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August 2001
| Charlotte County Speedway Changes Hands | After several months of negotiations and meetings a group of four entrepreneurs from Naples, Florida have taken over as new owners of Charlotte County Speedway. The change of ownership occurred Tuesday afternoon and the new owners named John Hall as the new General Manager of the operation.
Christian B. Felden, Peter J. Drinkwater, Victoria E. Felden and Simon Vainer are the principal owners in the new venture. Though this is their first time operating a racing facility, they are a group of fans "who are dedicated to racing and bringing exciting events to the Speedway." They will continue the regularly scheduled Saturday right races every week at 6:00 p.m. with gates opening at 4:00 p.m. They will call the new operation "Southern Thunder, because that's what it sounds like when they come around turn 4 at Charlotte County Speedway." according to spokesperson Peter Drinkwater.
In future weeks, the Speedway will bring more racing excitement to Punta Gorda such as monster trucks, demolition derby events, motorcycles, enduros, as well as antique car shows, concerts, flea markets and much more. The speedway can also be rented by calling 941-575-2422.
For more insight on the newest ownership team in Florida,  listen to the interviews with them from the Owners Meeting held in July.
-KARNAC Staff Report
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| Sometimes Big Things Do Come In Small Packages | 'The Little Track that Could'
(KNS)Approximately one thousand race fans saw the Auburndale Street Stock feature begin with a full field of 21 cars on the 1/4 mile track, with Bob Gorsuch on the pole. Gorsuch came into the race still looking for his first trip to the Winner's Circle. Before the final checkered flag of the night he would take home two first place trophies and $800.
After a couple of fist lap cautions and the necessary cleanups Gorsuch found himself with a car fast enough to hold off Johnny Gamble in the #9 and Jim Orisich in the #08. With the front three separating themselves from the pack, the real battle was for fourth place, which raged for last 20 of the 25 lap event. James Wright, Paul Gibbs, Jeff McCaw, David Williamson and Mike Wilson beat and banged each other for the spot, with more than one lapped car getting eaten alive by the hard charging fivesome. Points leader James Wright finally earned the spot beating out Paul Gibbs at the line.
Bob Gorsuch with Lindsay Beard
A lot of the races on this night had the best battles back in the middle of the pack, on a track where passing can take a tremendous amount of patience. The Limited Late Model feature demonstrated what can happen when that patience wears thin.
 We counted around a hundred cars in the field of Mini Stocks, Street Stocks, Limited Late Models, 4 Cylinder and 8 Cylinder Bombers, with 12 Mini Cups. Not bad considering this "little race track that could' was competing against the Bristol Winston Cup race. When the KARNAC.com crew gave a bunch to toys to about 100 kids, we realized we hadn't brought enough for every youngster and it was clear from that little episode the track is a family oriented racing facility where on this Saturday evening at least 300 kids had brought mom and dad out for a night at the races.
When the Limited Late Models hit the track with their thunder echoing around the speedway, all eyes quickly turned to the #56 of Wayne Morris, an old hand at the Battle of Auburndale. Morris started well back in the field and immediately started scratching his way to the front, using the outside, inside and on more than one occasion the middle of turn one with cars on both sides of him. Caution on lap one, followed by another on lap two involving Morris and the Late Model Demolition was on. Lap four saw Gregg Kilma's #20 climb atop the #46 of Tommy Caveney in turn two, leaving fans holding their breath for a few minutes. But when the wrecker lifted Kilma's car upwards, Caveney drove off with his bronze colored Late Model now resembling one the 8 Cylinder Bombers, but no one was hurt, except for Kilma's machine, which was done for the night.
After racing resumed Jason Bennett had the lead followed by Richard Elkins, Jr., and once again the Auburndale fans were treated to a real battle as Morris fired his Late Model on the outside doing battle with the #32 of Shane Guy. But not for long, as one lap later the two got together coming out of four and as they both fought for the same spot the contact was hard and loud as they slid down the front straight wall tangled up together, chaos all around cars flying sideways and backwards. Travis Roland's #75 caught fire briefly but the Safety crew swiftly took care of that, with the real fire in front of the main grandstands as fans lined up to give the "guy they love to hate" the what for. Morris was out of his car giving his opinion of the situation, and the fans giving theirs. Both drivers were sent home for the evening, leaving only 10 cars in the field after only 6 laps, then after a few more cautions the field was narrowed to eight cars with #63 Wesley Bass taking the win followed by #5 Jason Bennett and veteran #71 Dave Dunkin. Nope, Bristol didn't have anything on Auburndale tonight.
