IT'S TIME TO RACE!!

August 22, 2009 Shady Grady Claims $1000 at Ocala by BJ Cavin ZUBER, FL- After a two week hiatus, the fans and racers returned to the historic Ocala Speedway to finish what they started on July 31st, which was a great night of racing interrupted by rain. And as luck would have it, rain again hit the speedway just before the scheduled practice time of 7PM, resulting in about an hour's delay. But a large crowd of fans and a pit area crammed with race cars sat through the rain, then enjoyed a beautiful night of top notch action. The Hobby Stock Division had a $1000 cash carrot dangling in front of them as 22 cars took the green flag, and it was not long before Grady Christian made it perfectly clear that he was the man to beat. The 30 lap race featured plenty of beating and banging, and battered race cars were the rule once the race ended. As as Grady Christian led to the finish, Bubba Christian followed close behind and even made a last ditch attempt to pass as they approached the checkered flags. Grady held on to win as Bubba earned a second place finish, then David Kinsey followed in the third spot. Mike Tripp drove his car to claim fourth place as David Miller Jr. overcame some early race mishaps to round out the top five. Cody Blair started from the pole as the Open Wheel Modifieds took the green flag, but an altercation sent him to the rear of the field early on. David Barber stepped up to claim the lead only to lose it as he spun in turn 4, and Roger Crouse kept the lead through much of the race only to be overtaken by his friend, Jeff Mathews. Mathews was too tough to tame and earned a win, while Cody Blair fought back to a second place prize. Roger Crouse settled for the third spot followed by Kyle Owen and Rob Underwood. The Amsoil V8 Thunder Stocks saw Jason Gamble jump out front on the first lap, but Gamble would spin later in turn 2 and be relegated to the rear of the field, which left him with 22 cars to pass in order to get back up front. Meanwhile Augie Burttram put the XX car out front and kept it there, all the while counting down the laps as Gamble made his charge forward. In the end it was Burttram who picked up a well deserved win as Jason Gamble came up just short, finishing second. James Edwards placed third, followed by Sean Babcock and David Walls to round out the top five. The Mini Stocks were a division that had completed their heats in July, and their feature race was actually the first feature of the night. Buddy Pope started the race from the pole position before difficulties sent him to the pits and ended his run, and with Pope out of action it was time for Calvin Christian to take charge and dominate the field. Paul Combast gave a mighty effort at passing Christian, but the 63 machine was simply too strong. Calvin Christian earned the win with Combast second and Sean Babcock claiming third. Greg Bonynge ended up fourth while David Miller drove the 40M to fifth place. Larry Langston was the man to beat as the Gladiators go their turn on the clay, and he wasted no time establishing his supremacy on the track. Steve Cox kept it close but never really had a chance to pass Langston for the lead. Langston and Cox fiished one and two, with Mike Lane making a late charge to claim third place. Harold Lewis got a fourth place finish in front of Troy Dihebrand in fifth place. Next Friday Ocala Speedway welcomes the Late Model Division back with racers like Ivedent Lloyd, James Powell, and even Wayne Reutimann Jr. is expected to put his new car on the clay in Zuber. The Hobby Stocks will be back, joined by the Amsoil V8 Thunder Stocks and the Gladiators. Ocala Speedway Results for 8/21/09 Hobby Stock (30 lap/$1000 to win) 1- 36 Grady Christian 2- 04 Bubba Christian 3- K3 David Kinsey 4- 61 Mike Tripp 5- 21 David Miller Jr. 6- 32 Bud Chancey 7- XXX Bubba Waldron 8- 24 Marty Butcher 9- 23 Glenn Baum 10- 55 Heath Walker 11- 28X Ira Mattice 12- 12 Charlie McNichol 13- 07 Donnie Reed 14- 56 Patrick Williams 15- 238 Colin Kruse 16- 83 Joe Boyd 17- 80 Harold O'Steen 18- 81 Don Woosley 19- 65 Joey Brown 20- XX Mike Eubanks 21- 08 William Edwards 22- 35 Kevin Durden Open Wheel Modified 1- 33 Jeff Mathews 2- 81 Cody Blair 3- 9 Roger Crouse 4- 2 Kyle Owen 5- 77 Rob Underwood 6- 27 John Bradley 7- 56 Dave Barber 8- 00 Chris Littrell 9- 12 Chip Owen 10- Z Tim Zackery 11- 02 Josh Sanford 12- 5 Hayden Campbell 13- Z06 Larry Mott 14- 41 Gary Sexton 15- 75C Charlie O'Neill 16- 95 Jason Bronson 17- 40 Kyle Bronson 18- 7E James Erickson 19- 61 Mike Tripp 20- 0 Richard Dickinson DNS- 10 Don Depew V8 Thunder Stock 1- XX Augie Burttram 2- 17 Jason Gamble 3- 13 James Edwards 4- 5W Sean Babcock 5- 35 David Walls 6- 00 Edward England 7- 36 Mike Dubbs 8- 73 Jeffrey Eisenhower 9- 86 Steve O'Steen 10- 6 Wally Douglas 11- 54 Karla Phipps 12- 15 James Edwards 13- 118 Chris Watson 14- 65 Dan Greer 15- 28 Glen Vincent 16- 21N Chris Narramore 17- 21S Charles Smith 18- 3W Vaughn Woodall 19- 81 Courtnet Eubanks 20- 72 Terry Dunbar 21- 3D Jessie Corbitt 22- 89 Ken Asbell Jr. 23- 99 David Antis DNS- 40J Danny James Mini Stock 1- 63 Calvin Christian 2- 19 Paul Combast 3- 9B Sean Babcock 4- 44 Greg Bonynge 5- 40M David Miller 6- 81 Buddy Pope 7- 11Z Johnny Zackery 8- 3D Dean Kinsey DNS- 92 Jarad Allison Gladiator 1- 49 Larry Langston 2- 88 Steve Cox 3- 911 Mike Lane 4- 88X Harold Lewis 5- 222 Troy Dihebrand 6- 78 Paul Hahn 7- 96 Eddie Lentz 8- 10 Robert Clemons 9- 1 Kayla Bacelo 10- 83 Kody Fisher 11- X8 Steven Cox Jr. DNS- 82 Kyle Morris Have an opinion on this story? Post a message on our Message Board! or Email KARNACto send a letter to the editor!