Checkered Flag Sprints
“Due to the impending tropical storm Punta Gorda Speedway is canceling the events planned for this weekend. Tropical storm warnings are posted thru Bonita Springs and are forecasted to be moved even further northward. There will be no Friday night practice or Saturday racing. “
Fab 4’s brought out their feature first as several heat events were shelved for features only in the wake of the drizzle. Feature winner Kerrington McFadden was speechless at his win, but mom was yelling for joy. Linda Badali ran second, with Kyle Rice third, Kim Mabbitt fourth and Jarrett Reynolds fifth.
Mod Mini’s were second up on the track with only three car present, but even with Ronnie Allen running away with the feature, John Pummel Jr and Joe Rice ran side-by-side the entire feature event and gave the crowd a great race lap, after lap. Pummel, Jr won the battle for second.
TQ Midgets went straight to feature event racing, and saw Mike Belusar take the win with Ted Durfee second, the ageless Jake Duffy third, Geoff Stutz fourth and Jamie Barnum fifth. That will mix the points up for the top 3 trio to almost even stevens.
Chris Scott of Nokomis won the Road Warriors Feature, make that four-in-a-row. Beating Rick Reed of Arcadia, second, and Logan Leonard in third. But, closer inspection in Tech saw the top-3 DQ for different infractions, leaving Chris Loney with his first win of the young season. Second would go to Jason Miller, followed by Derrick Horton third, Don Jericka over came a self inflicted head on collision with Blaine Baer to take fourth and Jesse Gargus got the finale top-5 spot.
Bandolero’s brought 4 cars out for the Young Guns seat time and in only his second race ever, Johnny Homes met with disaster as Shawn Hooven slipped up in turn 2, sending the youngster into the back stretch wall just out of the turn. Homes was OK, but the car will need a little work. In the end the winner was Shawn Hooven in Mark Green’s #14 car, followed by brother Mark Hooven second and Reese Chase in third.
Open Wheel Modifieds had the longest feature of the night scheduled at 35 laps and by the end several tempers would flare, and many meeting would be had by several pairs of drivers. Out lasting the ruckus would be the ill running L.B. Skaggs machine.
“It was down on power all night, but it held on til the finish.” stated a smiling Skaggs in Victory Lane.
Second to Skaggs would be a spectacular driver by Phil Morrison of Punta Gorda, chased by a hard charging Sean McLaughlin of Port Charlotte in third. Fourth went to Lehigh Acres’ Johnny Allen, with Sun Shine Speedway alumni Timmy Moore of St. Pete, fifth.
Mini Cups had the #99 of 9 year old Reese Chase, dusting the #99 of 8 year old Johnny Marra, as the Marra car slowly lost air pressure in the right rear.
Legends were back in action with Kevin Hendry taking the win, followed by; Mitch Verhaagh second, Mark Hooven third, Mike Fazio fourth and Carl Haag fifth.
Pro-4’s finished off the 9 class race evening with 15 cars scheduled in the 25-lap feature and Ryan Collver out classed the field for the easy win, with Stuart Vandevender (say that 3 times real fast) second, Phillip Ellis Jr, third in a newly bought replacement car for the first race blown motor car and fourth was Wally Smith, with Ken Badali salvaging fifth.
Next week, July 3 rd , Punta Gorda Speedway is CLOSED for the Daytona races and 4 th of July celebrations. Returning July 10 th with PGS Limited Late Models for 50-Laps, Sportsman for 35-Laps, and including the return of the “COWBOY CADILLACS.” Also on the schedule will be Road Warriors, Pro-4’s, Fab-4’s and the Dwarf Cars.
We’ll See You at the RACES!
Punta Gorda Speedway Results 6/26/2010
Fab 4
1. 33 Kerrington McFadden
2. 30 Linda Badali
3. 7 Kyle Rice
4. 63 Kim Mabbitt
5. 2 Jarrett Reynolds
6. 21x Jason Wille
7. 82 Robert Conant
8. 36 Crystal Love
9. 07 Shane Moore Jr
10. 87 Skyler Null
11. 30x Zac Campilonga
12. 24 Nick Callen
13. 9 James Daring
14. 27 Tammy Phillips
Mod Mini
1. 68 Ronnie Allen
2. 86 John Pummel Jr.
