Volusia Speedway Park | Karnac Racing News

Rain Delays World of Outlaws Sprint Car Season Opener

Showers force a doubleheader on Sunday with Saturday’s show as scheduled at Volusia

Shawn Miller, BARBERVILLE, Fla. – Feb. 17, 2012 – Mother Nature was a villain Friday night at Volusia Speedway Park.

A couple of rainstorms washed out the World of Outlaws season opener in Barberville, Fla., shortly after qualifying had concluded at the 41 ^st annual UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit Racing Equipment. Tomorrow’s race will remain as scheduled with Friday’s event set to resume on Sunday afternoon. Hot laps begin at 12:30 p.m. (more…)

By Scott|2012-02-18T15:51:14-05:00February 18th, 2012|Featured, Front Page News, Series, Volusia Speedway Park|Comments Off

Take Another Bite: Kenny Wallace Captures Second Volusia Victory

University of Northwestern Ohio Drivers Take Three of the Top Five Spots

BARBERVILLE, Fla. – Feb. 16, 2012 – For the second straight night, an emphatic Kenny Wallace found his way to UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit Racing Equipment victory lane at Volusia Speedway Park.

Wallace, who was raised in Arnold, Mo., gave credit to his crew first and foremost in the winner’s circle.

“All the credit goes to my guys and crew chief Billy Smith of Farmington, Mo., who will pilot my car (in qualifying Friday) while I participate in activities surrounding next weekend’s Daytona 500. For me to compete with guys like Michael Long who won the most DIRTcar UMP Modified features last year means a lot,” Wallace said. “I’ve finally started to run good in the dry slick.” (more…)

By Scott|2012-02-17T16:59:08-05:00February 17th, 2012|Featured, Front Page News, Race Results, Series, Volusia Speedway Park|Comments Off

Dollansky uses High Line to Take Second Night of UNOH All Stars at Volusia

Barberville, Fla. (2-16-12)By Brian Liskai Last year at VolusiaSpeedwayPark, Craig Dollansky thought he had a couple of wins but saw them disappear. On Thursday, The Crowd Pleaser charged from his eighth starting spot to pass Daryn Pittman on a lap 9 restart to take the lead and went on to score the win on the second night of the University of Northwestern Ohio All Star Circuit of Champions competition at the 41st Annual UNOH DIRTcar Nationals presented by Summit Racing Equipment.

It was a beautiful race track tonightthey worked hard on it was racey..obviously if I came from eighth. This was a total team effort, said Dollansky beside his Big Game Tree Stands, Aggressive Hydraulics, Aeroquip Performance Products backed #7. This one is for Anita Zwernshe was the biggest World of Outlaws fanthe biggest sprint car fan in the world. (more…)

By Scott|2012-02-17T16:47:54-05:00February 17th, 2012|Featured, Front Page News, Race Results, Series, Volusia Speedway Park|Comments Off

Fast Talkers: Drivers discuss Florida’s upcoming season opener

Expectations are high as the World of Outlaws competitors prepare for Volusia

Shawn Miller – World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series PR

CONCORD, N.C. – Feb. 3, 2012 – With the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series closing in on its season-opening event, everyone is chomping at the bit.

That includes several full-time competitors, who are excited to start the season on Feb. 17-18-19 at the 41^st annual UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit Racing Equipment at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla. It’s an event that includes all three major World of Outlaws series competing Feb. 14-25.

Here’s what some of the World of Outlaw drivers are saying about the UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit:

Jason Meyers (Clovis, Calif.) – “The hard part about Volusia is that all of the best cars are there to start the season. It’s kind of like a Knoxville Nationals at the start of the season. (more…)

By Scott|2012-02-04T00:17:35-05:00February 4th, 2012|Featured, Front Page News, Series, Volusia Speedway Park|Comments Off

University of Northwestern Ohio, Summit Racing Equipment Key Partners of 41st UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit

12-day dirt racing event near Daytona Beach kicks off Feb. 14 at Volusia Speedway Park

Chris Dolack, VP Media/PR BARBERVILLE

Fla. – Feb. 1, 2012 – Volusia Speedway Park is pleased to announce University of Northwestern Ohio has become title sponsor of the UNOH DIRTcar Nationals, having already been presenting sponsor the past three years. Volusia is also excited to announce Summit Racing Equipment as the new presenting sponsor, bringing two powerhouse organizations to the 41^st Annual UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit Racing Equipment.

