The 5/27 racing program at Orlando Speedworld was canceled due to inclement weather.
Please stay tuned to the Orlando Speedworld website (orlandospeedworld.org) for the make up date for the Florida United Promoters Late Model Series as soon as it is announced.
The Road Warriors are going 50 Laps with $500 to win all cars will qualify and as always pays nice thru the field, also NO entry fee. Pro Trucks, Rookie Trucks, Legends, Bandolero and Cowboy Cadillac’s will also be in action.
For more info call the Speedway office 941-575-7223 and reserve your slab.
Front gates open at 5:00pm with racing to start at 6:00pm. Admission is only $10.00 for Adults $8.00 for seniors, children 12 and under are FREE.
Punta Gorda Speedway is located at 8655 Piper Road. Punta Gorda Exit 161 of I-75.
For more info you can call the speedway at 941-575-7223 or visit www.puntagordaspeedway.com . Also find us on facebook -Punta-Gorda-Speedway
From CL Whalin
The Top Gun Sprint Series race scheduled for June 4th has been canceled. The next race will be at North Florida Speedway on June 25th.
After three races Danny Martin Jr. leads the points with 450 points followed by Mark Ruel Jr. with 430 points, Terry Witherspoon is third with 422 points, Tim George is forth with 414 points and rounding out the top five is Jimmy Ballew with 396 points.
From Tim Bryant
Pensacola, FL -May 25th 2011- Oops, we’re 1 day late, but nevertheless, we would like to invite you to join us this Friday Night as we kick off the Memorial Day Weekend with race #2 in the Buddy’s Home Furnishing Blizzard Series, the Papa Johns 100. 
The lightning fast Super Late Models put on one of the most competitive races in recent memory in the Series opener on March 25th. (more…)
Putnam Speedway Media Staff
Races for this weekend May 27th have been canceled. No Racing @ Putnam Speedway this weekend. See you all on June 3rd.
BARBERVILLE, FL- Saturday night will bring another full slate of quality racing to Volusia Speedway Park, featuring the highly popular Florida Mini Sprint Association, plus action from Volusia’s own Late Models, Sportsman, Street Stock, Thunder Stock, and Challenger divisions. In addition to the traditional racing action, the top ten Daytona Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram Late Model racers in the season points race will participate in a Late Model Elimination Event where the drivers will battle each other head to head until only one is left standing. And after racing every weekend since the season began at VSP, the Budweiser Modifieds will take this Saturday off for a little R&R.
One of the most popular series to visit Volusia Speedway this season is the Florida Mini Sprints, as these little winged monsters blister the clay of the big half mile at over 130 miles per hour. So far Jesse Teed has dominated the Volusia appearances, but that won’t be the case this time around. Teed is recovering from a tangle with a wayward power tool in a work related accident, and that will take him out of his mini sprint this weekend, thus opening the door for anyone else who might feel the urge to step up in his place. And there are a host of others who could fill the role, as the FMSA competitors are evenly matched and always competitive.
Donnie Chappell continues to win races, and that has him sitting solidly on top of the points battle coming into this weekend’s Late Model events. He will again be the man to beat when the green flag waves from the flagstand on Saturday night in both the feature race and the elimination contest as well, but Matt Hartley continues to be his chief competition and although Hartley may be in second place, he is fully capable of stepping up and taking one from the top dog. Other Daytona Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram Late Model competitors to watch include Bobby Richardson, David Clegg, and Lawton Minchew. Those guys may not be current threats to Chappell in the points race, but on any given night one or more could finish with a trip to the Destination Daytona Victory Lane.
Aaron Barsness got the job done last weekend as he outpaced the Daytona Machine Shop Sportsman Division and picked up a win, and it is certain that the 11 car will most likely be a factor this coming Saturday no matter which driver might be behind the wheel. Both Barsness and Scott Lagasse have risen to the top of the competition at present, but Corey Holley and Blaise Hetznecker remain above the 11 tandem in the points race, but just barely. Holley was a no show for last Saturday’s race, while after picking up his first win the previous week, Blaise Hetznecker suffered an engine failure before he ever got onto the clay this past weekend and ended up doing a lap in a borrowed Thunder Stock just to get some points. So things are now very tight at the top of the heap, and certainly this Saturday’s race will provide some changes in the rankings.
