TALLADEGA, AL (3-24-10) – Venturini Motorsports swept the top five positions on the speed charts at Talladega Superspeedway during the two-day ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards open test.

Steve Arpin, in the no. 55 Toyota, led the Venturini Motorsports contingent with a top speed of 190.666 mph.

“The open test is a true testament to the hard work and long hours that the Venturini guys have put into this program,” said Arpin. “We have five really good cars and that shows in the speed charts. My car was better in drafting than single car runs and drafting was our main focus today. We have made leaps and bounds from where we were in Daytona and I really look forward to coming back here in April.”

NASCAR Nationwide Series veteran John Wes Townley, also in a Toyota, was second quickest overall at 190.624 mph. Townley finished third in the ARCA opener at Daytona. ARCA veteran and two-time series winner Mark Thompson was third fastest at 190.552 mph. Thompson finished second in the Daytona opener.

Mikey Kile made it four Toyotas in the top-five positions after the West Lake, Louisiana rookie wound up fourth on the overall chart.

“We were really pleased with the way the car handled in the draft runs,” said Kile. “It felt good all day and we continued to get faster. We were top of the speed charts in single car runs and fourth overall in drafting. It is pretty neat when your team brings five cars to the test and all five cars were quickest all day. We are 100% at test sessions this year! Unstoppable.”

Kile was referring to Venturini’s perfect track record in ARCA testing in 2010. After four early-season open tests at Daytona, the Palm Beach Int’l Raceway road course, Texas Motor Speedway and Talladega, the Concord, North Carolina-based Venturini multi-car team has been fastest at every test.owensalliheadshot.jpg

Alli Owens, the only Chevy in the Venturini five-car team, was fifth fastest overall at 189.156 mph.

“I am really strong at superspeedways and it really showed during the test session,” said Owens. “Coming from Daytona and after we got a couple races under our belts, I was able to concentrate and figure out what the car really needs and wants. All five of Venturini’s cars were at the top of the charts and that is what we expected. We felt confident coming into test and we feel very confident going into the race.”

by Dave Westerman

After dealing with some internet issues on opening night, TV Showcaster was back up and running last week with free live webcasts from Volusia Speedway Park. The weekly webcast continues this Saturday night, March 27th starting at 7PM EDST.

Post FX Digital Video, producers of the webcast, have added an extra camera to cover this years’ racing action at Volusia. There are now four cameras catching the action from several locations around the race track.

To watch the webcast, simply log on to www.tvshowcaster.com and follow the instructions. The webcast is entirely free thanks to the sponsorship of America’s Incredible Pizza and can be viewed live from anywhere in the world where a high-speed internet connection is available. Again, the webcast begins at 7PM EDST and continues until the entire racing program has been completed.

Post FX Digital Video plans to continue webcasting through the first couple of months for of the racing season. Unless more sponsorship can be secured, they may be forced to “pick and choose” events for the rest of the year. Sponsorship is very affordable and will give each sponsor incredible coverage.

If you would like to sponsor webcasts on www.tvshowcaster.com, contact Dean Baker at (407) 299-8114 or by e-mail at dean@postfxdigitalvideo.com.

This week, viewers will enjoy a full racing program featuring the Late Models, Sportsman, Thunder Stocks, Four-Cylinder Challengers and the traveling Florida Mini Sprint Series.

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(03.25.10 – Orlando Speedworld) Week #3 of the 2010 FASCAR Weekly Racing Series at Orlando Speedworld will be highlighted by the 2010 debut of the E-Modifieds and Pro-Trucks as they will be making their first starts of the young season at the 3/8 mile bull-ring.

It’s a full night of racing with General Admission just $10.00/adults and of course Kids 11 & under are FREE. Grandstands will open at 6:00pm!

