Saturday night proved to be one of the most action packed nights of the season at the Citrus County Speedway. 79 drivers registered to compete in 5 divisions of racing on this warm summer night. These drivers put on some of the most competitive racing of the entire 2011.
A large field of 22 Super Late Models packed the pits for their 3 heat races and 35 lap feature race. The field was full of familiar faces, as well as a few new names in the 22 car feature line up. New comer T.J. Duke (28) would prove to be a quick study, as he took his sharp looking car to the front of the feature in just a few laps. Deep in the field the cars of point leader Herb Neumann Jr. (98), Scott Grossenbacher (09), Steve Dorer (110), and Anthony Sergi (20) were all furiously charging to the front. 5 cautions in the 1st 18 laps would help these drivers all make up some ground on the leading car of Duke. Sergi would go for a spin on lap 18, ending his hopes for a run to the checkers. But Neumann, Dorer, and Grossenbacher continued their charges on the restart. David King (22) would hold down 2nd for a good part of the event, but Grossenbacher would be the first of the hard charging trio to get to his bumper. On lap 26 Grossenbacher would make the move on King, bringing Neumann and Dorer with him in the inside. As the 110 of Dorer was moving past King on the inside, the two cars would make contact on the front straight. The contact would cut down the right front tire of Dorer, sending him into the turn 1 wall, and to the pits with damaged to his car. Duke would now have pressure from Grossenbacher and Neumann on the restart with just 7 laps left. On the restart, Duke would jump out to a lead, but Grossenbacher was not to be denied on this night. Grossenbacher would make an inside move for the lead coming to get the two to go signal with Neumann following through the whole he made. Neumann took over the 2nd position, but was tapped from behind from by Duke on the way by, which caused both drivers to slide up the track. This gave Grossenbacher the room he needed to cruise to victory over the final two circuits. This was the first feature win of the year for Grossenbacher, a former track champion in the division. The win also brought the winning streak of Neumann to an end, who had taken the last 3 feature wins in a row. Neumann held on to 2nd just ahead of Duke in 3rd. This turned out the be the best race the division has seen all year with an exciting finish. Heat race winners were Cody Lane (27), Keith Zavrel (47), and Todd Allen (55).
18 Taylor Made Home Pure Stocks took a shot at the time clock for their 35 lap feature event. Tyler Stickler found the fast line around the speedway, taking top qualifier honors with a lap of 16.88. After the track had a young fan roll their giant foam dice to determine the feature inversion, a 5 would leave Stickler starting in the 5th row. Young Karlin Ray would benefit from the inversion, and launch his No. 72 Monte Carlo to and early lead. Ray would lead all the way till lap 17, when his car got loose off of turn 4 and spun into the infield. With the spin of Ray, Carl Peters (39)would inherit the lead and try to distance himself from the rest of the pack. Fast qualifier Tyler Stickler (9) would make his way to 2nd by lap 24, but heavy contact with the front stretch wall would damage his racer. Stickler would continue, but his wounded car soon fell victim to the hard charging Sherri Makula. A late race caution at lap 31 would give Makula a shot at the victory, but Peters would prove to be to hard to beat on this night. Peters would go on to take the victory in the divisions highest paying event of the year. Makula would come home in the 2nd position, with Stickler salvaging a 3rd place finish after his damage. This race was made possible by several great track sponsors, please let them know you appreciate their contributions and support racing at Citrus County Speedway. Advanced Towing, Floral City Bagels & Deli, Pemberton Air Boats, Honest Engine Automotive, A-1 Low Dollar Tow, and Racecar Engineering all gave cash awards and gift certificates for this special event.
The Street Stock division would see a familiar name in victory lane. Curtis Flanagan (3) would make the winning pass on Jesse Veltman (55), on lap 14, and go on to take his division leading 6th feature win of the season. Kyle Peters (53) would also battle from the rear of the 14 car field to come home in the 2nd position, followed by Veltman in 3rd. Heat race winners were Flanagan and Bubba Martone (98).
Chris Allen (33) would shake off last weeks bad luck, and go on to take his 4th feature win of the season. Mark Powers (9) would battle hard with Allen over the first three laps of the event, before Allen would make the outside groove work. Powers would then settle into the 2nd position, and wait for Allen to make a mistake. That mistake would never come, as Powers would have to settle for the 2nd over point leader Clint Foley (7) in 3rd. Allen now moves to within 9 points of Foley for the season points title. Foley was your heat race winner.
Eric Sharrone was a man on a mission in the Street Stock figure 8 feature. Sharrone would come from deep in the 14 car field to challenge the front runners for the victory. David Ross (33) would lead from the drop of the green, but on lap 16, Sharrone made the winning pass. Following Sharrone home in the 2nd position was Peanut Higginbotham (5), and Thomas Peet (35) in 3rd. Sharrone has now increased his points lead to 22 over 2nd place Ronnie Schrefiels with only two points races left this season.
This Saturday night will see the final Sprint Car race of 2011, so if you’re a sprint car fan, this is your last chance to see these amazing cars this year. Joining the Sprint Cars will be the Sportsman, Street Stock, Taylor Made Homes Pure Stocks, Sheldon Palmes Insurance Mini Stocks, Pro Figure 8’s, and the Inter-County Recycling Hornet division. Gates open at 4pm, and racing starts at 6pm sharp. Please visit the track website at www.citruscountyspeedway.com for complete details. See you at the races!