Tracks | Karnac Racing News

PITTMAN WINS $10,500 RONALD LANEY MEMORIAL BY A WIDE MARGIN AT EAST BAY SATURDAY NIGHT

TAMPA, FL….2/19/11…..”The harder and higher I ran on the track, the better it was for me,” said a beaming Daryn Pittman, in his victory interview with Larry Jewett after winning a non-stop 40-lap race and becoming the 11th different winner of the 13th King of 360’s which climaxed with the 10th Annual $10,500 Ronald Laney Memorial Saturday night at East Bay Raceway Park.
Wearing his new crown, holding his daughter Taylor and his lighted scepter, Pittman posed beside his six-foot trophy and told the crowd, “My owner Mike Heffner never came to Florida, but he loves big trophies and I can’t wait until he sees this one.”
(more…)

By Scott|2011-02-21T23:18:34-05:00February 20th, 2011|East Bay Raceway Park, Front Page News, Race Results, Series|Comments Off

O’DONNELL WINS, BUT THOMAS WINTERNATIONALS CHAMPION

By Larry Jewett

TAMPA, FL…..2/19/11 – The final night of the Florida Mini Sprint competition in the 35th annual East Bay Winter Nationals saw the third winner in as many nights when 2010 Florida Mini Sprint Association champion Brett O’Donnell covered the field in the 25-lap feature.
O’Donnell, who has his championship ride for sale in hopes of pursuing a 360 Sprint career, moved into the lead on lap 6 and was never headed. In order to get the top spot, O’Donnell had to move past early race leader Luke Thomas. Thomas, the 2010 Florida Winter Nationals champion, had the series going into the night’s running. His second place finish behind O’Donnell was enough to make him a reigning two time champion.
The race started poorly for Thursday night winner Nick Sapp, who could not take the initial; green. On the start, Luke Thomas too the lead, pursued by O’Donnell, Friday night winner Tim Buckwalter, Gavin Thomas and Harold Matthews. The top five stayed in much the same order throughout the early stages. The only caution in the event waved on lap 5 when Rick Goss spun in the front straightaway. His car was collected by David Pleaugh and Billy Murphy and the three drivers spun to a stop. The track was cleared and the field resumed the action non-stop.
Buckwalter kept third with Matthews claiming fourth. Tyler Ross moved up to claim fifth.
Pleaugh and Chris Pacetti moved up to the A main after top finishes in the B main. Heat races were won by Matthews, Gavin Thomas, Sapp and O’Donnell.

By Scott|2011-02-20T12:43:44-05:00February 20th, 2011|East Bay Raceway Park, Front Page News, Race Results, Series|Comments Off

Citrus County Speedway results from February 19, 2011







	Super Late Models		Feature
Car-#	Drivers Name	Home Town	Winner
17	James Shelnut	Lake City	1
98	Herb Neumann	Inverness	2
09	Scott Grossenbacher	San Antonio	3
10	Talon Craft	Seminole	4
20	Scott Millar	Ocala	5
82	Danny Maddox	Crystal River	6
70	Jeremy Gerstner	Wesley Chapel	7
97	Perry Lovelady	Lakeland	8
62	John Gerstner	Eustis	9
97	Andy Anderson	Port Richey	10
88	Kenny Kuhn	Dunellon	11
47	Keith Zavrel	Brooksville	12
38	Joe Jacalone	St. Augustine	13
27	Cody Lane	Port Richey	14
07	Steven Simpson	New Smyrna	15
14	Randy Plantz	Largo	16


	Street Stocks		Feature
Car-#	Drivers Name	Home Town	Winner
19	Jeff Stalnaker Jr.	Ocala	1
10	Kenny May	Spring Hill	2
31	Tom Potts	Dade City	3
3	Curtis Flanagan	Inverness	4
88	James Peters	Ferndale	5
98	Tom Bubba Martone	Floral City	6
55	Ernie Reed	Crystal River	7
33	Bill Ryan	Bushnell	8
69	Chris Swayn		9
68	Austin Hughes	Hernando	10
85	Tim Wilson	Floral City	11
12	Jhana Hughes	Hernando	12
53	Kyle Peters	Ferndale	13
17	Robert Gregg	Cyrstal River	14


	Pure Stocks		Feature
Car-#	Drivers Name	Home Town	Winner
39	Carl Peters	Winter Garden	1
27	Sherry Makula	New Port Richey	2
15	Levi Roberts	Spring Hill	3
35	David Walls	Summerfield	4
76	Michael Martin	Citrus Springs	5
62	Erick Sharrone	Floral City	6
7	Ardin Franklin	Hernando	7
17	Nicholas Malverty	Hernando	8
20	Chris Ickes	Brooksville	9
23	Ron Sellars	Spring Hill	10
44	Glen Colyer	Homosassa	11
36	Michael Dubbs	Bushnell	12
73	Jeffery Eisenhauer	Homosassa	13
06	Wayne Alexander	Spring Hill	14
37	Rick Selvage	Dade City	15
13	Charles Herne	Homosassa	16
70	Clarence Kyser	Summerfield	17


	Mod Mini Stocks		Feature
Car-#	Drivers Name	Home Town	Winner
18	Jesse Henley	Homosassa	1
33	Chris Allen	Center Hill	2
3	Steven Griffin	Inverness	3
4	Chuck Cain	Holder	4
01	Johnny Siner	Homossa	5
98	James Ellis	Brooksville	6
24	Phil Edwards	Crystal River	7
26	Nathan Florian	Clearwater	8
47	Richard Kuhn	Ocala	9
13	Richard Heath	Inverness	10
44	Michael Lawhorn	Clermont	11
7	Clint Foley	Dunellon	12
51	Jeff Cole	New Symrna	13
88	Chris Hooker	Floral City	14
14	Jason Reynolds	Inverness	15
35	Randy Foote	Holiday	16


	Street Stock/Pure Stock
	Figure Eights		Feature
Car-#	Drivers Name	Home Town	Winner
35	Thomas Peet	Floral City	1
62	Eric Sharrone	Floral City	2
6	Ronnie Schrefiels	Brooksville	3
55	Ernie Reed	Crystal River	4
7	Chuckie Franklin	Hernando	5
68	John Hughes	Hernando	6
70	Clarence Kyser	Summerfield	7
44	Glen Colyer	Homosassa	8
13	Neil Herne	Homosassa	9


	Mini Cup		Feature
Car-#	Drivers Name	Home Town	Winner
74	John Beach	Atlanta Georgia	1
47	Brandon Beach	Ocala	2
9	Cole Partelo	Largo	3
17	Frank Beach	Atlanta Georgia	4
05	James Irish	Largo	5
42	Carlos Gonzales	Wildwood	6
52	?		7
71	Duane	Ocala	8
99	Johnny Marra	North Port	9

By Scott|2011-02-20T12:57:13-05:00February 20th, 2011|Citrus County Speedway, Race Results|Comments Off

Bloomquist, Friesen Capture Final Checkered Flags for 2011

BARBERVILLE, Fla. – Feb. 19, 2011 – Scott Bloomquist and Stewart Friesen captured the final feature events on Saturday night to close out the 40 ^th DIRTcar Nationals by University of Northwestern Ohio at Volusia Speedway Park.