The 12-day event running Feb. 14-25 at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla., features World of Outlaws Sprint Cars, World of Outlaws Late Models, Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block Modifieds, DIRTcar UMP Modifieds, DIRTcar Late Models and UNOH All-Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Cars. (more…)

By Scott|2012-02-01T22:55:24-05:00February 1st, 2012|Featured, Front Page News, Series, Volusia Speedway Park|Comments Off

Volusia Speedway Park 2011 Regular Season Complete

TO ALL VOLUSIA SPEEDWAY DRIVERS, FANS, EMPLOYEES and SPONSORS THIS IS TO INFORM YOU THAT THE 2011 FRIDAY NIGHT RACING PROGRAM AT VOLUSIA SPEEDWAY IS NOW COMPLETE, I HAD HOPED TO HAVE THE SCHEDULE GO THROUGH NOVEMBER, HOWEVER DUE TO CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND MY CONTROL, I HAVE TO END THE SEASON NOW. WATCH THE WEBSITE FOR ANY SPECIAL RACES THAT MAY BE COMING UP, A SINCERE THANK YOU TO ALL THE LOYAL FANS, SPONSORS, DRIVERS AND EMPLOYEES THAT SUPPORTED THE TRACK DURING THE 2011 SEASON, YOUR DEDICATION DID NOT GO UNNOTICED. BANQUET INFORMATION FOR VOLUSIA WILL BE FORTHCOMING.

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2011 CHAMPIONS: LATE MODELS – DONNIE CHAPPELL**** SPRINT CARS – DANNY MARTIN JR.*** SPORTSMAN – BLAISE HETZNECKER*** MODIFIEDS- JEFF MATHEWS*** STREET STOCKS- PHILLIP BROWN*** THUNDER STOCKS – TOM HUGHES*** 4 CYLINDERS – R J GLASER*** MINI STOCKS – MARK PATERNITI

By Scott|2011-10-04T20:26:44-04:00October 4th, 2011|Featured, Front Page News, Volusia Speedway Park|Comments Off

CLEGG TOPS LATE MODELS AFTER POWER OUTAGE

Mother Nature finally gave Volusia Speedway a break on Friday Night, however it looked like there would still be no racing at the Worlds Fastest Half Mile as the power failed just as the hot lap sessions were coming to a close, Clay Electric needed to be called in to trip a transformer so the power problem could be repaired and after a 2 1/2 hour delay, the power was restored and after consulting the drivers, track operator Ken Sands said lets get this show in, the first heat race kicked off at 10:15 and the final checker flag fell at 11:50, a tribute to Sands’ Volusia staff and to the drivers who elected to stick out the delay & thanks to the fans who were very patient and understood and were not disappointed with some exciting racing. (more…)

By Scott|2011-08-24T04:18:31-04:00August 23rd, 2011|Featured, Front Page News, Volusia Speedway Park|Comments Off

MOTHER NATURE GIVES VOLUSIA A BREAK / MARTIN STREAK CONTINUES

July 29, 2011 –Well Mother Nature FINALLY smiled on Volusia Speedway and the racers and fans were treated to a great night of racing on the big half mile, a great crowd was on hand for the first regular Friday night of racing action. The evening began with the Daytonas Machine Shop Sportsman and Point leader Blaise Hetznecker was out to prove that he will be the man to beat for the championship, starting 5th on the field, Hetznecker wasted no time getting to the front and took the lead from Mark Kinley on lap 2 and never looked back. Rounding out the top 5 were Chris Day, Mark Kinley, Matt McGillivray and Joe Belkey Jr.

14 Budweiser Modifieds were on hand and when it was all said and done it was Kyle Bronson back in the Destination Daytona Victory Lane, Bronson took the lead from Jared Allison on lap 5 and easily cruised home for the win over Allison, Dalton Lanich, Scott Mooers and Garrett Stewart. Point leader Jeff Mathews was involved in an accident on the first lap and was never a factor on this night.

The question in The Daytona Harley Davidson Sprint Car division is who will stop the streak of Danny Martin Jr.? Martin continued his domination of the division and remained undefeated for the year at Volusia, Otto scrape led the field of 23 cars to starter Deric Smith’s initial green flag, Scrape only held the top spot for one lap when Robbie Smith took over on lap 2, then a red came out for Shane Kreidler who flipped his #52 going down the back stretch, Kreider was OK and the action resumed with Smith keeping the top spot til Martin took over on lap 6 and cruised home for the win, Smith held on for 2nd over Matt Kurtz, AJ Maddox and Shawn Murray.

