by Dave Westerman

 Once again, Mother Nature was close by Auburndale Speedway Saturday night but never paid a visit. Instead, a cool breeze gave fans a break from the hot, steamy weather of midday while the action they watched was hot and wild.

111 race teams crowded the pit area and the one with the heaviest foot was Lakeland’s James Wright III who posted a pair of victories on the evening.

Despite having another big Open Wheel Modified race scheduled at another nearby track, a dozen drivers showed up for action with Josh Todd and Bobby Blake topping the heat races to earn front row starting spots for the 40 lap headliner.

John Markovitch spun on the initial start but the second start was much better and Blake shot out to an early advantage as James Wright III quickly moved in as the top seven cars formed a tight formation behind the leader. Lap 11 saw Wright go spinning in turn two courtesy of Keith Lilley who agreed to being at fault and went to the rear of the restart line-up while Wright returned to second spot.

Wright eventually found enough steam to get by Blake on lap 16 and began to simply motor away from the field while Blake was left to fight off a host of other drivers for second. The tight battle up front saw Lilley go spinning in a cloud of smoke off turn four on lap 31. Big Wayne Morris agreed to being the culprit this time and went to the back for the restart.

Wright had the field covered over the final nine laps as he took the checker well ahead of Blake who held off a furious late charge from Ronnie Heard, Jr.

who was impressive making his season debut in a new racecar. Lilley cam back from all of his earlier adversity to claim fourth with Jeff Scofield fifth in the car normally assigned to Harold Crooms. Sixth went to Tampa’s Johnnie Newsome with Morris, Matt Jarrett, Ken Lawrence and Todd rounding out the top ten.

For Wright, it was his second straight OWM win and helped solidify his place on top of the point standings… and he wasn’t done yet.

The Street Stocks were out in force as usual but three would never make it to the feature including Ken Lawrence, newcomer Joe Van Winkle and Brian Harbin who blew yet another engine. Heat race wins were taken by point leader Matt McCrary and Jamie Dunnahoe which put them on the front row for the main event.

McCrary slipped out to an early lead still looking for that elusive first win in the class while Dunnahoe gamely tried to hold the outside line for two laps with Wright just slipping into second before a turn two tangle involving Kyle Peters and Dave Colpritt brought out the caution. On the restart, Wright started to make his move but things got crazy in a hurry. Jerrell Cook’s car slowed considerably on the track and cars began to slip and slide with Jeff Waterman turning around in turn two. The engine had come unglued in Cook’s car, but there was little smoke to indicate the amount of oil that his machine had dumped on the track. A lengthy red flag was needed to clean up the mess which covered most of the track and the pit entrance.

Once the green was displayed, Wright made quick work of McCrary and took the point. Slowed only by a yellow for debris on lap nine. Wright sped to his second win of the night and seventh Street Stock checker of the year.

Bobby Mobley made a late pass to take the runner-up spot with McCrary holding on for third in front of Dunnahoe and Peters. Sixth through tenth were Colpritt, Waterman, Cody McDuffie, Larry Braswell and Cook.

Bolstered by four new drivers making their first ever Auburndale appearance,

23 Legend Cars were in the pits and were split into three heat races that were captured by Tyler Smith, Justin Brown and Jake Perkins.

Smith had the pole for the feature race and assumed the point with Perkins and Devin McCleod on his tail. Two of the new drivers making their first start, Brady Marshall and Chase Fitzgerald, got tangled up in turn four during lap seven with Marshall unable to continue. On the restart, Perkins got out of the groove and found himself back in fifth before he could get in line. Lap nine saw Roger Englund and Leroy Moore get hooked up in turn three for what would be the final caution of the race.

McCleod was able to match the speed of Smith the entire distance but could never pull enough extra “horses” to serously challenge for the win. Smith, who just started classes at Florida Gulf Coast University in Ft. Myers, took his fourth win of the year with McCleod a close second trailed by Brown, Perkins and Mason Ketterman. Matt Larmore was sixth with Donovan Ponder, Dave Gleason, Bryan Silas and Lynn Wiles rounding out the top ten in a very competitive field.