Bloomquist powered past Billy Moyer on Lap 31 in heavy traffic and held off Brady Smith down the stretch to sweep the World of Outlaws Late Model Series events at Volusia. Moyer, who also won two events at the DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH, wound up third and was crowned the overall Late Model Week champion.

Friesen and Bobby Varin waged a race for the ages in the 50-lap Super DIRTcar Series Florida Tour finale. Friesen used the low line all night while Varin put his car on the cushion, leading to side-by-side racing for the lead over the first 39 laps. The two swapped the lead seven times before Friesen finally weaved his way through traffic and left Varin behind to lead the final 11 laps for his second victory in four nights.

Friesen’s victory also earned him his first Super DIRTcar Series Florida Tour championship.

Over the course of the 12 consecutive nights of racing at Volusia Speedway Park that started on Feb. 8, 14 different drivers earned feature victories. Clint Bowyer won three times in his DIRTcar UMP Modified, seven drivers won two features.

For more information on DIRTcar Racing, visit http://www.DIRTcar.com. For more on the DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH, go to http://www.DIRTcarNationals.com.

DIRTcar Nationals by University of Northwestern Ohio; Volusia Speedway Park; Feb. 19, 2011

World of Outlaws Late Model Series 50-Lap A-Main Finish (Finish Pos./Start Pos./Driver) – 1. (4) Scott Bloomquist/50; 2. (6) Brady Smith/50; 3. (3) Billy Moyer/50; 4. (13) Dan Schlieper/50; 5. (7) Rick Eckert/50; 6. (11) Chris Madden/50; 7. (18) Don O’Neal/50; 8. (8) Josh Richards/50; 9. (22) Austin Hubbard/50; 10. (12) Brent Robinson/50; 11. (2) Eddie Carrier Jr./49; 12. (21) Clint Smith/49; 13. (24) Dennis Erb Jr./49; 14. (23) Jonathan Davenport/49; 15. (20) Darrell Lanigan/49; 16. (10) Tim McCreadie/49; 17. (14) Tyler Reddick/49; 18. (29) Tim Fuller/49; 19. (25) Steve Francis/49; 20. (5) Jason Feger/49; 21. (1) Brandon Sheppard/48; 22. (30) Chub Frank/48; 23. (26) Shane Clanton/32; 24. (9) Ricky Weiss/31; 25. (15) Dan Stone/6; 26. (28) Jack Sullivan/6; 27. (19) Mike Marlar/6; 28. (16) Pat Doar/6; 29. (27) Jimmy Mars/1; 30. (17) Ryan Unzicker/0.

Super DIRTcar Series 50-Lap A-Main Finish (Finish Pos./Driver) – 1. Stewart Friesen, 2. Bobby Varin, 3. Brett Hearn, 4. Tim Fuller, 5. Rick Laubach, 6. Rob Bellinger, 7. Tim Kerr, 8. Rich Scagliotta, 9. Jimmy Horton, 10. Willy Decker, 11. Chris Higgins, 12. Matt DeLorenzo, 13. Dave Rauscher, 14. Jeremy Markle, 15. Danny Varin, 16. Mike Iles, 17. Michel Chicione, 18. Darwin Greene, 19. Billy VanInwegen, 20. Tim Currier, 21. Kevin Bates, 22. Ray Swinehart, 23. Randy Chrysler, 24. Roger Chrysler, 25. Andy Bachetti, 26. Jeff Schaffer, 27. Danny Johnson, 28. Matt Sheppard

Qualifying Group 1 – 1. Matt Sheppard (17.488), 2. Rich Scagliotta, 3. Dave Rauscher, 4. Willy Decker, 5. Jeff Schaffer, 6. Danny Varin, 7. Danny Johnson, 8. Randy Chrysler, 9. Darwin Greene, 10. Roger Chrysler

Qualifying Group 2 – 1. Brett Hearn (17.286), 2. Stewart Friesen, 3. Rob Bellinger, 4. Tim Kerr, 5. Rick Laubach, 6. Mike Iles, 7. Kevin Bates, 8. Chris Higgins, 9. Jeremy Markle, 10. Danny Hieber

Qualifying Group 3 – 1. Bobby Varin (17.622), 2. Andy Bachetti, 3. Tim Fuller, 4. Ray Swinehart, 5. Tim Currier, 6. Jimmy Horton, 7. Billy VanInwegen, 8. Matt DeLorenzo, 9. Michel Chicione

Heat 1 (8 laps) – 1. Matt Sheppard, 2. Willy Decker, 3. Rich Scagliotta, 4. Dave Rauscher, 5. Danny Johnson, 6. Jeff Schaffer, 7. Danny Varin, 8. Randy Chrysler, 9. Darwin Greene, 10. Roger Chrysler

Heat 2 (8 laps) – 1. Stewart Friesen, 2. Brett Hearn, 3. Tim Kerr, 4. Rob Bellinger, 5. Mike Iles, 6. Rick Laubach, 7. Jeremy Markle, 8. Kevin Bates, DNS. Danny Hieber, DNS. Chris Higgins

Heat 3 (8 laps) – 1. Bobby Varin, 2. Tim Fuller, 3. Matt DeLorenzo, 4. Billy VanInwegen, 5. Andy Bachetti, 6. Jimmy Horton, 7. Michel Chicione, 8. Tim Currier, 9. Ray Swinehart

B-Main (10 laps) – 1. Danny Varin, 2. Jeremy Markle, 3. Randy Chrysler, 4. Tim Currier, 5. Michel Chicione, 6. Kevin Bates, 7. Darwin Greene, 8. Roger Chrysler, 9. Ray Swinehart, 10. Chris Higgins

By Scott|2011-02-20T12:27:04-05:00February 20th, 2011|Front Page News, Race Results, Series, Volusia Speedway Park|Comments Off

Bloomquist Sweeps Pair Of World of Outlaws Late Model Series Events During DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH

From Kevin Kovac, World of Outlaws Late Model Series PR Director

BARBERVILLE, FL – Feb. 19, 2011 – Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., completed an unprecedented sweep of the World of Outlaws Late Model Series events during the 40^th DIRTcar Nationals by University of Northwestern Ohio, holding off Brady Smith of Solon Springs, Wis., to capture Saturday night’s 50-lap A-Main at Volusia Speedway Park.

Duplicating his triumphant performance in the national tour’s season opener on Thursday night, Bloomquist advanced from the fourth starting spot to pass Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., for the lead on lap 31 and was never headed. He spent the final 15 circuits repelling intense pressure from Smith to become the first driver to win both WoO LMS features that are annually part of the mid-winter racing extravaganza at the half-mile oval outside Daytona Beach.

“This is a tough field,” Bloomquist said after pocketing $10,000 for his 21^st WoO LMS victory since 2004. “This is a tough place this week – very demanding on the car, drivers, engines. It feels good to do what we’ve done this week.”