The always exciting Daytona Sportswear Street Stocks saw young James Smith hold off current point leader Phillip Brown for his first win of the season, Smith led for the first 2 laps of the event til Pat Buckley took over the top spot, Buckley looked strong but Smith stayed right on his bumper and when Buckley slipped up on lap 10, Smith took the top spot back and held off all challenges from that point forward, Brown was credited with second over Buckley, Steve Branton with Mick Kulak rounding out the top 5.

Donnie Birdwell put some excitement in the last 2 laps of the Thunder Stock main event, Birdwell took the lead from Alan Lane on lap 4, and was just cruising along until with just 2 laps to go, Birdwells car had a fire start under the hood, but Birdwell was not going to let that stop him, he continued on and came under the checker flag with flames shooting out, stopping in turn 2 for the fire crew to put the fire out, they pushed the car around to Destination Daytona Victory lane for pictures, Birdwell finished ahead of Johnny Blackwelder, point leader Tom Hughes, Brian Shrunk with Alan Lane holding on for 5th.

Chris Pacetti won the Florida Mini Sprint Main event.

SPORTSMAN – Blaise Hetznecker, Chris Day, Mark Kinley, Matt McGillvary, Joe Belkey Jr., Paul Shead, Don Tingley, Heinz Haas, Steve Shead, Tim Hughes, Ronnie Ponce, Blake Spencer
MODIFIEDS- Kyle Bronson, Jared Allison, Dalton Lanich, Scott Mooers, Garrett Stewart, Dale Murray, Rob Underwood, Steve Mooers, Barry Sheffield, Larry Mott, Larry Burkins, Lonnie Wagner Jr., Ryan Crosby, Jeff Mathews
SPRINTS- Danny Martin Jr., Robbie Smith, Matt Kurtz, A J Maddox, Shawn Murray, Brett ODonnell, Otto Scrape, Tim Grubaugh, Terry Witherspoon, Mark Ruell Jr., Dennis Misuraca, Gene Machuga, Brandon Grubaugh, Dan Statter, Gary Avera, Andrew Griffs, Kurt Taylor, Jeff Parks, Troy Knowles, Tony Agin, Shane Krieder, Daniel Bagley, Tim George
STREET STOCKS- James Smith, Phillip Brown, Pat Buckley, Steve Branton, Mick Kulak, Robert Sirmons, Chuck McHone, Jody Stratton, Chris Lane, Mark Maresca, Chris Manucy, Robert Donnelly, Waly Kahrs, Jason Lee, Ken Hall Jr.

By Scott|2011-08-02T01:42:57-04:00August 2nd, 2011|Race Results, Tracks, Volusia Speedway Park|Comments Off

Final Saturday Races at VSP With $100 To Win Street Stocks

by BJ Cavin- VSP Media

BARBERVILLE, FL- Saturday night at Volusia Speedway Park will be a bit nostalgic to longtime fans as it will be the last regular Saturday night program at The World’s Fastest Half Mile in 2011. VSP will have some two night shows that will bring racing to Saturdays, but regular racing will take place on Friday nights beginning on July 22nd with the rescheduled Scott Thompson Memorial. Volusia Speedway will be celebrating “Christmas in July” this weekend, and kids will delight to know that Santa is going to take an evening out of his Florida summer vacation in Daytona Beach to come and visit his favorite race track.

With the Scott Thompson Memorial headlining the first Friday night show on the 22nd, this Saturday will be the final tune up for the Daytona Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram Fiat Late Models to grab some seat time under real race conditions before the big event. That will open the door of opportunity for some of the racers competing in the United Dirt Late Model Challenge Series to come in a week early and take on the big half mile, plus size up Volusia’s seemingly invincible Donnie Chappell. Chappell has literally welded a lock on the Late Model points battle so far in 2011, and seems to be heads above the rest of the regular competition. But then again, when he last took to his home track he found himself trailing the likes of David Clegg as “The Sodfather” earned an impressive win.

