By D. Cope

Fans in attendance to the Punta Gorda Speedway were treated to hot, door to door action on a cool Southwest Florida evening.  The “Open Wheel Madness” event is a fan favorite as the race drivers compete with the risk of dangerous consequences when wheels tangle with competitor’s wheels on the tight turns of the oval.

The racing card opened with the Pro 4 where the top four cars put on a clinic in competitive racing.  While John Balzarano led the entire race he was constantly pressed by second place Ryan Collver.  The third place position was hard fought with Dylan Bigley and Cody Allen exchanging positions four times before Bigley finally secured third place.

The SE Champ Karts are perennial favorites as the super charged Go-Karts race on the large track.  Driver in this feature race use strategies similar to what NASCAR drivers use at the super speedways as they usually need drafting partners to get to the front.  This race saw several lead changes but Rusty Chancey held off a hard charging Tim Simmons for the win.  Third place went to Dennis Mace.

In the Cowboy Cadillac class the race was won with little challenge by Robert Williams who finished second in the series last year.  Second place went to James Dellea with third to Andy Vanscyoc.

The Super Stock class was a battle between winner Shane Leonard and second place Bobby Fischer who stretched their lead over the rest of the pack.  They raced the entire race nose to tail with Larry Braswell and Jamie Castleberry fighting hard for the third spot.  Castleberry had mechanical trouble near the end of the race and Braswell went on to take third spot.

The Dwarf Car series was the first of three open wheel events.  It started out with Larry Hubbard, Jr. jumping out to the lead.  He was challenged throughout the race by Andy Prior.  Hubbard pulled away near the end of the race but Andy Prior was seriously challenged by his Dad, Tom Prior.   Second place went to the son and the father third.

The main feature of the evening was the Open Wheel Modified “Open Wheel Madness” event. The 50 lap race was one of the more exciting of the evening.  While Sean McLaughlin led the race wire to wire, he was never without hard and serious challenge.  The first 24 laps McLaughin was pushed hard by Steve Arnold.  On the twenty fifth lap Arnold tried to pass McLaughin but spun out in the process.  He was put to the back of the pack and Tony Carreno took over in pressing McLaughlin for the rest of the race.  Arnold never gave up and passed most of the pack to retake third place by the end of the race.

Following the Open Wheel Modified event was the second open wheel feature with the Independent Pavement Sprint Car Alliance running a 25 lap event.  The feature was a thrilling event for the crowd with Mickey Kempgens leading 23 of the 25 lap race.  Brian Gingras who finished second pressured Kempgens throughout the race and nearly passed him on lap 24 before falling into line on the final lap.  Jim Alvis finished third.

Concluding the program following the feature event was the Fab 4 class.  The quick 20 lap event was a runaway win by Karl Garrard with Zac Campilonga coming in second.  Campilonga’s car was later disqualified during technical review resulting in David Patterson being awarded second place and     Linda Badali third.

The family- oriented racing card was also a fundraising event for the American Cancer Society honoring their “Relay for Life”.  Proceeds from the 50/50 raffle as well as donations from the “Relay for Life” table went to the ACS relay team from Florida Community Bank of North Port.  Kimberly Funk, an employee of the bank expressed her appreciation on behalf of the American Cancer Society for Punta Gorda Speedway’s support.

Punta Gorda Speedway has exciting racing action every Saturday night.  On March 19th, the Sportsman, Trucks, Legends, and TQ Midgets return to the speedway for an exciting evening of racing.  Gates open at 5:00pm with racing action beginning at 6:30pm.

Punta Gorda Speedway Results 3/12/2011

Sprints

1. 70 Mickey Kempgens, Darby

2. 1 Brian Gingras, Lakeland

3. 21 Jim Alvis Sefner

4. 78 Shane Miller, Tampa

5. 41 Ray Bragg, Tampa

6. 55 Tommy Nichols, Tampa

7. 75 Darrin Miller, Tampa

8. 10n Shawn Namor, Deerfield Beach

9. J1 Mike Tharp, Ft. Myers

10. 69 Rick Voisey, Wesley Chapel

11. 89 Trent Bos, Wesley Chapel

12. 30 Wendy Mathis, Valrico

13. 01 Mathew Hall, Apollo Beach

14. 21x Bobby Gorden, Spring Hill

15. 47 Jason Bradford, Englewood

16. 57x Mike Koss, Port Charlotte

17. 9 Little Jimmy Alvis, D.N.S.

18. 4 Johnny Allen, D.N.S.

19. 12 Colin Cabre, D.N.S.

20. 52 Joey Aguliar D.N.S.

Open Wheel Modified

1. 99 Sean McLaughlin, Port Charlotte

2. 61 Tony Correno, Lutz

3. 19 Steve Arnold Cape Coral

4. 46 Doug Moff, Ft. Myers

5. 00 Shawn Harper, Lake Wales

6. 8 Kent McLean, Alva

7. 09 Don Skaggs, Ft. Myers

8. 0 Troy Robinson, Wesley Chapel

9. 14 John Garrett, Port Charlotte

Super Stock

1. 18 Shane Leonard

2. 2 Bobby Fischer

3. 80 Larry Braswell

4. 88 Jim Mieser

5. 8L Logan Leonard

6. 8 Jimmy Castleberry

7. 86 Jamie Castleberry

8. 68 Mike Wilson

9. 33 Chris Loney D.N.S.

10 2S Randy Sober D.N.S.

Pro 4

1. 31 John Balzarano

2. 04 Ryan Collver

3. 28 Dylan Bigley

4. 98 Cody Allen

5. 00 Dan Collver

6. 61 Paul Richards Sr.

7. 32 Cory Bigley

8. 05R Ronald Robinson

9. 22 Jeremy Perkins

10. 21 Jason Perkins

11. 29 Phillip Ellis Jr.

12. 05 David Doty

13. 63 Matt Fewox

14. 87 Charles Null

15. 38 Stuart Vandevender

Fab 4

1. 31 Karl Garrard

2. 4 David Paterson

3. 30 Linda Badali

4. 98 Aaron Hardgrove

5. 81 Brittany Barr

6. 63 Zach Fewox

7. 87 Skyler Null

8. 67 Mike Simmons

9. 38 Duane Vandevender

10. 9 Allie Espenosa D.N.S.

11. 3 Zac Campilonga D.Q.

Cowboy Cadillacs

1. 18 Robert Wilms

2. 77 James Dellea

3. 4 Andy Vanscyoc

4. 33 Les Couch

5. 30 Ken Badali

6. 15 Chuck Sweet

7. 24 Shane Moore

Dwarf

1. 56 Larry Hubbard 3rd.

2. 4 Andy Pryor

3. 69 Tom Pryor

4. 17 John Bailey

5. 33 Roger Richmond

6. 12 Darrell Fischer

7. 2 Paul Coraham

8. 08 Rebecca George

9 . 82 Rob Kohler

10 77 Don Wilcox

Champ Karts

1. 31 Rusty Chancey

2. 14 Tim Simmons

3. 32 Dennis Mace

4. 13 Romay Venta

5. 33 Mitchell Stevens

6. 77 Phil Harp

7. 66 David Harp

8. 98 Scott Hailey

9. 0 Darin Coker

10. 16 Paul Letourneau

11. 25 Erick McElroy

12. 61 P.J. Letourneall