Smith, 33, settled for his second consecutive runner-up WoO LMS finish to the builder of his Team Zero by Bloomquist car. The winner of last year’s World of Outlaws finale during the DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH was just 0.637 of a second behind Bloomquist at the checkered – nearly two seconds closer than he was at the end of Thursday night’s 50-lapper.

The 53-year-old Moyer slipped to third in the final rundown after surging forward from the third starting spot to lead laps 1-30. Dan Schlieper of Sullivan, Wis., who started 13^th, scored a DCN-best placing of fourth, WoO LMS regular Rick Eckert of York, Pa., was fifth after starting seventh and 11^th-starter Chris Madden of Gray Court, S.C., finished sixth.

Of the top six finishers, only Moyer was not behind the wheel of a Team Zero chassis constructed by Bloomquist. That fact added even more significance to Bloomquist’s victory.

“It makes me feel good,” said Bloomquist, who owns four career WoO LMS wins at Volusia. “I think it pretty much takes any doubt away from anyone’s mind about the level that I try to help the guys who get our cars. I try to give as much advice and do as much as I can for them.

“If I would’ve gotten beat by one of my own cars – hey, so be it. I really like the group of guys that I’ve got and enjoy working with them, and I enjoy the respect that they give me back. I think when you see ‘Team Zero,’ you can see that it means something.”

Bloomquist, 47, had to withstand an especially strong assault from Smith, one of his customers/pupils. Smith, who started sixth, overtook Moyer for second on lap 33 and two circuits later began bidding for the lead.

Smith made repeated attempts to pass Bloomquist over the late stages of a race that ran caution-free from lap seven to the finish. He drew to the outside of Bloomquist at least twice and even got close enough to bump the rear bumper of the 2004 WoO LMS champion’s car rounding turn four on lap 37, but Bloomquist stuck to the inside groove and didn’t make a mistake.

“I think I was faster on that end (turns three and four) but on this end (one and two) he was a little bit better than I was,” said Smith. “I could get in and to the middle better than him, but just coming off the corner, if you were up the racetrack, there was nothing there compared to what the bottom was. When you were on the bottom you could just mash the gas coming off the corner. The bottom had more traction than the middle or the top.

“I drove as hard as I could – that’s how I race,” he added. “But he’s Scott Bloomquist – there’s a reason he’s the best. He’s not gonna be easy to pass. I felt like we had a car that could do it, but at the same time I feel like I did everything I could do so maybe we were the second-place car.”

Bloomquist enjoyed engaging in a tight, down-to-the-wire battle with one of his boys.

“I think they all will race me as hard as I’ll race them,” said Bloomquist, whose car was powered by a Roush-Yates Ford engine. “None of us are gonna give anybody nothing, and that’s what I like. But we’re also not gonna take somebody out or race in a fashion that we consider wrong. I feel comfortable when I’ve got one of my guys behind me, but I also know I better not make a mistake either.”

Four caution flags and one red flag slowed the race – all during by lap seven.

The most significant crash was a multi-car incident on lap seven in which Jack Sullivan of Greenbrier, Ark., rolled once in turn four but wasn’t injured. WoO LMS regular Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., tour Rookie of the Year contender Pat Doar of New Richmond, Wis., Dan Stone of Thompson, Pa., and Mike Marlar of Winfield, Tenn., were also involved in the tangle.

Finishing in positions 7-10 was Don O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind., who started 18^th; two-time defending WoO LMS champion Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., who climbed as high as third from the eighth starting spot before getting shuffled backward on a lap-seven restart; 2010 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year Austin Hubbard of Seaford, Del.; and Brent Robinson of Smithfield, Va., who was the last driver on the lead lap at the checkered flag.

A field of 60 was signed in for the final night of the DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH.

Marlar led the way in Ohlins Shocks Time Trials with a lap of 16.142 seconds.

Heat winners were Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., Bloomquist, teenager Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill., Moyer, Eddie Carrier Jr. of Salt Rock, W.Va., and Brady Smith. The B-Mains were captured by Marlar, Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., who returned to action after missing Thursday night’s WoO LMS opener because a health issue put him in the hospital, and Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga.

Vic Coffey of Caledonia, N.Y., closed the evening’s action – and the 12 nights of the DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH – with a $300 victory in the 12-lap ‘Bulrush Dash’ for non-qualifiers.

The WoO LMS will be off for a month before returning to action at Columbus (Miss.) Speedway, which hosts the inaugural $20,000-to-win ‘Cash Cow 100’ on March 18-19. A special pre-sale ticket deal is available on-line at www.worldofoutlaws.com/tickets.

For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.

Results of WoO Late Model Series ‘DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH’ Night No. 1 at Volusia Speedway Park (Finishing Position/Start/Driver/Laps Completed/Money Won):

1. (4) Scott Bloomquist/50 $10,225

2. (6) Brady Smith/50 $5,000

3. (3) Billy Moyer/50 $3,200

4. (13) Dan Schlieper/50 $2,500

5. (7) Rick Eckert/50 $2,050

6. (11) Chris Madden/50 $1,700

7. (18) Don O’Neal/50 $1,900

8. (8) Josh Richards/50 $1,450

9. (22) Austin Hubbard/50 $1,250

10. (12) Brent Robinson/50 $1,150

11. (2) Eddie Carrier Jr./49 $1,050

12. (21) Clint Smith/49 $1,050

13. (24) Dennis Erb Jr./49 $950

14. (23) Jonathan Davenport/49 $900

15. (20) Darrell Lanigan/49 $1,000

16. (10) Tim McCreadie/49 $950

17. (14) Tyler Reddick/49 $770

18. (29) Tim Fuller/49 $50

19. (25) Steve Francis/49 $880

20. (5) Jason Feger/49 $750

21. (1) Brandon Sheppard/48 $700

22. (30) Chub Frank/48 $50

23. (26) Shane Clanton/32 $750

24. (9) Ricky Weiss/31 $700

25. (15) Dan Stone/6 $700

26. (28) Jack Sullivan/6 $700

27. (19) Mike Marlar/6 $700

28. (16) Pat Doar/6 $950

29. (27) Jimmy Mars/1 $700

30. (17) Ryan Unzicker/0 $825

* Earnings include Winners Circle program and cash contingency award bonuses

Time of Race: 32 Mins., 57.583 Secs.

Margin of Victory: 0.637 Secs.

