Scott Lockwood, Bradenton, FL -Sarasota’s David Wilson recovered from two different spins and went on to take his second consecutive Turner Tree and Landscaping Super Late Model win in Saturday night’s 75-lap main event Saturday night at the re-named Desoto Speedway. Wilson started eighth in the 19-car feature and found himself right in the middle of a seven-car crash that was triggered when early leader Daryl Shelnut got loose going into turn three and forced several cars to check up in a chain Reaction melee that saw the car of polesitter James Glover end up on top of Chris Fontaine’s car. Bradenton’s Jessie Dutilly also received front end damage in the crash, while Glover’s and Brian Richardson’s night came to an end. Wilson and Brad Bowman both spun but were able to continue without damage. Dutilly and Fontaine used the long red flag to their advantage and were able to rejoin the field after repairs without losing any laps. On the restart, Billy Bigley Jr. got by Shelnut for the lead. A couple of laps later he was joined at the front by Wilson, who restarted fourth. Wilson took the lead with an outside pass at the end of lap 14 and was poised to set sail from the rest of the field before a caution six laps later when Troy McNabb spun right in front of Wilson and the rest of the leaders. Several more cautions allowed Dutilly and Fontaine to keep pace with the leaders. On a lap-38 restart after a crash involving Shellnut and Joe Boyd, Dutilly got by Bigley for second place and ran down Wilson to battle for the lead. After another yellow Dutilly got a great restart and took the lead from Wilson for the first time on lap 44. Dutilly paced the field for the next 17 laps with Wilson right on his tail. Coming out of turn two on lap 58, Wilson got into the back of Dutilly, forcing Dutilly up the race track and allowing him to retake the lead. On the next lap, Dutilly tried repaying the favor in the same spot, but spun Wilson around to cause the night’s sixth caution flag. Wilson was allowed to keep the lead while Dutilly was sent to the rear of the field. On the restart, Fontaine – whose car was largely covered with giant patches of duct tape after repairs from the lap 6 crash – got by Bigley for second place. Fontaine could not keep pace with Wilson, who went on to win by nearly two seconds.
“These cars were all over the place and it was like driving on ice out there,” Wilson said from victory lane. “We were just fortunate enough to dodge quite a few bullets and take care of the race car.” Wilson also apologized for the move that took Dutilly out of the lead on lap 58. Dutilly would eventually rally to finish fourth. “I got on the gas and tried to stay out of his bumper, but it looked like he got a little loose,” Wilson said.
Fontaine, a Lakeland resident who has made several starts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, said he “couldn’t believe” he ended up with a runner-up finish with a battered race car. He said his crew must have used 10 rolls of duct tape to get the car back in the race. “I got out of the car and everything was straight and the radiator wasn’t leaking, so I said let’s try it,” Fontaine said after surveying his car immediately following the early crash. “It ended up working and it was a lot of fun out there. That might have been the most fun I’ve had in a race car.” Bigley finished third after leading several laps early. Scott Walters rounded out the top five. Eight of the 10 cars running at the finish finished on the lead lap.
In other action Saturday night, the 25-lap Street Stock feature was a battle between the brother duo of Bill and Stuart Vandevender and Anders Jackson. Stuart V Vandevender led a little more than half the race before being overtaken on a restart by Bill Vandevender. Jackson moved into second with about 10 laps remaining. Once Jackson cleared Stuart Vandevender, he ran down Bill Vandevender and took the lead with a handful of laps remaining. Over the final two laps around the 3/8-mile oval the two were nose to tail, with Jackson getting loose coming out of turn four coming to the checkers. That allowed Bill Vandevender to nearly pull even at the stripe, but Jackson held on for the win. The lead cars came together after taking the checkered flag, sending Jackson hard into the outside wall in turn one. The incident nearly started a brawl on the front stretch between the two teams but was quickly broken up by track personnel.
Other feature winners Saturday night included Dustin Chisolm using a last-second pass on Ed Brihante to take the 25-lap Champ Kart feature; Joey Azatta leading flag-to-flag in the 20-lap Legends feature; Jessica Ostrovskis in the Pro 4 feature; Marina Petty in the Rookie 4’s, Dalton Ellis in the Junk Yard Dogs and Brett Suggs in the 25-lap Mini-Cup event.