 While part of the KARNAC.com crew was dealing with the stampede of children collecting their 'alien' toys, Rick Anges and owners J.T. Beard and Debi Beard brought out the drivers who were going to run the $500 to win Street Stock Dash for Cash later in the show. Amazingly Bob Gorsuch, who had won his first feature event an hour earlier pulled the pole pill, giving him a huge advantage in the Dash. The race had originally been planned to be a six-car race, but Rick Anges added two cars at the last minute, giving a KARNAC.com provisional to Chris Kingham and Black Flag Provisional to Donnie Hart. Hart has been black flagged in the Street Stock Dash two weeks earlier.
In a very scary twenty minutes during heat races, Chris Kingham's drive shaft came off his #63 catapulting him into the front straight wall, and ripping the wheels and rear axle completely off the car.
The Mulberry Fire and Rescue team along with the Polk County EMS crew worked for 15 minutes to carefully free Kingham and secure him on a waiting stretcher and place him in the ambulance. It was indeed a surprise to all to see the young man back to race in the Dash.
James Wright again put on a show as he drove from the 7th starting spot to finish second behind Gorsuch followed in third by Sam Cressman who drove all the way from the rear in the six-lap race.
 At the driver's meeting and also at Intermission a special tribute was paid to Jan Mason, driver of the #24 4 Cylinder Bomber. Mason recently suffered a neck injury in an automobile accident and is recovering in hopes of getting back in the race car. She was in the crowd enjoying a great night of racing at Auburndale Speedway, and it was very nice to see the respect shown to her from the fans and drivers.
J.T. And Debi Beard, in their first full year as speedway owners, took over control of the track in October 2000. From all accounts they have done an excellent job with getting the speedway headed in the right direction.
Audio--the amazing story of how they caught the racing bug and bought Auburndale Speedway, their summary of accomplishments to date and plans for the future.
One of the first things that strike first time visitors about Auburndale Speedway is the sparkle in the air that surrounds the 1/4 mile track. There is a feeling that this is a really cool place to have some fun, and after a few trips around the facility, exploring the pits and all the nooks and crannies, one is impressed with the cleanliness and simple organization that frames the Saturday night show. The staff, from the red shirted Security Team, the concessions people to the Mulberry Fire Rescue team, is as friendly and well oiled as any we have seen this year in Florida.
This coming Saturday night, September 1, the wild TBARA sprints return to Auburndale.
For more on this and other events at the track the locals call 'Awesomedale' check out their website at www.auburndalespeedway.com
-By Jack Smith
4 CYLINDERS:
1ST 12 Aaron Williamson
2ND 63 Donald Gatlin
3RD 06 George Gorham Jr.
4TH 33 Billy Barstow
5TH 68 David Purvis
V-8 BOMBERS:
1ST 75 Carl Thompson Jr.
2ND 00 Rodney Peterson
3RD 46 Randy King
4TH 18 Matt Bozeman
5TH 37 Rob Hockaday
STREET STOCKS:
1ST 69 Bob Gorsuch
2ND 9 Johnny Gamble
3RD 08 Jim Orisich
4TH 56 James Wright III
5TH 2 Paul Gibbs
MINI-STOCK:
1ST 5 Chuck Frazier
2ND 9 Robbie Storer
3RD 77 Lee Davis
4TH 04 Jason Rendell
5TH 7 Jay Kaminski
LIMITED LATE MODEL:
1ST 63 Westley Bass
2ND 5 Jason Bennett
3RD 71 Dave Dunkin
4TH 1 Bart Weatherford
5TH 80 Kevin Boykin
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A Young LLM Driver, With A Promising Future
by Sharon Fancher
 From Nahunta, Georgia a 23 yr. old young man named J.O. ( Joel O.) Nobles, has become a vastly popular known top young Limited Late Model driver at Putnam County Speedway. J.O. has won several heat and feature races at Putnam County Speedway in the #18 Snow Bros. car, since the beginning of the 2001 season. He has also been the first ever repeat winner in the Limited Latemodel division at Putnam County Speedway, securing wins on April 7 and May 12, 2001.