ORLANDO SPEEDWORLD

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE for FRIDAY 3/26/10
4:00 – Pit Gates Open
5-7:15 – Division Practice
6:00 – Grandstands Open
7:30 – Driver’s Meeting – MANDATORY
7:55 – Parade Lap / National Anthem
8:00 – Racing Begins

FEATURE RACE LINE UP:
Bandoleros – 12 laps
Super Stocks – 25 laps
Pro-Trucks – 25 laps
Legends – 25 laps
— INTERMISSION —
E-Modifieds – 25 laps
Mini-Stocks – 25 laps
Sportsman – 25 laps
Strictly Stocks – 20 laps

** REGISTRATION FOR ALL DIVISIONS CLOSES AT 7:00PM. ANY/ALL DRIVER(S) NOT REGISTERED AT THAT TIME WILL START IN THE REAR – NO EXCEPTIONS **

General Admission – $10.00 Adults
Kids 11 & under FREE!

by BJ CavinOcala Speedway’s racers have been going through the motions of racing for almost a month now, getting ready for the start of the 2010 points season in all divisions. And with the official points race beginning with the races on April 2nd, Ocala Speedway will give the racers one last chance to test and tune outside of race conditions with a practice this Saturday, March 27th.

The Saturday “last chance” practice will follow the same format used in the other practices so far in 2010 at Ocala Speedway, with rotating sessions by division. The pit gate will open at noon, with the first cars on the track at 1PM. The track will remain open for practice until 4PM. Admission will be $15 per person with kids 12 and under free, and spectators are welcome but must sign a pit waiver and observe from the turn one bleachers inside the pit gate.

For more information on this practice session, or on the racing schedule this Friday night, please visit our official website at www.OcalaSpeedway.com, or phone the track at 352-622-9400.

Top Gun Sprint Car Series Points as of March 20, 2010

Car Driver Points

1. 02 Gene Lasker 150

2. 1* Tim George 146

3. 22 Shawn Murray 144

4. 14 Ryan Partin 142

5. 6 Mike Schroder 140

6. 9 Donny Avera 138

7. 16 Shane Kreidler 136

8. 21Z Harley Zimmerman 134

9. 0 Phillip Pettay 132

10. 8 Rich Alexander 130

11. 21A Amanda Ferguson 128

12 30 John Crowder 126

13. 34 Darren Orth 60

14. 0X Robert Bozeman 60

by Dave Westerman

Race fans will once again have action aplenty Saturday night at Auburndale Speedway as the track concludes the month of March with an eight division racing program.

The Open Wheel Modifieds make their third appearance of the year along with the Modified Mini Stocks, V-8 Bombers, Mini Stocks, Scramblers, Legend Cars and Bandoleros. The Pro Challenge Cars are also slated for their season debut.

Racing has been nothing short of phenomonal in the Modified class this year. With so many competitive cars, the entire top ten in points are separated by just 25 markers going into this weeks 40 lap event.

Big Wayne Morris is expected to have a new powerplant under the hood of his #98 this week as he looks for his first feature win of the year. Morris leads the point chase by just five over Harold “Boom Boom” Cannon while Cannon is just one point ahead of third place Von Pope who, in turn, is just one digit ahead of fourth place Kevin Macy.

Another class that is showing tons of competition each week are the Mini Stocks. Chris Spring, the only driver to win twice this year in the class, holds a 14 point edge over both Chris Narramore, Sr. and Fred Harrison, Jr. who are tied for second. Donnie Guy is fourth, some eight points back of the second place duo.

Jason Rendell is two for two so far this year in the Modified Mini Stocks and is looking for a hat trick Saturday night. Consequently, Rendell tops the point battle by four right now over second place Scotty Sharpe.

Josh Borem has finished no worse than second in any of the V-8 Bomber features so far this year and that has him a solid 36 markers in front of second place Buddy Phillips, Jr.

The Scramblers return to action this week with Matt Johns holding a 28 point advantage over Kimberly Gullett.

Legend Car action has been dominated by “No Brake” Jake Perkins who has scored back-to-back victories and he leads second place drivers Gerald White, Jr. and Mason Ketterman by eight points going into racing action this week.

The Sunshine Region of the Performance Pro Challenge Series will also do battle Saturday evening. This will be the Series’ second race of the year. Ryan Rust of Port St. Lucie won the season opener at Citrus County Speedway two weeks ago over Jarrett Snowden and Paul White.

Pit gates open this Saturday at 2PM, grandtands open at 5PM and racing starts at 7PM.

