by VSP Media

BARBERVILLE, FL-  The younger generation was the focus on Teen Night as Volusia Speedway Park featured five divisions of high speed racing action on Saturday.  The Budweiser Modifieds were back, as well as the Taylor Racing Products Sportsman Division, plus the Daytona Sportswear Street Stocks, Amsoil Synthetics Thunder Stocks, and the 4 Cylinder Challengers.

Jason Davis was the talk of the Budweiser Modifieds as he showed up with a brand new Snow Brothers modified that had never turned any laps, but “new” and “untested” can sometimes be a bad combinaton, as Davis soon found out.  The car never got going in hot laps as water spewed from the overflow, and as Davis hit the track for his heat race he got about a lap and a half in before the new engine totally uncorked on the backstretch, ending his night.

Kyle Bronson had knocked the new off of his modified the previous weekend at Ocala Speedway and was ready for the challenge of the big half mile at Volusia on Saturday.  Larry Burkins had the pole but Bronson blew by him to snatch the lead and never looked back. Kyle Bronson got the win in dominating fashion, going flag to flag and making it look easy.  Jamie Carter snagged the second place finish behind Bronson, while Larry Burkins had to settle for the third spot.  Jeff Mathews somehow got stuck in fourth place and remained there to the finish, as Wayne Hammond rounded out the top five.

“Double Down” Danny Vogel also showed up with a new ride as the Taylor Racing Products Sportsman Division got down to business, and Vogel’s debut went far more smoothly.  Aaron Barsness led the field to the green flag and seemed in control despite the efforts of Steve Shead, but Shead had to contend with Stanton Mills who has been on fire as of late, and that kept him distracted enough to remain in second place. 

Danny Vogel may have been in a new car, but he drove it like he knew it well, climbing through the field and making his way into the top three.  Vogel used a restart to propel his way to the second position, then went to work on Barsness.  Vogel managed to use the slower car of Heinz Haas as a rolling pick to steal the lead at one point, but at virtually the same time a spinning car in turn one slowed the field and took Vogel’s move away.  Barsness was able to hang on from that point, and despite Vogel’s best efforts Aaron Barsness got the win as Danny Vogel settled for second place.  Steve Shead hung on to claim third, while Stanton Mills and Chris Day finished fourth and fifth.

Sometimes a rise to the top can result in a sudden and unexpected decent, and the Daytona Sportswear Street Stocks offered up a prime example in the fortunes of Joe Belkey.  After unplanned absence Belkey returned to Volusia Speedway Park last weekend and won, and that had him feeling pretty confident as this week’s race began.  Mike Tovet was back on top as he led from the pole, but Belkey was making moves and coming fast.  Grady Christian was in third place when he spun in turn four, spotting Belkey up to his spot in the field and relegating “Shady” Grady to the rear, but just three laps later it was Belkey who found himself planted in the guardrail at the exit of turn two, ending his night with a ride on a hook.

Trevor Gamble had a consistent and strong run going, and managed to wrestle the lead from Mike Tovet on lap 7 as Phillip Brown and Justin Sirmons moved into the top five behind the leaders.  But Tovet was undaunted by losing the lead, and patiently waited for Gamble to leave an opening for him on lap 11.  Once that door was opened Gamble could not shut it again, and Mike Tovet retook the lead and won the race.  Trevor Gamble settled for second place while Justin Sirmons improved his standing to a third place finish.  Phillip Brown took the fourth spot, while Grady Christian battled his way from the rear to salvage a fifth place finish.

David Whitt had his lucky 13 car on the pole for the Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants Thunder Stock feature race, and he used that position to hold off Luke Sadler and Scott Mooers and lead for two thirds of the race.  But a lack of cautions had the field spread out, and that meant that the leaders were having to negotiate their way around slower traffic, which sometimes can result in mishaps when slow cars do not get out of the way fast enough. 

Whitt was well in front of Sadler when he overtook Delbert Moyers’ slower car on the frontstretch.  Moyer failed to choose a line and got loose, moving across the track in front of Whitt, and that caused the two to collide hard, spinning both out and sending Whitt’s machine careening into the wall.  Both cars left the track on a hook as crews cleaned up the debris, and Luke Sadler assumed the lead.  Meanwhile, this was Moyers’ second major crash where his car came in contact with the race leaders this season.  It was Moyers’ car that was hit by Randy Strehle as he and Scott Mooers raced through the final turn on March 13th, resulting in Strehle’s flip and fire on the front stretch.

