By Dave Westerman<\/p>\n
While other tracks were having issues with Mother Nature Saturday,<\/span><\/span>\r\nAuburndale Speedway saw clear, cool, windy weather for week number two of the<\/span><\/span>\r\n2011 racing season that produced three new winners.<\/span><\/span>\r\n\r\nThe Legend Cars made their first appearance of the regular season and showed<\/span><\/span>\r\nup 19 strong even with a number of \"regulars\" not in attendance as they<\/span><\/span>\r\n\"recuperate\" from the February Winternationals.<\/span><\/span>\r\n\r\nYoung sophomore drivers Dakota Baggette and Austin Blankenship split the<\/span><\/span>\r\npair of heat races and made up row one of the 25 lap feature race. Of the<\/span><\/span>\r\nstarters, only two drivers had ever won a regular season feature at Auburndale<\/span><\/span>\r\nSpeedway - Devin McLeod and Justin Brown, but this night would belong to<\/span><\/span>\r\nLakeland driver Baggette who simply had the field covered from start to<\/span><\/span>\r\nfinish.<\/span><\/span>\r\n\r\nBaggette got the jump at the start and began to pull away from Blankenship,<\/span><\/span>\r\nMcLeod and Lynn Wiles before Danielle Stratton's spin slowed the action on lap<\/span><\/span>\r\nseven. Zach Napoleon looped his new mount before another green flag lap could<\/span><\/span>\r\nbe completed to keep the yellow flag flying.<\/span><\/span>\r\n\r\nFollowing the restart, Blankenship got \"freight trained\" and fell back to<\/span><\/span>\r\nfifth as McLeaod and Wiles set their sights on the fleet Baggette only to see<\/span><\/span>\r\ncaution again on lap nine for a tangle between rookie Andy Metz and Brazilian<\/span><\/span>\r\nvisitor Marcello Henriques that sent Henriques to the sidelines for the rest<\/span><\/span>\r\nof the night.<\/span><\/span>\r\n\r\nOnce the green flew it was Blankenship back on the move as he worked his way<\/span><\/span>\r\nback up to second by lap 15. One lap later things got a bit rough for the two<\/span><\/span>\r\nladies in the race as Stratton and rookie Becca Monopoli tangled in turn<\/span><\/span>\r\nthree. Both cars received damage but were able to continue.<\/span><\/span>\r\n\r\nThe race ran the final nine laps under green and Baggette drove away to<\/span><\/span>\r\nclaim his first regular season points-paying feature win at Auburndale. <\/span><\/span>\r\nBaggette, a 15 year old student at McKeel Academy in Lakeland, did score a<\/span><\/span>\r\npair of wins during the January Saturday Legend Car Fun Runs, but those<\/span><\/span>\r\nweren't \"official\" race wins like this one was. Baggette is in his second<\/span><\/span>\r\nseason of Legend Car racing after having take three National and four State<\/span><\/span>\r\nKarting championships.<\/span><\/span>\r\n\r\nBlankenship was impressive with his run back to finish second while McLeod<\/span><\/span>\r\nnabbed third spot ahead of Wiles and Brown. Rounding out the top ten were<\/span><\/span>\r\nMason Ketterman, Anthony Cataldi, Seth Adams, Joey Collins and Gary Verdier.<\/span><\/span>\r\nThe 2011 season for the Sportsman class looks to be a banner one with a slew<\/span><\/span>\r\nof competitive cars on track for the year. For the first time in quite<\/span><\/span>\r\nawhile, two heats were needed to set the starting line-up for the feature with<\/span><\/span>\r\nRichard Elkins, Jr. and OWM Modified veteran Tommy Schnader taking the<\/span><\/span>\r\npreliminary victories.<\/span><\/span>\r\n\r\nElkins raced out to a quick advantage at the start of the 25 lapper as the<\/span><\/span>\r\ncars behind him were really going at it. One driver tried to cut turn four a<\/span><\/span>\r\nlittle too close on lap four and sent the orange cone placed there all the way<\/span><\/span>\r\nto the middle of the front stretch to bring out the first caution.