Points as of March 20, 2010:

OPEN WHEEL MODIFIEDS:
1-#98 Wayne Morris 206
2-#3 Harold Cannon 201
3-#102/01 Von Pope 200
4-#19 Kevin Macy 199
5-#87 Keith Lilley 196
6-#07 Harold Crooms 193
7-#56/71 JAmes Wright III 191
8-#101 David Grogan 188
#03 Kyle Bookmiller 188
10-#75 Bobby Blake 185

MINI STOCKS:
1-#42 Chris Spring 226
2-#21 Fred Harrison, Jr. 212
#3 Chris Narramore, Sr. 212
4-#33 Donnie Guy 204
5-#46 Randy King 168
6-#5 Tony Davidson 94
7-#55 Steve Routt, Jr. 80
#155 James Pate 80
9-#88 Kevin Steadman 76
10-#40 Jason Swilley 72

MODIFIED MINI STOCKS:
1-#15 Jason Rendell 88
2-#89 Scotty Sharpe 84
3-#45 Dennis Jones 70
4-#26 Jimmy Pugh 56
5-#55 Mike Sweet 48
6-#33 Chris Allen 46
7-#38 Burt Morse 38
#44 Mike Lawhorn 38
#37 Brandon McSwain 38
10-#09 Jessica Robbins 32

SCRAMBLERS:
1-#51 Matt Johns 138
2-#28 Kimberly Gullett 110
3-#66 Brian Tyre 80
#71 Dave Canfield 80
5-#52 Gary Brown 48
#9 Ashton Hunt 48
#66 Reggie Ware 48
8-#77 Jeremy Watts 46
9-#1 Brandon Henault 40
#00 Chad Cutting 40

STREET STOCKS:
1-#5 Matt McCrary 202
2-#42 Jeff Waterman 196
3-#56 James Wright III 184
4-#4 Dave Colpritt 138
5-#16 Andy Harvard 122
6-#17 Kyle Hall 104
7-#3 Kevin O’Quinn 90
8-#396 Levi Parsons 78
9-#29 Bobby Mobley 76
10-#65 Ken Lawrence 66

V-8 BOMBERS:
1-#111 Josh Borem 212
2-#05 Buddy Phillips, Jr. 176
3-#56 James Wright, Sr. 162
4-#0 Paul Bookmiller 158
5-#96 Larry Chumney, Sr. 130
6-#14 Donnie King 96
7-#29 Brian Harbin 78
8-#17 TJ McLean 58
9-#29 Roger Blevins 48
10-#29 Matt Bozeman 42

LATE MODELS:
(These are Auburndale Points not Series points)
1-#07 Jeff Scofield 105
2-#49 Ron Lofquist 97
3-#85 Austin Kirkpatrick 92
#407 Jason Vail 92
5-#127 Kyle Maynard 84
6-#50 Perry Lovelady 81
7-#21 Kevin Ingram 80
8-#57 Joe Winchell 75
9-#70 Jeremy Gerstner 72
10-#62 John Gerstner 70

SPORTSMAN:
1-#71 Dave Dunkin 98
2-#8 Austin Carr 76
3-#51 Kyle Alford 64
4-#13 Mark Medeiros 50
5-#113 Aaron Williamson 44
#1 Bart Weatherford 44
7-#22 Fred Harrison 34
8-#89 Brett Jenkins 30
#92 Ted Head 30
10-#60 Rick Fiore 28

MINI CUPS:
1-#14 Sam Scott 50
#07 Harold Crooms 44
3-#08 Tyler Scofield 44
4-#74 John Beach 42
5-#48 Carlos Pinto 36
6-#21 Rick Ragan 32
7-#27x Dale Pulst 28
8-#22 Rick Cline, Sr. 26
9-#47 Brandon Beach 24
#20 Brady Marshall 24

LEGENDS:
1-#59 Jake Perkins 90
2-#38 Gerald White, Jr. 82
#22 Mason Ketterman 82
4-#8 Justin Brown 80
5-#07 Dave Gleason 58
#31 Lynn Wiles 58
7-#17 Mike Gleason 50
8-#21 Devon McLeod 46
9-#4R Zach Napoleon 44
10-#5 Seth Adams 36

BANDOLEROS:
1-#38 Cameron White 98
2-#13 Ryan Shattuck 46
3-#11 Coty Bibeau 44
4-#1 Mark Bibeau 34

VSP MEDIA

Barberville, FL (March 24, 2010) Volusia Speedway will take on a more tropical feel this Saturday night with Island Night and the Ms Volusia Speedway Park 2010 competition. Several young ladies have signed up for the opportunity to represent Volusia Speedway Park for one year.