J.O. started out racing big wheels at an early age and has proved himself to be a winning racer ever since. His real racing career however started out at the very young age of 5, in go-cart racing. Where he managed to compile 4 track championships with the help of his Father Joel Nobles, including King Of The Track by the time he reached the age of 10.
At the tender age of 14 he gave up the go-carts and stepped into his first Latemodel at Waycross Motor Speedway , which was a Russell Brown Chassis. His Dad had to sign a release form in order for him to drive. But a few years later, with more seat time, and driving experience, he purchased his own Bullit chassis and assumed the # 46, derived from his father's # 49.
The Father and Son team raced side by side, together and against each other in the first few years. Then his Father decided they should concentrate on J.O.'s Career. In which they started traveling for several years, and racing numerous tracks including, Waycross Motor Speedway, Valadosta Cordele Motor Speedway, East Al Speedway, Talledaga Speedway, Tri County Speedway, Dixie Motor Speedway, Jacksonville Raceway, Golden Isles Speedway, Lake City Speedway and Eastbay for the Winter Nationals. He has also run special races such as, Southern Allstars, Renegade stars, Hav-A-Tampa and Southeast Motorsports.
In 1999 J.O. got his first Warrior race car, and decided to change his number to JO. Leaving the 2000 season proving him a winner as he brought home the 2000 Latemodel Points Championship at Golden Isles Speedway in Waynesville, Georgia driving the Bullit. It was in this car that J.O. won the April 21st Late model feature at Putnam County Speedway in Satsuma, Florida. However upon the decision of the track not to run Late Models anymore, J.O. still continue's to race the Warrior at Golden Isles Speedway in Waynesville, Georgia and also uses it as a Hav-A-Tampa car.
In addition to driving his own cars, J.O. drives the # 18 Limited Late Model for Larry and Dora Duty of Florida. His first time ever behind the wheel of the # 18 car in the 2000 season, he managed to secure a feature win at Lake City Speedway.
His girlfriend of 4 and a 1/2 years stated, she supports him, helps him in any way possible and attends all his races. She said he is known to many as being nice, shy, considerate, sweet, etc. She said J.O. always has a positive attitude.
But ends by saying, it all comes together for J.O. because of the continued faith in his ability, his ambition, and support from his (Family), Dad Joel, Mother Connie, and herself Edie Taylor, (Crew members), Larry& Dora Duty ( car owners ), Al Robinson, Dave Campbell, David & B.J. Bishop, Herman Meitz, Richard Davis, (Sponsor's), Buckles&Associates, Bishop Auto, Palm Construction, Dirt Works Trucking, Haseleu's Transmission, Jerry's Drive-In, and The Feldspar Corp.
J.O.Nobles Web Site
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| "Racing Widows?" Not Anymore! | By Luann Nieborg
A very wise woman I know recently said, "Love and marriage is about sharing and compromising. He should not have to give up racing and his spouse should not have to be a racing widow". That got me thinking how many women do I know who feel like they're racing widows? With all of the different tracks that Hans & I travel to, I have seen a lot of women sitting in the stands and most of them were seen cheering their husbands on to victory, near victory or the very best night he has had in a long time. I've watched them as they hold up their young children and say, "Watch honey here comes Daddy. He's going to get third this week. Isn't that great?" It didn't seem to matter to them at all that he didn't win, as long as he did his best. I have seen them get mad as a caged tiger when another racer bumps, scrubs or outright rams their spouse during a race (sometimes getting as vocal, if not more than, their husbands do). I have also seen the wives roll up their sleeves and push the car into the pits after something broke; crawling under the car and helping to fix it; banging out a dented fender or grousing about a rotten call. Racing widows? No not from where I have been watching.
On the flip side I have also sat in the pit stands and listened to husbands crowing as their wives passed another racer or took the lead. Shouting encouragement to their other half as she zoomed by knowing she probably can't hear him, but so what? "That's his wife out there!". I 've also listened to the very "GUY" comment of "If so and so hits our car again I am going to pound them into the ground!" (Wow, I could swear I heard something similar to that during the race from another voice a bit higher in pitch though). I've watched as fathers pointed to the track as they said to their small daughters, "Look honey Mommy's going to kick butt tonight. Someday we'll build a car for you too." I have also seen hugs and concern as she crawls out of a very crumpled car "It's ok as long as you're not hurt. We can fix it and try again next week."
