Sportsman would be the first division to get the feature racing underway and Kevin Davis wasted no time in putting his machine at the front of the field. At the drop of the green Davis would power past Jamie Dayhaw for the lead and after that the race would be for second. After that the only thing to slow Davis was a lap four caution that saw four cars tangle in turn one. From there it was clear sailing for the race winner. Wayne O’Neal finished second to tighten up the point battle between himself and defending champion Jody Turner. Jamie Dayhaw continued his strong runs of late with a third place finish.
Pure Stocks would be next in line to hit the speedway and Brent Zimmerman and Shawn Creech would lead the field to green. Zimmerman would get the early advantage but a back stretch incident would erase that effort before a lap could be scored. Point leader Jerry Fortner would end up being the biggest victim of the opening lap incident as damage to his ride would end his night early. Once the field got back to racing it would be Creech gaining the upper hand and pulling out to the early lead. After a lap three caution for Ed Polbos the field would then get to sort itself out for a green flag run that produced some intense action at the front of the field. Four drivers would now battle it out at the front of the field with Shane Taylor and Andy Olson joining Creech and Zimmerman in the fight for first. With the action going three wide for the lead at times it would be Taylor wrestling the lead from Creech on lap nine. Creech would keep the leader in his sight but Taylor would hold off Creech and Andy Olson for the win.
Adam Bedenbaugh has followed up his championship season of 2010 with some more championship caliber efforts this season as well. At the drop of the green Bedenbaugh would surge past pole sitter Bo Allen. Mark Whitener would move to second and apply the pressure to Bedenbaugh. The first of two scares would come on lap eight for the race leader as Lee Newsome would spin on the exit of turn two as the race leaders were bearing down on him. Everybody would be able to take evasive action and clear the spinning car. Lap fourteen would see a repeat of the close call as Newsome would again spin with Bedenbaugh closing in and once again the field would avoid the spinning car. After that Bedenbaugh would hold off Whitener and Clay Bedenbaugh for the win.
When Brian Granthem loaded up and left Douglas Ga. his plans didn’t include a trip to Lake City but with Mother Nature throwing a monkey wrench into those plans forcing a cancellation at Waycross he decided to keep on driving and make his first visit to NFS. Granthem would make it to the speedway in time for his heat race and then the redraw would see him starting on the front row. Quickly making his way to the lead Granthem would lead until the caution appeared on lap four. On the restart he would continue to pace the field when the caution would come out again on lap eight. Granthem still kept his car at the front of the field but David Tyrrell would pressure the race leader all around the track lap after lap. Tyrrell would get plenty of looks to the inside of Granthem but the race leader had his car hooked up on the high side of the track and would find his way to victory in his first appearance at NFS.
Limited Modifieds would roll out next and the start would see Adam Higginbotham get to the lead from row number two. On lap two the yellow would wave as Timmy Roach would climb the guard rail on the front stretch. Cliff Suber would also find himself involved. On the restart Higginbotham would lose the handle in turn two but the field would be able to avoid him. This would be the break Duane Paul Jr. was looking for as he would inherit the lead. Paul would then hold off division point leader Shane Taylor and collect his first win in Limited Mod action and deny Taylor a second trip to victory lane on the evening.
Rookie Corey Crews has been getting stronger with each start in the Box Stock division and tonight would be the night it all came together. Crews would move to the lead as the green flag waved over the field and his time at the front of field would not be interrupted. Billy Wilson and point leader Bryar Zimmerman would stalk the race leader but Crews would be up to the task and make his first career victory a wire to wire affair.
Next race night for the North Florida Speedway will be August 20th. The always popular back to school backpack night will be on tap. Also on the card for that evening will be Late Models, Pure Stocks, Open Wheel Modifieds, Box Stocks and the Florida Mini Sprint Association. Visit us on the web at northfloridaspeedway.com or call 386-754-8800. As always we appreciate your support!
Official Results August 6th 2011
Sportsman
1. Kevin Davis #86
2. Wayne O’Neal #0
3. Jamie Dayhaw #21
4. Sonny Thompson #75
5. Robby Stevens #12
6. Brandon Catto #59
7. Jody Turner #74
8. Kurt Thrift #42
9. Dave Ponton #10x
10. Nick Reid #16
11. Drake Dryden #33
12. Spud Lockwood #32jr
13. Amber Williams #25
14. Mark Yarbrough #55
Pure Stock
1. Shane Taylor #82
2. Shawn Creech #07
3. Andy Olson #13
4. Brent Zimmerman #OOZ
5. Doran Cheney #98c
6. Chip Owen #21o
7. William Martin #06
8. Chris Rowe #23
9. Rick Reed #91
10. John Andrews #z27
11. Swede Melgaard #15
12. Duane Paul Jr. #71
13. Ed Polbos #25
14. Jerry Fortner #F16
Late Model
1. Adam Bedenbaugh #26
2. Mark Whitener #58
3. Clay Bedenbaugh #6
4. Bo Allen #71
5. Brandon Cameron #55
6. Shan Smith #99
7. Austin Kirkpatrick #11
8. Travis Saunders #93
9. Steven Skipper #25
10. Kyle Livingood #22k
11. Allen Cribbs #14
12. Win Ingersoll #10
13. Seth Caudill #c1
14. Corey Howard #4h
15. Lee Newsome #8
16. Richard Ferry #17
17. Craig Hogan #37
Street Stock
1. Brian Granthem #8
2. David Tyrrell #69
3. Randy Barnhardt #4
4. Ronnie Newsome #8r
5. Marty Smith #18
6. Dennis Peterson #00
7. Heath Walker #nine
8. Derek Jacobs #7
9. Bobby Rivers #15
10. Devin Walker #55jr.
11. Dave Dowling Jr. #55
12. Trish Taylor #31
13. Chris Barnhardt #22
14. Kenny Hicks #15
15.Danny Gifford #4x
Limited Modifieds
1. Duane Paul Jr. #51
2. Shane Taylor #82
3. Kyle Arvin #96
4. Adam Higginbotham #20a
5. Randy Smith #69
6. Marvin Hassell #29
7. Cliff Suber #24
8. Timmy Roach #44
9. Dale Trask #51t
Box Stock
1. Corey Crews #21
2. Billy Wilson #32w
3. Bryar Zimmerman #lil ooz
4. Daryl Larson #15d
5. Bobby Denard #7L
6. Trey Spradley #1s
7. Amber Willis #12
8. Dylan Hurston #26
9. Steven Wethrington #311
10. Randy Clark #1c
11. Debbie Shepard #88