Jim Rouse – Ocala, FL- A June 1st race is always nice, and we’ll run our Bubba Army 360 Sprints, Bubba Army Hobby Stocks, E-Mods, and the Rent-N-Roll Gladiators. We also have a Fan Lawnmower Race scheduled.
The Bubba Army Sprints have a wild top five in points as both of the points-paying feature winners- Matt Kurtz and Danny Martin, Jr.- have missed a race. That has allowed Robbie Smith to put his Cosmo’s Cafe #6S at the top.
He leads Ft. Myers’ “The Captain” Tony Agin by just eight points and Jacksonville’s third-placed Terry Witherspoon by twenty-two. Behind them is a rookie-wheelman out of Dade City in Andy Cobb. Cobb is only two points behind Witherspoon, and he leads Brandon, Florida’s AJ Maddox by thirteen. Only Kurtz and Martin have won in the 360-Era- can anyone join them?
The Hobby Stocks have a brilliant fight at the top as Ocala’s Brian Shea has his BP Electric #19 up by seven over “The Mayo Missile” Devin Walker. Walker comes off of his second win in the points fight, tied for tops in the division. The Lasoski Racing developmental-driver has a 25-point advatage over the other two-timer in Howey-In-The-Hills’ Hunter Gustafson. Gustafson, the Precision Race Cars Factory Driver, is one of four first-time winners (in the Modern Era) in the division this season (William Edwards, Tommy Hill, and Don Woosley are the others). Over one-hundred points out, in fourth, is Dunnellon’s Matt Kramer. Kramer, however, sits forty-six up on fifth-placed Sean Monaghan out of Ocala. Anything can happen- and we’ve seen it- this season!
Only one driver has won in our previous three E-Mod races- Shane Nichols. Nichols, the Ocala driver nicknamed “Sweetfeet”, has max points and even has a Thunder Stock win this season. Nichols’ advantage over second-placed Shane Taylor is just nine points, however. Shane Taylor leads Shawn Taylor by twelve in a battle of Trenton natives, but it may be for P2. Lake City’s Swede Melgaard sits only thirty-three out of the lead and Gainesville’s Charlie Howard, Jr. is just four behind Melgaard. Nichols looks for that impressive four-in-a-row (which he’s done in a Thunder Stock before) as every one else looks to slot into second on the All-Time win’s list.
The Rent-N-Roll Gladiators have an Englishman on top of the standings in Barnsley, England’s Stephen Frankland. “The British Bulldog” saw his consecutive wins streak end at four last week-end, but he now has a twenty-four point advantage over Ocala’s Bill Southard in the championship. Josh Fincher has slipped to third, and is now fifty-eight behind the leader. In fourth is a feature-winner this season in Ocala’s Jerry Taylor. Taylor became one of just four drivers to win in a Rear-Wheel Drive car since the beginning of 2011. Tied on points with Taylor is Tom Sheehan. Sheehan races a Gladiator and, occasionlly, races the other cars he owns- a Thunder Stock, an E-Mod, a Late Model, and a Mini Sprint. Who will take the task of preventing another four-peat by Frankland?
The pits open at 4, grandstands at 5, and racing begins at 7. Don’t miss any of the action at Bubba Raceway Park! For more information on our division history you can visit www.frontstretchfanatic.com, but to check out our schedule or to find ticket prices you can visit www.bubbaracewaypark.com or call u at 352-622-9400! Also, looking ahead t the month of June, on the 15th we have Excellence In Elementary School Education Night. On that night, any child in elementary school may bring their Report Card in and, if they are on the A-B Honor Roll, they will receive a free kid’s Coke, free kid’s popcorn, and a free autographed photo of Tyler Clem. We will also donate $4.00 back to the school. Then, on the 21st and 22nd, we have our Summer Spectacular! On the 21st, we will Qualify and Heat Race our Late Models, Hobby Stocks, and Thunder Stocks. On the 22nd, the Late Models will race for $5000 while the Hobby Stocks and Thunder Stocks will race for $2000. The E-Mods will also race on Saturday. We hope to see you out at Bubba Raceway Park for some of the best racing in the Southeast!