From John Chance

Saturday night saw the return of the Open Wheel Modified division after nearly a month off. 18 drivers decided to tackle the friendliest track in the south for some of the best racing they have seen all year. After the 4 row inversion, the 19 of Tommy Schnader would lead the field to the green with the 2 of Steven Hise along side for the 40 lap feature. Schnader would jump out to an early lead while Hise would try to find a hole to get to the bottom. That hole would never come, and on lap 4, Hise would end his night in the turn 2 wall after a chain reaction incident. On the restart, Schnader would get pressure right away from the 98 of Robbie Cooper, with the 25 of L J Grimm a close 3^rd. Schnader and Cooper would then wage one of the best side by side races of the year, racing door to door for nearly 10 laps. It was some of the hardest and cleanest racing the division has seen all year. Cooper would finally find enough traction on the high side to take the lead just past the half way mark of the race. Grimm would then go to work on Schnader, and make the same outside move to take over the second position. The race was slowed by several cautions in the second half of the race, which gave the top 3 drivers another chance at victory on each restart. Grimm had the fastest car on the track in the last 15 laps, looking high and low on Cooper’s black 98 machine. Grimm would get a few good looks on the inside, but Cooper would squeeze his way back in front before the next corner each time. Cooper would go on to take his second feature win of the year, followed by the hard charging Grimm in 2^nd, and Schnader running a strong 3^rd. Cooper thanked Schnader in victory lane for running such a clean race, and commented that he was completely worn out after the race. Cooper was operating on only 1 hour of sleep, and the race took all he had left. Grimm was happy with his strong showing in 2^nd , which was one of his best finishes of the year. Schnader enjoyed the hard racing, and was happy with 3^rd, he and his team were racing on used tires unlike the other top 2 drivers. The race was slowed by several minor spins and incidents, some of these incidents spilled over into the pit area after the races were over. 2 drivers were fined and suspended for violating the tracks conduct policy on and off the race track. Heat race winners were the 53 of Doug Miller and the 70 of defending points champion Jeremy Gerstner.

17 sportsman took the green for their 25 lap feature with the 56 of Brandon Morris bringing the field to the green, and jumping out to an early lead. The 55 of points leader Ernie Reed would fall in to the 2^nd position from his outside front row starting spot. It wouldn’t take long for 2^nd row starter Aaron Williamson to take his 13 machine to 2^nd, getting by Reed. Williamson has been tough to beat once he can see the leader, so everyone could sense that a battle for the lead was coming. A lap 18 caution would give Williamson the chance he needed on a restart. Williamson would get underneath the 56 of Morris on the restart, but Morris would dig deep and find a little extra to pull back in to the lead. Morris would go on to take the victory with Williamson settling for 2^nd. Morris looks to have finally shook the money off his back that he has been carrying all season at Citrus. Points leader Ernie Reed would battle back to 3^rd at the checkers after falling to 5^th in the middle part of the race. Heat race winners were Shelton Bowers in the 32 and Cody Stickler in the 99.

A short 10 car Taylor Made Homes Pure Stock field saw defending point champion David Walls launch his racer from the pole position to the early lead. Walls would pull out to a comfortable lead, but back in the pack the 9 of Tyler Stickler, the 39 of Carl Peters, and the 15 of Levi Roberts were chasing him down. Stickler would catch Walls on lap 5, and make the pass for the lead on lap 8. The race ran the entire 20 lap distance caution free, which left the other drivers out of laps to challenge Stickler for the victory. Stickler would take the win followed by the 35 of walls in 2^nd, and the 39 of Peters in 3^rd. Stickler’s victory was almost amazing after an ugly incident in his heat race. Stickler plowed in to the back of the 20 of Chris Ickes on the front straight-a-way severely damaging both machines. Ickes would suffer a broken axle and rear frame damage which ended his night. Stickler’s car was a mess, but his crew managed to fix his Camaro, which enabled him to take his 2^nd feature win of the year. Young Dustin Dinkins took the win in the heat race, and followed it up with a strong 5^th place finish in the feature.

13 Sheldon Palmes Insurance Mini Stocks battled it out in their 20 lap feature event. Pole sitter Shannon Kennedy took the early lead from his pole position, but was quickly under fire from the 77 of Kevin Knox and the 32 of Jeremy Sharrone. Knox would make the move for the lead first, and Sharrone would follow him by Kennedy on lap 5. 8 laps later, Sharrone would take his 32 machine by Knox for the lead, and looked to be headed to victory. The lead would be short lived however, Sharrone would spin his racer to the infield on the entry to turn 1 just after taking the lead. The caution would come out, and Sharrone would be sent to the rear. On the restart, 11^th place starter Jeff Eberly would bring the field to the green, and go on to take his 5^th feature win of the year. Eberly has been on a roll as of late, only being beat after a technical disqualification earlier in the season. Kevin Knox would hold on to 2^nd spot, after a few weeks of terrible luck, it was almost like a victory. Ashley Williamson would charge to 3^rd place after starting dead last in the field. Heat race winners were Eberly and Sharrone.

Wayne Calkins would lead the Pro Figure 8 race almost wire to wire after starting in the 3^rd position. The top 4 drivers in this race were never more than a few feet apart for most of the 20 lap event. Calkins would hold on to take the victory for his 2^nd feature win of the year, and gain a few points in the championship battle. Following Calkins to the stripe were the 0 of Jimmy Thompson in 2^nd, the 6 of point leader Joey Catarelli in 3^rd, and the 01 of Mason Love in 4^th.

9 Florida TQ Midgets made the trip to Citrus for their 20 lap feature. The 51 of young Chris Gimmler would jump out to the early lead, but coming from the rear of the field was the 30 of Mike Belusar. Belusar would make the winning pass on lap 17 and go on to take the victory. Gimmler would hold on to 2^nd position over the 7 of pole sitter Jamie Barnum.

In other racing action, Jerry Mullins took the victory in the Cars of Yesterday Sportsman division, and Tom Meyer took the Cars of Yesterday modified division victory in his 38 Ford Sedan.

Next Saturday night Citrus County Speedway will welcome back wingless sprint cars for their 2^nd race of the season. Also headlining the race card will be the 2^nd annual Frank

TOP TEN – YTD POINTS