<\/span><\/span>\r\n\r\nLap six saw George Gorham, Jr. go for a spin in turn four. During the<\/span><\/span>\r\ncaution period, third-running Kevin Ingram retired his new machine to the<\/span><\/span>\r\npits.<\/span><\/span>\r\n\r\nElkins continued to set the pace and left the others to fight amongst<\/span><\/span>\r\nthemselves for what they could get. Lap 20 saw opening week winner Lance<\/span><\/span>\r\nDaubach tangle with Brandon Duchscherer in turn two as they battled for third<\/span><\/span>\r\nspot. Scotty Sharpe could not avoid Daubach's car and the altercation put<\/span><\/span>\r\nDaubach out of the event.<\/span><\/span>\r\n\r\nElkins went on to score a wire-to-wire victory, his first in quite some time<\/span><\/span>\r\nhere. Mark Medeiros had a great run to finish second in the Blue Goose team<\/span><\/span>\r\ncar trailed by Schnader, Gorham and James Wright III, again subbing for<\/span><\/span>\r\nregular driver Dave Dunkin in the other Blue Goose machine. Sixth through<\/span><\/span>\r\ntenth were Duchscherer, Sharp, Daubach, Jordan Harris and Ingram.<\/span><\/span>\r\n\r\nThe Open Wheel Modifieds were in action for the first time this year and<\/span><\/span>\r\ndefending track champion James Wright III was unstoppable all night winning<\/span><\/span>\r\nboth the heat and the 35 lap feature. Wright was never seriously challenged<\/span><\/span>\r\nas he took the checker ahead of Josh Todd and Mike Sweet who was very<\/span><\/span>\r\nimpressive in his first OWM race after moving up from the Modified Mini Stock<\/span><\/span>\r\nranks. Ronnie Heard took fourth while Keith Lilley battled an ill-handling<\/span><\/span>\r\ncar all night but still managed a top five.<\/span><\/span>\r\n\r\nAnother big field of Scrambler cars was in attendance with Bill Bennett and<\/span><\/span>\r\nJeramiah Frere splitting heat race wins. The feature belonged to Brian Tyre<\/span><\/span>\r\nhowever as he led from green to checker to take the victory over Bill Bennett,<\/span><\/span>\r\nRonnie Sorensen, George Gorham, Jr. and Jeff Porter. Dave Canfield, Shane<\/span><\/span>\r\nBennett, Bruce Cozad, Eric Wallace and Frere completed the top ten.<\/span><\/span>\r\n\r\n\r\nMatt McCrary took home the Street Stock point championship in 2010 by being<\/span><\/span>\r\nconsistent even though he never tasted victory. That all changed this week as<\/span><\/span>\r\nMcCrary took the lead at the drop of the green and never looked back as he<\/span><\/span>\r\ntook a popular win. Jeff Waterman crossed the stripe in second followed by<\/span><\/span>\r\nheat winner Brian Harbin, Sammy Cressman and Kyle Peters.<\/span><\/span>\r\n\r\nThe Mini Stock feature was a crazy one both on and off the track. Heat race<\/span><\/span>\r\nwinner Marilyn McCrary spun on lap two and was hit by Sonny Miles eliminating<\/span><\/span>\r\nboth from the race. From that point Eugene Davidson ran off to an apparent<\/span><\/span>\r\nwin. However, Davidson, along with second place Jason Swilley and third place<\/span><\/span>\r\nMark Wells were all disqualified in tech for unapproved strut tops that did<\/span><\/span>\r\nnot match.<\/span><\/span>\r\n\r\nChris Nichols, driving his first-ever race, crossed the line fourth but was<\/span><\/span>\r\nawarded the victory. The only other car still running on the track was 2010<\/span><\/span>\r\nScrambler champion Kimberly Gullett who moved up to the class and ended up <\/span><\/span>\r\nwith a second place effort. McCrary and Miles were scored third and fourth.\r\n\r\n<\/span><\/span>\r\nAlan Seay became the only driver to repeat his opening night win as he<\/span><\/span>\r\npassed Mark Roadarmel, Jr. on lap seven then went on to claim the V-8 Bomber<\/span><\/span>\r\nwin. Heat winner Matt Bozeman came on late to finish second ahead of<\/span><\/span>\r\nRoadarmel, Buddy Phillips, Jr. and Byron Curry.