The lure of money caused some of the Daytona Sportswear Street Stock racers to be MIA at VSP last weekend, and that opened the door for Phil Brown to grab a win and solidify his perch at the top of the points standings thus far. Although Brown runs in the front pack every Saturday, his win total hasn’t reflected his consistent performances that had him leading the points in the first place. Meanwhile Mick Kulack ran his second impressive race in a row on Saturday night, only this time he failed to get the win and settled for second place. That keeps him second in points behind Brown while Chris Brown’s third place finish puts him on an even keel with Bubba Christian. Depending on how things go this weekend there could be more changes coming at the top of the points ladder, especially if any other racers decide to go missing on Saturday night.
As of late the Thunder Stock racer to beat seems to be Alan Peacock, who raced his way to yet another Destination Daytona Victory Lane celebration last Saturday night despite the best efforts of an equally determined Donnie Birdwell. Birdwell has strung together a series of impressive finishes as of late and that has enabled him to make some serious gains in the season points race, but Tom Hughes is still the points leader with Peacock a not so distant second. And consistency has placed Alan Lane in the top three in points so far with the potential to move up further if his fortunes on the track continue to be solid. The competition seems to be catching up to Peacock’s superiority as of this past week as Peacock had to work for his win, so maybe by this Saturday someone like Birdwell will be poised to outpace the 13 car.
The friendly rivalry between Casey Feaster and RJ Glaser heated up as the Sparkle N Shine Challengers raced under the Sunday afternoon sun this past weekend. Feaster found something to his liking at the very top of the big half mile and used it to hold off Glaser, who was determined to make the shorter route around the bottom work to outpace the faster route at the top. But in the end it was Casey Feaster who prevailed again thus remaining at the top of the points totals with RJ Glaser close enough behind him to reach out and grab the leader. This battle is not going to end anytime soon, and as Feaster admitted after Sunday’s race, Glaser’s moment is coming. Its just a matter of when.
Volusia Speedway Park will open the grandstand gates at 5:30PM this Saturday evening with races slated to begin at 7PM. Fans who attended the Sunday afternoon races from this past weekend can present their ticket stubs for $5 off of their admission this Saturday, while prices will remain the same for everyone else. For more details on this weekend’s action, or to see the complete and updated schedule of events at the World’s Fastest Half Mile, please visit us online at www.TheVolusiaSpeedway.com.
From CL Whalin
Car Driver Points
1. 24 Danny Martin 450
2. 83 Mark Ruel Jr. 430
3. 43 Terry Witherspoon 422
4. 1* Tim George 414
5. 0 Jimmy Ballew Jr. 396
6. 36 Kenneth Laureno 374
7. 14W Dan Jones 326
8. 14 Ryan Partin 290
9. 27 Johnny Gilbertson 274
10. 92 Matt Kurtz 258
11. 8 Rich Alexander 252
12. 83A Christine Auld 244
13. 38 Tony Agin 172
14. 41 Stephen Darvalics 144
15. 3A AJ Maddox 142
16. 4 Billy Boyd 138
17. 88 Andrew Griffin 136
18. 6 Mike Schroeder 134
19. F21 Ted Filides 132
20. 01 Rebecca George 130
21. 34 Darren Orth 130
22. 55 Kerry Gilbert 130
23. 6S Robbie Smith 128
24. 59 Danny Statter 124
25. 4C Tyler Godwin 122
26. 17D Bruce Durden 122
27. 03 Tyler Eaton 116
28. 3 Travis Bliemeister 110
29. 27 Troy Knowles 108
30. 07 Clint Reynolds 106
31. Z1 Harley Zimmerman 104
From CL Whalin
Top Gun Sprints
East Bay Raceway, May 21, 2011
1) 4 Billy Boyd (Gibsonton, FL)
2) 3A A J Maddox (Brandon, FL)
3) 17D Bruce Durden (Jacksonville, FL)
4) 27 Troy Knowles (Gibsonton, FL)
5) 14W Dan Jones (Valrico, FL)
6) 83A Christine Auld (Largo, FL)
7) 38 Tony Agin (Ft. Myers, FL)
8) 36 Kenneth Laureno (Port Charlotte, FL)
1) 24 Danny Martin (Sarasota, FL)
2) Z1 Harley Zimmerman (Jacksonville, FL)
3) 15 Johnny Gilbertson (Dover, FL)
4) 43 Terry Witherspoon (Jacksonville, FL)
5) 3 Travis Bliemeister (Nokomis, FL)
6) 0 Jimmy Ballew Jr. (Riverview, FL)
7) 92 Matt Kurtz (Jacksonville, FL)
8) 1* Tim George (Venice, FL)
1) 41 Stephen Darvalics (Venice, FL)
2) 8 Rich Alexander (Tampa, FL)
3) 83 Mark Ruel Jr. (Jacksonville, FL)
4) 55 Kerry Gilbert (Dover, FL)
5) 07 Clint Reynolds (San Antonio, FL)
6) 6S Robbie Smith (Tampa, FL)
7) 03 Tyler Eaton (Nokomis, FL) DNS
1) 24 Danny Martin; 2) 83 Mark Ruel Jr.; 3) 41 Stephen Darvalics; 4) 3A A J Maddox; 5) 14W Dan Jones; 6) 4 Billy Boyd Jr.; 7) 15 Johnny Gilbertson; 8) 1* Tim George; 9) 43 Terry Witherspoon; 10) 55 Kerry Gilbert; 11) 6S Robbie Smith; 12) 0 Jimmy Ballew Jr.; 13) 8 Rich Alexander; 14) 17D Bruce Durden; 15) 92 Matt Kurtz; 16) 83A Christine Auld; 17) 03 Tyler Eaton; 18) 36 Kenneth Laureno; 19) 38 Tony Agin; 20) 3 Travis Bliemeister; 21) 27 Troy Knowles; 22) 07 Clint Reynolds; 23) Z1 Harley Zimmerman
Commentary
The Top Gun Sprints made their first visit of 2011 to East Bay Raceway on Saturday May 21, 2011. There were 23 cars at the track to give fans three heat races and a 25 lap feature race.
