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| Orlando SpeedWorld Prepares for TBARA Winged Sprints | by Jane Smith
BITHLO. Fla. - Friday night at Orlando SpeedWorld, April 11, fans better hold on to their hats because the ever popular Tampa Bay Area Racing Association Winged Sprints are coming.
Doug Heveron won the last TBARA race at Sunshine Speedway and the 19th annual Jim Haynes Memorial. Heveron won heat number 1 with Sonny Harley winning the second heat and Mark Gimmiler the third.
"When the Winged Sprints come, the fans love it. I don't know if it is their speed or the loud thunder from the cars but they are one of the most popular traveling series in the state, " said Chuck Hall, a fan at Orlando SpeedWorld.
Expect to see a number of Winged Sprints trying to win the seventh race of their 2003 season. Entries expected are Wayne Reutimann, Shane Butler, Sport Allen, Wayne Reutimann Jr., David Slawiak, Dude Teate, Keith Butler and many more. Be sure to come early so you can watch these earth pounding monsters in hot laps.
All regular FASCAR divisions, except for Super Late Models, will be racing. After having a week off last weekend, you can bet the Sportsman will be biting at the bites to get back into the saddle.
Doug Samion leads the points in the Sportsman division with two wins under his belt. After taking a year off to race the Goodyear Challenge Late Model Series, Samion has come back strong and ready to fight for the championship.
2002 Sportsman Champion Kelly Jarrett has all intentions of spoiling Samion's plans but only time will tell who will be the Sportsman King.
Tim "Missileman" McPhail took home the Mini Stock win last week after a bizarre race where all the cars got locked up. Both McPhail and Sean Bass have wins in this division. More Mini Stocks are expected this week with Dick Laszlo joining the field and Rex Hollinger.
Jeff Wright took the Super Stock win over the previous week's winner Ron Whaley. Sixteen cars were in the field last week and this division is still building. If you like side-by-side, bumping, grinding action, this will be your race. Any number of drivers can take home the win.
Glen Bradley won his first Open Wheel Modified feature race last Friday night to the cheers of the crowd. Bradley, a fairly newcomer to racing, has improved with each and every race. Also showing promise for this year are Chad Pierce, Frank Polly Shane Held and Matthew Wheeler.
Jim Leslie has proved he is the "kng" when it comes to Strictly Stock racing. This class may be alittle short on cars as of yet but nevertheless provides plenty of racing action for the fans. If you like squealing tires and sliding and alittle dirt track racing thrown in, this class will delight any fan.
Also on the program for Friday night are the Bandoleros - both Bandits and Young Gun divisions plus Antique cars.
Orlando SpeedWorld is located at the intersection of SR50 and SR520 in Bithlo. Grandstands open at 6 p.m., racing action begins at 8 p.m.
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