<\/span><\/span>\r\n\r\nDaniel Conlin, Jr. finally got his first Bandolero win this week after two<\/span><\/span>\r\nyears of trying. His dad, Daniel, Sr. was running second but dropped out<\/span><\/span>\r\nduring the white flag lap allowing Noah Cornman and Trey Lively to claim the<\/span><\/span>\r\nsecond and third spots. <\/span><\/span>\r\n\r\n This coming Saturday night the Auburndale Trucks make their first<\/span><\/span>\r\nappearance of 2011. Also on the card are the Modified Mini Stocks, Street<\/span><\/span>\r\nStocks, Legend Cars, Mini Stocks, V-8 Bombers, Scramblers, Bandoleros, and<\/span><\/span>\r\nKids Club. Racing starts at 7 PM. Kart racing will also be held on the dirt<\/span><\/span>\r\ntrack on the east end of the parking lot during the day on Saturday. Gates<\/span><\/span>\r\nopen for Karting action at 7AM, practice starts at 10AM and racing at 12 Noon.<\/span><\/span>\r\n For more information call 863-551-1131 or log on to www.auburndaleracing.com<\/a><\/span><\/span>\r\n\r\n\r\n<\/span><\/span>OFFICIAL RESULTS - AUBURNDALE SPEEDWAY - 3\/5\/11:<\/span><\/span>\r\n\r\nLEGEND CARS: 1-#7 Dakota Baggette 2-#87 Austin Blankenship 3-#21 Devin McLeod\r\n4-#31 Lynn Wiles 5-#8 Justin Brown 6-#71 Mason Ketterman7-#00 Anthony Cataldi\r\n\u00a08-#5 Seth Adams 9-#28 Joey Collins 10-#44 Gary Verdier 11-#9 Camron Ray\r\n12-#52 Torstein Larsen 13-#99 Leroy Moore 14-#6 Zach Napoleon 15-#48 Andy Metz\r\n\u00a016-#83 Danielle Stratton 17-#59x Becca Monopoli <\/span><\/span>\r\n\r\nSPORTSMAN:1-#55 Richard Elkins, Jr. 2-#171 Mark Medeiros 3-#121 Tommy Schnader<\/span><\/span>\r\n4-#10 George Gorham, Jr. 5-#71 James Wright III 6-#42 Brandon Duchscherer<\/span><\/span>\r\n7-#89 Scotty Sharp 8-#77 Lance Daubach 9-#15 Jordan Harris 10-#4 Kevin Ingram\r\n11-#8 Joe Dowdy 12-#22 Chuck Harrison, Jr.<\/span><\/span>\r\n\r\nOPEN WHEEL MODIFIEDS: 1-#56 James Wright III 2-#0 Josh Todd 3-#55 Mike Sweet\r\n4-#81 Ronnie Heard 5-#87 Keith Lilley 6-#75 Bobby Blake 7-#65 Ken Lawrence\r\n8-#29 Bobby Mobley DNS #31 Johnnie Newsome<\/span><\/span>\r\n\r\nSCRAMBLERS: 1-#56 Brian Tyre 2-#20 Bill Bennett 3-#84 Ronnie Sorensen\r\n4-#7 George Gorham, Jr. 5-#71 Dave Canfield 6-#1 Jeff Porter 7-#25 Shane Bennett\r\n\u00a08-#93 Bruce Cozad 9-#21 Eric Wallace 10-#68 Jeremiah Frere 11-#77 Jeremy Watts\r\nDNR #67 T. J. Tanner DNR #96 John Robson III<\/span><\/span>\r\n\r\nSTREET STOCKS: 1-#5 Matt McCrary 2-#42 Jeff Waterman 3-#29 Brian Harbin\r\n4-#97 Sam Cressman 5-#53 Kyle Peters 6-#25 Cody McDuffie<\/span><\/span>\r\n\r\nMINI STOCKS: 1-#97 Chris Nichols 2-#28 Kimberly Gullett 3-#4 Marilyn McCrary\r\n4-#53 Sonny Miles \u00a0DQ #5 Eugene Davidson DQ #40 Jason Swilley DQ #55 Mark Wells<\/span><\/span>\r\n\r\nV-8 BOMBERS: 1-#2 Alan Seay 2-#58 Matt Bozeman 3-#81 Mark Roadarmel, Jr.\r\n\u00a04-#05 Buddy Phillips, Jr. 5-#63 Byron Curry DNR: #96 Larry Cumney, Sr.<\/span><\/span>\r\n\r\nBANDOLEROS: 1-#11 Daniel Conlin, Jr. 2-#30 Noah Cornman 3-#24 Trey Lively\r\n\u00a04-#1 Daniel Conlin, Sr.<\/span><\/span>\r\n<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Dave Westerman While other tracks were having issues with Mother Nature Saturday, Auburndale Speedway saw clear, cool, windy weather for week number two of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"publish_to_discourse":"","publish_post_category":"","wpdc_auto_publish_overridden":"","wpdc_topic_tags":"","wpdc_pin_topic":"","wpdc_pin_until":"","discourse_post_id":"","discourse_permalink":"","wpdc_publishing_response":"","wpdc_publishing_error":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,3,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-auburndale-speedway","category-front-page-news","category-race-results"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5449","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5449"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5449\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5451,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5449\/revisions\/5451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}