We so often think of racing as being a MAN'S sport, the little woman inside fixing dinner as he works on HIS car night after night getting it ready for the weekend. You see, that's changing and we're seeing husbands and wives working together to get it ready in time. Mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, aunts and uncles pulling together to "get 'er done" before race night. This has often been the way of it. It's where the idea that racing is a "Family Sport" came from.
More and more though, the cars that are being worked on belong to the wife or daughter of the family instead of the husband or the son. We're seeing fewer and fewer "Racing Widows" and, thankfully, more and more "Racing Families".
Racing Widows? Not if the women of today can help it, because they won't stand for being left on the outside looking in. Now, they can be found in the Driver's seat experiencing the same passions and addictions that the men seem to suffer from.
Good luck ladies, and remember the winner's circle isn't only at the track. It's in the heart too.
Luann Nieborg
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| Thursday, August 23, 2001 | |
| NEW OWNERS AND BIG CHANGES FOR BRONSON MOTOR SPEEDWAY | by Dave Westerman
 As of Tuesday, August 21st, Florida's Bronson Motor Speedway is under the new ownership of Mike and Jane Cope. The former NASCAR All-Pro Champion, Busch Grand National, Craftsman Truck Series, and current ASA Series driver and his wife have purchased the quarter-mile Bronson Motor Speedway located 35 miles west of Gainesville. Cope has big plans for the future of the track nicknamed "The Bronson Bullring." Many improvements including landscaping, cleaning, and painting have already begun plus a new safety truck and pace car have been acquired.
The revised schedule for the rest of the 2001 season will be out next week with some great additions planned. The South 40 Motorsports Classic Auto Racing Series returns on September 15th and the Fastruck Series will also appear in September for the first time at Bronson. A 50-lap Modified and a 100-lap Mini Stock race have also been added and the season-ending Gator 60 is being expanded to a 100-lap Late Model Sportsman race with a big demolition derby also planned for the final race program.
Cope has brought in close friend Tommy Dunsford to be General Manager of the track. He will work along with Director of Racing Rick Bristol in the weekly racing operation. All track employees will remain although some may be moved to other areas to help improve the running of the shows. Carl "Peanut" Green will remain as Technical Inspector with an assistant possibly being added later.
Many fun nights are being planned for fans and kids as well.
Mike Cope has set great goals for Bronson Motor Speedway, and with the help of his wife and staff, drivers and fans will see some great things happening at Bronson Motor Speedway over the next few months.
Cope will continue his racing endeavors in the ASA in 2002 with some big announcements forthcoming on that as well. So come on out to the New Bronson Motor Speedway and be part of the excitement. Races begin every Saturday night at 7:30PM. For more information, call the track at (352) 486-2763.
-Dave Westerman
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| Thursday, August 23, 2001 | |
| "Safety," Is It Not Important? | by Sharon Fancher
Safety issue's in racing has created a disturbing question, in which I've wondered about for quite some time now. Safety in racing, "Just what does that mean to a driver?" Especially after carefully listening to the Karnac staff and Craig Clarke on the Karnac Real Racin Talk Radio Show, discuss the cost of having an ambulance and emergency personnel present at the track.
Why would a driver not want an ambulance or at least some sort of emergency transportation available if needed present at the track? Qualified emergency personnel being on hand is great, but what if a driver or anyone at the track were to be seriously injured and need to be transported to a facility that could give the necessary advanced treatment that might be needed?
Has anyone ever really considered how long it can take for an ambulance or helicopter which is even faster, to arrive at a track? Then having to turn around and take the injured back to a facility to be given necessary treatment? Those few minutes could mean the difference between a life and death situation.
Where I'm from an ambulance present on the track was never an issue, it was a State law. So when I moved to Florida and witnessed my first serious accident at Ocala Speedway, I assumed the track had an ambulance present, but all to soon it was brought to my attention that there wasn't one present. After realizing this, all I could say was, "Oh My God, I can't believe there isn't an ambulance here to get this man to a hospital." So I sat there in the stands praying to God that someone would arrive quick.
Being a CNA and knowing this man was suffering from life threatening burns, and also thinking about how that could be a loved one of mine, made me want to run out on the track to help in anyway possible, but I knew there was nothing I could do. That is the most helpless and horrible feeling a person can have and one that I'll never forget. It still runs chills up and down my spine just thinking about it.
