By Bill Green, FromBehindTheMIC
Punta Gorda, FL – While the TQ Midgets came to honor one of their own, Ray Smith decided to “WOW” the crowd with a flip into turn 4 that saw him make 6 complete barrel rolls and take everyone’s breath away. After gathering his wits about him, and a short conversation with the safety crew, Smith stood and exited the crumbled midget on his on to the cheers of the fans.
The “Freddy Stutz Memorial” got back under way with newly wed Ted Durfee of Sarasota winning in front of his wife for the first time since the “I do’s. Second went to a hard charging Mike Belusar of nearby Punta Gorda. Seventy-nine year young Jack Duffy of Sarasota, finished a well deserved third, followed by Jamie Barnum from Spring Hill fourth and pole sitter Geoff Styner of Cape Coral settled for fifth.
The Checkered Flag Sprints totally WOWED the crowd with Wild Child in the flag stand and 19 sprints taking part in the 30-lap feature. The feature went flag-to-flag in some 7 minutes, no cautions. The winner was Rookie of the Year contender, Jimmy Alvis Jr, from Seffner, with Brandon’s David Salwiak second, Mark Gimmler traveling over from Palm Beach Gardens, stayed in contention for another title with a run from 11th to third. Fourth went to Scotty Adema out of Fort Myers and fifth was Gary Gimmler, also of Palm Beach Gardens.
Bandelro’s saw the Hooven brother’s battle side-by-side for most of the 12lap feature. The victor this time was Shawn Hooven, over Mark Hooven, second. Third went to Reese Chase , but he was counted first in the Junior class, as he’s only 9 years old.
Open Wheel Lites or Dwarf Cars went 25-laps and saw the third place TQ Midget driver Mike Beluser take the win. Second went to Bo Bass from Eustis, FL. Larry Hubbard Jr. took third for the Hubbard family of racers in the class, while Roger Richmond, Port Charlotte and Tom Prior, Bonita Springs finished fourth and fifth respectively.
Legends saw Josh Williams win a second straight victory and the team car driven by Kevin Hendry go second. Third was pole sitter Brady Marshall, followed by Mike Fazio 4th and Carl Haag 5th.
Road Warriors watched Chris Scott do the Hat Trick with win number, three, in-a-row. Second was Logan Leonard, paced by Blaine Baer third, Rick Reed fourth and Derrick Horton fifth.
Next week Punta Gorda will have Pro Trucks, Open Wheel Modifieds, Pro-4, Fab-4, Super Stocks and Road Warriors. Call 941-575-7223 for ticket prices and information, or visit PuntaGordaSpeedway.com.
Punta Gorda Speedway Results 6/12/2010
Bandolero
1. 14 Shawn Hooven
2. 17 Mark Hooven
3. 99 Reese Chase
4. 06 Johnny Holmes
F.M.R.A Midgets (T.Q’S)
1. 26 Ted Durfee
2. 30 Mike Belusar
3. 1 Jack Duffy
4. 7 Jamie Barnum
5. 5 Geoff Styner
6. 51 Chris Gimmler
7. 33 Kenny Busch
8. 15 Terry Taylor
9. 6 Jay Stutz
10. 17 Ray Smith
Road Warriors
1. 97 Chris Scott
2. 18 Logan Leonard
3. 7 Blaine Baer
4. 1 Rick Reed
5. 27 Derrick Horton
6. 33 Chris Loney
7. 10 Jason Miller
8. 5 Jeremy Daring
9. B1 Randy Kile
10. 77 James Delea
DWARFS
1. 82 Mike Belusar
2. 14 Bo Bass
3. 56 Larry Hubbard Jr.
4. 33 Roger Richmond
5. 69 Tom Prior
6. 00 Donny Bass
7. 77 Larry Hubbard III
8. 21 Sammy Mancuso
9. 4 Andy Prior
10. 2 Larry Hubard Sr.
Legends
1. 6 Josh Williams
2. X6 Kevin Henry
3. 14 Brady Marshall
4. 38 Mike Fazio
5. 48fl Carl Haag
6. 7 Mike Verhaagh
7. 55 Conrad Molter
8. 17 Mark Hooven
9. 9 Mitch Verhaaugh
Sprints
1. 21 Jimmy Alvis Jr.
2. 79 David Slawiak
3. 51 Mark Gimmler
4. 67 Scott Adema
5. 29 Gary Gimmler
6. 20 Amanda Fergerson
7. 19 Keith Butler
8. 75 Darrin Miller
9. 11 Bryan Riddle
10. 19T Mickey Kempgens
11. 47 Jason Bradford
12. 15jr Geoff Styner
13. 69 Ric Voisey
14. 6 Frank Hurst
15. 6x Skeeter Faulconer
16. 7 Robert Parrow
17. 21A Robbie Hackett
18. 31 Channing Conley
19. 1 Billy Riddle DNS