IT'S TIME TO RACE!!

September 5, 2009 Mathews Overpowers the Modifieds at Ocala By BJ Cavin ZUBER, FL- For the second week in a row, nature threatened to disrupt the action at Ocala Speedway, but the track crew would have none of that and managed to get the surface into racing shape after an afternoon thunderstorm soaked the clay. After a slight delay from spending extra time walking in the track, a huge crowd of fans watched four divisions battle it out on what developed into a very sticky and fast race track. The tackiness of the clay was most evident in the Open Wheel Modified feature, where a total invert had the racers battling from lap one until the finish. Jeff Mathews found himself starting well back into the pack, but wasted no time threading his way forward. Jason Bronson was the early leader and looked to have the car to beat, yet as the race developed he was overtaken by four others. Rob Underwood also had a starting spot back in the pack, but followed Mathews forward lap after lap. Jeff Mathews had his 33 car hooked up, and he threw the car through the turns weaving in and out of traffic to grab the lead by lap 8. Once Mathews got out in front there was no stopping him as he drove away with the victory. Rob Underwood battled to the second spot, while Gary Sexton hung in there to claim third. Kyle Owen overcame some early adversity in the race to take fourth, and Jason Bronson rounded out the top five. The Hobby Stocks put on quite show as Mike Eubanks jumped out to an early lead and spent lap after lap fighting off a very determined Howard O'Steen. But neither Eubanks or O'Steen had counted on a very ambitious Chad Scranton who patiently waited for his shot at the front. Scranton first managed to drive past O'Steen, then went to work on Eubanks, finally passing him when the XX car slipped a little high in turn 2 and lost grip. Scranton would hold onto his lead for the final three laps to earn the win, followed by Mike Eubanks in second and Howard O'Steen in third place. Bubba Christian fought hard but eventually came away with a fourth place finish, as Heath Walker followed in fifth. Jason Gamble has been a force to reckon with in the Amsoil V8 Thunder Stocks at Ocala Speedway, but he struggled last week and was out to prove that he still had it as the green was waved a week later. But Edward England also had something to prove, and despite Gamble trying every conceivable route to make a pass, England hung onto the lead. Overheating thanks to mud clogged grillwork sent Gamble to the pits under caution late in the race, and despite rocketing through the field afterward he was unable grab a win. Meanwhile the 17K of Eddie Kilbury had been hanging around the top runners for most of the race, and he was ready to pounce as soon as trouble arrived for the race leader. Edward England's car began to smoke in the final laps, and as he went by the white flag the engine expired. That allowed Eddie Kilbury to pass for the lead and hold off Jason Gamble to get his first victory at Ocala Speedway. Gamble settled for second while Sean Babcock fought to the third place finish. David Walls had struggled early in the race but recovered to claim fourth, while Mike Dubbs recovered from near disaster in the earlier heats to end up in fifth after the feature. The Gladiator division raced last and found that while there were some bumpy spots, that all of the other races had left the racing surface very tacky. Austin Gamble took advantage early and blasted his way out front to a sizable lead. But Eddie Lentz had enough determination to eat away at that lead and make a race out of it, but in the end came up a bit short against the 69 car. Austin Gamble took home the bigger hardware with a win while Lentz settled for second place. Paul Hahn claimed third and Casey Feaster came from dead last to finish fourth. Devin Walker had moments where it looked like his night might go all wrong, but he hung in there for the fifth place spot. Friday, September 11th will be a very special night at Ocala Speedway as all law enforcement, plus fire and rescue personnel, will be admitted for just one dollar. The night will be a "Tribute to Heroes" and will feature racing from the Late Models, Amsoil V8 Thunder Stocks, Mini Stocks, and the Gladiators. Ocala Speedway Results for 9/4/09 Open Wheel Modified 1- 33 Jeff Mathews 2- 09 Rob Underwood 3- 41 Gary Sexton 4- 2 Kyle Owen 5- 22 Jason Bronson 6- 12 Chip Owen 7- 01 Jamie Burrows 8- 02 Josh Sanford 9- Z06 Larry Mott 10- 40 Kyle Bronson 11- 491 Justin Tilton 12- ZR Tim Zackery 13- 90 Mark Buie 14- 410 PJ Wiggins 15- 81 Cody Blair 16- 75C Charlie O'Neill 17- 7S Ronnie Chance 18- 27 John Bradley 19- ZB Johnny Zackery 20- 0 Richard Dickinson Hobby Stock 1- 7S Chad Scranton 2- XX Mike Eubanks 3- 80 Howard O'Steen 4- 04 Bubba Christian 5- 55 Heath Walker 6- 83 Joe Boyd 7- 21 David Miller Jr. 8- 99 Danny Miller 9- 07 Donnie Reed 10- 81 Donald Woosley 11- 7P Paul Passamonte 12- 23 Glenn Baum 13- 37 Dean Jarvis 14- 28X Scooter Bennett 15- 3K Dave Kinsey 16- 24 Marty Butcher V8 Thunder Stock 1- 17K Eddie Kilbury Jr. 2- 17 Jason Gamble 3- 5W Sean Babcock 4- 35 David Walls 5- 36 Mike Dubbs 6- 99 David Antis 7- 00 Edward England 8- 3W Vaughn Woodall 9- 28 Glen Vincent 10- 81 Courtney Eubanks 11- 69A Johnathan Appleby 12- 7E James Erickson 13- 65 Dan Geer 14- 72 Terry Dunbar 15- 118 Chris Watson Gladiator 1- 69 Austin Gamble 2- 96 Eddie Lentz 3- 78 Paul Hahn 4- 20 Casey Feaster 5- 55 Devin Walker 6- 82 Kyle Morse 7- 83 Kody Fisher 8- 10 Ann Moon 9- 77 Matthew Kramer Have an opinion on this story? 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