Eventually the severely burned man was air lifted off the track, by a Stat Medical helicopter. But as a witness to that scene, I will also tell you it took what seemed like forever for that helicopter to arrive at the Speedway from Gainesville. Then it took even longer for it to finally find out how and where it was actually going to land. About 20 minutes altogether total time in getting there and landing.
Can you imagine how his family felt? They were present and had to watch as a loved one of there's was suffering from life threatening burns and for it to take 45 minutes to an hour for him to finally get transported to a facility, must have had to seem like an eternity to them.
So what I would like to ask all of the drivers, fans, and everyone else associated with racing, doesn't safety need to be considered the #1 priority? Is it not worth the extra money that could be spent toward admission to pay for an ambulance on the track? I for one know that I would be willing to give more money to help cover the cost of ambulance, and the fact of knowing there would be proper transportation and more advanced medical equipment available if my racing family or anyone else were ever to need it. The safety crews and personnel we have are GREAT, but medical transportation provided at the scene when and if needed I know would also prove to be beneficial.
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| Wednesday, August 22, 2001 | |
| FIELD OF DREAMS, A DECADE LATER | By Robin Smith Meiser
My career in stock car racing officially began on December 15, 1991. It is hard to believe that it has almost been a decade since we officially opened the pit gate at Charlotte County Speedway and held the first late model race at the 3/8th mile banked oval. My first job there was as a trainee scorer, and I had no idea what that entailed or as I have said in the past I would have been the 50/50 girl instead. The word scorer had a nice ring to it but I really didnt know what they did. Boy, did I find out in a hurry!
I got the opportunity to work at Charlotte County Speedway thanks to a man everyone in the Southwest Florida racing community has heard many stories about but few people actually know. His name is Leroy Davidson and he built Charlotte County Speedway with his own two hands. It took him several years and borrowing a lot of money to accomplish the feat but he was determined to do it and he did. Remember the movie Field of Dreams where a voice in the cornfield kept telling Kevin Costner if you build it, they will come? Well, I am convinced that one of the cows in the pastureland that was once Charlotte County Speedway said the same thing to Leroy Davidson and he believed it and that old cow was right he built it and the people came!
Everybody in the stock car world knows who Humpy Wheeler is I am sure. If you dont know, he is the President of Lowes Motor Speedway (AKA Charlotte Motor Speedway). He is known for his innovative and creative ideas and promotions at his race track. Well, let me tell you, old Humpy Wheeler has nothing on Leroy Davidson when it comes to trying hair brained ideas. He was never afraid to try anything when he was the promoter at Charlotte County Speedway.
Back in the good old days, there were actually Enduros at CCS that had close to 200 cars and they were held every holiday weekend. The most popular was the News Years Eve of Destruction and Hangover Enduro, which is the only one that is still held there because too many other tracks in the state got the idea from Charlotte and started running their own holiday Enduros. In the beginning, people would come from all over the state, camp for the weekend; enjoy the wacky, unique New Years Eve races that still continue every year.
Events such as train races where three cars are chained together with one being the engine and one the caboose or Blindfold Races where the driver was blindfolded and coached around the track by a passenger or a race in which a Volkswagen was used as basically a bowling ball. The evening was and still is, capped off by Paul Reveres Midnight Ride where the lights at the Speedway are brought down and the cars make their way around the track with only a flashlight mounted on their hood to guide them.
Davidson brought the World of Outlaws to Southwest Florida the year after the Speedway opened. I will never forget trying to score the winged sprints as they made their way around the track in barely ten seconds; or meeting Steve and Mark Kinser, Stevie Smith and even Sammy Swindell. Some old timers might even remember NASCAR star Kenny Schrader flying in for a late model race. We had great late model races in those years, bringing in drivers like Jeff Purvis who is also a NASCAR star now.
Tragedy struck the year after the Speedway opened when Davidsons son, Brian, died years before his time, leaving behind a baby daughter who Davidson has raised since she was in diapers. In memory of Brian, who we all loved, Leroy created the season ending Brian Davidson Memorial Late Model race every year,which again packed the stands.
Leroy Davidson remembered what a lot of present day promoters tend to forget, we are in the entertainment business and folks expect to be entertained when they spend their hard earned money to come to yourfacility. He brought events like motorcycle demolition derbies and motorcycle dare devils like Sky Lungston to the Speedway. He once even got into the boxing ring himself as a promotional event, although I can't remember why anymore.
