BARBERVILLE, FL- Racers and fans will return to the World’s Fastest Half Mile again this Saturday night for another full card of top quality racing action featuring six divisions. Fans will be thrilled with the return of the Daytona Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram Late Models, and another Saturday night of excitement from the Budweiser Modifieds, the Daytona Machine Shop Sportsman Division, the Daytona Sportswear Street Stocks, the Amsoil Thunder Stocks, and the Sparkle N Shine Car Wash Challengers. And in addition to the racing, our Little Miss VSP will be crowned for the 2011 racing season.
Fans who wish to enter their little ladies in the Little Miss VSP contest need to email VSPSales@Live.com as soon as possible and get their application for the contest. All applications must be in by Thursday in order to compete, so time is of the essence. Two immediate family members of each child entered will be admitted free of charge, plus all contestants will be admitted free. The contest is open to girls aged 6 years to 12 years, and each contestant should bring a “sport” outfit as well as a “princess” outfit to wear in the contest. The contest winner will represent Volusia Speedway Park as Little Miss VSP for 2011, and will receive $50 cash plus some wonderful prizes to be announced on the night of the contest.
Fans who have followed the Daytona Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram Late Models so far in 2011 have discovered that there is no certainty as to who might show up for the competition on any particular Saturday night, and depending on who does or does not, anything can happen. Darrell Padgett has visited the Destination Daytona Victory Lane this season, as has Donnie Chappell, but some other racers have shown quite a bit of promise and could be poised to take their turns with a victory celebration. Matt Hartley has been in the top five twice, and Bobby Richardson has cranked up the wick since opening night. And then there are those who simply show up and could possibly steal the show, so this division may be the least predictable this season at VSP.
While Jeff Matthews has managed to take two of three Budweiser Modified races this season, Larry Burkins has risen to the occasion and managed to take one away from “The Repo Man” and almost did it again last Saturday night. And while Mathews and Burkins are battling it out, so are some other contenders like Jared Allison and Bruce Harvey, who are not far behind the top two. James Smith also deserves credit for his performance two weeks ago that brought him a third place finish.
Corey Holley won the initial Daytona Machine Shop Sportsman Division race of the season, and since then has notched second place and fourth place finishes. That makes him the most consistent competitor in the division thus far, but the “tag team” combo of Aaron Barsness and Scott Lagasse in the 11 machine has been scoring great finishes as well, but has yet to score a victory in 2011. Another factor could be Blaise Hetznecker, who finds his way to the front early only to suffer misfortune in the later laps of the races. Should Hetznecker get everything to go his way one night he might be poised to make his own reservation for a party in the Destination Daytona Victory Lane.
There are a host of potential winners lurking in the Daytona Sportswear Street Stock Division as well, including last year’s champion, Philip Brown. Brown has been hovering in the front pack with the one exception being a night when he found himself a victim of another racer’s misfortune. Brown’s consistency is as strong as that of Bubba Christian, who has also been hanging around in the top three and seems ready to make some moves. So the question is can either, or both, of these racers rise to the occasion this Saturday and therefore put someone different in the Destination Daytona Victory Lane? The inside scoop says that this will be the week, and that the racing will be far more intense in order to get there.
The Amsoil Thunder Stocks saw a three way brawl erupt last Saturday night as the front pack separated themselves from the field and had their own race while everyone else followed. The result was exciting and intense action on every lap of the feature race, plus three different leaders on the way to the checkered flags. This week should be no different, as two of the three now know just how close they were to taking that win for themselves, and know what it will take to accomplish it. Meanwhile Dalton Lanich has notched himself a win in 2011 and now knows that Tom Hughes and Alan Peacock are going to be gunning for him this Saturday night.
Casey Feaster scored himself two wins last weekend at two different race tracks, but this time he will have to deal with the resurgence of RJ Glaser in last week’s Sparkle N Shine Challenger feature on top of everything else. Glaser was all over Feaster on the big half mile on Saturday night, and had Feaster not been able to out maneuver the 004 car the result of the race could have been very different. So if Saturday was not a fluke, then look for quite a battle to possibly erupt between the same two racers this week. And as if Glaser was not enough of a threat, keep an eye peeled toward Denica Hetznecker, who has found some speed and is potentially ready to mix it up with the top bunch.
Volusia Speedway Park will open the pit gate for competitors at 4PM, with fans admitted to the grandstand at 5:30 on Saturday evening. The first heat races will begin at 7PM and the Little Miss VSP contest will follow during the intermission. For more information please visit the World’s Fastest Half Mile online at www.TheVolusiaSpeedway.com or phone the office at 386-985-4402.