And saying good-bye to Saturday night racing at VSP will be quite a party, especially for fans of the Daytona Sportswear Street Stocks. The schedule had called for the Street Stocks to run a $750 to win feature this Saturday night, but the generous support of Absolute Auto has upped the ante to a $1000 to win payout to the winner. That is excellent news to Philip Brown who as of late seems unbeatable every time the Daytona Sportswear Street Stocks hit the clay. But before anyone goes ahead and writes the check out to the driver of the 13 car, fans might want to check and see who else might be planning to chase the $1000 cash carrot, as racers like Grady Christian and James Smith have given Brown about all that he could handle but came up just short of sealing the deal.

The Quality Brands Budweiser Modifieds will be back after a lengthy absence this Saturday, and undoubtedly Jeff Mathews will be ready to reassert his standing on the top rung of the points ladder. Jared Allison and Larry Burkins are battling it out for second place as Allison has the advantage at present, and both are still targeting Mathews despite the lead that the 33 car has built. Mathews has not been unbeatable this season as an accident and a couple of competitors have managed to keep him out of the Destination Daytona Victory Lane at times, so look for the competition to be tough, and look for the 33 to be running at, or very near, the front.

Ronnie Ponce climbed back behind the wheel of the 57P Sportsman last Saturday night and outpaced Aaron Barsness to the checkered flag. That put an end to the winning streak for the dynamic driving duo of Barsness and Scott Lagassee, and it sets the stage for this weekend’s Daytona Machine Shop Sportsman feature to see another fresh face in the Destination Daytona Victory Lane. Meanwhile Blaise Hetznecker has returned the 17H to the top three as he finished right behind Barsness on Saturday night, and Stanton Mills wheeled the 99 machine to fourth place right behind Hetznecker. And don’t forget that Paul Shead was on his way to making all of them look silly until a mechanical woe stopped him in his tracks. If Shead’s car holds together he likely will be the man to beat this time around.

If the fans want to see racing in a division where there is literally no favorite and anyone who shows up could win, then Saturday’s All Quality Products Mini Stock race will be a perfect fit. DJ Nobles holds the points lead over Shirlene Hammond, but just barely, and depending on who may be racing it is a total toss up as to who could win. This will only be the third feature race of 2011 for the Mini Stocks, and both previous races featured an almost totally different fields of cars.

Last Saturday saw the top two in the season points battle make early exits before Volusia Speedway’s Thunder Stocks could take the green for their feature race, and without Tom Hughes or Alan Peacock out there fighting for the win it was a golden opportunity for DJ Nobles to step up and score one for the home team. Nobles was followed by Alan Lane and Donnie Birdwell who both have their machines running with the front pack and are poised to return to victory as well. Hopefully Hughes and Peacock will be back on track for this weekend, but with or without them the competition has been cranked up a notch.

RJ Glaser may still have the points lead over the rest of the Sparkle and Shine Car Wash Challengers, but so far Glaser has not figured out how to put himself into the Destination Daytona Victory Lane. Mark Commitale climbed into Sony Espy’s number 6 on Saturday night and got the win, but right behind him was the brand new version of “Rowdy D” in the 16, as Denica Hetznecker has returned to the track and the front of the pack. Casey Feaster was also back this past Saturday, but failed to crack his way into the top four.

The grandstand gate will open at 5:30PM and the final Saturday night of racing at Volusia Speedway Park will begin with the first heats at 7PM. For more information on the coming switch to Friday night racing, or to check the complete and updated schedule for the remainder of 2011, please visit www.TheVolusiaSpeedway.com.

By Scott|2011-07-13T12:34:23-04:00July 13th, 2011|Tracks, Volusia Speedway Park|Comments Off

Martin and Teed Victorious at Volusia

By BJ Cavin- VSP Media

Photos courtesy of Bob Perran:

The Daytona Harley-Davidson 360 sprints go 4 wide in a salute to Jack Miller

BARBERVILLE, FL- After three consecutive weeks with no racing at Volusia Speedway Park, nature finally granted a pass to the big half mile oval and the postponed “Holy Cow 25” Jack Miller Memorial Race featuring the Daytona Harley-Davidson 360 Sprint Cars took to the clay. The night also featured exceptional racing from the Florida Mini Sprint Association, plus hot action for the Daytona Machine Shop Sportsman Division, the Daytona Sportswear Street Stocks, Volusia Speedway’s Thunder Stocks, and the Sparkle and Shine Car Wash Challengers. (more…)

By Scott|2011-07-10T20:51:21-04:00July 10th, 2011|Front Page News, Race Results, Tracks, Volusia Speedway Park|Comments Off