Yellow Flags: 4 (Laps 0, 0, 3, 5)

Red Flags: 1 (Lap 7)

Lap Leaders: Moyer (1-30); Bloomquist (31-50)

Provisional Starters: Francis, Clanton, Fuller, Frank (WoO); Mars (DCN); Sullivan (UMP)

Rookie of the Race: Doar ($250)

WoO LMS ‘Bonus Bucks’ Winner: O’Neal ($500)

Ohlins Shocks Time Trial Results (Position/No./Driver/Hometown/Best Lap):

1. 36-Mike Marlar/Winfield, TN 16.142

2. 0-Scott Bloomquist/Mooresburg, TN 16.175

3. b5-Brandon Sheppard/New Berlin, IL 16.195

4. 21M-Billy Moyer/Batesville, AR 16.206

5. 44-Clint Smith/Senoia, GA 16.260

6. 1d-Don O’Neal/Martinsville, IN 16.265

7. 25F-Jason Feger/Bloomington, IL 16.268

8. 777-Jared Landers/Batesville, AR 16.327

9. 21d-Dan Stone/Thompson, PA 16.330

10. 39-Tim McCreadie/Watertown, NY 16.338

11. 44M-Chris Madden/Gray Court, SC 16.342

12. 2-Brady Smith/Solon Springs, WI 16.347

13. 24-Rick Eckert/York, PA 16.397

14. 15-Steve Francis/Ashland, KY 16.398

15. 49-Jonathan Davenport/Blairsville, GA 16.420

16. 29-Darrell Lanigan/Union, KY 16.421

17. 28c-Eddie Carrier Jr./Salt Rock, WV 16.428

18. 2x-John Henderson/Aiken, SC 16.437

19. 9s-Dan Schlieper/Sullivan, WI 16.438

20. 11R-Tyler Reddick/Corning, CA 16.441

21. 7-Ricky Weiss/St. Francis Xavier, MAN 16.472

22. 28M-Jimmy Mars/Menomonie, WI 16.512

23. 44P-Earl Pearson Jr./Jacksonville, FL 16.522

24. 28e-Dennis Erb Jr./Carpentersville, IL 16.522

25. 19F-Tim Fuller/Watertown, NY 16.524

26. 1R-Josh Richards/Shinnston, WV 16.526

27. 56-Russell King/Bristolville, OH 16.529

28. 1V-Will Vaught/Crane, MO 16.530

29. 24U-Ryan Unzicker/El Paso, IL 16.531

30. 3-Brent Robinson/Smithfield, VA 16.532

31. 54-Dillan White/Hopkinsville, KY 16.536

32. 19H-Austin Hubbard/Seaford, DE 16.544

33. 25c-Shane Clanton/Fayetteville, GA 16.551

34. 11d-Pat Doar/New Richmond, WI 16.568

35. M14-Brandon Thirlby/Traverse City, MI 16.571

36. 23-John Blankenship/Williamson, WV 16.589

37. 33-Brian Reese/Sharpsburg, GA 16.624

38. 71d-Ron Davies/Warren, PA 16.664

39. 1*-Chub Frank/Bear Lake, PA 16.675

40. 99L-Larry Wight/Phoenix, NY 16.684

41. 18W-Eric Wells/Hazard, KY 16.693

42. 101-Casey Roberts/Toccoa, GA 16.706

43. 16b-Tyler Bruening/Decorah, IA 16.716

44. 32c-Vic Coffey/Caledonia, NY 16.749

45. 7R-Kent Robinson/Bloomington, IN 16.755

46. 25z-Mason Zeigler/Chalk Hill, PA 16.759

47. 16R-Justin Rattliff/Campbellsville, KY 16.760

48. 17M-Dale McDowell/Chickamauga, GA 16.779

49. 15H-Jon Henry/Ada, OH 16.792

50. 1JL-John Lobb/Frewsburg, NY 16.823

51. 77-Jason McBride/Carbondale, IL 16.892

52. J4-John Garvin Jr./Sarver, PA 16.929

53. 99B-Rick ‘Boom’ Briggs/Bear Lake, PA 17.029

54. 47-Tyler Ivey/Tallahassee, FL 17.034

55. 72M-John Mason/Millersburg, OH 17.096

56. 1s-Jack Sullivan/Greenbrier, AR 17.143

57. 22-Jill George/Cedar Falls, IA 17.199

58. 4ds-Chad Hollenbeck/Kingsley, PA 17.444

59. 16H-Mike Hammerle/St. Charles, MO 18.111

60. 911-Jerry Perine/Cowell, OH 19.449

Heat No. 1 (10 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Feger, Eckert, Schlieper, Marlar, Fuller, White, Bruening, Henry, Mason, Reese

Heat No. 2 (10 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Bloomquist, Richards, Reddick, Hubbard, Coffey, Landers, Francis, Sullivan, Lobb, Davies

Heat No. 3 (10 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Sheppard, Weiss, Stone, Davenport, Clanton, Frank, K. Robinson, King, George, McBride

Heat No. 4 (10 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Moyer, McCreadie, Doar, Lanigan, Vaught, Zeigler, Wight, Garvin, Hollenbeck, Mars

Heat No. 5 (10 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Carrier, Madden, Unzicker, C. Smith, Wells, Pearson, Rattliff, Thirlby, Briggs, Hammerle

Heat No. 5 (10 laps – Top 3 Transfer): B. Smith, B. Robinson, O’Neal, Erb, Blankenship, McDowell, Ivey, Henderson, Perine (DNS) Roberts

B-Main No. 1 (12 laps – Top 2 Transfer): Marlar, Hubbard, Coffey, Bruening, Landers, Fuller, Francis, White, Reese, Mason, Lobb, Davies, Sullivan, Henry

B-Main No. 2 (12 laps – Top 2 Transfer): Lanigan, Davenport, Vaught, Frank, Clanton, Zeigler, Wight, K. Robinson, George, McBride, Hollenbeck, King, Garvin (DNS) Mars

B-Main No. 3 (12 laps – Top 2 Transfer): C. Smith, Erb, McDowell, Blankenship, Wells, Ivey, Briggs, Henderson, Thirlby, Hammerle, Perine (DNS) Pearson, Rattliff, Roberts

‘Bulrush Dash’ Finish (12 laps): 1. Vic Coffey, 2. Tyler Ivey, 3. Kent Robinson, 4. Tyler Bruening, 5. Jill George, 6. John Henderson, 7. Chad Hollenbeck

World of Outlaws Late Model Series Contingency Award Winners:

Arizona Sports Shirts ($100 apparel certificate to 22^nd fastest qualifier): Tim Fuller

Armor All (one case of product to highest-finishing non-WoO team in A-Main w/decal): Billy Moyer

Comp Cams ($50 cash to 10^th-place in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Brent Robinson

Eibach Springs (one free spring to each B-Main winner or next highest w/decal): Brian Reese/Kent Robinson/Rick ‘Boom’ Briggs

JE Pistons ($50 cash to A-Main winner or next highest w/decal): Billy Moyer

JE Pistons (one set of Pro Seal rings to 11^th-place or next highest w/decal, redeemable w/next purchase of one complete set of rings): Clint Smith

JE Pistons (one set of Pro Seal rings to 21st-place or next highest w/decal, redeemable w/next purchase of one complete set of rings): Brandon Sheppard

MSD Ignition ($75 cash to A-Main winner or next highest w/decal): Scott Bloomquist

MDS Ignition ($25 cash to last-place in A-Main or next lowest w/decal): Ryan Unzicker

Ohlins Pole Award ($50 cash to fast qualifier or next highest w/decal): Scott Bloomquist

Quartermaster ($100 product certificate to A-Main winner or next highest w/decal): Billy Moyer

Quartermaster ($50 product certificate to 5^th-place or next highest w/decal): Rick Eckert

Quartermaster ($25 product certificate to 15^th-place or next highest w/decal): Tyler Reddick

RacingJunk.com Hard Luck Award ($100 cash): Ryan Unzicker

R2C Performance ($100 certificate to highest-finishing driver w/decal or $100 cash if race winner is using R2C filter and decal is displayed): Billy Moyer

