The Top Gun Sprints made their second visit of 3 for 2010 to Ocala Speedway on July 16 2010. There were 20 cars at the track to give fans three heat races and a 25 lap feature race.

 The next race for Top Gun Sprints is July 17 2010 at Volusia Speedway Park.

All Photos Courtesy of rewingphotos.com   – Danny Martin – Winner Top Gun Sprint Feature

Top Gun Sprints

Ocala Speedway, July 16, 2010

Heat #1

 1)      2 Rich Pratt (Anthony, FL)

2)      6 Mike Schroeder (SouthWestRanches, FL)

3)      24 Danny Martin (Sarasota, FL)

4)      38 Tony Agin (Ft. Myers, FL)

5)       3K Kurt Taylor (Brandon, FL)

6)      02 Gene Lasker (Tampa, FL)

 Heat #2

 1)      14 Ryan Partin (Orlando, FL)

2)      21M Darrin Miller (Tampa, FL)

3)      83 Mark Ruel Jr. (Jacksonville, FL)

4)      1Z Harley Zimmerman (Jacksonville, FL)

5)      22 Shawn Murray (Jacksonville, FL)

6)      18 Jeannette Burnett (Riverview, FL)

7)      9  Tim Grubaugh (Ocala, FL)

 Heat #3

 1)      1 Tim George (Venice, FL)

2)      27 Troy Knowles (Gibsonton, FL)

3)      30 John Crowder (Summerfield, FL)

4)      8 Rich Alexander (Tampa, FL)

5)      6X Brandon Grubaugh (Ocala, FL)

6)      15L Mike Love (Ocala, FL)

7)      15 Rocky Sullivan (Plant City, FL) DNS

 Feature

 1) 24 Danny Martin; 2) 2 Rich Pratt; 3) 14 Ryan Partin; 4) 02  Gene Lasker; 5) 1 Tim George; 6) 3K Kurt Taylor; 7) 21M Darrin Miller; 8) 38 Tony Agin; 9) 22 Shawn Murray; 10) 15 Rocky Sullivan; 11) 8 Rich Alexander; 12) 30 John Crowder; 13) 1Z Harley Zimmerman; 14) 27 Troy Knowles; 15) 6X Brandon Grubaugh; 16) 18 Jeannette Burnett; 17) 83 Mark Ruel Jr.; 18) 9 Tim Grubaugh; 19) 6 Mike Schroeder; 20) 15L Mike Love DNS

by BJ Cavin- Ocala Speedway Media

OCALA, FL- A steaming hot night greeted racers and fans at the historic Ocala Speedway on Friday night, but the weather was not the only source of heat around Florida’s toughest 3/8ths mile. Five divisions were turned loose on the track to compete against each other and the conditions, and as one might expect some of the racers were hot, and some were hot in other ways.

The Colortyme Rentals Modifieds highlighted the night’s action as the battle has heated up between Wayne Hammond and Jeff Mathews, and as fate would have it those two went at each other for most of the race. Hammond started in the 8th position while Mathews started 6th, and both wasted no time in pushing their way to the front and then focusing on each other. Hammond looked like a sure bet to beat Mathews for most of the race, as he would fend off every move Mathews could muster then pull away, but a late race caution would hook them up again, and as they took the white flag Mathews had Hammond right where he wanted him. Jeff Mathews drove his 33 machine under Hammond and forced his way past in turn 1while bringing the crowd to their feet, then held on for 3/4 of a lap to take the win. Wayne Hammond had to settle for a very close second, while Jamie Carter drove the 75 machine to a third place finish. Kyle Bronson and “Hollywood” Chip Owen rounded out the top five.

Ocala’s Sportsman Division has been through a lot this season, and Friday night was no exception. From the time that the racers arrived at the pit gate there were rumors swirling that this would be the last Sportsman race at Ocala as a regular division, and a low turnout prompted race officials to restrict the Sportsman cars to a “feature only” format. And while no official word was given as to the fate of the division at Ocala, the racers were told in the driver’s meeting that the division may not be on the revised season schedule which is due to be posted next week.

