December 30, 1999                                          -John Matthews

                                1999 Top Ten Stories

10.  NASCAR announces Supertrucks will take part in Speedweeks 2000.

    For several years, three NASCAR Touring divisions have taken part of the annual Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway.  In 2000, the polish
and slickness of Winston Cup, Busch Grand National, and the Goody's Dash
Series will be joined by the Craftsman Truck Series.  The rough and tumble
truck series is matched only by the Featherlite Modified Series in close
quartered intensity.  On the high banks of Daytona, that intensity might not
mix with the high speeds.


9.  New Sunbelt Late Model series a success.

    1999 marked the inaugural season for the Florida Sunbelt Late Model
Series.  Headed up by Don Nerone and run primarily at tracks owned by Robert Hart, the eight race series brought some glamour back to Florida Late Model racing.  Two Friday night shootouts at Orlando Speedworld ranked among the best races in the state in 1999.  Both races were a "who's-who" in Florida Late Model racing.  David Rogers won the series title, but Nerone proved to be the biggest winner showing that he still has what it takes to promote.


8.  Bill Green on the Radio.

    In 1998, Tampa area radio listeners were treated to weekend racing talk
with Doug Auld.  When Auld moved to another position in the racing industry,
Sunshine Speedway announcer Bill Green attempted to fill the void.  However, the station Auld broadcast with changed formats and the search for a new home was on.  Green landed on WSAA 620AM in Tampa from 10am - noon on Saturdays.  Late in 1999, the show's primary sponsor cut the show to one hour.

7.  Mesa Park opens its doors in 1999.

    A new motorsports complex in Florida had its grand opening this past
January.  Mesa Park in Fellsmere, FL opened the second swamp buggy race
track in the world (first: Florida Sports Park Naples, FL).  Eddie "The
Outlaw" Chesser won the Big Feature on Friday, January 15.  During the
course of the year, members of the Chesser family won all six events at Mesa
 Park.  The track, promoted by the North American Swamp Racing Association
(NASRA) and its president Matthew Graney, hosted several other wild events
in 1999 including Monster Trucks and jet ski races.


6.  Winston Cup racing comes to South Florida.

    On Sunday, November 14, Homestead-Miami Speedway came of age.  The
track, built by Roger Penske and now owned by International Speedway
Corporation first held a race in 1995.  But on November 14, Homestead hosted
a NASCAR Winston Cup race, the stick by which all superspeedways are
measured.  Rookie Tony Stewart won the Penzoil 400, his third victory on the
way to Rookie of the Year honors.


5.  Fires at Ocala and Lakeland leave two drivers burned and a spotlight on
safety.

   On March 20, Hobby Stock driver Ted Novinger was severly burned in an
accident at Ocala Speedway.  In the weeks following the accident, the Karnac message burst with well wishes for Novinger, as well as postings critical of how Ocala and Novinger were prepared for the fire, a drivers biggest fear. The incident sparked national attention by the National Fire Protection Association.
    At USA International Speedway on August 14, a multi-car incident sparked
a large fire during the SARA Late Model feature.  Richie Anderson received
serious burns as three cars melted to the ground.  It would have been worse
if not for the well trained safety team.  Shortly afterward, Karnac drew
criticism for posting pictures of the burning cars on its website.
    In the end, it became clear that safety is everyone's responsibility.


4.  Wayne Anderson wins the Slim Jim All Pro Series championship.

    Florida native Wayne Anderson lost his NASCAR Supertruck ride after
1998.  In 1999, he drove in the NASCAR Slim Jim All Pro Series.  He won five
races on his way to the points championship, including the season opener at
USA International and the series finale in Nashville.  Also during the
season, Anderson won a variety of unsanctioned races including the Florida
Governor's Cup 200 at New Smyrna Speedway.


3.  Tragedy strikes at Sunshine and a community pulls together.

    On November 13, 1999, Bill Revard paid the ultimate price at Sunshine
Speedway.  During the figure 8 feature, Revard made contact with another car and went careening into the front stretch wall.  Revard never awoke and died from injuries sustained in the accident.  In the weeks that followed,
Sunshine Speedway's racing community pulled together to mourn the loss of
"Wild" Bill and help support the family he left behind.  Karnac's message
board filled with goodwill messages and stories about Revard.  Florida
racing had lost one of the good guys.


2.  The continuing saga of Desoto's ownership struggle.

    This soap opera began before the first green flag fell in March for the
ASA race.  Rumors of potential buyout offers, employees stealing track
equipment, and ownership confusion between father and son swirled as the
track closed in April to repave.  Drivers didn't know if the work would ever
be complete as the paving went no where for several weeks.
    Karnac's editor Jack Smith engaged in detective work to sort out the
mess to no avail.  He could not get to the bottom of the case, but did get a
rise out of Desoto's public relations man.  When Desoto did open, crowds
were much smaller than in 1998.
    This whole matter is now going to be decided in court.  This story will
play out well into 2000.


Stay tuned for an in depth look at the top story of 1999 in Florida Stock
Car racing:  Racing and the Internet.

                                                                                -John Matthews