After three tries at getting a good start, the Modified Mini Stocks were lined up in single-file order so they could get the race under way. Heat winner Mike Sweet grabbed the lead but point leader Scotty Sharpe breezed by before the first lap could be completed and he quickly began putting distance on the field. Sharpe appeared headed to a very easy victory when his car suddenly lost power and he pulled off the track. The problem – a spark plug wire fell off, robbing Sharpe of his third win of the year. Saying “thank you very much,” Jason Rendell took over in the lead and despite a lap 21 caution for Ashton Hunt’s stopped machine, led the rest of the way for his third win of the season.

Jamie Kennedy had a great run for second while Corbin Gibbs came back from heat race problems to pick up third place. Fourth went to Rex “Boneman”

Hollinger and fifth to Bo Collier. Completing the top ten were Sweet, Drew Carter, Hunt, Kris Douglas and Sharpe.

The Southeast Champ Karts are known for their close competition and they did not disappoint on this night, in fact the competition was a little “too close”

for some. After Romay Venta and Kenner Brown III topped the twin heat races things got ugly in a hurry in the 25 lap feature. On the start, Brown ran into a spun kart in turn four and did a complete flip. As nasty as the wreck looked, Brown was able to restart.

Paul Letourneau picked up the early lead with a big draft of karts behind him. Mitch Stevens took over the top spot on lap seven as things really began to heat up behind him and finally came to a head on lap nine as Phil Harp spun coming off turn two with karts going every which way trying to avoid him. Unfortunately, Ron Sanford never saw the spun kart and drilled Harp’s machine at full speed sending Sanford flipping down the back stretch. After several anxious moments, both drivers emerged from their crumpled karts with Harp’s sore foot the only injury.

Stevens lost the lead on the restart as Dustin Chisholm made the pass and brought Tara Henderson and P.J. Letourneau with him. The three ran in a bump draft for several laps and it looked like it would be a typical close finish. However, with just two laps left, Henderson’s kart ran out of fuel and she coasted to a stop in the infield. That gave Chisholm enough breathing room to take the victory by several lengths over Letourneau and Stevens. Wesley Gonzales and Cameron Ray took the checker in fourth and fifth while Billy Smith, Doug Schmidt, Paul Letourneau, Brown III and Tim Simmons completed the top ten.

Kimberly Gullett earned her second win of the year in the Scramblers leading flag to flag in her Honda. George Gorham, Jr. drove hard but had to settle for second ahead of Brian Tyre, Richard Brown and Sean Strama who came all the way down from Jacksonville to make his Auburndale Speedway debut. Gullett also won the heat race.

Larry Chumney II was also just as dominant in the V-8 Bombers as he won the heat and led every lap of the feature. Late arrival Gene Harrison came from the rear of the starting grid to nab second in front of Josh Borem, Buddy Phillips, Jr. and Mark Roadarmel, Jr. It was Chumney’s third win of the year in a car he shares with his father Larry, Sr.

Fred Harrison, Jr. led all the way in both the heat and feature in the Mini Stocks taking his ninth win of the year. Point leader Chris Spring was second trailed by George Gorham, Jr., Jason Swilley and Mark Wells.

The largest field of Bandoleros this year saw two heat races needed to set the feature field. Daniel Conlin, Jr. and Ryan Shattuck paced the heats and Shattuck zipped out to a quick lead in the feature. Tallahassee’s Joey Padgett, making his first start here, reeled in Shattuck but could not muster enough to make a pass. Conlin held on for third ahead of Coty Bibeau and Andy Metz. Teddy Lively was sixth with Cameron White the top Bandit (8-11 years old) finisher in seventh. Completing the top ten were Mark Bibeau, Noah Cornman and Jake Hunter. It was Shattuck’s third win of the year but his first in some time as he ran all of the Summer Shootout Series at Charlotte, NC Motor Speedway where he earned the Bandolero Outlaw championship.

Racing continues next Saturday, September 4th, as the Open Wheel Modifieds return again along with the Sportsman, Street Stocks, V-8 Bombers, Mini Stocks, Kids Club and Scramblers. Sept 11th will be First Responders Night.