STP ($50 cash to 2^nd-place in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Billy Moyer

Superflow Dynos ($50 cash to 7^th-place in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Austin Hubbard

VP Racing Fuels ($50 cash to winner or Heat 1 or next highest w/decal): Jason Feger
VP Racing Fuels ‘Nice Jugs Award’ (one five-gallon plastic fuel jugs to fastest qualifier who does not make the A-Main or next highest w/decal): Russell King

WIX Filters ($50 cash to 13^th-place in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Darrell Lanigan

Wrisco Aluminum (Three sheets of aluminum to A-Main winner w/decal): Scott Bloomquist

2011 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Point Standings as of Feb. 19 – 2 A-Mains completed (rank/driver/points/deficit to leader):

1. Scott Bloomquist 300

2. Brady Smith 292 (-8)

3. Billy Moyer 282 (-18)

4. (tie) Austin Hubbard 276 (-24)

4. (tie) Don O’Neal 276 (-24)

6. Chris Madden 264 (-36)

7. Rick Eckert 264 (-36)

8. Josh Richards 256 (-44)

9. (tie) Jason Feger 238 (-62)

9. (tie) Dennis Erb Jr. 238 (-62)

11. (tie) Shane Clanton 236 (-64)

11. (tie) Tim McCreadie 236 (-64)

13. Dan Schlieper 230 (-70)

14. (tie) Steve Francis 228 (-72)

14. (tie) Tyler Reddick 228 (-72)

14. (tie) Jonathan Davenport 228 (-72)

14. (tie) Clint Smith 228 (-72)

18. (tie) Jared Landers 226 (-74)

18. (tie) Chub Frank 226 (-74)

18. (tie) Eddie Carrier Jr. 226 (-74)

By Scott|2011-02-20T12:23:41-05:00February 20th, 2011|Front Page News, Race Results, Series, Volusia Speedway Park|Comments Off

Ted Christopher wins action packed Richie Evans Memorial race at New Smyrna Speedway

***KARNAC EXCLUSIVE STORY***

By John Berti, Karnac Staff

Samsula, FL -February 18, 2011- A good race has you on the edge of your seat and that was just the case for the 26^th Annual Richie Evans Memorial race at New Smyrna Speedway on Friday night.

While the pre-race buzz among the large crowd was how good of a race can you have with just a 19 car field of NASCAR Tour Type Modifieds with a smattering of SK Modifieds? The quality of the racing action proved doubters to be totally wrong.

There were no less than a dozen lead changes and plenty of dicing for positions back through the field which provided virtual non-stop excitement throughout the race.

Patrick Emerling and Ted Christopher led the field to the initial green to start the 100 lapper with Emerling bolting into the early lead followed by Ron Silk, Christopher, Burt Myers and Earl Paules. (more…)

By Scott|2011-02-23T16:00:53-05:00February 19th, 2011|Front Page News, New Smyrna Speedway, Race Results, Series|Comments Off

BUCKWALTER TRIUMPHS IN EAST BAY MINI SPRINT RUN

By Larry Jewett

TAMPA, FL -2/18/11 – The Winternationals visit to East Bay Raceway Park didn’t get off to a great start for Tim Buckwalter. His season had started strong with Atlantic City, but the trip south went sour when the engine expired during his first heat race.
The fates came full circle on Friday night when Buckwalter put the back-up car in Victory Lane on the second night of the Florida Mini Sprint Association action.
Buckwalter took the lead from fellow Pennsylvania racer Jim Young in the first turn on the final lap. Buckwalter had been using the high line for most of his passes. “I knew exactly where he (Young) was and where I could get him,” Buckwalter said in Victory Lane. “I knew I had to keep him down low to get by him.”
Buckwalter made the A main in the back-up car on Thursday night, advancing as the runner-up in the B main. This victory on Friday night makes Buckwalter among the favorites for the Saturday night Winter Nationals finale.
Young was able to hold onto second in the 20-lap A main. Thursday night winner Nick Sapp grabbed third to claim the unofficial two-night point lead. Tyler DeVault had a strong showing to claim fourth with 2010 Winter Nationals Mini Sprints champion Luke Thomas in fifth.
Gavin Thomas started eighth and won the 10-lap B main with Chris Pacetti claiming second and a spot in the A main. Heat races were won by Harold Matthews, David Pleaugh, Buckwalter and DeVault.
The final night of Mini Sprint action comes on Saturday with a $1,000-to-win main event in conjunction with the Ronald Laney Memorial King of the 360s race. Action gets underway at 7 p.m.

By Scott|2011-02-19T19:19:08-05:00February 19th, 2011|East Bay Raceway Park, Front Page News, Race Results, Series|Comments Off

MARK SMITH PULLED OFF A LATE RACE MOVE FOR A WIN ON NIGHT TWO OF EAST BAY’S KING OF 360’S ON FRIDAY

TAMPA, FL……2/18/11….It was an up-front battle to the end of Friday night’s 25-lap feature. but Mark Smith, who started ninth in the 20-car field on the final preliminary night of the 13th Annual King of the 360’s at East Bay Raceway Park, finally joined those front runners on the last ten laps and gained momentum late in the race to make his winning pass onTerry McCarl on lap 22 and hold on for his first 360 victory here.
“I knew I had a good car in the heat when I started ninth and got up to fifth right away, but we never had a yellow. So, I couldn’t pick up a bunch of handicap points to start higher in the feature. I have been building my own cars for three years now and the company is called J & B Sprints, “ the winner explained to announcer Larry Jewett in victory lane.
Smith won a 410 race here last year with the same car owner, Brian Scandle, and the same mechanic, Tim Elwell, that were with him tonight working on his Mach 1 chassis. The crew usually has Paul at home in Pennsylvania but while in Florida, they have Ryan, Tommie and Mike as extra help. Tonight’s car was equipped with Penske Shocks, Art’s Radiator, and a Don Ott engine.
Sponsorship help came from Bricker’s French Fries from PA, and C&B Mushrooms in Florida. “Not many changes were needed during the night and we ran the same tires all night,” said Elwell. Confessing, “I knew we had a good shot at Daryn Pittman and when we passed him we got a good run on McCarl and used an inside move in turns one and two to pull off the pass for the lead on lap 22.”
McCarl and Pittman made up the front row after a redraw for the top six in passing points after the heat races. Sport Allen and Lou Kennedy made up row two with David Gravel and Cap Henry in row three. Last night’s winner Michael Dupuy and Ryan Grubaugh started ahead of Smith in the original line-up.
With McCarl leading the first two laps, the field was slowed for a spin by Davie Franek. McCarl had Kennedy on his tail from that point until Kennedy made a sweeping move high in between turns three and four to blast into the lead at the flagstand on lap seven.
Kennedy was clearly the fastest car on the track at that point and started lapping cars on lap ten with the running order behind him being McCarl, Pittman, Henry and now Mark Smith and David Gravel.
Lapped traffic spelled disaster for Kennedy and lap 14 as he went into turn one just as Michael Miller was trying to decide to go high or low and Kennedy went over Miller’s rear tire, launching him into several flips before hitting the turn one outside wall. Kennedy was OK, but his car suffered severe damage.
When the green replaced the red flag, McCarl had inherited the lead and was followed by Pittman, Smith, Henry, Dupuy, Gravel and Tim Shaffer up from 16th starting spot. However, on the long red, Shaffer’s left rear tire lost air and he had to make a pit stop for a replacement and rejoined the field at the tail without going down a lap.
The action was hot and heavy as McCarl led with five laps to go and Smith made an inside more on Pittman on lap 20. Smith then went inside in turns one and two on lap 22 to become the new leader on lap 22. Pittman squeeked by McCarl coming to the checkered with Henry fourth and Gravel nailing fifth.
Second place Pittman admitted, “I wanted to win this one, but we just go beat tonight. Shawn and Rhino, my two crew guys were great and our 360 performed well, but it’s the same one we had last year. We just save it for special 360 shows. Our schedule this year looks like we are just going to run races that make the most sense to us. As for tonight, we made very little changes and the car was great. Mike Heffner is the owner and we use Rider engines and our sponsor is www.Lelands.com.”
Danny Smith, Grubaugh, Russ Hall, Shaffer and Chad Layton rounded out the top ten. Dupuy, Henry, Gravel and McCarl won the heat races, while the first B-Main sent Layton, Greg Wilson, Jessica Zemken and Morgan Turpen to the A-Main. However, Turpen scratched and Pat Cannon advanced. The second B-Main allowed Michael Miller,Shaffer, Robbie Smith and Franek to go to the A-Main.
Thanks, Jean Lynch for East Bay Raceway Park

