IT'S TIME TO RACE!!

June 28, 2009 Matt Kurtz wins Sprints at North Florida Speedway The Top Gun Sprints made their first visit of 2009 to the North Florida Speedway in Lake City on Saturday June 26, 2009. There were 23 cars at the track to give fans three heat races and a 25 lap feature race. The heat races are lined up using a pill pull system, and Amanda Ferguson in the 21A had the pole for the start of the first heat race, but the 17D of Bruce Durden came through from his fourth place starting position to take the race lead at the start and held on to take the race win. Local man T.W. Parkinson had the pole for the start of the second heat race in the 04 car, and took the initial race lead. The 56 car of Allen Kaluzniak spun at turn two on lap 4 bringing out the caution flag, The race quickly got back to green but just one lap later the red flag was brought out when Tony Agin in his 38 car got sucked up into the wall coming out of turn four and rolled his car half way down the front straightaway, coming to a stop just under the flag stand. Tony was OK, but the car was not so lucky, ending his night of racing. Once the car had been cleared off the track and the remaining cars were pushed back off, the race got back to green, The 04 held the lead until lap 7 when he was passed by Matt Kurtz in the 92 car who went on to take the heat win. The third heat saw the 3 of Otto Scrape on the pole. On the first turn of the first lap, the27 of Troy Knowles and the 02 of Gene Lasker came together bringing out the caution flag and making for a full restart. On the restart, the 02 of Gene Lasker came from seventh position to take the lead on the first lap. The 9 car of Tim Grubaugh spun on lap 2 bringing out another caution, followed by the 19 of Keith Butler who spun out between turns one and two on lap 5 bringing out the third and final caution of this 8 lap heat race. While the caution flag was still out for the 19 car with just 4 laps complete, the race leader, Gene Lasker in the 02, pulled off the track and out of the race, handing the lead to Otto Scrape in the 3 car who held on to it to take the heat win. Using a passing points system to line up the feature race and a four car inversion, Rich Alexander in the 8 car had the pole for the start of the feature race, with Bruce Durden in the 17D car on the outside. After the hot laps, the 02 of Gene Lasker pulled off the track and out of the event while the rest of the field got lined up and performed a four wide parade lap for the fans. The race got underway and Bruce Durden took the race lead from his outside pole position. Larry Pickett in the 77 car was the first retirement from the race on lap 2, while the leaders started to catch up to the back marker traffic as early as lap 4. T.W. Parkinson retired the 04 from the race on lap 5. Keith Butler in the 19 car brought out the caution flag on lap 9 when he spun between turns three and four, and the 83 driven by Mark Ruel Jr. ran into the stranded car. The 83 was not able to rejoin the race. The 19 was able to restart the race, but only ran another 3 laps before pulling out of the race. With lots of lapped traffic in the mix, Bruce Durden was still in the lead with Matt Kurtz in the 92 car running at his rear in second position and looking for that gap to take the lead. On the last lap, the 92 took the lead coming out of two, only to lose it back to the 17D on the back straightaway and then take it again between three and four, taking the win on the last turn of the race. Bruce Durden in the 17D finished in second place, followed by Ryan Partin in the 14, Otto Scrape in the 3, with Rich Alexander in the 8 car finishing out the top 5. Top Gun Sprints North Florida Speedway, June 26, 2009 Heat #1 1) 17D Bruce Durden (Jacksonville, FL) 2) 8 Rich Alexander (Tampa, FL) 3) 50 Rick Byerly (Wesley Chapel, FL) 4) 6 Mike Schroder (Southwest Ranches, FL) 5) 21A Amanda Ferguson (Montverde, FL) 6) 83 Mark Ruel Jr. (Jacksonville, FL) 7) 30 D.J. Peeples (Wesley Chapel, FL) The 83B of Bob Auld from Largo, FL finished in third place but was disqualified for not going to the scales after the heat Heat #2 1) 92 Matt Kurtz (Jacksonville, FL) 2) 14 Ryan Partin (Orlando, FL) 3) 56 Allen Kaluzniak (Jacksonville Beach, FL) 4) 47 Scott Anderson (Callahan, FL) 5) 04 T.W. Parkinson (Lake City, FL) 6) 38 Tony Agin (Fort Myers, FL) The 77 of Larry Pickett from Callahan, FL did not start the heat race and the 43 of Gene Machuga from St. Mary’s, GA broke the rear end and did not start the heat race. Heat #3 1) 3 Otto Scrape (Jacksonville, FL) 2) 99 Danny Jones (Land O’Lakes, FL) 3) 27 Troy Knowles (Gibsonton, FL) 4) 19 Keith Butler (Riverview, FL) 5) 9 Tim Grubaugh (Silver Springs, FL) 6) 11D Ashlynn Durden (Jacksonville, FL) 7) 02 Gene Lasker (Tampa, FL) Feature 1) 92 Matt Kurtz; 2) 17D Bruce Durden; 3) 14 Ryan Partin; 4) 3 Otto Scrape; 5) 8 Rich Alexander; 6) 6 Mike Schroder; 7) 99 Danny Jones; 8) 27 Troy Knowles; 9) 56 Allen Kaluzniak; 10) 21A Amanda Ferguson; 11) 9 Tim Grubaugh; 12) 50 Rick Byerly; 13) 30 D.J. Peeples; 14) 11D Ashlynn Durden; 15) 47 Scott Anderson; 16) 19 Keith Butler; 17) 83 Mark Ruel Jr.; 18) 04 T.W. Parkinson; 19) 77 Larry Pickett The 83B of Bob Auld, 02 of Gene Lasker, 43 of Gene Machuga and 38 of Tony Agin did not take the start of the feature race. Have an opinion on this story? Post a message on our Message Board! or Email KARNACto send a letter to the editor!