Clegg Claims The Tune Up To The Thompson at Volusia

by BJ Cavin- VSP Media

Photos courtesy of Bob Perran

BARBERVILLE, FL-  Volusia Speedway Park provided a heaping share of action, drama, and old fashioned excitement, on Saturday night as five divisions cranked up the volume on The World’s Fastest Half Mile, and by the time that it was over some things had changed while others remained the same.  The Daytona Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram Fiat Late models were back in action, plus fans saw competition from the Daytona Machine Shop Sportsman cars, the Daytona Sportswear Street Stocks, the Thunder Stocks, and the Sparkle and Shine Car Wash Challengers.

Recent appearances of the Daytona Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram Fiat Late Models have been quite a show with Donnie Chappell in the starring role.  But with Saturday’s race being the final opportunity for racers to grab some seat time under real racing conditions before the Scott Thompson Memorial on June 25th, some old friends threw some new blood into the mix, and the “Chappell Show” was preempted for at least a week.

The race began with Lawton Minchew taking control and seemingly destined to outpace the entire field, but after a brief skirmish with John Kellum over the second spot, David Clegg found conditions to his liking at the top of the track and began rocketing around the big half mile.  And while Minchew had a healthy lead that looked ready to go the distance, Clegg caught the 23 car on lap 9 and blew past on the frontstretch, knocking Minchew to second and then pacing the field to the end.  A smiling David Clegg enjoyed his celebration in the Destination Daytona Victory Lane while Lawton Minchew settled for a very respectable second place, and John Kellum placed third.  Whatever was holding back Donnie Chappell only allowed him to climb to the fourth spot on the night, while Daniel Hancock rounded out the top five finishers.

Chris Vogel climbed into the cockpit of the 99 machine this weekend and wasted no time in showing the rest of the Daytona Machine Shop Sportsman field that he was going to be the man to beat, but as Scott Lagassee attempted to make a pass in turn four the two cars came together, resulting in a cut tire on the 99 that sent him to the pits and put him on the back of the grid, while Lagasse took over at the point.  That was all the Lagassee needed despite Kyle Chappell and Paul Shead giving chase, and the 11 car racked up another Sportsman victory on the night.  Kyle Chappell was second with Paul Shead third, and David Showers battled his way forward to claim the fourth spot.  And after briefly leading and then running a good portion of the race in the top three, Marc Kinley got a top five with fifth place.

Some of the most exciting racing of the night was produced by the Daytona Sportswear Street Stocks, as Grady Christian blasted from the back of the field to the front in next to no time, then went to work on a very stubborn Philip Brown.  Brown held the inside line at the bottom so Christian went above him, running alongside for many laps and even nosing past at times, and yet Brown was able to hold off the 36 car for just over 10 laps of hard nosed racing and earn his third appearance in a row in the Destination Daytona Victory Lane.  Grady Christian was second with Chris Lane holding off a swarm of determined challengers for the third spot.  Mark Maresca emerged from the swarm for fourth place, and Mick Kulack did the same for fifth place.

Another heated head-to-head battle headlined the Thunder Stock race as Alan Peacock and Tom Hughes ignored everyone else and mounted a two car free for all for the lead.  Meanwhile Donnie Birdwell held down the third spot and had a fight of his own to contend with as Brad Fender came from the back of the pack to begin his quest at entering the top three, and Alan Lane toughed it out with Randy Strehle for the fifth spot.  What resulted was lap after lap of restrained pushing and shoving, with Alan Peacock emerging from his battle for a first place finish and Tom Hughes all over him for second.   Donnie Birdwell wound up holding the third spot at the checkers while Brad Fender grabbed fourth place, and Randy Strehle got the better of Alan Lane for fifth.

But as Alan Peacock posed for pictures in Destination Daytona Victory Lane, money was exchanging hands in the pits as both he and Tom Hughes had their cars protested.  That resulted in both the first and second place cars being quarantined and hauled away for closer inspection, and left the final result of the race hanging in limbo for some time, yet in the end both Peacock and Hughes had their machines declared legal and the final results were allowed to stand.