The car to beat turned out to be John Bradley as he took control early and forced the others to chase him. “Big Frog” Augie Burttram was the lead chaser, but never managed to reel in Bradley. Meanwhile Danny Vogel’s 99 machine never really got going as both Burttram and Bradley passed him easily. John Bradley got the win followed by Augie Burttram in the Dave’s Towing, Big Frog Motorsports 58. Danny Vogel brought the Mills Concrete 99 car to a third place finish, while David Ponton and David Denson were fourth and fifth place finishers.

Ocala’s Mini Stocks have also traveled a rough road to get to this point in 2010, and as a solid field of cars hit the clay for their feature race, little did the drivers realize that the road would get a little rougher following the excitement on the track. Ray Ethridge led the field to the green while Paul Combast, and Nick and Dan Kerr began the race from near the back of the pack. Combast shot up to the fourth spot by lap 2, while the Kerr machines followed him through the field, and on lap 4 Combast was already knocking Ethridge down to second.

While Combast was fast, Nick and Dan Kerr were in no way intimidated and were all over Combast’s car by lap 7. As Nick Kerr tried to pass Combast going into turn 3, Brack Gill spun out in turn two, followed by contact between Kerr and Combast in three. Both Combast and Nick Kerr did an about face in front of the field, but the caution was waving at the same time for Gill’s spin, which gave both racers their positions back for the restart. Dan Kerr’s machine suffered some damage that slowed it, but Nick Kerr was happy to harass Combast enough for two in his place, finally getting past and taking the lead on lap 9 and holding it to the finish.

But after Nick Kerr celebrated in Victory Lane, he left the track to be flagged down for an inspection in the tech shed which resulted in his disqualification. That handed the win to defending division champion Paul Combast, and gave second place to Buddy Pope. Johnny Zackery wound up as the third place finisher while Ray Ethridge moved up to fourth place. And after the required scoring recheck was completed, it was discovered that Michael Oglesby finished in fifth place.

When the Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants V8 Thunder Stocks hit the track the fans know that there is going to be excitement, and again the Thunder Stocks were more than happy to oblige with another of their wild races that took on the look of an enduro. And while the race featured the usual oversupply of contact and property damage, it also provided some red hot action in the front of the pack.

Austin Kirkpatrick and Chris Fontaine had quite the tussle developing during the race with Kirkpatrick finally managing to muscle the 11 car back into the lead on lap 9 after Chris Fontaine had done the same back on lap 3. Unfortunately for Kirkpatrick, the caution waved at virtually the same time and he was relegated back behind Fontaine’s machine for the restart. Kirkpatrick did not see it that way at all, and was furiously battling Fontaine again when his rear axle broke, sending him to the pits with two reasons to be hot on a hot night.

Meanwhile Ryan Lisak had been on fire all night, fighting his way into the top three and staying out of harm’s way as Kirkpatrick and Fontaine fought it out. And with Kirkpatrick gone it was Lisak’s cue to go after the leader, but simply ran out of laps needed to get the job finished. Chris Fontaine picked up another win as Ryan Lisak settled for second place. Michael Stalnaker hung around the top five for most of the race and finished third, while Scott Mooers was fourth and Justin “Bubba” Durbin placed fifth.

Casey Feaster had eagerly told anyone who would listen how he intended to be the points leader at two major Florida dirt tracks at the same time, and at just three points short of the lead at Ocala Speedway he was poised to do just that. But as the night wore on there was no 20 car in the pit area while Feaster and his crew made a quick dash to a parts store and then worked feverishly to replace a faulty starter while sitting in a K-mart parking lot. Feaster arrived at Ocala Speedway just in time to unload and start on the rear of the field for the Gladiator feature race, then he drove it like he stole it in order to make his way into the top three.

But despite all the Casey Feaster managed to accomplish in getting to the track in order to take his best shot at the points lead, current points leader Steven Johnson was just a little better, and had a far shorter and less stressful voyage to get there. Matt Shea and Steven Johnson managed to separate themselves from the rest of the pack during the race, and since the race ran caution free from flag to flag, Feaster had zero help in catching them. EBD Racing’s Matt Shea was by far the dominant car, taking a convincing win as Steven Johnson followed for second place. And although Casey Feaster managed to reel in the top two late in the race, he was forced to settle for third place behind Johnson. Kyle Morse finished fourth, while Devin Walker rounded out the top five.

