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February 6, 1999 The STARS Finish Big At East Bay Raceway
What happens when you take 70-80 Late Model teams from 22 States, three thousand fans form all over the country, and a mild Florida winter evening, mix them in with a little clay and some folks who know how to put on a show? On this Saturday night the answer was East Bay Raceway and the exciting STARS Late Model Series. That excitement was evident when you walked through the front gate, and carried through to the final ten laps of the 100 lap, $10,000 winners share event. on this final night at East Bay for the STARS Jimmy Mars of Lakeville, MN driving the number 1M black Monte Carlo was the winner of the race, a very competitive event from start to finish. There was some concern near the half way point when Jimmy’s car started trailing some smoke. But Jimmy was smokin’ as he, #222 Mike Boland from Cuba, AL, and #99 Donnie Moran from Dresden,OH battled up front in and out of lapped traffic. The night started with the qualifying runs of two laps each around the clay oval, followed by six 12 lap events allowing the top three cars in each event to make the big race. The 3000 or so fans were treated to Speedo, the track clown, as he slingshot t-shirts and other surprises up into the crowd. Speedo also added a special flavor to the Star Bangled Banner with his fireworks and with his unique vintage automobile shooting flames out the rear end as it motored away leaving him to chase it down. Doug Auld from was in top form with Jack Miller and he keeping the show lively and interviewing fans in the stands before the racing and during some of the breaks. Doug Auld has a great radio show live online and a quite lively message board where East Bay fans tend to call home. There was a little something for everyone. The East Bay Raceway Track Queen was on hand with a couple of her friends to hop in a stunning ‘57 Chevy Convertible for some parade laps just prior to the main event. And of Course Speedo was sticking his big nose into everything all night long. By the time the competition just to get to the main event was over and the 26 starters who had earned a spot in the race were ready, the fans were ready for the dirt to fly. And it did indeed! On the first lap the racing was three wide coming out of turn four with several cars involved in some fairly heavy contact. And it stayed intense for 100 laps, with the fans getting all their money’s worth. and more.The entire event was run very smoothly and both the STARS and East Bay Raceway are to be congratulated on putting together such a great show. The STARS dirt Late Model sanctioning body organized in 1983 with the official name of Short Track Auto Racing Series. It was later bought and renamed Short Track Auto Racing Stars, and first came to Florida Speedweeks in 1985 for five days at Volusia County Speedway. The 1999 STARS schedule includes late model dirt racing at venues in six states and purses averaging over $30,000 per race. The first event is at K-C Raceway in Chillicothe, OH on April 3rd. We look forward to their return for Speedweeks in 2000. And of course East Bay is on a roll. Positive management changes last year has led East Bay Raceway from a failing situation to a level most tracks would be proud to achieve. The slogan “Catch the New Spirit” is working at East Bay. The ever growing popularity of Dirt Late Model racing and the timing of East Bay’s revival could lead to some great things for the fans of Florida racing. So the next time you want to get down and dirty and see some real non-stop three wide fender banging competition in a great atmosphere give East Bay Raceway a shot. You won’t be disappointed. -Jack Smith Finishing order for STARS Feb 6, 1999 1. (9) #1M Jimmy Mars Lakeville,MN 100 Laps $10,000 Running
2. (17) #222 Mike Boland Cuba,AL 100 Laps $5,000 Running
3. (1) #99 Donnie Moran Dresden,OH 100 Laps $4,000 Running
4. (14) #75 Bart Hartman Zanesville,OH 100 Laps $2,000 Running
5. (15) #30 Steve Shaver Parkersburg,WV 100 Laps $1,500 Running
6. (24) #66 Bill Frye Greenbrier,AR 100 Laps $1,440 Running
7. (4) #S9 Dan Schlieper Pewaukee,WI 100 Laps $1,950 Running
8. (8) #68 Tim Hitt Weston,WV 100 Laps $1,200 Running
9. (18) #56 Gary Webb Blue Grass,IA 99 Laps $1,100 Running
10.(23) #96 Terry English Benton,KY 99 Laps $1,040 Running
11.(7) #71R Rod Conley Wheelersburg,OH 99 Laps $900 Running
12.(20) #12S Jason Smith Laurel,MS 98 Laps $840 Running
13.(16) #45F Russ Frohnapfel Columbus,OH 92 Laps $700 Running
14.(12) #32L Greg Lucas Whitesburg,KY 92 Laps $650 Running
15.(25) #1C Eddie Carrier Jr. Hazard,KY 84 Laps $640 Running
16.(6) #0 Davey Johnson Greensburg,PA 82 Laps $$650 Rear-End
17.(3) #42 Todd Andrews Eldred,PA 80 Laps $750 Handling
18.(2) #2J Mike Johnson Imperial,PA 74 Laps $1,000 Steering
19.(19) #5C Rodney Combs Ft. Myers,FL 63 Laps $540 Handling
20.(11) #02 Keith Nosbisch Valrico,FL 61 Laps $500 Steering
21.(13) #12 Rick Aukland Zanesville,OH 58 Laps $500 Handling
22.(10) #E1 Mike Balzano Parkersburg,WV 19 Laps $500 Accident
23.(5) #71 Delmas Conley Wheelersburg,OH 12 Laps $625 Transmission
24.(21) #16 Tony Izzo Jr. Bridgeview,IL 1 Lap $540 Engine
25.(26) #19 Gary Stuhler Greencastle,PA 1 Lap $540 Rear-End
26.(22) #15 Steve Francis Ashland,KY 100 Laps $540 DQ-Light at Scales |
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