Luke Sadler hung on for the win, followed by Scott Mooers and Tom Hughes.  Wally Douglass placed fourth, while Matt Schell battled his way to the fifth spot.

Gilbert Espy led from the pole as the 4 Cylinder Challengers took the green, but handling issues had his car reversing through the top five as Harold Lewis rocketed past him for the lead.  Tony Laporta started in the fourth position and quickly climbed to second place, but never found a way to overtake Lewis who was certainly on his game.  Steven Cox struggled a bit at first, but found his groove and maintained the third position.

As the field strung out the leaders worked their way through traffic, lapping slower cars along the way. Laporta refused to let Lewis get away, but Harold Lewis was too much for the 3T machine so Tony Laporta found a degree of satisfaction in being second at the finish.  Steven Cox placed third while James Smith notched the fourth spot, and Gilbert Espy wrestled his ill handling machine to a fifth place finish.

Memorial Day Weekend brings the Annual Sportsman Spectacular to Volusia Speedway Park next Saturday, May 29th.  The Taylor Racing Products Sportsman Division will be racing for $1200 first place payout, plus fans can see action from the Daytona Dodge Chrysler Late Models, Daytona Sportswear Street Stocks, Amsoil Thunder  Stocks, and the 4 Cylinder Challengers.  For more information, please visit www.VolusiaSpeedwayPark.net!

Volusia Speedway Park Results for 5/22/10

Budweiser Modified

1- 5B Kyle Bronson
2- 15 Jamie Carter
3- 54 Larry Burkins
4- 33 Jeff Mathews
5- 66H Wayne Hammond
6- 67 Garrett Stewart
7- 75 Jimmy Carter
8- 66 Dale Murray
9- 7 Kent Corbin
10- Z06 Larry Mott

11- 41D Darron Smith
12- F1 Chris Freeman
DNS- 40 James Smith
DNS- 145 Jason Davis

Taylor Racing Products Sportsman

1- 11 Aaron Barsness
2- 99 Danny Vogel Jr.
3- 10 Steve Shead
4- 57S Stanton Mills
5- 8 Chris Day
6- 66C Kyle Chappell
7- 38 Collin Wright
8- 05 Dan Lane Sr.
9- 00 Shaun Daugharty
10- 95 Matt McGillivray
11- 8 Bruce Birkett
12- 77 Wayne Allen Jr.
13- 57 Heinz Hass
14- 18S David Showers Jr.
15- 17H Blaise Hetznecker
16- 45 Bobby Richardson
17- 56 Tony Sansom
18- 17K Marc Kinley
19- 29S Drew Smith
20- 65 Shane Nichols
DNS- 20 Mitchell Wise

Daytona Sportswear Street Stocks

1- 98T Mike Tovet
2- 64 Trevor Gamble
3- 94 Justin Sirmons
4- 13 Phillip Brown
5- 36 Grady Christian
6- 54 Tim Hughes
7- 21 Chris Manucy
8- 77M Mark Maresca
9- 17 D. J. Nobles
10- 18 John Rolling
11- 119 John Belkey
DNS- 11S James Smith
DNS- 2H Cory Hupp

Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants Thunder Stocks

1- 15 Luke Sadler
2- 10 Scott Mooers
3- 29 Tom Hughes
4- 6 Wally Douglass
5- 57 Matt Schell
6- 23 Jim Nichols
7- 07 Richard Calmes Jr.
8- 9 Jim Goempel
9- 14 Brian Cox
10- 81 Courtney Eubanks
11- 9R Robert Donaly
12- 22 Kelly Snyder

13- 0 Rickie Lara
14- 13 David Whitt
15- V1 Delbert Moyer
16- 000 Jason Tovet
DNS- 114 John Thorpe

4 Cylinder Challenger

1- 48X Harold Lewis
2- 3T Tony Laporta

3- 88 Steven Cox
4- 60 James Smith Sr.
5- 16E Gilbert Espy 
6- 97 Shawn Kosier
7- 004 R.J. Glaser
8- 5S Thomas Parker
9- 16 Denica Hetznecker
10- 51 Nathan Rhoades
11- 20 Casey Feaster
12- 01 Davy Wolf
13- 39.5 Jordan Myers
14- 11 David Ladrie
15- X Justin Dean
16- 18PAC Michael Stein
17- 12 Robert Graham
DNS- 15 William Buell
DNS- 129 Anthony Annaruma