On Friday, July 16th Ocala Speedway presents a special event, as the Top Gun 360 Sprint Cars will take on the challenging 3/8ths mile track, and the Florida Mini Sprint Association will be back for their first outing at Ocala Speedway since the January Winternationals. In addition to the thrills of winged sprint action, fans will see racing from the Tee Pee Tire Hobby Stocks, and Ocala’s Gladiator Division. Ocala Speedway is due to post the revised 2010 season schedule sometime this coming week, so racers and fans are reminded to check www.OcalaSpeedway.com for updated information.

Ocala Speedway Results for 7/9/10

Colortyme Rentals Modified

1- 33 Jeff Mathews
2- 66 Wayne Hammond
3- 75 Jamie Carter
4- 40 Kyle Bronson
5- 1 Chip “Hollywood” Owen
6- Z06 Larry Mott
7- 0 Richard Dickinson
8- Z Tim Zackery
9- 33F Michael Flick
10- 2 Kyle Owen
11- 17 Richard Livernois

Sportsman

1- 27 John Bradley
2- 58 Augie Burttram
3- 99 Danny Vogel
4- 10X David Ponton
5- 11- David Denson
6- 01 Kevin Mills

Mini Stock

1- 19C Paul Combast
2- 81 Buddy Pope
3- 11Z Johnny Zackery
4- 21 Ray Ethridge
5- 31 Michael Oglesby
6- 40M David Miller
7- 35G Brack Gill
8- 74 Dan Kerr
9- 69 Sean Babcock
10- 12B Jimbo Bird
11- 47 Pat Terrell
12- 9 Ryan Babcock
13- 3D Dean Kinsey
DQ (tech) 75 Nick Kerr

Amsoil V8 Thunder Stock

1- 84 Chris Fontaine
2- 07 Ryan Lisak
3- 8 Michael Stalnaker
4- 10 Scott Mooers
5- 12D Justin Durbin
6- 76 Chris Shea
7- 12B Jerrid Bennett
8- 326 Gordon Cade
9- 77 Dan Cobb
10- 5W Jason Gamble
11- 64 Jonathan Gillette
12- 3W Vaughn Woodall
13- 7 Roy Lester
14- 09 William O’Quinn
15- 54 Mike McDonald
16- 89 Kenny Asbell Jr.
17- 11 Austin Kirkpatrick
18- 40J Danny James II
19- 28 Glenn Vincent
20- 19 Brian Shea
21- 4W Mark Trexler
DNS- 96 Eddie Lentz

Gladiator

1- 96 Matt Shea
2- 81 Steven Johnson
3- 20 Casey Feaster
4- 82 Kyle Morse
5- 55JR Devin Walker
6- 11 David Ladrie
7- 77 Matthew Kramer
8- 83M Kathie Fisher
9- 83 Kody Fisher
10- 4 Hunter Gustafson
DNS- 69 Eddie Lentz

by BJ Cavin- Ocala Speedway MediaOCALA, FL-  Nature has been very unkind to Ocala Speedway this week, dumping rain on the track each of the last four days, including a 3 inch deluge that soaked the track on Wednesday.  Thursday’s rain only made matters far worse, and so Mike Peters has made the decision to rain out this Friday’s scheduled events.  Even if no more rain were to fall onto the track between Thursday night and Friday evening, the surface is too saturated to be worked into shape by Friday night, and the Friday forecast calls for another 60% chance of heavy thunderstorms, with the heaviest concentration in the Ocala area.

No decision has been made on making up any of the events scheduled for Friday night, including the “Father Mows Best” lawnmower race event.  An announcement will be made once officials at Ocala Speedway have met with event sponsors and participating media.

Please join Ocala Speedway for the next great night of racing action on June 25th, when the Colortyme Rentals Modifieds will hit the clay.  Fans will also see action from the Sportsman Division, the Tee Pee Tire Hobby Stocks, the Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants V8 Thunder Stocks, and the Gladiators.  To see the complete Ocala Speedway schedule, please visit www.OcalaSpeedway.com.

