BARBERVILLE, FL- Sprint car fans will get to enjoy the first of many scheduled nights of racing this season on the world’s fastest half mile as Saturday night at Volusia Speedway Park will be highlighted by the region’s top sprint car teams. The non series event is sponsored by Daytona Harley-Davidson and is expected to draw as many as 40 regional teams to Barberville. In addition, the Florida Mini Sprint Association will be on hand for their first race at VSP in 2011, and fans will also see plenty of racing action from five divisions of VSP’s weekly racers.
The festivities will begin early this Friday night with a special pre race party featuring racers and fans at Saints & Sinners, located at Bruce Rossmeyer’s Destination Daytona. The 6:30PM party is open to everyone, and will serve as a warm up to the scheduled sprint car madness that will happen the following night at the track.
Volusia Speedway Park promoter, Ken Sands, made it a point to promise plenty of sprint car action at VSP in 2011 before the season began, and Saturday night is his chance to live up to those promises. As a sprint car owner and someone who has many connections in sprint car racing, Sands has called on his friends to come and take on the big half mile this Saturday night in a non sanctioned race event. The Daytona Harley-Davidson sponsored race features a rules package that bridges the gaps between the regional sprint car series, and therefore will attract racers who normally do not get to compete head to head. And with the barriers that usually prohibit some racers from joining in removed at VSP, Sands expects that the car count will be far better than what fans are used to seeing at Florida sprint car events.
As for the Florida Mini Sprints, they have been known as Florida’s best kept secret for quite a while now, but the secret is out and fans know that they will get superb entertainment from the mini sprint racers. When it comes to competitiveness and excitement, the FMSA provides it at virtually every track that they visit, plus they bring a full field of inspired racers who never fail to put on quite a show. These little winged sprint cars are exceptionally nimble and fast, and on Volusia’s big half mile they have been clocked in excess of 140 MPH as the racers literally “flatfoot” them around the track.
Jeff Mathews and Larry Burkins are the two winners so far with VSP’s Budweiser Modifieds, but there are plenty of other motivated racers just waiting for their chance to step into a celebration in Bruce Rossmeyer’s Destination Daytona Victory Lane. After winning the points championship in 2010, Jamie Carter has yet to put it all together in 2011, which means that he is past due to grab a win. Kyle Bronson has made his way to the front of the pack only to be derailed by circumstances that were not of his making, and he is also itching to find success at VSP. Both are more than ready to take their turn with a victory celebration, and both will be ready to race this Saturday night.
So far in 2011 the Daytona Machine Shop Sportsman Division has also produced two winners in Corey Holley and Josh Byrd, with racers like Chris Day and Blaise Hetznecker flirting with wins but coming up just short. Holley looks to be the dominant force so far with a second place finish last week and a win on opening night, but Byrd’s victory certainly proves that Holley is far from invincible. And while Chris Day is poised to upset the winners from the previous two races, never count out the 11 car with Scott Lagassee and 2010 Sportsman Champion Aaron Barsness sharing seat time.
Joe Belkey has so far claimed a clean sweep with two consecutive Daytona Sportswear Street Stock wins, but Bubba Christian was right on his rear spoiler last Saturday night. 2010 Champ Philip Brown has had one race ended by an accident as he battled in the front pack, and last week he scored a third place finish behind Christian and Belkey. Brown may not have won any races yet, but he has demonstrated that he has what it takes to win in 2011 and may soon do just that.
The only racing division where a driver seems to have taken complete control is the Amsoil Thunder Stocks, and Chad Scranton’s win margins seem to get bigger every week. But don’t think that Scranton’s big wins are a sign that he is unbeatable, especially with the likes of Alan Peacock, Robert Donaly, and Tom Hughes, all lurking in the lead pack and gunning for the 27 car. This Saturday’s race will be another opportunity for someone else to step up and find the right combination of factors needed to upset Scranton, and Scranton will not allow himself to get too confident no matter how dominant he looks at this point in the season.
Casey Feaster came into the 2011 racing season as the 2010 Sparkle N Shine Car Wash Challenger Champion, and he wasted no time grabbing in grabbing a win with the first race in 2011. But Feaster is a prime example of what happens when the other contenders step up, and Jonathan Green did the stepping. Green’s win last Saturday came despite Feaster giving him everything he had, and with the news that Tony Laporta is returning it looks like Casey Feaster may have his hands full.
Volusia Speedway Park will open the pit gate at 4PM for competitors and fans will be admitted to the grandstands at 5:30PM on Saturday evening. Action begins at 7PM with heat races, followed by B mains and feature events. For more information on this event or to see the complete 2011 racing schedule, please visit us online at www.TheVolusiaSpeedway.com. And parents are reminded that the little Miss VSP competition will be on April 16th. To get an application, please email VSPsales@live.com.