Gail Cook, the best 50/50 Girl that Charlotte County Speedway ever had and my best friend says she loved working with Davidson because he was never afraid to take a risk. He would guarantee $1,000 50/50 drawings when there was only $500 in sales some nights. By the end of the night, she would have reached her goal and even went up to $1,200 one night. She said he never lost money when he guaranteed the $1,000 although he would be nervously chewing his famed toothpicks to shreds until the goal was made.
The Summer of 1994 is one that will be long remembered by long time CCS fans. That was the season of White Hats vs. Black Hats. Two of the Top Gun limited late models drivers of that time, who have both since retired from racing, were feuding weekly on the track, reeking havoc on each others cars week after week. Davidson decided to use their grudge match as a great promotional tool.
The more aggressive of the two drivers was put on probation after a particularly rough night of racing and the next Saturday evening, Davidson had him brought through the back gate in a Sheriff's cruiser handcuffed. As the cruiser circled the track, the theme from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly played and the vehicle came to a stop in front of the flagstand and a deputy led the driver out of the car, where he met his car owner and Davidson to sign his bail papers as his car owner paid his fine. The driver in question was much like the recently deceased Dale Earnhardt, you either loved him or you loved to hate him so the crowd went wild with both cheers and boos being heard throughout the stands. Davidson had five white and five black Western hats made for the two drivers and their crewmembers and a ten lap grudge match was supposed to be run but, unfortunately,the driver in the White Hat broke an axle on his car and the race was shortened.
Davidson also had one hundred felt ribbons of each color made for fans to buy at a buck a piece with the proceeds going to the Junior Fan Club, which was huge back then. Selina Kuykendall, who was simply the best office manager/race director that has ever existed, spent untold hours on Junior Fan activities way over and beyond the call of duty. That was Selina though, she always had a smile on her face and there was nothing she could not do. Anyway, the Junior Fan Club had Art Contests and Box Car Races that were fully supported by the track management, big trophies were given out and prizes too. There were Gold Rushes where pennies and other tokens with prizes such as trips to Busch Gardens were thrown out on the race tracks and the kids would scramble to see who could get the most. One year a go-kart was given away to the child who accumulated the most points, membership in the Junior Fan Club was way up then. My dear friend, Sara Carmean, who does an excellent job as Junior Fan Club Director misses those good old days too but has continued on the tradition of the Easter Egg Hunt and Trick or Treat the Drivers, which has since become a ritual at many other Florida race tracks as well.
That was another area Davidson tried to do well at, building better communication with other race tracks like Jack Smith is trying to do now with Karnac. Sometimes I think that is why I enjoy working with Jack and Rick so much because they are born risktakers too! Davidson got this wild idea to start an organization called the Florida Area Race Tracks Association, with the acronym of FART, to unite all the track owners in Florida. Unfortunately, he did not have a great marketing tool back then called Karnac to help him in his quest but they are carrying the banner right now, doing the very same thing by having monthly owners meetings. He had the same philosophy that Karnac has; we do not have to compete with each other, we can all work together!
When USA International Speedway in Lakeland was being built, Davidson spent weeks helping to set up the infield walls and painting at a track that could be considered his biggest competition at that time. He even moved Charlotte's racing program to Sunday evening, the first week Lakeland ran so his limited late model and late model drivers could participate in USA's first race. When Hurricane Andrew did extensive damage to Hialeah Speedway,Leroy traveled there with generators and tools to help them get ready for their weekly show and he took up a collection at CCS to help Hialeah.
Leroy Davidson taught me what the word philanthropy means. The dictionary defines it as love of mankind shown by practical kindness and helpfulness to humanity. Two good examples of present day Florida racing philanthropists are Bill Green with his yearly Family Fundraiser to raise money for racing families who have suffered adversity throughout the year; and Rick Bristol with his NASCAR Nana Memorial go-kart races to benefit a childrens home in Central Florida. Karnac will soon have a fund of their own to help those in the racing community who need it. Glen Vanhorn, the current president at CCS, also opens his heart and track up to worthy causes such as the Do the Right Thing program, MDA and March of Dimes. He never said no to any worthy cause when I was the public relations director at Charlotte County Speedway. That is one thing that has never changed at CCS, good corporate responsibility, giving back to the community.
