| Tuesday, September 11, 2001 | |
 David Pletcher won the USAR Hooters Procup 250 lap event at Chemung Speeedrome in New York. Pletcher, who is sponsored by Akita Copiers and Buckeye Office Furniture, led the last 80 laps enroute to his first ProCup victory. Earlier this year the Pinellas Park, Florida racer moved to North Carolina. David brought his Mulbire Motorsports number 51 from the 14th starting position to win the race.
The USAR Hooters ProCup will return to Florida for the final race of the year November 24, 2001 at USA International Speedway. Florida stars Mario Gosselin and Derrick Kelley, both of who crashed badly in the September ProCup race will be back to battle Bobby Gill and the other great teams fielded by the growing short track series. But if you can't wait until November to see action Florida biggest and fastest short track be there on Oct. 20 for the NASCAR Goody's Dash Series.
Another Florida racer meeting the challenge on the big short track circuits recently was D.J.Hoelzle, Open Wheel Modified driver from Dunedin, making his debut in the NASCAR Craftsman truck series. Hoelzle started his Ford truck sponsored by Engineous Oil Treatment in the 30th spot and wound up 25th in his first effort at Richmond International Speedway.
 Travis Kittleson and Mike Cope both had good runs in the ASA race at Memphis Motorsports Park on Sunday. Kittleson has spent much of the year with his Missing Child Program as he travels the countryside in the ASA series. He finished eighth at Memphis. Cope, the newest Florida track owner with his recent purchase of Bronson Motor Speedway, finished fifth at Memphis and is ninth in the overall ASA standings. Bronson Motor Speedway has renovation under way under the new ownership of Cope. If you missed the interview on Wednesday's Racin' Talk Radio show with , General Manager Tommy Dunford it's available in our archives. We expect to see the Bullring grab a lot off headlines as the veteran racer gets the speedway in gear.
Southern Thunder (Charlotte County Speedway) will be featuring the fourth race in the Open Wheel Modified Six-Pack Series on September 22, 2001. The Speedway is located just off I-75 in Punta Gorda and is operating under new ownership. General Manager Jonathan Hall said "As a avid race fan, now we can unleash the potential of Southern Thunder at Charlotte County Speedway, there is nothing holding us back. We have a team now and all pulling in the same direction". The track also a the Limited Late Model Six-Pack race this coming weekend and a Halloween Special October 27th with the TBARA sprint cars and Outlaw Modifieds with special Trick or Treat night for the kids.
The New Smyrna Speedway School Bus race was rained out this Saturday and has been rescheduled for Saturday September 15. KARNAC.com's Rick Anges will be on the pole in the 17 bus event with track owner Robert Hart starting on the outside pole. Several local officials and media from the Daytona area will also be in the field. New Smyrna Speedway is undergoing a major facelift with new grandstands and towers in preparation for the 2001 Governor's Cup 200. The new VIP and Press Boxes will be ready to welcome Governor Jeb Bush for Florida's most prestigious event. KARNAC.com has been in touch with the granddaughter of Al Keller, the man in whose honor the race was created, and she is expected to fly in from San Diego for the event on October 13, 2001.
East Bay Raceway settled it's Pony Tail Bob contest on September first when Danny Cates of Riverview located Bob Brown, the track's Director of Sales and Marketing, in the pits prior to the night's racing. Owner Stan Kolan had placed a bounty on the Bob's lock four weeks earlier. Cates won $500.00 and picked the East Bay Limited Late Models as the beneficiary of additional $1500 in purse money for his efforts. East Bay Raceway, besides running their regular Sprints, Late Models and other classes each week, is busy gearing up for the Fall Nationals. The Nationals take center stage on November 1, 2001 when the biggest names in the world of Sprint Car racing hit the clay at the Bay. If you haven't done so yet register to win tickets and cash from KARNAC.com for either the sprint show or Late Model shows. The Late Models begin on November 8th. Hoosier Tires, KARNAC.com and Hoseheads.com will also sponsor a Young Guns National event at East Bay to highlight the top under 21 talent in the country.
Old time racing returns to East Bay Raceway Sunday October 28th. A reunion, Swap meet and BBQ are all in the plans for a Sunday full of excitement. With Sprints, Champ Dirt Cars, Midgets 80 and older style cars. Also on hand will be the Daytona Classics Club Restored racers of Doug Wolfgang, Will Cagle and Buzzy Ruietiman among others. Come on out to East Bay Raceway and watch the cars and stars of yesteryear. For more details call the track at: 877-457-5611
We seem to be hearing a little too much lately about drivers losing their cool on the track, leading to some dangerous situations. Volusia Speedway Park owner Dick Murphy slammed the door on one unruly racer recently. Johnny Wayne Westfall was barred permanently for the dirt speedway after a ramming incident under caution on Saturday, September 1st. Westfall was arrested on criminal mischief charges by the Volusia County Sheriff's Department according to department spokesperson Gary Davidson. Murphy, long time owner of the 1/2 mile dirt facility, said "this is a family place and we won't tolerate that kind of behavior". Volusia Speedway Park wraps up it's regular season in September and will gear up for the Annual OctoberFest and a special $10,000 to win enduro in November. St. Augustine owner VJ Usina has also come down hard on unruly racers with at least one arrest recently. KARNAC writers Luann Nieborg, Sharon Fancher and Jane Smith have all spoke out in the subject recently with articles:
WHAT IS & IS NOT ACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR WHEN ANGRY by Luann Nieborg
RUNAWAY PROBLEM by Sharon Fancher
CONFUSION IS NOT THE WORD by Jane Smith
On a sad note, Pete Orr has been diagnosed with cancer and is receiving treatment for the disease. Orr is one the most respected and popular figures on the Florida stock car racing scene and we join all the his friends in the racing community in wishing him a full and speedy recovery. Several benefits to assist the Orr family are in the works.
If you would like to be a contributor to KARNAC.com's Florida Stock Car Racing please e-mail rickanges@karnac.com.
--KARNAC Staff Report
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