by VSP Media
BARBERVILLE, FL- The racers and fans at Volusia Speedway Park showed their dedication and loyalty on Saturday night as showers and nearby lightning, followed by an electrical glitch, caused a great deal of “hurry up and wait” and caused track officials to scrap heat racing and opt for a “features only” format. And those who waited saw a moving tribute on the anniversary of the 9-11 attacks, then were treated to quite a spectacle as the Daytona Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram Late Models, the Taylor Racing Products Sportsman Division, the Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants Thunder Stocks, and the 4 Cylinder Challengers, all took to the famous Barberville clay. All first place finishers in Volusia’s regular divisions got a bonus $100 certificate to spend as they please from Gary Yeoman’s Performance Parts, plus their regular winnings. And in addition to regular racing, fans saw four divisions from the Daytona Antique Auto Racing Association challenge the south’s fastest half mile and wind out their vintage machines.
All Photos Courtesy of JimJonesPhoto.com
After the rain and lightning delay, and then the failure of the track lights along the backstretch and in turns two and three, the Daytona Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram Late Models left staging and took the green flag for their feature race at 9:04PM. And with the field set by drawing instead of by qualifying, fast cars were scattered randomly throughout the grid, which meant that some contenders had more work to do than others. It took all of 10 seconds for current division points leader Joe Kump to rocket into the lead, and from there he kicked in the afterburner. Lawton Minchew climbed to the second spot but was relegated to the rear on lap 13 after a spin in turn 4, and as that played out Jack Nosbisch and Larry Anderson came together on the front stretch, damaging the 12 machine to the point that it was no longer competitive.
But Kump was not home free because Donnie Chappell had something to prove to the fans and track officials after being put on the rear of the starting grid for his failure to assist in walking in the clay after the rain. Chappell charged through the field over the course of the race, catching up to Kump thanks to the caution which took away Kump’s commanding lead. Chappell gave it everything he had, even to the point of bicycling his race car in the turns, but Joe Kump managed to grab the win while Donnie Chappell settled for second. Lawton Minchew recovered from his earlier mishap to place third, followed by Adam Bennett and Larry Anderson for fourth and fifth.
Eighteen Taylor Racing Products Sportsman cars took the green flag for their feature race, and again many competitors found themselves scattered throughout the grid and dealing with traffic. The night began as a chance for Aaron Barsness to solidify his quest for a points championship, but deteriorated into a forgettable experience after contact with a spinning car sent him off the track later in the race. Meanwhile Ronnie Ponce had climbed out of his front porch rocker and into the 57 normally driven by Stanton Mills, and Mills was in the 22 normally piloted by Scott Lagasse.
Ponce began in the 10th position at the start, but quickly shot into the lead with Mills giving chase after Ponce blew past him. By the midway point of the race Steve Shead had moved into the third spot and Chris Day ad clawed his way from 7th to fourth, but neither could muster a challenge to the top two. Ronnie Ponce drove on to a victory as Stanton Mills followed, and Steve Shead settled for a respectable third place run. Chris Day wound up in the fourth spot and Blaise Hetznecker rounded out the top five with another respectable night for the 17H.
The Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants Thunder Stocks had a $500 check waiting for the winner of their feature race, and as luck would have it the random setting of the starting grid had none other than Chad Scranton sitting on the front row. And after a flat tire from contact with Matt Schell on the last lap caused Scranton to finish third last week, Schell was on the outside of row two and right behind Scranton this week. But Scranton had no plans for revenge except to drive away from Schell, and that is exactly what he did.
Scranton’s other antagonist has been Philip Brown, who hops into the 13 car on weekends when Volusia’s Street Stocks are not running and has consistently topped the 27 machine when doing so. But Brown began in the middle of thick traffic in the 18th spot and had to extricate himself before running down the leaders, finally climbing to third before running out of laps and time. Chad Scranton got the win and the $500, while Matt Schell held off the rest of the field for second place. Philip Brown claimed third, while Tom Hughes salvaged a fourth place night and Raymond Wheeler gained 8 positions from the start to finish fifth.
On Friday night at the opposite end of the Ocala National Forest, Casey Feaster saw his quest for a Volusia Speedway Park 4 Cylinder Challenger points championship flash before his eyes. While leading the Gladiator feature at Ocala Speedway, Feaster’s timing belt unraveled and took the serpentine belt with it, most likely causing some nasty internal damage to the engine. But a look at the engine by dawn’s light proved that the damage was limited to the belts, so Feaster was back at VSP and gunning to finalize his quest.