STATS – KING OF THE 360 SPRINTS – EAST BAY RACEWAY PARK – FRIDAY, 2/18/11

1st Heat – 1)Michael Dupuy 2)Ryan Grubaugh 3)Lou Kennedy 4)Michael Miller 5)Mark Smith 6)Tim Shaffer 7)Robbie Smith 8)Bronson Maeshen 9)Pat Cannon 10)T.J. Winegardner 11)Keith Butler DNS
2nd Heat – 1)Cap Henry 2)Ryan Moore 3)Daryn Pittman 4)Thomas Kennedy 5)Tony Agin 6)Greg Wilson 7)Jessica Zemken 8)Tony Norem 9)Timmy Thrash 10)Klint Angelette
3rd Heat – 1)David Gravel 2)Danny Smith 3)Brad Greer 4)Sam Hafertepe 5)Carl Zaniboni 6)RJ Johnson 7)Jim Porter 8)Lance Hester 9)Arbery Black 10)Terry Gray DNS
4th Heat – 1)Terry McCarl 2)Sport Allen 3)Russ Hall 4)Chad Layton 5)Dave Franck 6)Morgan Turpen 7)Shane Kreidler 8)Aaron Berryhill 9)Tyler Godwin 10)Danny Martin, Jr.

1st B – Main (Top 4 go to back of A inside row) – 1)Chad Layton 2)Greg Wilson 3)Jessica Zemken 4)Morgan Turpen 5)Pat Cannon 6)RJ Johnson 7)Bronson Maeshen 8)Tyler Godwin 9)Jim Porter 10)Klint Angelette 11)Sam Hafertepe 12)Thomas Kennedy 13)Lance Hester 14)Danny Martin, Jr. DNS 15)Terry Gray DNS

2nd B – Main (Top 4 go to back of A outside row) – 1)Michael Miller 2)Tim Shaffer 3)Robbie Smith 4)Dave Franck 5)Tony Agin 6)Arbery Black 7)Timmy Thrash 8)Aaron Berryhill 9)Brad Greer 10)Shane Kreidler 11)T.J. Winegardner 12)Tony Norem 13)Carl Zaniboni 14)Keith Butler DNS

A – Main (25 Laps) – 1)Mark Smith 2)Daryn Pittman 3)Terry McCarl 4)Cap Henry 5)David Gravel 6)Danny Smith 7)Ryan Grubaugh 8)Russ Hall 9)Tim Shaffer 10)Chad Layton 11)Michael Miller 12)Pat Cannon 13)Greg Wilson 14)Jessica Zemken 15)Michael Dupuy 16)Ryan Moore 17)Lou Kennedy 18)Robbie Smith 19)Dave Franck 20)Sport Allen

By Scott|2011-02-19T19:15:45-05:00February 19th, 2011|East Bay Raceway Park, Front Page News, Race Results, Series|Comments Off

Win Number Two: Moyer Adds To DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH Success With $10,000 UMP Late Model Score

BARBERVILLE, FL – Feb. 18, 2011 – Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., became the first repeat winner during the dirt Late Model portion of the 40 ^th DIRTcar Nationals by University of Northwestern Ohio with a powerful performance in Friday night’s 40-lap UMP-sanctioned finale at Volusia Speedway Park.

Backing up his victory in the opener of the full-fender meet on Monday night, Moyer inherited the lead on lap 12 when Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., pulled up lame with a broken rear axle tube and dominated the remainder of the distance. The 53-year-old Dirt Late Model Hall of Famer pocketed $10,000, pushing his earnings for the week over the $20,000 mark.

Moyer steered his Victory Circle Chassis machine under the checkered flag 3.664 seconds ahead of York, Pa.’s Rick Eckert, a World of Outlaws Late Model Series regular who registered his best finish of the DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH.

Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, Wis., who won Wednesday night’s UMP Late Model A-Main, advanced from the ninth starting spot to finish third and Thursday-night WoO LMS winner Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., placed fourth after starting from the seventh position. Nineteen-year-old Austin Hubbard of Seaford, Del., completed the top five in Dale Beitler’s car, falling one spot from his fourth-place start.

Moyer recorded his seventh triumph in DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH competition since 1998. It marked the second time that he’s won the mid-winter racing spectacular’s marquee UMP Late Model event – exactly six years to the day since his first victory in the race.

This score came in convincing fashion. Moyer swiftly moved to the front from the fifth starting spot, reaching second with a lap-nine pass of Eckert and then running down Feger to begin challenging for the lead just as the race-long pacesetter’s car stopped with mechanical woes on lap 12 to bring out the race’s lone caution flag.

“The plan wasn’t to shoot right to the front,” said Moyer, who enters the DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH finale – a WoO LMS event on Saturday night (Feb. 19) – trailing only Mars in the battle for the event points crown. “You just do it by instinct, do what you can do. It just so happened that the doors opened up and I got up there pretty quick.

“Rick (Eckert) had a good car, but he got a little bit free there for a lap or two and I was able to get by him. I was glad I did because the track tightened up there about halfway through.

“We’re real happy,” he added. “One night we were off this week (his only run worse than sixth is a 16^th-place finish on Wednesday), so all in all we’ve had a pretty good Speedweek.”

Eckert, 45, made his visit to the Sunshine State much more enjoyable with a breakout runner-up outing. His hopes for victory, however, were effectively dashed when Moyer overtook him for second place.

