Ocala, FL- Bubba Raceway Park is ready to throw some mud once more after an exciting Bubba Army Winter Nationals in which drivers such as Tony Stewart, Ken Schrader, Steve Kinser, and Bryan Clauson tore it up and put on 13 exciting nights of racing for the fans. We open up our points-paying season this Saturday at 7:00 with the Scorpion Racing Products UMP DirtCar Modifieds and the 1-800-ASK GARY Thunder Stocks. Joining them after a 1-year hiatus from the 3/8 mile track will be the always exciting Florida Mini Sprints Association and the debut of the all-new Bubba Army 360 Sprint Cars.
Last year we ran Sprint Cars but it was always run under the Top Gun Sprint Car Series banner; this year, we move on to host our very own class of 360s and put on some great shows. The Sprint Car Silly Season in Florida has been quite odd over the winter but www.floridasprintcarfans.com can help you keep up to date. Insiders say that Robbie Smith, Danny Martin, Jr., Matt Kurtz, and Tyler Godwin will look to attack the 3/8 mile track and etch their name in the track history books.
Kyle Bronson’s claimed his first championship and in the process ended Jeff Mathews’ 4-year reign at Bubba Raceway Park. Bronson ran 20 races, winning 13, finishing 2nd 3 times, and DNFing 3 times due to mechanical woes. He also tied the track record, in the Modern Era (2008-Present), for most feature wins in a season. Now, there were other drivers too including Mathews, the only other driver with more than 1 win, and Dalton Lanich, who finished as runner-up and took home his first feature win in the Chris Williams Racing #2L. Buzzie and David Reutimann each took home a win and Mark Whitener also visited Coors Light Winner’s Circle once. Rich Pratt also took home a trophy after taking home the checkers in his Macaloso Racing #78. Bronson hopes to continue his dominance while the field looks to end driver #40B’s dominance.
The Florida Mini Sprints last ran a points race at Bubba Raceway Park in 2011 when 8 of their 9 races had different winners, the only repeat winner being eventual champion Chris Pacetti. After an exciting 2012 season that saw “Young Gun” drivers Dylan Colding, Nicholas Snyder, and Paige Moss really step up it was still about veterans up front in Eddie Moss, Jr. and Dirk Miller. Now, a name that has the Series shaking is David Showers, Jr., the Late Model Ace who is 1-for-1 in his Sprint Car career. “Hollywood” Scott Kreuger hopes to return to action and fight for the flag just as all of the FMSA drivers do every week!
As diverse as the division seemed there was still dominance in the 1-800-ASK GARY Thunder Stocks. In 37 features we saw “IceMan” Chad Scranton win 9 times, Shane “Fly High” Nichols win 8 times, and division champion Jonathan Appleby win 6 times! Then there were 11 other winners including Bubba Durbin, the 2012 Florida State Thunder Stock Champion, 2009 division champion Jason Gamble, and Mark Trexler, a perennial back-marker that finally broke through and took home win #1 in a career that dates back to the early-1990s. Appleby seems ready to move into a Late Model which could open the door for Trexler, Nichols, Durbin, and Brandon Elwood who will start his 2nd full season of dirt racing. The door is always wide open in this wild division- who’s going to put their foot in the door first?
Bubba will put on a Happy Hour from 1-3 in Bubba’s Pit Stop before opening the pits at 4 and grandstands at 5. Racing is scheduled for 7:00 for 4 incredible classes of cars. To check up on rule packages, ticket deals, and much more check out www.bubbaracewaypark.com or call us at 352-622-9400!