Citrus County Speedway roared back to life this past Saturday night, after taking a week off to beat the summer heat. Citrus County Speedway fans were treated to 78 cars and drivers filling the pit area for an action packed night of racing.
13 Super Late Models took the green for their 35 lap feature event with Scott Grossenbacher (09) on the pole position and Randy Anderson (4) along side. You had the feeling that which ever driver won the drag race to turn 1, would go on to take the victory. Grossenbacher would win that drag race, moving to the lead before lap 1 was completed. Anderson would try to keep pace with Grossenbacher, hoping for a mistake by the leader. That mistake would never come, and the race would go green for the entire 35 lap distance. Grossenbacher would go on to take his 1st feature win of the 2012 season, with Anderson settling for a distant 2nd. Drew Brannon (82) was you biggest mover of the race, coming from the 10th starting spot, to take home the 3rd position at the checkers. Point leader Herb Neumann Jr (98) suffered heavy front end damage in a heat race incident with Eddie King Sr (17). Neumann Jr was able to take the green for the feature, but the damage was to severe to be competitive. Neumann’s misfortune has now moved Randy Anderson to the points lead on the merits of his 2nd place finish. Dale Sanders (1) and Brannen Hester (77) were your heat race winners.
Dora Thorne (48) lead the Street Stock feature to the green flag for 20 laps of action. Thorne would take the early lead before 3rd place starter Tim Wilson (85) would sneak by on the inside to take away the top spot on lap 4. This race would also run caution free with Wilson taking the checkered flag, and an apparent victory. Wilson would see his victory taken away in tech inspection, as his racer weighed in below the minimum weight for the class. This would move Dora Thorne up to take her 1st feature win of the 2012 season, to complete the night after a victory earlier in the heat race. Point leader Bubba Martone (98) would come home 2nd, with Mike Wilson (79) in the 3rd position.
17 Pure Stocks took advantage of the bonus money the track has offered for fields of 16 or more cars with Morris Richardson (81) and Tricia Turner (5) on the front row. Richardson would jump out to the early lead before 3rd starter Michael Martin (76) would move to the lead at lap 2. Martin would stretch out his lead over the final 18 laps to take his 2nd feature win of 2012. Richardson would come home 2nd with Steve Stinedurf (0) coming home 3rd. Martin and point leader Happy Florian (65) were your heat race winners.
12 Modified Mini Stocks came to the green for their 20 lap feature event, which proved to be action packed. LeRoy Moore (99) took advantage of his pole position to jump out to the lead at the drop of the green flag. Moore would lead until lap 4 when new comer Nick Neri (2) would take away the top position. Lap 7 would see the nights 1st caution for contact between Clint Foley (7) and James Ellis (98), ending with Foley spun in turn 1. Both drivers were sent to the rear for the restart, and you could feel the tension between the two wheel men was mounting. Neri would lead on the restart, but all eyes were focused on the rear of the field. Foley and Ellis began their mad dash for the front of the field, while waging a war between each other. This battle would lead to the nights worst incident on lap 9, leaving the fans on the edge of their seat. Foley would make an inside move on Ellis entering turn 1, and both drivers would race side by side off of turn 2. As they caught a slower car entering turn 3, both cars made contact again. This time Ellis would be sent head on into the turn 3 wall, with one of the most violent impacts of the 2012 season. The race was red flagged while the safety crew attended to Ellis, who climbed from his car under his own power, and uninjured. Ellis was none to happy with Foley, and his racer was a mangled mess of metal. The field was realigned with Neri still leading, but now he would have 2 time division champion Chris Hooker (6), hot on his heels at the green. Neri would pull out to a short lead on the restart, with Hooker just 2 car lengths behind in 2nd. Neri would prove to have what it takes, and go on to take the victory. What make this victory so amazing, is the fact the Neri had never raced a stock car until Saturday night. Neri is a karting veteran, but had never taken a lap in a stock car until this past Thursday nights open practice session. Neri wasn’t intimidated, and looks to be off to a great start in his stock car career. Hooker would see his machine lose power in the final two laps, fading to a 5th place finish. Foley would rebound from his earlier contact to come home in the 2nd position. Phil Edwards (24) would get the better end of last lap contact with Jay Mckenzie (5) to bring home 3rd. Ellis and Foley were your heat race winners.
In other feature action Kyle Stoner took the win in the Hornet division, John Perrish in the Outlaw Modified Minis, Frank Lenhardt in DAARA V8’s, Kelly Jarret in the DAARA midgets, and Tim Brush in the DAARA 6 cylinder division.
Citrus County Speedway will take it’s last week off this Saturday night, ending the summer schedule. The Speedway will be back in action on September 1st with Super Late Models, Modified Mini Stocks, Street Stocks, Mini Stocks, Hornets, and Dwarf cars. The speedway will be in action every Saturday night between September 1st and November 10th. Keep up with the latest news on the track website or like us on Facebook!