All police, firefighters, EMT’s etc., will be admitted free with ID. For more information call 863-551-1131 or log on to www.auburndaleracing.com powered by Palm Tree Computers.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS – AUBURNDALE SPEEDWAY – 8/28/10:

OPEN WHEEL MODIFIEDS:
1-#56 James Wright III
2-#75 Bobby Blake
3-#81 Ronnie Heard, Jr.
4-#87 Keith Lilley
5-#07 Jeff Scofield
6-#31 Johnnie Newsome
7-#98 Wayne Morris
8-#98x Matthew Jarrett
9-#65 Ken Lawrence
10-#89 Josh Todd
11-#9 Ron Armellei
12-#62 John Markovich

STREET STOCKS:
1-#56 James Wright III
2-#29 Bobby Mobley
3-#5 Matt McCrary
4-#62 Jamie Dunnahoe
5-#53 Kyle Peters
6-#4 Dave Colpritt
7-#42 Jeff Waterman
8-#25 Cody McDuffie
9-#80 Larry Braswell
10-#46 Jerrell Cook
DNS #8 Brian Harbin
DNS #15 Joe Van Winkle
DNS #65 Ken Lawrence

MODIFIED MINI STOCKS:
1-#15 Jason Rendell
2-#07 Jamie Kennedy
3-#2 Corbin Gibbs
4-#85x Rex Hollinger
5-#02 Bo Collier
6-#55 Mike Sweet
7-#85 Drew Carter
8-#9 Ashton Hunt
9-#56 Kris Douglas
10-#89 Scotty Sharpe
11-#45 Dennis Jones

LEGEND CARS:
1-#4 Tyler Smith
2-#21 Devin McLeod
3-#8 Justin Brown
4-#59 Jake Perkins
5-#71 Mason Ketterman
6-#67 Matt Larmore
7-#81 Donovan Ponder
8-#17 Dave Gleason
9-#57 Bryan Silas
10-#31 Lynn Wiles
11-#7 Dakota Baggette
12-#5 Seth Adams
13-#44 Gary Verdier
14-#96 Chase Fitzerald
15-#1 Zach Napoleon
16-#99 Leroy Moore
17-#2 Corey White
18-#83 Danielle Stratton
19-#00 Anthony Cataldi
20-#28 Joey Collins
21-#51 Roger Englund
22-#38 Gerald White, Jr.
23-#14 Brady Marshall

V-8 BOMBERS:
1-#96 Larry Chumney II
2-#88 Gene Harrison
3-#111 Josh Borem
4-#05 Buddy Phillips, Jr.
5-#81 Mark Roadarmel, Jr.
6-#18 Kevin Barton
7-#2 Brian Harbin
8-#51 Matt Johns

SOUTHEAST CHAMP KARTS:
1-#7 Dustin Chisholm
2-#61 P.J. Letourneau
3-#33 Mitch Stevens
4-#47 Wesley Gonzales
5-#9 Cameron Ray
6-#30 Billy Smith
7-#8 Doug Schmidt
8-#16 Paul Letourneau
9-#73 Kenner Brown III
10-#14 Tim Simmons
11-#55 Mike Littlejohn
12-#44 Tara Henderson
13-#93 Ryan Walters
14-#77 Phil Harp
15-#38 Trevor Wilson
16-#29 Ron Sanford
17-#13 Romay Venta
DNS #63 Ed Brillhante

SCRAMBLERS:
1-#28 Kimberly Gullett
2-#7 George Gorham, Jr.
3-#66 Brian Tyre
4-#62 Richard Brown
5-#98 Sean Strama
6-#67 T.J. Tanner
7-#71 Dave Canfield
8-#8 Richie Acres
DNS #00 Jerry Cutting

MINI STOCKS:
1-#21 Fred Harrison, Jr.
2-#42 Chris Spring
3-#11 George Gorham, Jr.
4-#40 Jason Swilley
5-#551 Mark Wells

BANDOLEROS:
1-#13 Ryan Shattuck (Outlaw)
2-#83 Joey Padgett (Outlaw)
3-#11 Daniel Conlin, Jr. (Outlaw)
4-#65 Coty Bibeau (Outlaw)
5-#48 Andy Metz (Outlaw)
6-#96 Teddy Lively (Outlaw)
7-#38 Cameron White (Bandit)
8-#1 Mark Bibeau (Outlaw)
9-#30 Noah Cornman (Bandit)
10-#03 Jacob Hunter (Outlaw)
11-#55 Michael Held (Bandit)
12-#16 Nick Baluch (Outlaw)