Billy Boyd in the 4 car had the pole with Christine Auld in the 83A on the outside for the start of the K&N heat race. Billy Boyd took the lead on the start and he took the win. The 3 of Travis Bliemenester had the pole for the SIMPSON heat race, with Danny Martin in the 24 car on the outside. It was the 24 that made the better start and took the second heat win. Kerry Gilbert in the 55 car had the pole with Robbie Smith in the 6S for the start of the WELD RACING heat race. Robbie Smith took the lead and on the last lap he spun on back stretch and Stephen Darvalics in the 41 passed him and took the heat win.
The Z1 of Harley Zimmerman had the pole for the start of the BOOMTRUX.COM feature race event, with the 24 of Danny Martin alongside. After a parade lap, the race went to green and it was Danny Martin in the 24 car that took the lead never looked backed and took the checkered flag, followed by Mark Ruel Jr. in the 83 car, Stephen Darvalics in the 41 car, A J Maddox in the 3A car and Dan Jones in the 14W car rounding out the top 5.
The staff and racers of the Top Gun Sprints would like to thank everyone for their support and hope to see you at Hendry County Motorsports Park June 4, 2011. Congratulation goes out to Tim George for winning the KSE Hardcharger Award.
BARBERVILLE, FL- Things heated up over the weekend at Volusia Speedway Park as the first two day event of 2011 spanned both Saturday night and Sunday at the World’s Fastest Half Mile. Five racing divisions hit the clay on Saturday night, and on Sunday race fans were treated to the Blackwater Inn Enduro race, plus two regular division feature events.
Jeff Mathews has been in firm control over the Quality Brands Budweiser Modifieds at Volusia as of late, but even “The Repo Man” is not immune to bad luck and unfortunate situations as Saturday night’s events demonstrated. In just five quick seconds of racing Mathews’ fortunes went south in a complicated deal that began in turn one and ended at the end of the backstretch, and that sent three competitive race cars to the pits in pieces.
Mathews had grabbed the lead from Dale Murray on lap 5 and was attempting to race away from the field when Kent Corbin spun in turns one and two. As the yellow was coming out for that incident Mathews had the unfortunate circumstance of his steering wheel detaching from the column, almost causing him to hit the turn 2 wall and leaving him struggling to reattach it. That left Mathews well off the pace and coasting down the middle of the backstretch as the rest of the field tried to split to get past, but in the jumble of cars darting up and down the track David Pollen and Dave Barber failed to see the disabled 33 in time. Both hit Mathews almost simultaneously, with Pollen’s mod literally climbing over the top of Mathews before all three came to rest at the entrance to turn 3. The three drivers walked away, but Mathews’ and Pollen’s cars were all but destroyed in the dramatic mishap.
In yet another aspect of the mess on the backstretch, Larry Burkins had been running second to Mathews when all of the trouble started, but he failed to escape from the mayhem unscathed. Burkins had a tire going down and slipped into the pits as the red flag was displayed, and thus was relegated to the rear of the field on the restart, which handed the lead to James Smith. Smith took control and held off all challengers from there to seal a win, as Jared Allison got second place and Austin Sanders raced his way to third place. Dalton Lanich and Scott Mooers rounded out the top five finishers.