3. 7 Joe Rice
T.Q. Midgets
1. 30 Mike Belusar
2. 26 Ted Durfee
3. 1 Jack Duffy
4. 5 Geoff Styner
5. 7 Jamie Barnum
6. 6 Jay Stutz
7. 33 Kenny Busch
?
Open Wheel Modified
1. 71 L.B. Scaggs
2. 63 Phil Morrison
3. 99 Sean McLaughlin
4. 14 Johnny Allen
5. 57 Timmy Moore
6. 03 Kyle Bookmiller
7. 14 John Garrett
8. 2 Ralph Bowman
9. 46 Doug Moff
10. 19 Scott McDaniel
11. 12 Eric Ruud
12. 2R John Rogers DNS
Road Warriors
1. 33 Chris Loney
2. 10 Jason Miller
3. 27 Derrick Horton
4. 5 Jeremy Daring
5. 29 Don Jericka
6. A1 Jesse Gargus
7. 77 Blain Bair
8. B1 Cody Allen
9. 97 Chris Scott D.Q.ed in Tech
10. 1 Rick Reed D.Q. ed in Tech
11. !8 Logan Leonard D.Q. in Tech
Pro 4
1. 04 Ryan Collver
2. 36 Stuart Vandevender
3. 29 Phillip Ellis
4. 63 Wally Smith
5. 30 Ken Badali
6. 82 Corey Bigley
7. 51 Lance Sober
8. 88 John Balzarano
9. 27 Derrick Horton
10. 24 Shane Moore
11. 21x Jason Perkins
12. 21 Jeremy Perkins
13. 87 Charles Null
14. 28 Dylan Bigley
15. 98 Cody Allen D.N.S.
?
?
Bandoleros
1. 14 Shawn Hooven
2. 17 Mark Hooven
3. 99 Reese Chase
4. 06 Johnny Holmes
Mini Cups
1. 99C Reese Chase
2. 99 Johnny Marra
Legends
1. X6 Kevin Henry
2. 9 Mitch Verhaagh
3. 17 Mark Hooven
4. 38 Mike Fazio
5. 48fl Carl Haag
6. 55 Conrad Molter
7. 14 Brady Marshall Dns
8. 57 Taylor McKeeven Dns
9. 52 Ted Filides Dns
Special thanks to Danny Daniels Jr. of the #09 Super Stocks who personally came out onto the track and helped push a broom to aide the crews working to get the show started.
Cars were brought out just before 8pm hour and the drying really got going. Fans enjoyed watching the Safety Truck and Broom Trucks pulling tires, as they slung them through the corners, drivers in Road Warriors, Pro Trucks, Pro-4’s and others had to dodge the tires as they were over taking those crew trucks.
Around 8:05 Mother Nature took exception to the tracks great efforts and the rains returned again.
Officials were faced with calling the events of the evening and rescheduling the Outlaw Modified, Dan Curl Memorial for a future date. Pit arm-bands are good for the next scheduled race event for the racers and crew, while the Grandstand Tickets must be used during the next two weekend events at the track, June 26th or July 10th.
Next week, June 26th, Punta Gorda Speedway has 115-Laps of Late Model action, TQ Midgets, Legends, Mini-Cups, Modified Mini Stocks, Pro & Fab-4’s, plus Young Gun’s Bandolero’s in Action.
July 3rd will see Punta Gorda Speedway closed for the 4th of July weekend break.
July 10th has PGS Late Models 50-Laps, Sportsman 35-Laps, Road Warriors, Cowboy Cadillac’s, Dwarf Cars, plus Pro & Fab-4 Action.
We’ll see you at the races!
By Bill Green, FromBehindTheMIC
Punta Gorda, FL – While the TQ Midgets came to honor one of their own, Ray Smith decided to “WOW” the crowd with a flip into turn 4 that saw him make 6 complete barrel rolls and take everyone’s breath away. After gathering his wits about him, and a short conversation with the safety crew, Smith stood and exited the crumbled midget on his on to the cheers of the fans.
The “Freddy Stutz Memorial” got back under way with newly wed Ted Durfee of Sarasota winning in front of his wife for the first time since the “I do’s. Second went to a hard charging Mike Belusar of nearby Punta Gorda. Seventy-nine year young Jack Duffy of Sarasota, finished a well deserved third, followed by Jamie Barnum from Spring Hill fourth and pole sitter Geoff Styner of Cape Coral settled for fifth.
