The first feature of the night was the Rookie Truck class for twenty five laps, that saw Travis Miller of North Ft. Myers on the pole and Corey Bigley outside. Miller took the first lap but Bigley quickly got by him to run the first half of the race in the lead, while Chad Chastain of Alva was making his way through the field. Half way mark, Chastain made the move on Bigley to take over the lead and go onto win the race.
T.Q. Midgets were up next and what a race it was when the race was red flagged after just two laps in the books. Coming out of turn four it appeared that Chris Gimmler got loose and spun flipping over on his side. While trying to avoid the 51, the 11 of Jimmy Wilkens III of Ft Pierce spun and landed on its side. David Patterson of Port Charlotte came out of four, went down low, hit the grass and the Midget went airborne, spinning several times in the air. The car landed and bounced and rolled several times before stopping upside down. Once the clean up was done it was the 7 of Jamie Barnum of Brooksville that went on to win the race while Rob Kohler was a close second and Mike Belusar was third.
Everyone was wondering what was going to unfold in the Cowboy Cadillac race as they lined up to take the green. Ric Mills sat on the pole while Jeff Deeble outside but when they crossed the line to be scored it was Stuart Vandevender that was in first place and Deeble second. Lap five, Deeble giving plenty of room between him and Vandevender, made the pass to take over the lead. Mills made it back up to second but lap thirteen, Trey Almand pushing his way on the inside made it four wide coming out of turn four. Trucks bounced off each other and all gathered them back up except for John Pummell Jr who stopped on the front after loosing a spot or two to bring out the caution. Pummell was sent to the rear since he brought out the caution and Jeff Deeble out of Port Charlotte went on to win being chased by Mike Bialecki who was second and Trey Almand third.
Outlaw Modifieds were back and ran a hard fought caution free race that saw Robert Campbell of Tampa lead the first six laps. Mike Endee of North Port made the move into second on lap seven and went on to win the feature. Tom Myer of Tampa came home in second and John Parrish was third.
The Kids Box Car race was next and what a good time the kids had with their boxes decorated up as race cars. First place went to Jason Pummell, 2nd was Chloe Wisniewski, 3rd was Dominick Trautner and 4th was Kelsey Prevalt, good job to all the kids and their pit crews.
Fan participation had nine cars and trucks and even a suburban to do battle for bragging rights and the trophy. It was the BIG Dodge truck that out ran them all and was the winner.
Pro Trucks came out and brought lots of drama, beating, banging and good hard racing and some tempers were hot. Michael Burns jumped out to an early lead and had the 25 of Darin McCurdy behind him battling the 99 of Rick Penton for that second spot. With just two laps in the books the first caution came out for the 77 who spun and before they could get another lap in, another caution for Travis Gossard spinning Whitney Poole and Gossard was sent to the rear. Poole had to pit with a flat tire and would take up the rear along side of Gossard for the restart. Beating and banging and fighting for position till they saw ten laps left on the board and they were all in it to win it. Lap twenty eight two cautions came out, drivers fighting for postion, trying to make a lane were there was not enough room and it was Gossard who got sent to the rear again for driving over the 14 of Sam Scott who had to pit with a flat tire. Gossard was not happy with the call and when it was all said and done, had to be sent to the pits to be able to continue the race. Michael was on the pole and sister Kelli Burns outside and not sure what the fastest truck of the night was trying to do on the restart but when Kelli got by her brother she brought Rick Penton with her and shuffled Michale back to third. Michael got sent to the rear for bringing out the last caution with five to go and Whitney Poole had battled her way back up to third. Kelli went on to win the feature with Poole passing Penton for second and Michael made his way back up for third while Penton was fourth and Travis Miller fifth.
Road Warrior had an exciting race that saw Justin Teston out in front of the field for the first five laps and looked as if he was racing on dirt slinging that cars out of the turns. Teston took it three wide down the front stretch when it appeared him and Rick Reed locked bumpers and came to a stop in turn one. Teston got the call on that one and had to start in the rear and it was Jason Miller who took the lead and fought for position with Chris Scott. Miller checked out and it was a close race behind him for position but when the checkers flew it was Chris Loney from Naples that crossed the line for second, Rick Reed third and Richard Nelson fourth.