Judging will be begin at 6 pm and consists of club wear modeling, sportswear judging and an on-stage question with the top 3 contestants. The winner will receive $500 while the first and second runners-up receive trophies. Additional prizes from area sponsors include a photo shoot with Jim Jones Photography and a manicure from Jenni Saul at Sheer Perfection in Astor. A panel of judges will be evaluating the entries, but fans will be involved in the final voting as well. Competitors must be 18 years of age and pre-registered. Registration forms can be found at www.volusiaspeedwaypark.com.

Florida Mini Sprints make a welcome return to Volusia Speedway on Saturday night. Daytona Dodge Chrysler Jeep Late Models, Taylor Racing Products Sportsman, Amsoil Thunder Stocks and 4-Cyl Challengers round out the Island Night program. David Clegg will be looking to repeat his success from March 20 this Saturday and Aaron Barsness will be the man to beat in the Taylor Racing Products Sportsman. Aaron has won both regular season Sportsman events in 2010 and will be looking for a third.

Pit gate opens at 4 pm with racing action at 7:30 pm. General Admission is $12.00, Seniors (Age 60+) $10.00, Students 11 – 15 $6.00, children 10 and under always FREE. Drive-in parking is $10.00 per car plus general admission.

Volusia Speedway Park is located 15 miles west of Ormond Beach, FL on State Road 40. Additional information and updates will be available on the website – www.volusiaspeedwaypark.com, or call 386-985-4402.

(03.23.10 – New Smyrna Speedway) The Sunoco National Tour will take center stage this Saturday Night (3/27) at New Smyrna Speedway with the Southern Salute 200. The former ASA Late Model National Tour will be making it’s only Florida stop of 2010 with 200 laps around the high-banked half-mile.

Joining the Late Models on the schedule will be Pro-Trucks, Super Stocks and Strictly Stocks. This will be a non-points race for the local support divisions.

There will be a Practice on Friday (3/26) for the four racing divisions beginning at 1:00pm.

Sunoco National Tour Officials announced that the conventional (ABC Type) bodied cars will be allowed to participate in the event with a 50lbs. weight penalty. The cars, other than body, must be 100% ASA legal in order to compete.

General Admission is $20.00 Adults
All Active Military with I.D. $15.00
Kids 11 & under Free

Pit Entry is $35.00/person each day (Fri-Sat)

Tentative Schedule for Friday – 3/26/10

1:00pm Registration Opens
1:30pm Pit Gates Open
2:00pm Sunoco National Tour Safety Tech – All Cars
3:00pm Drivers/Crew Chiefs/Spotters Meeting
3:30pm Sunoco National Tour Practice (1hour)
4:30pm Local Divisions Practice (30 min)
5:00pm Sunoco National Tour Practice (1 hour)
6:00pm Local Divisions Practice (30 min)
6:30pm Sunoco National Tour Practice (1 hour)
8:30pm Track Closes

Tentative Schedule for Saturday – 3/27/10

9:30am Registration Opens
9:30am Garage Opens
10:00am Sunoco National Tour Tech Opens
11:30am Sunoco National Tour Drivers/Crew/Spotters Meeting
12:00pm Sunoco National Tour Practice (90 min)
1:30pm Local Divisions Practice (2 hours)
2:00pm Sunoco National Tour Qualifying Tech Begins
4:00pm Sunoco National Tour Qualifying
5:30pm Local Divisions Practice (1 hour)
6:45pm Local Divisions Drivers Meeting
7:25pm Innvocation / National Anthem
7:30pm Local Feature – Strictly Stocks
8:00pm On-Track Autograph Session
8:30pm Pre-Race Ceremonies / Driver Introductions
8:45pm Sunoco National Tour – Southern Salute 200
9:45pm Local Features – Pro-Trucks / Super Stocks

by BJ Cavin
A new twist will debut at Ocala Speedway this Friday night as the first Pepsi Wheel of Fortune Night has arrived on the 2010 schedule. The Pepsi Wheel of Fortune will mean extra cash going to both racers and fans, and a lucky fan’s spin will determine who gets the bonus. Money determined by the spin of the wheel will be distributed to the payout due to a lucky racing division, and/or to the nightly 50/50 pot. Fans and racers will be given complete details at the track on Friday.

