BARBERVILLE, FL-  Saturday night will bring another full slate of quality racing to Volusia Speedway Park, featuring the highly popular Florida Mini Sprint Association, plus action from Volusia’s own Late Models, Sportsman, Street Stock, Thunder Stock, and Challenger divisions.  In addition to the traditional racing action, the top ten Daytona Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram Late Model racers in the season points race will participate in a Late Model Elimination Event where the drivers will battle each other head to head until only one is left standing.  And after racing every weekend since the season began at VSP, the Budweiser Modifieds will take this Saturday off for a little R&R.

One of the most popular series to visit Volusia Speedway this season is the Florida Mini Sprints, as these little winged monsters blister the clay of the big half mile at over 130 miles per hour.  So far Jesse Teed has dominated the Volusia appearances, but that won’t be the case this time around.  Teed is recovering from a tangle with a wayward power tool in a work related accident, and that will take him out of his mini sprint this weekend, thus opening the door for anyone else who might feel the urge to step up in his place.  And there are a host of others who could fill the role, as the FMSA competitors are evenly matched and always competitive.

Donnie Chappell continues to win races, and that has him sitting solidly on top of the points battle coming into this weekend’s Late Model events.  He will again be the man to beat when the green flag waves from the flagstand on Saturday night in both the feature race and the elimination contest as well, but Matt Hartley continues to be his chief competition and although Hartley may be in second place, he is fully capable of stepping up and taking one from the top dog.  Other Daytona Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram Late Model competitors to watch include Bobby Richardson, David Clegg, and Lawton Minchew.  Those guys may not be current threats to Chappell in the points race, but on any given night one or more could finish with a trip to the Destination Daytona Victory Lane.

Aaron Barsness got the job done last weekend as he outpaced the Daytona Machine Shop Sportsman Division and picked up a win, and it is certain that the 11 car will most likely be a factor this coming Saturday no matter which driver might be behind the wheel.  Both Barsness and Scott Lagasse have risen to the top of the competition at present, but Corey Holley and Blaise Hetznecker remain above the 11 tandem in the points race, but just barely.  Holley was a no show for last Saturday’s race, while after picking up his first win the previous week, Blaise Hetznecker suffered an engine failure before he ever got onto the clay this past weekend and ended up doing a lap in a borrowed Thunder Stock just to get some points.  So things are now very tight at the top of the heap, and certainly this Saturday’s race will provide some changes in the rankings.

The lure of money caused some of the Daytona Sportswear Street Stock racers to be MIA at VSP last weekend, and that opened the door for Phil Brown to grab a win and solidify his perch at the top of the points standings thus far.  Although Brown runs in the front pack every Saturday, his win total hasn’t reflected his consistent performances that had him leading the points in the first place.  Meanwhile Mick Kulack ran his second impressive race in a row on Saturday night, only this time he failed to get the win and settled for second place. That keeps him second in points behind Brown while Chris Brown’s third place finish puts him on an even keel with Bubba Christian.  Depending on how things go this weekend there could be more changes coming at the top of the points ladder, especially if any other racers decide to go missing on Saturday night.

As of late the Thunder Stock racer to beat seems to be Alan Peacock, who raced his way to yet another Destination Daytona Victory Lane celebration last Saturday night despite the best efforts of an equally determined Donnie Birdwell.  Birdwell has strung together a series of impressive finishes as of late and that has enabled him to make some serious gains in the season points race, but Tom Hughes is still the points leader with Peacock a not so distant second.  And consistency has placed Alan Lane in the top three in points so far with the potential to move up further if his fortunes on the track continue to be solid.  The competition seems to be catching up to Peacock’s superiority as of this past week as Peacock had to work for his win, so maybe by this Saturday someone like Birdwell will be poised to outpace the 13 car.

The friendly rivalry between Casey Feaster and RJ Glaser heated up as the Sparkle N Shine Challengers raced under the Sunday afternoon sun this past weekend.  Feaster found something to his liking at the very top of the big half mile and used it to hold off Glaser, who was determined to make the shorter route around the bottom work to outpace the faster route at the top.  But in the end it was Casey Feaster who prevailed again thus remaining at the top of the points totals with RJ Glaser close enough behind him to reach out and grab the leader.  This battle is not going to end anytime soon, and as Feaster admitted after Sunday’s race, Glaser’s moment is coming.  Its just a matter of when.

Volusia Speedway Park will open the grandstand gates at 5:30PM this Saturday evening with races slated to begin at 7PM.  Fans who attended the Sunday afternoon races from this past weekend can present their ticket stubs for $5 off of their admission this Saturday, while prices will remain the same for everyone else.  For more details on this weekend’s action, or to see the complete and updated schedule of events at the World’s Fastest Half Mile, please visit us online at www.TheVolusiaSpeedway.com.

BARBERVILLE, FL-  Volusia Speedway Park racers and fans will get a double helping of action on the World’s Fastest Half Mile this weekend with two days of excitement scheduled.  There will be a full slate of divisional racing on Saturday night beginning at 7PM, including the Daytona Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram Late Models, the Quality Brands Budweiser Modifieds, the Daytona Machine Shop Sportsman Division, the Daytona Sportswear Street Stocks, and the Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants Thunder Stocks.  Then on Sunday afternoon at 3PM there will be a 100 lap Enduro Race sponsored by The Blackwater Inn located on the banks of the beautiful St. John’s River in Astor, plus divisional action from the All Quality Products Mini Stocks and the Sparkle N Shine Car Wash Challengers.  Rules for Sunday’s Blackwater Inn Enduro Event can be found at www.TheVolusiaSpeedway.com.