Somebody exited the building and left the door of opportunity wide open on Saturday night as the Sparkle and Shine Car Wash Challengers prepared for their feature race, so with the points leader MIA the rest of the pack got down to the business of fighting each other for the spoils.  Jamie Hughes lead at the green as Ray Hunter and Dalton Strehle went three wide with her heading for turn one, and when the dust settled from that exchange Strehle was in charge with Hunter right on his back bumper.  Meanwhile another fight erupted between RJ Glaser And Daniel Wolf as they quarreled over third place.

Ray Hunter got the better of Dalton Strehle on lap 3 after a side-by-side skirmish, and the two leaders managed to separate themselves from the rest of the field and fight their war independently of the others.  Glaser and Wolf continued to fight as well, with mechanical issues settling the score late in the race as the 004 machine was forced to limp into the pits.  So with Daniel Wolf now free to pursue the leaders, Strehle kept after Ray Hunter until the end, but never managed to re pass the 79 car.  Hunter grabbed another win with Strehle finishing a close second, and Daniel Wolf following for third place.  Jamie Hughes hung tough and scored a fourth place finish while RJ Glaser wound up with a top five despite his late race issues.

Saturday, June 18th marks the biggest Sprint Car event of the season so far at Volusia Speedway Park, as Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Harley-Davidson presents “The Holy Cow 25” Jack Miller Memorial Race.  The special event is expected to draw the top names in Florida Sprint Car racing to The World’s Fastest Half Mile, and provide exceptional action for the fans.  In addition to the Daytona Harley-Davidson Sprint Cars, fans will also see exciting racing from the Quality Brands Budweiser Modifieds, the Daytona Machine Shop Sportsman Division, the Daytona Sportswear Street Stocks, the Thunder Stocks, and the Sparkle and Shine Car Wash Challengers.  Gates will open at 5:30PM with racing at 7, and for more info fans can visit www.TheVolusiaSpeedway.com.

Volusia Speedway Park Results for 6/11/11

Daytona Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram Fiat Late Model

1- 07 David Clegg
2- 23 Lawton Minchew
3- 41K John Kellum
4- 25 Donnie Chappell
5- 36D Daniel Hancock
6- 51 Larry Anderson
7- 18 Raymond Stover
8- 31T Stephen Thompson

Daytona Machine Shop Sportsman

1- 11 Scott Lagassee
2- 66 Kyle Chappell
3- 80 Paul Shead
4- 18 David Showers
5- 17K Marc Kinley
6- 10 Steve Shead
7- 95 Matt Mcgillivray
8- 17H Blaise Hetznecker
9- 99 Chris Vogel
10- 54 Tim Hughes
11- 57 Heinz Haas
12- 2X Brandon Evans
13- 101 Greg Vandergriff
14- 78 Jason Cole
15- 77A Wayne Allen

Daytona Sportswear Street Stock

1- 13 Philip Brown
2- 36 Grady Christian
3- 5 Chris Lane
4- 77 Mark Maresca
5- 2S Mick Kulack
6- A2Z Chuck McHone
7- J2 Jody Stratton
8- 01 Johnny Westfall
9- 20 Scott Stewart
DNS- 21 William Gardner

Volusia Speedway Thunder Stock

1- 13 Alan Peacock
2- 29 Tom Hughes
3- 31 Donnie Birdwell
4- 69 Brad Fender
5- 24 Randy Strehle
6- 238 Scott Brumfield

7- 32 Jim Shaw
8- 16 Brian Schrunk
9- 05 Alan Lane
10- 81 John Blackwelder
11- 118 Ron Adams
12- 15 Donnie Nobles
13- 44 Jamie Anderson

Sparkle and Shine Car Wash Challenger

1- 79 Ray Hunter
2- 5 Dalton Strehle
3- 01 Daniel Wolf
4- 15 Jamie Hughes
5- 004 RJ Glaser
6- 6 Sonny Espy
DNS- 23 Tiffany Shaw