The Checkered Flag Sprints totally WOWED the crowd with Wild Child in the flag stand and 19 sprints taking part in the 30-lap feature. The feature went flag-to-flag in some 7 minutes, no cautions. The winner was Rookie of the Year contender, Jimmy Alvis Jr, from Seffner, with Brandon’s David Salwiak second, Mark Gimmler traveling over from Palm Beach Gardens, stayed in contention for another title with a run from 11th to third. Fourth went to Scotty Adema out of Fort Myers and fifth was Gary Gimmler, also of Palm Beach Gardens.
Bandelro’s saw the Hooven brother’s battle side-by-side for most of the 12lap feature. The victor this time was Shawn Hooven, over Mark Hooven, second. Third went to Reese Chase , but he was counted first in the Junior class, as he’s only 9 years old.
Open Wheel Lites or Dwarf Cars went 25-laps and saw the third place TQ Midget driver Mike Beluser take the win. Second went to Bo Bass from Eustis, FL. Larry Hubbard Jr. took third for the Hubbard family of racers in the class, while Roger Richmond, Port Charlotte and Tom Prior, Bonita Springs finished fourth and fifth respectively.
Legends saw Josh Williams win a second straight victory and the team car driven by Kevin Hendry go second. Third was pole sitter Brady Marshall, followed by Mike Fazio 4th and Carl Haag 5th.
Road Warriors watched Chris Scott do the Hat Trick with win number, three, in-a-row. Second was Logan Leonard, paced by Blaine Baer third, Rick Reed fourth and Derrick Horton fifth.
Next week Punta Gorda will have Pro Trucks, Open Wheel Modifieds, Pro-4, Fab-4, Super Stocks and Road Warriors. Call 941-575-7223 for ticket prices and information, or visit PuntaGordaSpeedway.com.
Punta Gorda Speedway Results 6/12/2010
Bandolero
1. 14 Shawn Hooven
2. 17 Mark Hooven
3. 99 Reese Chase
4. 06 Johnny Holmes
F.M.R.A Midgets (T.Q’S)
1. 26 Ted Durfee
2. 30 Mike Belusar
3. 1 Jack Duffy
4. 7 Jamie Barnum
5. 5 Geoff Styner
6. 51 Chris Gimmler
7. 33 Kenny Busch
8. 15 Terry Taylor
9. 6 Jay Stutz
10. 17 Ray Smith
Road Warriors
1. 97 Chris Scott
2. 18 Logan Leonard
3. 7 Blaine Baer
4. 1 Rick Reed
5. 27 Derrick Horton
6. 33 Chris Loney
7. 10 Jason Miller
8. 5 Jeremy Daring
9. B1 Randy Kile
10. 77 James Delea
DWARFS
1. 82 Mike Belusar
2. 14 Bo Bass
3. 56 Larry Hubbard Jr.
4. 33 Roger Richmond
5. 69 Tom Prior
6. 00 Donny Bass
7. 77 Larry Hubbard III
8. 21 Sammy Mancuso
9. 4 Andy Prior
10. 2 Larry Hubard Sr.
Legends
1. 6 Josh Williams
2. X6 Kevin Henry
3. 14 Brady Marshall
4. 38 Mike Fazio
5. 48fl Carl Haag
6. 7 Mike Verhaagh
7. 55 Conrad Molter
8. 17 Mark Hooven
9. 9 Mitch Verhaaugh
Sprints
1. 21 Jimmy Alvis Jr.
2. 79 David Slawiak
3. 51 Mark Gimmler
4. 67 Scott Adema
5. 29 Gary Gimmler
6. 20 Amanda Fergerson
7. 19 Keith Butler
8. 75 Darrin Miller
9. 11 Bryan Riddle
10. 19T Mickey Kempgens
11. 47 Jason Bradford
12. 15jr Geoff Styner
13. 69 Ric Voisey
14. 6 Frank Hurst
15. 6x Skeeter Faulconer
16. 7 Robert Parrow
17. 21A Robbie Hackett
18. 31 Channing Conley
19. 1 Billy Riddle DNS
The Checked Flag Sprint Series (CFSS) at Punta Gorta Speedway on Saturday June 12, 2010 with 19 cars to run three heat races and a 30 lap feature race.
