By Jimmy Rouse- Bubba Raceway Park Media
The UMP Open-Wheel Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, Mini Stocks, Gladiators, and Florida Mini Sprints Association put on a fantastic show and some points definitely got shuffled all throughout the field.
The Hobby Stocks had 20 laps and 20 cars and put on a great show. Howard Osteen took the lead from Brett Barrett from the start and Barrett spun a little while later as Cody Albright did the same on the opposite end of the track. On the first restart, Billy Carlbert, Jr. brought the yellow right back out after his tire went down. The field was able to make another lap before Ron Adams spun his 118 out of turn 4. The restart was not kind to Joe Belkey and when the yellow came out for debris he learned that he was restarting in the back. Donnie Reed brought the yellow out on lap 4 after some contact sent him spinning in turn 1. With 5 to go Billy Carlbert, Jr. brought the yellow out for a turn 4 spin. Osteen continued to lead but Kevin Durden and Tim Powers were on him waiting for a mistake. Howard Osteen took the white flag but as they exited 2 it was Kevin Durden. Durden led less then a lap but took the win as Tim Powers got around for 2nd, the dominant Osteen 3rd, Joe Belkey came from the back to finish 4th, and Joe Boyd kept his nose clean for 5th. Buck Woodhouse was just 1 spot away from 3 consecutive top 5s while James Erickson was Biggest Mover with 13 spots gained from his 20th place starting position. Mark Maresca, William Edwards, and Ron Adams stayed out of trouble and finished inside the top 10.
Mini Stock action at Bubba Raceway Park is so close that it has resulted in 8 winners in 10 races. Lap 2 saw Ray Ethridge spinning down the enbankment of the backstretch. After the restart Shirlene Hammond went by Buddy Pope and she handled it after that pass. After a yellow for the 11 car on the frontstretch it gave Pope and 3rd place Folwell a shot at “Hammerdown” Hammond. “Hammerdown” became the 2nd multiple feature winner of the season as Buddy Pope held Ray Folwell, the Biggest Mover, off for 2nd. Brittany Yates took 4th which was enough to earn her some points in the championship battle as Jamie Burrows made it a 3-4-5 for John Yates’ cars. Ray Ethridge beat Ryan Babcock out for 6th. The 11 tok 8th after his wreck while Kody Kinsey and Jeremy James would DNF and take 9th and 10th, respectively.
The UMP Open-Wheel Modifieds had Double Points and $1500 on the line and they made it interesting. From the start it was an uphill battle for Buzzie Reutimann and the 00 group as the right rear went down and Paul Sizemore chose the lesser of 2 evils and destroyed the right side of his car as he hit the rear of Buzzie’s 00. Both continued for a few laps or more. Steve Whitener pulled off from 3rd at this point and left a hole for 5th to take a shot at the lead. The restart resulted in Dave Barber spinning down the enbankment, Devin Dixon breaking the right front suspension, and Larry Mott spinning. After a lap was scored Kent Corbin spun and Sizemore, Reutimann, Michael Flick, and Rich Maguire all made evasive action and missed the OK car. Meanwhile Robert Dixon was charging from 27th position. Jeff Mathews brought the 33 out, but ran the entire race 1 lap down. Lap 2 saw Jamie Carter and Larry Mott ending Carter’s night on the frontstretch after contact. The restart gave Ivedent Lloyd, Jr. the lead from Rich Pratt and he started to pull away until the lap 8 caution came out after Larry Mott blew a left rear tire and knocked Pratt into the wall. No hard feelings between the drivers as they mutually agreed on what caused contact and Pratt retook 3rd. On the restart Maguire spun and tried to reverse the flow of traffic, but brought out the yellow instead. Laps 15-17 were unkind to Hammond Motorsports as Bronson hit the wall on 15 then after the restart Wayne Hammond got loose and the 40H went into the wall, bounced and hit the top of the fence. Hammond didn’t roll the car and was okay after the accident, as was innocent bystander Brian Morgan who was having an incredible run in the top 5. The stands were evacuated and racing got under way soon after. The race was cut by 5 as the timer ran out on lap 17, but it was too late for Ivedent Lloyd, Jr. as he pulled off as the field took the 2 to go sign. Started pole, clobbered the wall, and took home the trophy it was Rich Pratt in Victory Lane for his first dirt Modified win. Garret Stewart again smelled victory, but waits for the taste. Jim Passino and Dale Murray were 3rd and 4th, respectively, as they kept their noses clean all night. Reutimann drove back to 5th as Ronnice Chance took 6th, Scott Mooers was 7th in his first season in a Modified, Robert Dixon gained 19 spots for 8th, Michael Flick was 9th, and Donnie “Henry” Hall rounded out the top 10.