After stepping up and notching his first Daytona Machine Shop Sportsman win last week, Blaise Hetznecker only got to take a couple of laps for points on the race track this weekend after engine woes left his 17H machine on jackstands in the pits. But Paul Shead was ready to go, and he bolted to the front at the start with Steve Shead all over him in the second spot. Kyle Chappell was also in the mix with the frontrunners early on, but the big mover was Aaron Barsness, who picked his way through traffic and eventually wrestled the lead away from Paul Shead late in the race as Shead slid up the track in turn 2. Barsness held on to get the win leaving Paul Shead to settle for second place, and Kyle Chappell followed for third. Steve Shead held off Mike Haney as they finished fourth and fifth.
Donnie Chappell has climbed to the top of the Daytona Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram Late Model division and Saturday night’s action proved that Chappell is not going to be easy to remove from the top spot. Matt Hartley gave it everything that he had, even to the point of risking a crash in order to reel in Chappell, but it wasn’t enough as Chappell got another winner’s interview in the Destination Daytona Victory Lane. Hartley was second, while David Clegg held firm and came home with a solid third place finish. Lawton Minchew was fourth, and Kenny Monahan drove the 311 to fifth place.
A multi lap battle between Donnie Birdwell and Alan Peacock had the crowd cheering and on their feet as the Thunder Stocks took their turn on the big half mile. Peacock rocketed to the lead early and was running a high line around the track when Birdwell grabbed his attention at the bottom near the inside wall. As Peacock stated later, he thought that he was home free until Birdwell appeared, and from there it was a heated, yet clean side by side battle for the majority of the race. The battle for the lead raged on as Tom Hughes, Pete Close, and Alan Lane, all mixed it up for third place along the way behind the frontrunners. In the end Alan Peacock got the better of Donnie Birdwell and sealed the win while Birdwell placed second. Tom Hughes bettered his competition for third place and Pete Close got his second fourth place finish of 2011 in two appearances at Volusia. Alan Lane finished fifth.
Phil Brown is used to running with the leaders when the Daytona Sportswear Street Stocks race, and on Saturday night that is where he was, but actually in front instead of battling with the lead pack to get there. But Brown was far from taking it easy in the leader’s role as Mick Kulak was still feeling confident after his win the previous weekend, and was right there to keep Brown looking over his shoulder. Unfortunately for Kulak, Brown had the slightly faster car and won the race, thus getting his moment to shine in the Destination Daytona Victory Lane while Kulak went to the scales in second place. Chris Lane had a fight of his own early in the race as he got past Robert Donaly , and while Donaly never eased off on the pressure he was unable to repass Lane, leaving Lane in third place and Donaly fourth.
Sunday afternoon’s races were headlined by the Blackwater Inn Enduro, which featured everything from Mini Stocks to Challengers when it began, but wound up with a modified racer overcoming some crazy obstacles thrown out by the Volusia Speedway staff in order to grab a win. The race began from a standing start with Jared Allison in control behind the wheel of his enduro car, but on lap five officials stopped the field and reversed them on the track, forcing them to race clockwise and taking the advantage away from the racers with cars more powerful than the 4 cylinder bombers that were in the race. And with the cars running backwards around the track, Reid Christensen got past Daniel Wolf and took control of the race. If that were the end of it then Reid Christensen would have been the runaway victor, but race officials had one more crazy trick up their sleeves and stopped the racers on the front stretch with only one lap remaining.
Racers were informed that the last lap would be run in the correct direction on the track, but in reverse, which had all of them scrambling to figure out just how to accomplish backing up for a half mile when many of them had little visibility behind them. And that lack of visibility bit Reid Cristensen as he got to the first turn, as he backed his car into the wall. Christensen watched as Jared Allison went by him, then rolled down the track and into the pit area. Allison continued on around the track to the checkered flags, as did Casey Feaster and RJ Glaser, and after the others had crossed the line Christensen backed out of the pits and completed his lap. That gave the win to Jared Allison who collected the entire pot of money, but since Casey Feaster was five laps down at the finish and RJ Glaser was 9 laps down, Reid Christensen went home in second place with Feaster and Glaser taking third and fourth places. RJ Arnone rounded out the top five finishers.
The All Quality Products Mini Stocks were in short supply on Sunday afternoon, but the three cars that managed to start the race ran 10 laps for points and for their payouts. Despite chronic overheating problems that had him ducking into the pits to resupply his boiling race car with water, DJ Nobles managed to score a victory and celebrate with his crew in the Destination Daytona Victory Lane. David Lebeau was the second place finisher and Wade Lear overcame earlier mechanical issues to start the Mini Stock feature and finish in third place.
