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| Citrus Takes First Look at FAST Sprints | by Larry MacMillan
(Inverness, Fl. 4/2/03) Citrus County Speedway fans will be introduced to their fourth visiting series in the first six weeks of racing this weekend. The FAST Sprints will bring their open wheel racing rockets to the fast 3/8th mile for the first of two visits in the 2003 season. This appearance will take on an entirely different look than the 2003 opening night with the T.B.A.R.A. Sprints with their winged 750 horsepower racers. These wild men go without the down force of wings and if they get into trouble they can get airborne and bounce off the asphalt like a rubber ball. Experience is the best teacher in keeping these high-speed jockeys on the fast 3/8ths mile and it should prove interesting to see how this new series takes to Citrus County Speedway in their debut.
In other action, four time champion Mike Veltman takes on the sixteen contenders, leading in the point race again fifty points up on last weeks winner Johnny Gann who jumped from sixth to second. Bill Oestreicher fell to third after a 12th place finish last week. Mike Bill was able to pull off a tenth at the flag but he slipped to fourth by five points and is just six points up on Bill Ryan who holds out in fifth.
Danny Cretty moved to the top in Street Stock action with four consecutive top five finishes but is still looking for Victory Lane. Mickey Burns moved up to second, trailing Cretty by eleven points. Ernie Reed trails by three in third and is the only driver in the top five to score a checkered flag. Daniel Webster moved from sixth to fourth after losing out on his first chance at the winner’s circle to Travis Nichols last week. Owen Leigh slipped to fifth with a seventh place finish last week. Despite putting away his second feature in a row, Travis Nichols made no gains but is in the top ten. Jo Jo Viverito slipped from the lead to eighth after a 13th place finish last week. Entering week five of the season, twenty-two cars have seen action at Citrus.
Chris Thornton cashed in on a second place finish to move from third to first in the Mini Stock point race. Point leader Rob Wheatley slipped from the lead to fifth after an eleventh place run last week. Chris Hooker remains in second, sixteen points out of the lead and is being chased by last weeks winner, Phillip Joyner who trails by three. Dustin DesChamps holds out in fourth, trailing Joyner by eleven. Twenty-five cars have earned points in the early going.
Richie Smith continues to dominate the Hobby Stock Division in search of his third division title. Young gun Curtis Neumann holds out in second, twenty-eight points out of the lead. Dean Lawyer, Roy Perkins and Alvin Williamson held on to the top five positions with all five cars finishing in the top ten last week over a 22-car field. Thirty-two cars have run in the division thus far with only four races under their belt.
Roy Blotz has been the dominant figure in the Thunder Stock division and leads the pack with two of four wins. Pat Quick has put two top five, one top ten and a feature win together to hold out in second, just 28 points out of the lead. Lee Keller moved from fourth to third with his third place finish last week. Larry Triana moved to fourth around Louie Cioe with a sixth place finish while Cioe finished 16th but holds out in fifth by a slim margin of twenty-one points over Jimmy Nash who had a sub drive for him last week.
All five regular divisions will be back for heat and feature action this weekend in their fifth race of the year. Late models return on April 12th as all six regular divisions get back on track.
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