“When we fired off the start there was a little bit of rubber down the back straightaway all the way out by the wall,” said Eckert, who needed just five laps to move from the sixth starting spot to second. “I struggled off (turn) two for traction, so I would just chase myself out there to the wall and then I could get a run down the backstraightaway – not realizing, though, that (the track) was starting to pick up on the bottom.

“Billy slipped by me on the bottom and then I moved down and there was traction. Once I moved where he was I figured out his groove was much better than the one I was running. It was my own fault that I didn’t go down there sooner. I just didn’t search around.”

Despite falling short of a five-figure win, Eckert was pleased with the speed he flashed with his Team Zero by Bloomquist mount.

“My car’s been good, but the track’s been hammer-down to the cushion and that’s made it tough for me,” said Eckert, who finished 13^th, 24 ^th, 17^th and 13^th in the week’s first four A-Mains. “Tonight the track finally got to where I could make some time off that cushion and keep up with them or pass them.

“I wish (tonight) was the Outlaw race – I hope we run this good tomorrow night. But it’s good that we had a run like this no matter what. I thought I was gonna become a Florida resident. Until tonight, I about didn’t make enough money to buy diesel fuel to get back home.”

Finishing in positions 6-10 was 10^th-starter Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va.; 11^th-starter Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, Fla.; John Blankenship of Williamson, W.Va., whose advance from the 22^nd starting position made him the hard-charger of the race; 15-year-old Tyler Reddick of Corning, Calif.; and Tuesday-night UMP Late Model winner Don O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind.

Sixty-one cars entered Friday night’s program.

In the group qualifying sessions that set the starting lineups for the evening’s six heat races, Hubbard registered the overall fastest time with a lap of 16.145 seconds.

Other group fast-timers were O’Neal (16.610 seconds), Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga. (16.734), Feger (16.481), Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa. (16.361) and Moyer (16.307).

Heat winners were O’Neal, Davenport, Feger, Eckert, Hubbard and Moyer. The B-Mains were captured by Brady Smith of Solon Springs, Wis., Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill., and Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, Ga.

Billy Ogle Jr. of Knoxville, Tenn., was victorious in the 12-lap ‘Bulrush Dash’ that closed the night. He earned $300 for topping the short sprint reserved for drivers who didn’t qualify.

The curtain is set to come down on the 40^th DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH on Saturday night (Feb. 19). A huge doubleheader featuring twin 50-lap features – one for the World of Outlaws Late Model Series and one for the Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block Modifieds – will serve as the grand finale of 12 consecutive evenings of competition.

Gates open at 5 p.m. and race time is 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.

For more information on the DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH, log on to www.DIRTcarNationals.com.

DIRTcar UMP Late Model 40-Lap A-Main Finish (Finish Pos./Start Pos./Driver):

1. (5) Billy Moyer

2. (6) Rick Eckert

3. (9) Jimmy Mars

4. (7) Scott Bloomquist

5. (4) Austin Hubbard

6. (14) Josh Richards

7. (11) Earl Pearson Jr.

8. (22) John Blankenship

9. (8) Tyler Reddick

10. (3) Don O’Neal

11. (15) Will Vaught

12. (1) Jonathan Davenport

13. (19) Brady Smith

14. (20) Dennis Erb Jr.

15. (12) Dan Stone

16. (24) Russell King

17. (16) Eric Wells

18. (23) Clint Smith

19. (28) Brandon Sheppard

20. (27) Ryan Unzicker

21. (18) Ricky Weiss

22. (25) Steve Francis

23. (13) Pat Doar

24. (17) Dan Schlieper

25. (10) Chub Frank

26. (2) Jason Feger

27. (21) Dale McDowell

28. (26) Tim McCreadie

Lap Leaders: Feger (1-12); Moyer (13-40)

Provisional Starters: Francis, McCreadie, Unzicker, Sheppard

Heat No. 1 (8 laps – Top 3 Transfer): 1. Don O’Neal, 2. Scott Bloomquist, 3. Pat Doar, 4. Brady Smith, 5. Mike Marlar, 6. Tommy Kerr, 7. Brandon Thirlby, 8. John Mason, 9. John Henderson, 10. Larry Wight, 11. Steve Francis

Heat No. 2 (8 laps – Top 3 Transfer): 1. Jonathan Davenport, 2. Tyler Reddick, 3. Josh Richards, 4. John Blankenship, 5. Eddie Carrier Jr., 6. Jared Landers, 7. Tim Fuller, 8. Brandon Sheppard, 9. Vic Coffey, 10. John Garvin Jr.

Heat No. 3 (8 laps – Top 3 Transfer): 1. Jason Feger, 2. Jimmy Mars, 3. Will Vaught, 4. Clint Smith, 5. Tyler Bruening, 6. Tim McCreadie, 7. Ryan Unzicker, 8. Mike Hammerle, 9. Jerry Perine, 10. Lee Thomason

Heat No. 4 (8 laps – Top 3 Transfer): 1. Rick Eckert, 2. Chub Frank, 3. Eric Wells, 4. Dennis Erb Jr., 5. Justin Rattliff, 6. Billy Ogle Jr., 7. Jack Sullivan, 8. Jason McBride, 9. John Lobb, 10. Jill George

Heat No. 5 (8 laps – Top 3 Transfer): 1. Austin Hubbard, 2. Earl Pearson Jr., 3. Dan Schlieper, 4. Dale McDowell, 5. Kent Robinson, 6. Casey Roberts, 7. Rick ‘Boom’ Briggs, 8. Dillan White, 9. Tyler Ivey, 10. Chad Hollenbeck

Heat No. 6 (8 laps – Top 3 Transfer): 1. Billy Moyer, 2. Dan Stone, 3. Ricky Weiss, 4. Russell King, 5. Eric Jacobsen, 6. Brian Reese, 7. Jon Henry, 8. Ron Davies (DNS) Shane Clanton, Mason Zeigler

B-Main No. 1 (10 laps – Top 2 Transfer): 1. Brady Smith, 2. John Blankenship, 3. Eddie Carrier Jr., 4. Tim Fuller, 5. Larry Wight, 6. Tommy Kerr, 7. Brandon Thirlby, 8. John Mason, 9. John Garvin Jr., 10. John Henderson, 11. Jared Landers, 12. Brandon Sheppard, 13. Vic Coffey (DNS) Mike Marlar, Steve Francis

B-Main No. 2 (10 laps – Top 2 Transfer): 1. Dennis Erb Jr., 2. Clint Smith, 3. Tim McCreadie, 4. Ryan Unzicker, 5. Billy Ogle Jr., 6. Jack Sullivan, 7. Tyler Bruening, 8. John Lobb, 9. Justin Rattliff, 10. Jill George, 11. Mike Hammerle, 12. Jerry Perine, 13. Lee Thomason, 14. Jason McBride

B-Main No. 3 (10 laps – Top 2 Transfer): 1. Dale McDowell, 2. Russell King, 3. Kent Robinson, 4. Casey Roberts, 5. Shane Clanton, 6. Rick ‘Boom’ Briggs, 7. Tyler Ivey, 8. Eric Jacobsen, 9. Jon Henry, 10. Brian Reese, 11. Mason Zeigler, 12. Chad Hollenbeck, 13. Ron Davies, 14. Dillan White