After nature interrupted everyone’s plans back on March 12th, Ocala Speedway will again attempt to debut their newest regular racing division this Friday, March 26th. After a couple of years of waiting, the Sportsman racers are finally a part of Ocala’s regular schedule, paired on alternating Friday nights with the Open Wheel Modified Division for two race weekends a month. Fans should expect a strong showing of Sportsman cars as the drivers have begged Ocala Speedway owner Mike Peters for this opportunity ever since the track returned to dirt racing.

The Open Wheel Modified cars will be racing for the first time in 2010 in what will be their only non points outing before the race to the championship begins in April, and the Ocala Gladiators will also be getting a first shot at race conditions. That makes three divisions that have no track time outside of open practice sessions thanks to weather, while others have at least one actual race in the books and some have two races.

A division returning to action on the 26th will be the Hobby Stocks, coming off of a hard fought $1000 to win race last Friday that went to East Palatka’s Jody Wells. After spending most of last season racing at Putnam County Speedway, Wells has proudly served notice that he has the skills to compete with, and even beat, the racers from the other Florida dirt tracks. There is no doubt that the Ocala regulars took note and will be looking for the black number 11 car this Friday night.

And after running on Ocala’s opening night back on March 5th, the Amsoil V8 Thunder Stocks will return for their second outing of the season. Michael Stalnaker, who raced on asphalt at Bronson Motor Speedway in 2009, returned to Victory Lane on clay at Ocala, followed by Ocala veteran Harold Erickson, and another former Putnam County Speedway racer, Jerrid Bennett.

The pit gate will swing open at 2PM on Friday afternoon, and spectators will be admitted to the grandstand area at 5PM. As usual, heat racing is scheduled to begin at 8PM with B mains and features to follow. For admission prices and a look at the complete schedule for racing at Ocala Speedway, please visit www.OcalaSpeedway.com, or phone the track at 352-622-9400.

FDTN MEDIA

Merritt Island, FL (March 21, 2010) Florida’s newest all dirt website, www.floridadirttracknewxs.com, is proud to do live updates on Volusia Speedway Park on Saturday nights. A number of people went to the forum to see live updates on the racing action last Saturday night.

“I have enjoyed doing the live updates,” said Jane Smith, owner of floridadirttracknews.com. “People seem to like it if they cannot make it to the track that night and so far we have had a fairly good audience each Saturday night.”

“Florida Dirt Track News offers to the latest updates on all eight dirt tracks in the State of Florida although Putnam County Speedway is up-in-the air this year as to whether they will run or not and Northwest Florida Speedway will not start their racing until April due to the owner having surgery.”

“No other track in Florida offers the live updates each week like is being done at Volusia Speedway Park. You can read the action as it is happening. I have added Cover-It-Live to the site but so far it has not worked and I have put the updates on the forum instead. Cover-It-Live keeps telling me that I am not on-line but I am but I am trying to work out the technical problems so it does work.”

“However, if you have any questions during the live update, you are welcome to post them on the forum or if you need to know where someone finished, I will do my best to give you that information.”

“Fans will be in for a treat this Saturday night, March 27th, as Volusia will host Island Night with the crowning of Ms. VSP. On the racing program it will be the Daytona Dodge Chrysler Jeep Late Models, Taylor Racing Products Sportsman, Amsoil Thunder Stocks, 4 Cylinder Challengers and FL Mini Sprints. Catch live updates on the website.”

“Websites do cost money and we have added a paypal account in case someone would like to donate towards keeping the site alive and well. Just click on paypal and it will take you to the account.”

“If you have any comments on the site or would like to recommend that something be added that we have not yet added, please e-mail racingjls@aol.com with your suggestions. All suggestions are welcome and we appreciate any input you may have. Florida Dirt Track News is here for the Florida dirt fans and we intend to make it the best site there is for Florida dirt track racing.”

For weekly live updates from Volusia Speedway Park, go to www.floridadirttracknews.com and just click on the forum. Possibily in the future, we can have live updates from other Florida dirt tracks when we travel for another show but for now, it is just Volusia Speedway Park that we cover.

For more information on Florida Dirt Track News, go to www.floridadirttracknews.com. Florida’s newest dirt track website featuring all eight dirt tracks in the State of Florida. For advertising information, please contact racingjls@aol.com or go to the website.