This Saturday night Desoto Speedway will host the fifth annual Eddie Brann Memorial, which is a 75-lap Open Wheel Modified event that could draw as many as 40 of the state’s best open-wheel drivers. The night will also feature heat races and features for the Road Warriors, Dwarf Cars, TQ Midgets, Junkyard Dogs, and Outlaw Modifieds.
11-09-13
FULL THROTTLE SPEEDWAY RACE RESULTS
SUPER LATE MODEL
1. 81 David Wilson Sarasota
2. 47 Chris Fontaine Lakeland
3. 28 Billy Bigley Jr. Naples
4. 30 Jesse Dutilly Bradenton
5. 77 Scott Walters Naples
6. 5 Joe Boyd Riverview
7. 7 Daryl Shellnut Lake city
8. 51 Michael Atwell Naples
9. 142 Troy McNabb Naples
10. 36m Travis Miller Ft. Myers
11. 4 Dennis Colletti Bradenton
12. 2 Brad Bowman Clearwater
13. 06 Mike Finn Jupiter
14. 128 Dylan Bigley Naples
15. 10 Steve Dorer Lakeland
16. 70 James Glover Pineallas Park
17. 56 Brian Richardson Cape Coral
18. 42 Eric Borges Naples
19. 36 Gary Padulla Pompano Beach D.N.S.
20. 10m Jason Miller Lehigh D.N.S.
STREET STOCK
1. 91 Ander Jackson Punta Gorda
2. 33 Bill Vandevender N. Ft. Myers
3. 36 Stuart Vandevender N. Ft. Myers
4. 6 James Nanny Bradenton
5.. 3x Duane Best Myakka City
6. 71 Darren Ellis Myakka City
7. 2 Bobby Fischer Naples
8. 51 Jarrett Cornell N. Ft. Myers
9. 19 Jim Medendorf Naples
10. 18 Troy Thiem Sarasota
11. 10 Tim Miller Bradenton
12. 7 Blane Baer Port Charlotte
13. 00 Eric Purcell St. Cloud
14. 43 Dennis Wilson Bradenton
15. 80 Richard Nelson Port Charlotte
16. 97 Chris Scott Nakomis
17. 50 David Blanchard D.N.S.
18. 75 John Heidenthal Myakka City D.N.S.
19. 9 Shane Poling Port Charlotte D.N.S
LEGENDS
1. 29 Joey Azatta Boca Raton
2. 19 Keith Sankula Palm City
3. 2 Robby Lyon Seminole
4. 26 Joey Langis Coral Springs
5. 15 David Flail Bradenton
JUNK YARD DOGS
1. 171 Dalton Ellis Myakka
2. 8 Josh Widner Myakka city
3. 5 James Widner Myakka city
4. 72 Jason Shulko Sarasota
5. 01 Aaron Widner Myakka City
6. 27 Austin Lykins Parrish
PRO 4
1. 91 Jessica Ostrovskis St. Pete
2. 99 Johnny Marra Cape Coral
3. 11 Zach Rogers
ROOKIE 4
1. 41 Marina Petty Venice
2. 3 Sherry Best Myakka
3. 11 Zach Rogers
4. 15 Caylee Lombardi
5. 67 Jimmy Best D.N.S.
CHAMP KARTS
1. 7 Dustin Chisolm
2. 63 Ed Brihante
3. 29 Ron Sanford
4. 78 Jason McGonnell
5. 1 Scott Holly
6. 91 Ryan Walters
7. 66 David Harp
8. 67 Lee Davis
9. 02 Bo Collier
10. 71 Phil Harp D.N.S.
MINI CUPS
1. 3 Brett Suggs Beneva
2. 4 Tyler Davis Lakeland
3. 5 Clayton Samuels Bowling Green
4. 05 Jim Irish Largo
5. 5c Chelsey Garrett Largo
6. 8 Dan Suggs Geneva