Donnie Chappell has tightened his grip on the Daytona Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram Late Models, but he is by no means safely out of reach of his competition.  Chappell came on strong toward the end of the 2010 racing season and that trend continued into 2011.  Matt Hartley has also been confidently competitive and remains in striking distance of Chappelle, and Hartley seems determined to make sure that no one else steals any of his thunder while he chases Chappelle up the points ladder.  But don’t tell that to Bobby Richardson, who has been using consistency to stay right at Hartley’s heals, and would love to become the man chasing the leader.

Larry Burkins would just assume that everyone forget about this past Saturday night as the track conditions hurt his efforts at chasing down Jeff Mathews and allowed Jared Allison to draw within easy reach of knocking the big guy down a notch in the points race.  Burkins will have plenty of time and motivation for making up for a not so memorable night, but Allison is not going to make it any easier for Burkins to reel in Mathews either.  And while Matthews got another win on Saturday, the legendary Buzzie Reutimann was all over “The Repo Man” on the final lap and all but managed to steal the show.

The tag team duo of Scott Lagasse and Aaron Barsness had worked all season finding just the right set up for the 11 machine and were poised to shake up the points race in the Daytona Machine Shop Sportsman Division, but Mother Nature threw them a curve ball on Saturday night with a wet racetrack that sent them back to the drawing board on their set up, and that allowed Blaise Hetznecker to enjoy his first post race party in the Destination Daytona Victory Lane.  So that revelation makes Hetznecker the points leader with Corey Holley trailing by 21, and keeps all of the frontrunners close as they battle for the championship.  So now it is up the Hetznecker to follow up on his big win and keep Holley at bay.

The Daytona Sportswear Street Stocks produced one of the most memorable finishes from last weekend’s races as Mick Kulak edged Bubba Christian at the line after trading paint all the way through turns 3 and 4.  That finish also vaulted Kulak in front of Christian in the season points race as both drivers continue to chase Phil Brown.  It also made the three way battle at the top into a much tighter affair where no one can afford a slip up without falling backward in the points race, and that means that this Saturday’s race could shake up the division’s hierarchy once again.  Depending on who races and how well they do, a lot could change drastically between now and this time next week.

Alan Peacock didn’t just win the Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants Thunder Stock feature on Saturday night, he made a mockery of the entire field while most everyone else struggled with a wet race track and never really got going.  That allowed Peacock to edge a little closer to Tom Hughes at the top of the points heap, but Hughes knows that wet conditions won’t be a factor holding him back every week, at least not yet anyway. And Hughes still has quite a lead on everyone else, so he won’t be losing sleep over Saturday’s race.  This Saturday’s weather forecast will undoubtedly produce a totally different scenario with the clay this weekend, so Peacock may not be quite so impressive this time around.

Sunday afternoon’s events will begin at 3PM and will be headlined by the 100 lap Blackwater Inn Enduro Race.  The race is scheduled to pay $1000 to the winner, and is open to anyone with a qualifying car according to the rules posted at www.TheVolusiaSpeedway.com,   All entrants will pay a $50 entry fee, and all cars are subject to the approval of the Volusia Speedway technical staff.  Cars not conforming to the rules, or cars and/or racers not outfitted with the required safety gear, will not be allowed.

The All Quality Products Mini Stocks will get their second shot of 2011 at the World’s Fastest Half Mile this Sunday, and just as was the case earlier in the year, solid field of racers and machines is expected.  Shirlene Hammond won the debut event back on April 2nd, outrunning Roberto Morfin and Billy Howard to the checkered flags.  Nick Kerr grabbed the fourth spot in the race followed by Travis Staats for fifth place.  this Sunday’s race will find some racers already in the area, having raced the previous night at the opposite end of the forest, so the Mini Stock racers will be making a weekend of it just as the race fans will.

Sunday afternoon will also be when the Sparkle N Shine Car Wash Challengers again hit the clay for their feature race, and all eyes will be on Casey Feaster to see if he can pull off yet another win.  Feaster edged past Brandon Haseleu last Saturday night in the final corner, which means that Feaster is making a habit of these dramatic final turn passes as the checkers wave.  But while Feaster is winning, RJ Glaser is still only 6 points from knocking Black Lightnin’ off of the top rung of the points ladder, and Feaster can feel the heat.

Saturday’s racing begins at 7PM, with the grandstand gate open at 5:30PM for spectators and the pit gate open at 4PM for competitors.  Sunday’s action will begin at 3PM with the pit gate open at 12:30.  For more information as to ticket prices and times, please visit www.TheVolusiaSpeedway.com or call the track during regular business hours at 386-985-4402.

BARBERVILLE, FL-  The Daytona Harley-Davidson Sprint Cars will highlight another action packed Saturday night of racing this weekend at Volusia Speedway Park, including a Sprint Car Elimination Race that will pit the fastest of the fast against each other in head to head racing on the World’s Fastest Half Mile.  In addition to the alcohol fueled winged fury of the sprint cars, fans will also see action from five of VSP’s other exciting racing divisions. (more…)