David Slawiak in the 79 car won the J.B. BANTA first heat from starting in third position. Scott Adema in the 67 car claimed the win for the GULF AMERICAN heat number two from starting in the last position. Jimmy Alvis Jr. in the 21 car took the BARFIELD third heat win from starting in the third position. (more…)
By Bill Green, Announcer Punta Gorda, FL –
Special 35-Lap events for both Sportsman and Pro Trucks, had lots of fans showing up after the temperatures started to fall from the high of 98 degrees in southern Florida. As racers and crews drank gallons of water to stay hydrated, and fans enjoyed the shade of all the newly installed palm trees, track officials were looking forward to a great night of racing on Florida’s southern most weekly race track.
Heat race action really got everyone’s attention when Kelli Burns, fresh off her 16 th Birthday and racing in her very first Pro Truck event ever, Heat #1, lost control on the back stretch and slammed hard into the outside wall just before the turn 3 entrance to the track. Her green #4 truck came to a stop in turn-3 and pieces of it were strewn for some 150 feet. Kelli complained of neck pain to the first responders on the scene and the call was made for a through check over at hospital for the young driver. (more…)
By Bill Green, Announcer
Punta Gorda, FL – Over 100 cars in the pits and some fifteen hundred plus fans, witnessed the rebirth of Charlotte County’s grand ole track as Punta Gorda Speedway. Saved from extinction by a passionate pair of racers, doubling as businessmen. Kevin Williams and Mike Chase scored a big homerun with their first opening night event. The racers came, the crowd came and even the local media made a respectable showing.
Billed as “Opening Night” for Kevin and Mike’s first chance to make a good impression, they sure got some attention and it looks like they’ve made a great impression on the opening night crowd. Working through the usual unexpected hitches that opening night brings to a motor sports event, Williams made quick decisions and well thought-out changes to the program as the night progressed. From glitches with the sound system, to unexpected volume at the beer window, the officials all made great moves to make the night a huge success and keep fans entertained and happy. (more…)
Punta Gorda Speedway
OFFICIAL RESULTS
Results 5/29/2010
Bandolero
1. 17 Mark Hooven
2. 27 Shawn Hooven
3. 13 Ryan Shatteck
4. 06 Tayler McFadden
5. 1 Keith Sinkul
Pro4
1. 28 Dylan Bigley
2. 04
3. 98 Cody Allen
4. 27 Todd Blevins
5. 2X Todd Blevins
6. 3 Chelsea Irish
7. 88 John Balzarano
8. 30 Ken Badali
9. 2S Lance Sober
10. 87 Thomas Willis
11. 9 Jeremy Daring
12. 21 Jeremy Perkins
13. 21X Jason Perkins
14. 05 David Doty
15. 82 Corey Bigley
16. 00 Chad Cutting
17. 24 Shane Moore
18. 55 Mark Davis
19. 82E Phillip Ellis Jr
20. 61 Paul Richards Sr.
Mini Cups
1. 05 Cindarae Irish
2. 14 Sam Scott
3. 99 Reese Chase
4. 9 Cole Partelo
5. 27 Blaine Ison
Dwarfs
1. 14 Bo Bass
2. 4 Andy Pryor
3. 82 Mike Bellusar
4. 56 Larry Hubbard Jr.