The ongoing rivalry between Casey Feaster and RJ Glaser continued on Sunday afternoon as the Sparkle N Shine Car Wash Challengers ran for points and money, and despite starting at the front of the field on the pole, Glaser failed to keep the speedy 20 car behind him. While Glaser used the middle and bottom of the track thus taking the shorter route around, Feaster went up to the wall and built momentum, passing Glaser on the second lap and keeping the 004 at bay throughout the race. So Casey Feaster grabbed yet another win as RJ Glaser settled for second, and Daniel Wolf raced hard for third place. Brandon Haseleu struggled with the handling of his car as the racetrack was too wet at the bottom and too dry at the top for his liking, but he held on for the fourth spot while Lance Allison grabbed fifth place.
Saturday, May 28th, will provide a night off for the Budweiser Modifieds, but the Daytona Dodge Chrysler, Jeep Ram Late Models will be back on the track and will be running a special Elimination Race for the top ten in the points battle. Late Model racers will take on each other in a process of elimination until only one is left standing as the sole survivor. Fans will also see another visit from the always exciting Florida Mini Sprint Association, plus hot action from the Daytona Machine Shop Sportsman Division, the Daytona Sportswear Street Stocks, the Thunder Stocks, and the Sparkle N Shine Car Wash Challengers. Complete details can be found at www.TheVoulsiaSpeedway.com.
Volusia Speedway Park Results for 5/21/11 and 5/22/11
Daytona Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram Late Model
1- 25 Donnie Chappell
2- 11 Matt Hartley
3- 07 David Clegg
4- 23 Lawton Minchew
5- 311 Kenny Monahan
6- 24 Dennis Williams
7- 31T Stephen Thompson
DNS- 33 Jeff Mathews
Quality Brands Budweiser Modified
1- 40 James Smith
2- 18 Jared Allison
3- 64 Austin Sanders
4- 12 Dalton Lanich
5- 10 Scott Mooers
6- 0K Kent Corbin
7- 66 Dale Murray
8- 34 Jim Passino
9- 54 Larry Burkins
10- 33 Jeff Mathews
11- 88 David Pollen
12- 56 Dave Barber
13- 67 Garret Stewart
DNS- Z06 Larry Mott
Daytona Machine Shop Sportsman
1- 11 Aaron Barsness
2- 80 Paul Shead
3- 66 Kyle Chappell
4- 10 Steve Shead
5- 22 Mike Haney
6- 17K Marc Kinley
7- 54 Tim Hughes
8- 57H Heinz Haas
9- 40 Steve Branton
10- 17H Blaise Hetznecker
DNS- 77A Wayne Allen
Daytona Sportswear Street Stock
1- 13 Philip Brown
2- 2S Mick Kulak
3- 5 Chris Lane
4- 9R Robert Donaly
DNS- V1 Delbert Moyer
Thunder Stock
1- 13 Alan Peacock
2- 31 Donnie Birdwell
3- 29 Tom Hughes
4- 4 Pete Close Jr.
5- 05 Alan Lane
6- 32 Jim Shaw
7- 23 Jim Nichols
8- 16 Brian Shrunk
9- 03 Robert Shrunk
DNS- X Justin Dean
DNS- 09 Jim Goempel
Blackwater Inn Enduro (25 laps/winner takes all)
1- 1A Jared Allison
2- 30 Reid Christensen
3- 20 Casey Feaster
4- 004 RJ Glaser
5- 1 RJ Arnone
6- 01 Daniel Wolf
7- 3 Brandon Haseleu
8- 3 DJ Nobles
All Quality Products Mini Stock
1- 3 DJ Nobles
2- 777 David Lebeau
3- 11 Wade Lear
Sparkle N Shine Car Wash Challenger
1- 20 Casey Feaster
2- 004 RJ Glaser
3- 01 Daniel Wolf
4- 3 Brandon Haseleu
5- 1A Lance Allison
6- 30 Reid Christensen
7- 48 Mark Comitale
DNS- 6 Sonny Espy
Photos courtesy of Bob Perran:
James Smith celebrates his Budweiser Modified win
Philip Brown grabs a win with the Daytona Sportswear Street Stocks
Donnie Chappell notches another Daytona Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram Late Model win
Aaron Barsness celebrates his Daytona Machine Shop Sportsman victory
Alan Peacock scores another Thunder Stock win
Jared Allison wins the Blackwater Inn Enduro race