The last race of the night saw Stephen Babcock take the lead until a strong running Skyler Null passed him on lap four. Skyler Null of Ft Myers had his car hooked up and running strong while trying to stay out in front of Paul Richards Jr who was closing in. Richards got by Null to take over the lead by Null was right there for this caution free race. Kris Bridges made his way up into the mix but could not get by the 87 of Skyler Null till he saw two to go and he went. Paul Richards Jr was the winner with Bridges barely getting by Null for second and Null had a strong third place finish and Stephen Babcock hung on for fourth.
Next week November 24th the speedway will be closed. Speedway owners would like to wish the Fans, Drivers, Crews and Staff a Happy Thanksgiving. Make sure you mark your calender for Dec 1st when the Speedway has a full night of racing action when the Open Wheel Modifieds return along with Street Stock, Road Warriors, Pro 4, Legends, Outlaw Modifieds, T.Q. Midgets, Dwarf Cars and the fan favorite, Fan Participation. Visit our web site for all up to date information at www.puntagordaspeedway.com
PUNTA GORDA SPEEDWAY RESULTS
11/17/2012
Pro Trucks
1. 4 Kelli Burns Port Charlotte
2. 00 Whitney Poole Vero Beach
3. 14b Michael Burns Port Charlotte
4. 99 Rick Penton Palm Beach County
5. 36m Travis Miller N. Ft. Myers
6. 36 Chad Chastain Alva
7. 32 Dylan Bigley Naples
8. 14s Sam Scott Naples
9. 45 Erik Elsea Cape Coral
10.25 Darin McCurdy Port Charlotte
11. 77 James Dellea Port Charlotte
12. 47 Travis Gossard Naples D.Q.
Outlaw Modified
1. 26 Mike Indee North Port
2. 04 Tom Meyer Tampa
3. 9 John Parrish Tampa
4. 19 Kevin Campbell Tampa
5. 10 Robert Campbell Tampa
6. 61 Paul Richards Sr. Naples
7. 24 Dan Peacock Key West
8. 22 Ric Mills Arcadia
9. 14 Dan Akard Ft. Myers
10. 28 Raymond Jones Arcadia
11. Mark Patten N. Ft. Myers
Road Warriors
1. 10 Jason Miller LeHigh Acres
2. 33 Chris Loney Naples
3. 1 Rick Reed Punta Gorda
4. 80 Richard Nelson Port Charlotte
5. 97 Chris Scott Nokomis
6. 13 Juston Teston LeHigh
7. 5 Jeremy Daring Lehigh
8. 44 Rick Hess Englewood
9. 17 James Stokes LeHigh
Cowboy Cadillac’s
1. 8 Jeff Deeble Port Charlotte
2. 92 Mike Bialecki Arcadia
3. 88 Trey Almand Port Charlotte
4. 22 Ric Mills Arcadia
5. 86 John Pummel Jr. Arcadia
6. 99 Stuart Vandevender Cape Coral
Pro 4
1. 61 Paul Richards Jr. Naples
2. 63 Kris Bridges Venice
3. 87 Skyler Null Fort Myers
4. 56 Stephen Babcock Punta Gorda
5. 00 Dan Collver N. Ft. Myers
6. 04 Ryan Collver Ft. Myers
7. 99 Johnny Marra Cape Coral
8. 28 Dylan Bigley Naples
9. 3 Chuck Null Fort Myers
10. 22 Jeremy Perkins D.N.S.
Rookie Trucks
1. 36 Chad Chastain Alva
2. 00 Corey Bigley Naples
3. 77 James Dellea 3 rd Port Charlotte
4. 36M Travis Miller N. Ft. Myers
5. 32 Justin Bond Vero Beach
T. Q. Midgets
1. 7 Jamie Barnum Brooksville
2. 30 Rob Kehler Naples
3. 63 Mike Belusar Punta gorda
4. 11 Timmy Wilkens 3 rd .
5. 58 Stu Chamberlin Pine Island
6. 51 Chris Gimmler Palm Beach Gardens
7. 5 David Patterson Port Charlotte
8. 17 Ray Smith Port Charlotte