‘Bulrush Dash’ Finish (12 laps): 1. Billy Ogle Jr., 2. Tim Fuller, 3. Eddie Carrier Jr, 4. Larry Wight, 5. Kent Robinson, 6. Jack Sullivan, 7. Tyler Bruening, 8. Tyler Ivey, 9. Rick ‘Boom’ Briggs, 10. John Lobb, 11. Jon Henry, 12. Jill George, 13. Brandon Thirlby, 14. Mike Hammerle, 15. John Henderson (DNS) Casey Roberts, Tommy Kerr, Eric Jacobsen, John Mason, John Garvin, Brian Reese, Justin Ratliff

By Scott|2011-02-19T19:11:22-05:00February 19th, 2011|Front Page News, Race Results, Series, Volusia Speedway Park|Comments Off

Clauson and Spatola Win Ocala’s Second Night

by BJ Cavin- Ocala speedway Media

OCALA, FL- Friday night brought a second round of blistering action to the historic Ocala Speedway as the Bubba Army Sprint Car Winter Games continued at America’s Dirt Track, and the USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car Series provided another round of non winged action on the clay. The UMP Modifieds were also back to challenge the southeast’s toughest 3/8ths mile, and seemed to be under the spell of the full moon overhead as controversy surrounded the race.

Ocala’s gumbo clay showed a slightly dryer side to the USAC racers on Friday, slowing things down a notch in qualifying. Tony Stewart Racing’s Levi Jones set the fast time with a 15.211, while Bryan Clauson followed with a 15.288. The previous night’s winner, Damion Gardner, was third fastest with a 15.391, but failed to transfer to the feature event in his heat race later on. In fact, Gardner had to rely on a dominant showing in the B main in order to make the A main field on Friday. Heats produced four winners, including Casey Riggs, Chris Windom, Jon Stanbrough, and Scotty Weir.

The 30 lap feature event saw Blake Fitzpatrick take control as soon as the green flag waved. With just five laps completed Fitzpatrick began to deal with traffic at the rear of the field, and as the race continued under green the traffic woes worsened. In fact, the race went green to checkers without a caution, and was completed in a rapid 8 minutes and 27 seconds. And because there were no cautions to bunch up the field, the concept of “open track” was nonexistent.

No matter how hard Fitzpatrick might have tried to stretch his lead, slower cars kept a determined Bryan Clauson close enough to pester the leader at various points in the race. And Clauson’s repeated attempts at getting around Fitzpatrick finally paid off on lap 23, as he shot under the race leader coming out of turn four and blew by as the two passed the flagstand.

But traffic was just as hard on Clauson as it was on Fitzpatrick, and the Indiana driver was unable to stretch his lead very far. At the same time Fitzpatrick had to deal with the same traffic problems, as did third place runner, Scotty Weir, so no one had a clear shot at each other in the final laps. Bryan Clauson scored the win, followed by Blake Fitzpatrick and Scotty Weir. Damion Gardner fought his way from a dismal starting position to fourth place, and Hunter Schuerenberg was fifth.

The Victory Lane celebration took on a far more emotional tone as Shane Hmiel joined the top three finishers on Ocala’s frontstretch, making his first venture to the races since his horrific accident back on October 9th of last year. Hmiel was happy to be there, speaking to the crowd and joining the winners on the podium for photos. And he was greeted with a rousing ovation from the grandstand and from the racers in the pits as well, as he said that this was his first real time outside of a hospital setting since his accident, and stated that he planned to win this latest race despite long odds.

As the UMP Modifieds made their way onto Ocala Speedway for their feature race, a new face in the crowd was there to challenge the supremacy of repeated Ocala track champion, Jeff Mathews. Devin Dixon had never raced at Ocala, and the Apollo Beach racer had something for the Tampa area’s “Repo Man”. And Dixon wasted no time in showing it, as he jumped in front of Matthews and the two of them battled lap after lap while Kyle Bronson and Illinois’ Mike Spatola had their own tussle over third and fourth places.

Late in the race it was Mathews who took a big shot at getting past Dixon as they exited turn two, and contact between the two racers resulted in a caution flag. Dixon nearly spun into one of the tractor tires on the infield at the bottom of the track, and came to a stop just off of the backstretch as Mathews continued around the circuit. Under caution the race officials determined that both racers were at fault, and under UMP rules sent both to the rear of the field, which did not set well with either one. Both made their exit to the pit area, and the race continued with Mike Spatola leading Kyle Bronson and Jason Miller.

Spatola had made the statement early in his 10 day stint in Florida that he was not going home to Illinois without a win, and with just a one lap dash to the checkers he knew that this was his best shot at not becoming yet another permanently transplanted midwesterner in the Sunshine State. And with Kyle Bronson all over him for the lead, Spatola blasted his machine through turns one and two, leaving Bronson behind and claiming his first Florida win. Tampa’s Kyle Bronson would settle for second place while Jason Miller finished third. Kentucky’s David McWilliams and Panama City’s Todd Neiheiser were fourth and fifth, respectively.

Saturday night marks the absolute last chance for race fans to see the USAC non winged sprint cars this year at the famed Ocala Speedway, and the UMP Modifieds will be back for another round of action as well, this time with a couple of axes to grind over Friday’s controversial final laps. The grandstand gates will open at 4PM, hot laps are scheduled at 6:15 with qualifying to follow, and heats will begin at 7:30. For directions to America’s Dirt Track, or more information on the final night of the 2011 Winternationals, please visit www.OcalaSpeedway.com, or phone the track at 352-622-9400.

Bubba Army Sprint Car Nationals, Night 2

1- 7 Bryan Clauson

2- 10 Blake Fitzpatrick

3- 1G Scotty Weir
4- 71 Damion Gardner
5- 35 Hunter Schuerenberg
6- 81 Robert Ballou
7- 10E Shane Cottle
8- 53 Jon Stanbrough
9- 20 Levi Jones
10- 29 Bud Kaeding
11- 37 Casey Riggs
12- 4 Tracy Hines
13- 5X Chris Windom
14- 5 Bobby East
15- 40 Justin Grant
16- 10T Bill Rose
17- 36 Brady Short
18- 14 Coleman Gulick
19- 69 Jerry Coons Jr.
20- 32 Chase Stockton
21- 83 Wes McIntyre
22- 17R Kyle Robbins

UMP Modifieds, Night 2

1- 89 Mike Spatola
2- 40B Kyle Bronson
3- 12 Jason Miller
4- 18 David McWilliams
5- 72 Todd Neiheiser
6- 67 Garret Stewart
7- 56 Dave Barber Jr.
8- 07 Jeff Thomas
9- 1S Keith Smith
10- 05 David Wietholder
11- D4 Dave Jamison

12- 2 Devin Dixon
13- 33 Jeff Mathews
14- 11 Chuck Gustafson Jr.
15- 99 Jim Passino
16- 12M David Moheng
17- 21 Gary Brooks
18- 13 Cory Hupp

By Scott|2011-02-19T18:59:21-05:00February 19th, 2011|Bubba Raceway Park, Front Page News, Race Results, Series|Comments Off