By SCOTT LOCKWOOD
Desoto Speedway
UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP
Chad Chastain came out of a side-by-side battle for the lead and would lead the final 33 laps of Saturday night’s inaugural race of the Joey Coulter Fellows Truck Brokers Florida Pro Truck Series at Desoto Speedway. A nine-truck inversion put fast qualifiers Brent Huber and Michael Burns ninth and eighth in the 20-truck starting field. Gerald Campbell jumped into the lead when the green flag flew and paced the field for the first 16 laps. Chastain and Campbell ran side-by-side all the way around the three-eighths-mile oval for three laps before Chastain cleared Campbell on lap 17. Chastain would begin pulling away while Campbell and Burns staged a side-by-side battle for second for several laps. Campbell would eventually slow in turn two with a mechanical failure, ending his race with 20 laps to go. Chastain fought off a challenge from Burns on the restart and began stretching his lead over the next 10 laps. In the final stages of the race Burns closed the gap a little on Chastain as he weaved his way through lapped traffic, but it wasn’t enough as Chastain cruised to the win. “We were good but we started falling off toward the end,” Chastain said in victory lane. “I guess everybody else fell off like we did.” Burns said the brakes wore out in his truck over the final laps, preventing him from making a final run at Chastain. Cody McDuffie finished third. Bonus money went to Halfway leader #36 Chastain- leading a lap bonus went to #2X of Campbell & Chastain and Leading the most laps bonus went to Chastain. (more…)

SCOTT LOCKWOOD, BRADENTON — On a night that saw numerous lead changes, passing throughout the 32-car field and several spins involving race leaders, L.J. Grimm took the lead on a final restart with eight laps left to take the fifth annual Eddie Brann Memorial 75-lap Open Wheel Modified feature event Saturday night at Desoto Speedway.

A 12-car inversion allowed Wayne Morris to start from the pole and lead the first 19 laps of the event. Several cautions, including one for a crash on the opening lap that knocked out John Sappraicone Jr. and Doug Miller, allowed Wayne Jefferson and Travis Roland — the night’s fastest and second-fastest qualifiers who started 12th and 11th respectively — to use restarts to move up through the field and on to Morris’ tail. Jefferson eventually got by Morris for the lead on a restart on lap 20.

Roland and Grimm also got by Morris on the restart. Also among the leaders was two-time defending race winner Josh Todd, who started deep in the field and was up to fifth as the race got to the one-third mark. Several cautions for spins and debris bunched up the field for another restart on lap 31 that saw Roland take the lead from Jefferson.

Roland’s time up front was short-lived as Grimm took his first lead of the night on a lap 34-restart. After another caution one lap later, Grimm and Roland, who were running side-by-side on another restart, both spun simultaneously coming out of turn two and were forced to the rear of the field as a result.

“I didn’t think it was over for us at that point, but I thought I could still come back and get a top-10 finish,” Grimm said.

Todd found himself in the lead after the spin and would pace the field for the next 14 laps. As the field completed lap 49, Jefferson slowed with an apparent tire issue and came to a stop on the backstretch, bringing his night to a premature end. (more…)