by VSP Media

BARBERVILLE, FL-  Volusia Speedway Park was back in action on Saturday night after a summer break as the Daytona Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram Labor Day Late Model Shootout headlined an exceptional night of high speed thrills, with $2500 going to the winner of the event.  In addition to a strong field of top late models, fans also got a heavy dose of excitement for the Budweiser Modifieds, the Taylor Racing Products Sportsman Division, and the Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants Thunder Stocks.

The 30 lap Labor Day Late Model Shootout had the Daytona Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram Late Models chasing a $2500 check and Mark Whitener, for practically the entire race as “The Magic Man” rocketed to the front and drove away from the rest of the field.  Try as he might, “The Locomotive” Johnny Collins could only watch Whitener pull away as the laps ticked off, and Lawton Minchew saw his time in the front runners expire with a spin in turn 4.

There were also some contenders who began the race mired in traffic due to less than appealing starting positions, and as those racers made their way forward the complexion of things at the front began to change.  Whitener remained in a world to himself as he blew past the stragglers at the back of the pack, and Ivedent Lloyd slipped from the top three to the top five as the track slicked off, and John Kellum quietly worked his way forward, almost camouflaged by the host of lapped cars that were complicating matters for the leaders.  Kellum sneaked into the top five virtually unnoticed, and then into the top three as Whitener’s lead eroded thanks to Labor Day weekend race traffic.

Once Kellum cleared Johnny Collins and set his sights on Whitener, it was a race against the leader and the clock for the new second place runner as the laps quickly approached 30.  Kellum caught Whitener with two to go, then made the winning pass in turn one of the last lap to seal a thrilling victory as Mark Whitener drove to the scale house in second place.  Johnny Collins hung on to take the third spot and Ivedent Lloyd claimed fourth, as Jackie Nosbisch charged to the checkers in the fifth spot.

As the Budweiser Modifieds lined up for their feature race, many of them were still licking their wounds from Friday night’s brutal affair at the opposite end of the Ocala National Forest, and many were out to right the wrongs of the previous night.  Both Garret Stewart and Jeff Mathews failed to complete all of the laps at Ocala, but at least their cars were in relatively one piece while others were not so fortunate.  Kyle Bronson was coming off of a victory at Ocala, and was looking for another at Volusia’s fast half mile.

 Garret Stewart led from the pole but Mathews snatched the lead away on the first lap.  Meanwhile quite a tussle developed between Johnny Collins, Kyle Bronson, Wayne Hammond, and Jamie Carter, as all of them battled for position throughout the race.  The one constant was Mathews and Stewart running first and second until a late race caution changed everything with only one lap remaining, bunching up the field and leaving a one lap dash to the checkers.

Stewart had been caught napping on an earlier restart that allowed Mathews to maintain the lead, but this time Stewart was all over “The Repo Man” as the green flew.  But so were Johnny Collins and Kyle Bronson, and as that wad of cars rocketed into turns one and two, Mathews was able to hold off Stewart despite the 67 machine having inside position on the 33.  So Jeff Mathews collected another victory as Garret Stewart shook his head over being so close and yet so far away.  Johnny Collins held on for third place while Kyle Bronson and Wayne Hammond rounded out the top five.

It took days to determine winner of the last Taylor Racing Products Sportsman Division feature race at Volusia Speedway Park thanks to a technical issue that had to be answered via communication with a manufacturer, but in the end Shaun Daugharty picked up a much needed and appreciated win.  Aaron Barness still has a firm grip on the points lead, but Daugharty intends to make a race out of it, so as the green flag waved and Chris Day led the field into turn one, Daugharty was right behind him and on a mission.

A protest was launched, sending both the 57 of Stanton Mills and the 00 of Shaun Daugharty to quarantine and on to the tech shed for a long night of dismantling, measuring, and inspecting.  As of Sunday morning no official determination has been forthcoming, as tech officials again will have to research information in order to reach a fair and correct decision.  that leaves Stanton mills as the unofficial winner, with Danny Vogel in second place followed by Shaun Daugharty in third.  Chris Day is fourth for the moment and Aaron Barsness will wait for news from fifth place.

Chad Scranton has become a dominant force in the Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants Thunder Stocks since mid season, and so far the only driver who has been able to dispute that has been Philip Brown, and with Brown not behind the wheel of the 13 and Scranton starting on the outside of the first row, most everyone expected to see Scranton get another first place trophy.  But Scranton’s partner on the first row was Mike Tovet,and Tovet apparently never got the memo stating that Scranton was virtually unbeatable.

There race quickly became a battle between Tovet and Scranton, with Scott Mooers and Matt Schell having an equally tough struggle over the second spot. And on lap 14 the fight between Schell and Mooers got a bit physical, as there was contact between the two on the front stretch resulting in Schell’s 57 bouncing off of the wall and back into Mooers’ 10 car.  That sent Mooers flying into the barrier in turn one, trashing the second of his race cars in two nights after a violent encounter with the wall at Ocala the night before.

Matt Schell would continue on to challenge the leaders as Scranton had gotten the better of Tovet, but with the restart leaving a one lap sprint to the finish, Tovet had one last shot at Scranton’s dominance.  As the three cars rocketed down the frontstretch on the restart, there was contact that punctured a tire on Scranton’s machine.  Tovet assumed the lead with Schell right on his bumper, but managed to hold Matt Schell at bay to win the race.  Scranton would limp to the scales in third place, while Robert Donaly claimed fourth and Raymond Wheeler finished fifth.

Volusia Speedway Park will return to action on September 11th as we pause to remember the events on that date in 2001.  All emergency first responders including police, fire, and rescue, and all members of the military, will be admitted free of charge with proper I.D. and will see racing action from the Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants Thunder Stocks as they battle for a $500 check.  In addition, The Daytona Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram Late Models and the Taylor Racing Products Sportsman Division, will return and be joined by the hard charging 4 Cylinder Challengers, plus the popular DAARA vintage cars.  For more information on upcoming events at the south’s fastest half mile, please visit us at www.VolusiaSpeedwayPark.net for the latest schedule updates.

Volusia Speedway Park Results for 9/4/10

Labor Day Late Model Shootout (30 laps/$2500 to win)

1- 41K John Kellum