The first 2 attempts at a start saw Brian Penrose and Allen Craig flip their Florida Mini Sprints, but 3rd time was the charm and they went 2 lap before the 30 of John Crowder stopped for the night. On lap 6 Justin Kolves took the lead from Luke Fidler and began to pull away, but points leader and winner of the FMSA’s last event, Chris Pacetti, was driving through the field. Luke Fidler lost the right rear and brought the yellow out for a 1 lap dash with team-mates Kolves and Pacetti 1-2. They almost didn’t get the 1-2, but Kolves held it on all 4 and Pacetti drove on top of Kolves front end and won by a wheel and some sheet metal. One team-mate was happy and the other was wondering what he has to do to win again. David Pleaugh was 3rd, Steve Crabtree 4th, Dirk Miller 5th, Pete Smith 6th, Eddie Moss, Jr. in 7th, David Hall was 8th, Dylan Colding, the young driver of the 23D was 9th, and Luke Fidler was able to take home points for 10th.
Gladiators battled and it was a big stage out on the clay. Brandon Haseleu, 3rd in points lost his IronMan streak as the car wouldn’t fire as a system in the engine thought Haseleu was trying to steal the car. Frank Pelusio, Stephen Frankland, Robert Graham, Reid Christensen, and JT Holly were involved in the lap 1 turn 1 incident, but only Holly and Graham were done for the night. Matt Kramer and Wade Lear also pulled off at this point. On the restart, “British Bulldog” found himself facing the wrong way, but rejoined the field after he fired it up and the yellow came out. The final 14 were green, and with 11 to go “The Dominator” Steve Cox took the lead, but didn’t pull away as usual. The yellow flags didn’t fly and the S&S Boys, Steve Cox, the Biggest Mover, and Steve Johnson, took the 1-2 as Frank Pelusio was 3rd. Tommy Ausburn, Jr. avoided the wrecks and took a well deserved 4th as “British Bulldog” came back for 5th. Reid Christensen and Ken McCloud were laps down, but still finished 6th and 7th, respectively. Art Souther was 8th, Robert Graham in 9th, and JT Holly in 10th.
RaceCar Engineering Late Models return, as do the Amsoil V-8 Thunderstocks. Also, the Hobby Stocks, Mini Stocks for Double Points and a $500 payday, and the Gladiators race. For more information you can check out www.bubbaracewaypark.com or call the Speedway hotline.
BRP Results (8/6/11)
UMP Open-Wheel Modifieds
1- 78 Rich Pratt
2- 67 Garret Stewart
3- 34 Jim Passino
4- 66 Dale Murray
5- 00 Buzzie Reutimann
6- 7S Ronnie Chance
7- 10 Scott Mooers
8- 205 Robert Dixon
9- 33F Michael Flick
10- 31 Donnie “Henry” Hall
11- 33 Jeff Mathews
12- 333 Ivedent Lloyd, Jr.
13- 9 Brian Morgan
14- 56 Dave Barber
15- 54 Kevin Bryant
16- 40H Wayne Hammond
17- 40B Kyle Bronson
18- 19W Rich Maguire
19- OK Kent Corbin
20- Z06 Larry Mott
21- 3 Josh Sanford
22- 75 Jamie Carter
23- 8W Steve Whitener
24- 1S Paul Sizemore
25- 2 Devin Dixon
26- 41 Barry Sheffield
DNS- 145 Jason Davis
Hobby Stocks
1- 56 Kevin Durden
2- 44 Tim Powers
3- 88H Howard Osteen
4- 12 Joe Belkey
5- 83 Joe Boyd
6- 55W Buck Woodhouse
7- 7E James Erickson
8- 77M Mark Maresca
9- 08 William Edwards
10- 118 Ron Adams
11- 27 Cody Albright
12- 11 Billy Carlbert, Jr.
13- 69 Tommy Ausburn
14- 07 Donnie Reed
15- 88C Charles Cantley
16- 80J John Clark
17- 109 Brett Barrett
18- 81 Donald Wossley
19- 56S Jeffrey Sargent
DNS- 36 Grady Christian
Mini Stocks
1- 22H Shirlene Hammond
2- 81 Buddy Pope
3- 21X Ray Folwell
4- 53 Brittany Yates
5- 81X Jamie Burrows
6- 21 Ray Ethridge
7- 9 Ryan Babcock
8- 11B unlisted driver
9- 11K Kody Kinsey
10- 30 Jeremy James
Gladiators
1- P38 Steve Cox
2- 81 Steve Johnson
3- 72 Frank Pelusio
4- 69JR Tommy Ausburn, Jr.
5- 7UK Stephen Frankland
6- 30 Reid Christensen
7- 10 Ken McCloud
8- 3 Art Souther
9- 126 Robert Graham
10- 83X JT Holly
11- 11 Wade Lear
12- 77K Matt Kramer
DNS- 12P Nathan Rhoades
DQ (rough driving)- 43 Richard Todd
Florida Mini Sprints Association (From BRP Scorers)
1- 16 Chris Pacetti
2- 83 Justin Kolves
3- 711 David Pleaugh
4- 5 Steve Crabtree
5- 68 Dirk Miller
6- 34 Pete Smith
7- 8 Eddie Moss, Jr.
8- 67 David Hall
9- 23D Dylan Colding
10- 0 Luke Fidler
11- 44 John Moss
12- 116 Harold Matthews
13- 2 Scott Barberis
14- 10 Sean Clark
15- 1M Eddie Moss, Sr.
16- 30 John Crowder
17- 23 Rae Lynn Moss
18- 55 Allen Craig
19- 14 Brian Penrose
20- 88 Gavin Thomas