While Casey Feaster may have wanted to seal the deal with a win, that was not to be as Tony Laporta escaped a first lap fracas to dominate the race and beat Feaster to the checkers, collecting the $100 bonus from Astor Recycling in addition to the first place hardware. But by finishing in second place, Casey Feaster mathematically slammed the door on the competition, all but locking out any further ideas of anyone taking away his dream. Sonny Espy drove a hard race and placed third, while Justin Dean climbed 10 positions to finish fourth, and Jordan Myers placed fifth.
Racing history buffs got their fix on Saturday night as the Daytona Antique Auto Racing Association brought a fine field of classic racers to Volusia Speedway Park. Four divisions of vintage racers produced four winners, with Steve Parrish, Mark May, Matt Jarrett, and Jerry Paquin, all visiting Volusia’s famed Victory Lane. For Mark May it was only the second time he as had his Marty Robbins tribute machine on dirt, and both he and the car seemed to like it.
On September 18th Volusia Speedway Park welcomes the return of the Wiener Nationals, as the famous dachshund races that were rained out in August get a second shot at the Barberville clay. In addition to the wiener dogs racing on the frontstretch, fans will see the return of the Top Gun Sprint Car Series with the region’s biggest names in 360 sprint car racing attacking the fastest dirt track in the state. VSP’s Taylor Racing Products Sportsman Division will be chasing a $1000 cash carrot, plus the Budweiser Modifieds and Daytona Sportswear Street Stocks will return to action. For more information about ticket prices, scheduled events, and more, please visit www.VolusiaSpeedwayPark.net.
Volusia Speedway Park Results for 9/11/10
Daytona Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram Late Models
1- J17 Joe Kump
2- 25 Donnie Chappell
3- 23 Lawton Minchew
4- 42 Adam Bennett
5- 30 Larry Anderson
6- 10 Win Ingersoll
7- 45 Bobby Richardson
8- 46 Hamp Conley
9- 36DH Daniel Hancock
10- 11 Howard Stalls
11- RP1 Bug Rose
12- 12 Jack Nosbisch Jr.
13- 21Q Chris Freeman
DNS- 31 Tracey Butler
Taylor Racing Products Sportsman
1- 57P Ronnie Ponce
2- 22L Stanton Mills
3- 10 Steve Shead
4- 8 Chris Day
5- 17H Blaise Hetznecker
6- 80 Paul Shead
7- 7 Dalton Lanich
8- 95 Matt McGillivray
9- 17K Marc Kinley
10- 46 Richard Wells Jr.
11- 77 Wayne Allen Jr.
12- 57 Heinz Haas
13- 3 Ken Hall Sr.
14- 61 Lisa O’Conner
15- 11 Aaron Barsness
16- 42 Josh Byrd
17- 05 Dan Lane Sr.
18- 18M Alan Peacock
DNS- 99 Danny Vogel Jr.
Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants Thunder Stock
1- 27 Chad Scranton
2- 57 Matt Schell
3- 13 Philip Brown
4- 29 Tom Hughes
5- 27W Raymond Wheeler
6- 30 Mike Tovet
7- 6 Wally Douglas
8- 9R Robert Donaly
9- 36 Austin Stamper
10- 114 John Thorpe
11- 15 Luke Sadler
12- 16 Brian Schrunk
13- 03 Robert Schrunk
14- 14 Brian Cox
15- 1B Scott Brumfield
16- 22 Kelly Snyder
17- V1 Delbert Moyer
18- 9 Richard Calmes Jr.
19- 96 Eddie Lake
20- 32 Jim Shaw
21- B81 John Blackwelder
DQ (conduct) 10 Scott Mooers
4 Cylinder Challenger
1- 3T Tony Laporta
2- 20 Casey Feaster
3- 7E Gilbert Espy
4- X Justin Dean
5- XX Jordan Myers
6- 88 Steven Cox
7- 004 R.J. Glaser
8- 419 Matt Covington
9- 11 David Ladrie
10- 67 Pete Hanstine
11- 14 Tina Roberts
12- 1X James Clay
13- 51 Dustin Childress
14- Denica Hetznecker
DNS- 42 Dalton Strehle