Kevin Mills had the points lead going into this weekend’s Sportsman feature race, but mechanical issues had Mills sidelined by the time the race began.  So with Stanton Mills on the pole the green flag unleashed a hard charging Danny Vogel who wasted no time in bumping Mills back to second place and taking the point.  From that point nobody could touch Vogel, and he cruised to an easy victory.  Stanton Mills was tough, but settled for second place, while Augie Burttram never really found the handle on the 58 car and finished in third place.  David Ponton placed fourth, while Dewey Hall scored the fifth place finish.

Dean Jarvis and Heath Walker have become rivals of sorts with the Tee Pee Tire Hobby Stocks, but misfortunes on the track sent both of those competitors to the pits and opened the door for others to steal the spotlight.  After some early contact gave Bubba Christian’s machine a damaged nose, Christian began a deliberately patient climb through the field toward the front as Joe Boyd enjoyed leading the everyone around the track.  Daniel Miller Jr. would enter the fray and give Joe Boyd plenty to worry about, but would end up in contact with Kevin Durden in turn 4.  That incident would send Durden to the pits with a flat, and later Miller would tangle with Joe Boyd and end up in the wall, which sent him to the pits on a hook.

That opened the door for Bubba Christian, who charged to the front and held on for a win.  Brian Jerrels would make a late charge to claim second place while Tommy Ausburn followed in the third spot.  William Edwards avoided trouble and placed fourth, while Joe Boyd slipped to fifth after his incident with the 99.

The Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants V8 Thunder Stocks never fail to produce excitement when they hit the clay, and this Friday was no exception.  Scott Mooers rocketed to the early lead and looked tough to tame, and Michael Stalnaker was on the move early as he picked his way toward the front.  Polesitter Chris Shea would end up sideways in turn 2 and collect Mike McDonald and Chris Watson, which ended Watson’s quest for the night.  Stalnaker grabbed the lead away from Mooers on lap 6 and Mooers fell to 3rd before mechanical issues parked the 10 car later in the race.

After struggling with his own mechanical gremlins in recent races, Michael Stalnaker over came all of that and notched another Amsoil V8 Thunder Stock win.  Following Stalnaker across the line was Eddie Kilbury, who had been relegated to the rear of the field and fought his way back through the pack for second place.  Gordon Cade had a strong night that resulted in a third place finish, while Austin Kirkpatrick could not repeat his winning ways from last time out and settled for fourth place.  Chris Shea battled his way from a 17th starting position to round out the top five.

Ocala’s Gladiator Division has produced some very competitive racing as of late, and this Friday was no different.  Kyle morse started from the pole but was swallowed up by the field as the green flag waved and Casey Feaster shot to the lead.  Right behind Feaster was Devin Walker, who made some gutsy outside moves in an attempt to gain an advantage, but Feaster held his ground.  Walker eventually overdrove the car in his attempts to get around Feaster, allowing Steven Johnson to get position inside and send him back to third place.  Then things got worse as Walker’s car suffered a suspension failure in the rear end and left on a hook.

Friday, June 18th, brings “Father Mows Best” lawnmower racing to Ocala Speedway as some lucky dads will square off during intermission and battle with real lawnmowers.  The Late Models will be on the schedule, plus fans will see action from the Tee Pee Tire Hobby Stocks, the Mini Stocks, and the Gladiators.  For more information on next week’s racing action, visit www.OcalaSpeedway.com.

Sportsman

1- 99 Danny Vogel
2- 57 Stanton Mills
3- 58 Augie Burttram
4- 10X David Ponton

Tee Pee Tire Hobby Stock

1- 04 Bubba Christian
2- 26 Brian Jerrels
3- 69 Tommy Ausburn
4- 08E William Edwards
5- 83 Joe Boyd
6- 23 Glenn Baum
7- 99 Daniel Miller Jr.
8- 35 Kevin Durden
9- 11W Jody Wells
10- 69A Jonathan Appleby
11- 37J Dean Jarvis
12- 55 Heath Walker

Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants V8 Thunder Stock

1- 8 Michael Stalnaker
2- 17K Eddie Kilbury Jr.

Gladiator

1- 20 Casey Feaster
2- 96 Matt Shea
3- 11 David Ladrie
4- 81 Steven Johnson
5- 31 Jerry Taylor
6- 57 Larry Swift
7- 10 Ken McCloud
8- 82 Kyle Morse

by BJ Cavin– Ocala Speedway Media