5. 77 Larry Hubbard III
6. 04 Rick Lundeen
7. 00 Donnie Bass
8. 1A John Atherton
9. 83 Jeff Wolfe
10. 25 John Bass
11. 33 Don Wilcox
12. 69 Tom Pryor
13. 21 Sammy Mancuso
14. 02K Matt Lundeen
OWM
1. 46 Doug Moff
2. 25 L.J. Grimm
3. 63 Phil Morrison
4. 75 Johnny Allen
5. 11 Jimmy Wilkens III
6. 03 Kyle Bookmiller
7. 99 Sean McLaughlin
8. 61 Tony Carreno
9. 3 Harold Cannon
10. 29 Zackary Rudd
11.76 James Wilkens Jr.
Legends
1. 6 Josh Williams
2. 00 Darin Coker
3. 17 Mark Fazio
4. 38 Mike Fazio
5. 9 Mitch Verhaagh
6. 14
7. 39 Gerald Campbell
8. 48FL Carl Haag
9. 55 Conrad Molter
10. 48 John Barnes
11. 13 DNS
Road Warrior
1. 97 Chris Scott
2. 1 Rick Reed
3. 7 Blaine Baer
4. 33 Chris Loney
5. 18 Logan Leonard
6. 4 Ralph Gross
7. 96 Joey Morales
8. 27 Derrick Horton
9. 15 Clint Snyder
10. 5 Jeremy Daring
11. 90 Chris Stockon
12. 29 Don Jericka
13. 10 Jason Miller
14. 9 Nic Ortega
15. B1 Randy Kile
16. 57 Pete Vargo
Fab 4
1. 28 Sam Scott
2. 61 Paul Richards Jr
3. 2 Brandon Snyden
4. 33 Cerrington McFadden
5. 30 Linda Badali
6. 82 Robert Conant
7. 00 Mark Milthaler
8. 88 Andrew Ortega
9. 24
10. 2X
11. 87 Skyler Null
12. 7 Kyle Rice
13. 98 Aaron Hardgrove
14. 9 James Darling
15. 55 Elizabeth Cortes DNS
16. 26 Jerry Cutting Dqed crew on the track
The Punta Gorda Speedway will be in action May 29 for its opening night. On the card will be the Open Wheel Modifieds for a 35 lap feature event. You will pull a pill at sign in for starting position in the heat race and that will determine where you start the feature, for example first heat winner on the pole and 2nd heat winner outside pole and so on.
Goodyear treaded is the tire at $106.00 per tire and will be available for purchase at the speedway. Along with the Modified race we will have the Pro4, Fab4, Dwarf Cars, Road Warriors, Legends, Bandolero’s and Mini Cups.
There is a $5.00 fee for pit slabs on a first come first serve basis, although your overall tow vehicle length will determine your slab location. There will be practice on Friday May 28 for 4 hours 4PM till 8PM free of charge for all classes.
Open Wheel Modified Payout (No Entry Fee)
1. 600
2. 475
3. 450
4. 425
5. 400
6. 375
7. 350
8. 325
9. 300
10. 275
11. 250
12. 225
13. 200
14. 175
15. 150
16. 125
17. 100
18. 75
19. 50
20. 50 Thru Field
We would also like to announce there will be a new Goodyear points fund put in place that will start May 29 and run thru December 11, 2010. This points fund will be paid at the year end banquet along with embroidered Goodyear jackets to all the champions.
We would like to thank Goodyear for all their support and dedication to the racing community. We look forward to seeing and meeting all the drivers, crews and devoted fans to the new Punta Gorda Speedway in the coming months ahead.
By Jack Smith
Includes commentary
The long awaited change in ownership at Charlotte County Motorsports Park has finally come to pass. In a press release this afternoon, the speedway announced it will experience a rebirth under a new name and new ownership.
The release from the new management is as follows:
As of 11:00am on Friday 05-07-2010 the airport authority has approved the sale of CCMP.
The new owners Mike Chase & Kevin Williams now own and will be operating Punta Gorda Speedway LLC. They are committed to making the speedway a first class facility. They have named Greg Roeback Speedway Coordinator.
To set the record straight there has been no restoration of any kind at CCMP since we last raced on April 24th, 2010.
Moving forward the new owners have a plan in place to start the clean up and preparing for the Memorial day grand opening of Punta Gorda Speedway on 05-29-2010. We would like to welcome everyone to our grand opening of Punta Gorda Speedway for fun, prizes and great racing atmosphere. A full schedule will be posted soon.
The classes that will be running opening night 05-29-2010 are as follows: Open Wheel Modified 50 lap feature event Pro 4 Fab 4 Road Warriors Mini Cups Legends Bandoleros
PUNTA GORDA SPEEDWAYS NEW FAN FRIENDLY FRONT GATE PRICING IS AS FOLLOWS: ADULTS $10.00 SENIORS $8.00 KIDS AGES 11-17 $5.00 KIDS 10 & UNDER FREE WITH PAYING ADULT
-End of Release-
Fans will be greatly pleased about the new grandstand seating ticket prices. A $10 is much more inline with today’s economy and the south Florida demographics. Kevin Williams is a very successful businessman with a deep passion and personal and family invovement in the Florida racing community. Greg Roeback is a professional all down the line.
Outgoing promoter Bobby Diehl, though he made many mistakes, some of them frightful, gave his heart and soul to the speedway over the last several years. While many will pick his tenure as owner of the speedway apart over the next months, we think it wise to remember how hard he tried, doing the best he could. When the final chapter is written and Charlotte County’s race track has gone the way of Hialeah and Sunshine, Bobby Diehl will have proven to be a positive influence on the Charlotte racing community.
We wish the new ownership and management the best and encourage fans statewide to support the new effort.