top five.
The Bandits (11 and under) and Young Guns (12 to 16) joined forces in the Bandelaro 15 lap feature with 7 cars taking the green flag. When they got up to speed it was a battle of the Hooven brothers right to the checkers with Mark winning over Shawn in close finish. Johnny Varga was not too far back watching the battle for the lead while holding off Danielle Stratton and Cameron White in the run for third and finishing in that order.
Saturday night the Open Wheel Modifieds, Sportsman, Mini Stocks, Pure Stocks, V8 Thunder Stocks, 4 Cylinder Bombers, the Florida Pro Series and the Fantastic Figure 8s get back on track for another night of action at Citrus County Speedway.
Citrus County Speedway Results 5/2/09
Super Late Model Feature 50 Laps 15 Cars
1. #98 Herb Neumann Jr. Inverness 3rd Season Win
2. #09 Scott Grossenbacher San Antonio Fast Qualifier
3. #21 Kevin Ingram - ?
4. #81 Dave Pletcher Pinellas Park
5. #127 Kyle Maynard - ?
Street Stock Feature 20 Laps 18 Cars
1. #97 Tim Quick Lecanto 1st Season Win
2. #63 Tim Alexander Floral City
3. #007 Mark Fallows Crystal River
4. # 4 Jay Witfoth Beverly Hills
5. #57 Frank Stromquist Lecanto
1st Heat Winner - #4 Jay Witfoth
2nd Heat Winner - #05 Jim Hand Brooksville
Mini Stock Feature 20 Laps 14 Cars
1. # 7 Clint Foley Dunnellon 3rd Season Win
2. #17 David Mothershed Brooksville
3. # 8 Robbie Yoakam Hernando
4. # 1 George Neumann Inverness
5. #70 Marty Neikens Pinellas Park
1st Heat Winner - #1 George Neumann
2nd Heat Winner - # 7 Clint Foley
Pure Stock Feature 20 Laps 19 Cars
1. #24 Tommy Smith Hernando 4th Season Win Tear Down Legal
2. #69 Richard Dinkins Bushnell
3. #39 John Drye Inverness
4. #68 Drew Matissek New Port Richey
5. # 8 Patrick Connor Dunnellon
1st Heat Winner - #24 Tommy Smith
2nd Heat Winner - #142 Richie Smith
V8 Thunder Stock Feature 20 Laps 13 Cars
1. #30 Thomas McKay Loxahatchee - 1st Season Win
2. # 7 Arden Franklin - Hernando
3. # 3 Jammie Shahid Floral City
4. #16 Shane Goff Brooksville
5. #45 Scott Werstein Belleview
Florida Legends Series Feature 35 Laps 16 Cars