Davidson was also like that, raising $5,000 to help buy a wheelchair for a severely injured young woman; auctioning off Enduro cars to benefit a child who needed life saving surgery; presenting checks to groups for the prevention of child abuse. When one of his drivers, George Richardson, had a terrible accident in which his race car fell on his head, Davidson gave him a life time pass to the Speedway because he said "George has a harder head than I do"!
Particularly dear to my heart and to those in the racing family who live in my community is a little something called Noise for Toys in which we hope to raise funds and collect toys to give needy children in ourcommunity a good Christmas. Davidson was the founder of Noise for Toys; another one of his promotional tools to try to overcome adversity. The year after the Speedway opened, there were people in Charlotte County that wanted it shut down because of the noise created by the racecars. They almost got their wish; it came so close but the persistence of Davidson kept it open (along with an 11:30 curfew and mufflers on all the cars). It was shortly before the holiday season when this occurred and Davidson had already planned to do something for the disadvantaged children of Charlotte County for the holiday season. The name Noise for Toys seemed appropriate and over 100 children for three years straight had a good Christmas because of Davidsons hairbrained idea. We hope we can do the same in our community this coming holiday season and we hope our community will help us in our endeavor.
That's the key: helping each other out, no matter which community is involved. Charlotte County Speedway is now facing another crisis of sorts. The Airport Authority has raced their rent astronomically and the county commission will soon vote on whether it will happen. Its times like this that Leroy Davidson would come in real handy because somewhere in that off the wall head of his, he would figure a way around it. Therefore, it is up to the Charlotte racing community and our fellow tracks all over the state to unite for this cause. Petitions will soon be appearing to protest the rent increase and all of the racing community needs to sign them. If you don't, my dear family at CCS, your Field of Dreams surrounded by what is now a cow pasture in Punta Gorda may die. We all need to come together for the greater good of our racing family, if not we may not have a Speedway to call home!
Robin Smith Meiser
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| BEAUCHEMIN AND DEMPSEY LEAD WIRE-TO-WIRE FOR SARA WINS AT SOUTH ALABAMA | By Thom Watson
OPP, AL: Leading the first lap proved to be very beneficial in the SARA Late Model Sportsman 125 and the SARA Modified 75 at the South Alabama Speedway in Opp, Alabama. Opp, known for their annual Rattlesnake Festival and South Alabama Speedway, known for the Rattler race in March of each year, is a long haul for most of the SARA regulars. Twenty late models started the race, while 15 Modifieds took the green flag.
Bobby Beauchemin, form Davie, Florida, made the long trip pay off as he took the SARA Late Model Sportsman 125 and led all 125 laps.
Dwayne Dempsey, from St. Petersburg, also made his long distance trip pay off as he did the same thing in the SARA Modified 75 as he led all 75 laps. Qualifying for both divisions was rained out and starting positions were based on the point standings.
Points leader, Dwayne Dempsey, started on the pole, took the lead on the first lap and went on to keep his undefeated Alabama streak intact. Dempsey, who won the SARA modified race at South Alabama Speedway in SARA's last foray into Alabama, also won a prior race in Mobile, Alabama. On long green flag runs Dempsey was able to build up sizable leads. At the checkers, the lead was over 10 car lengths. His two closest point's challengers also held their respective positions from wire-to-wire as Jamie Burrows started and finished second, with Jerry Symons doing the same for a third place finish. Burrows was never able to mount a real threat on Dempsey for the lead.
The race for second place heated up several times between Burrows and Symons battled, but Symons never could pass Burrows. Starting on lap 28 and for the next two laps, Symons challenged for the spot by trying the inside groove, but could never make it stick. Regis Hellett started in the 13th position and made a steady move to the front. Lap 48 saw Hellett move into fifth place after he battled Aric Almirola for several laps. Going into turn four, Hellett gave Almirola a slight tap in the rear and that was all the room Hellett needed for the pass. On lap 57, Hellett and Steve Hauser, Jr., started racing side-by-side and Hellett used a slower car as a pick and was able to move around Hauser on the outside of turn three on lap 59 to take over the fourth spot.
Demspey had built a 15 car lead before getting into lapped traffic that slowed him down some, but not nearly enough to allow anyone to catch up very much. Dempsey went on to a 10-car length win. Burrows, Symons, Hellett and Hauser rounded out the top five.
In the SARA Late Model Sportsman 125, points leader, Bobby Beauchemin, started on the outside pole, took the lead on the second restart, and went on to win. On the first lap, Chad Allman, who started in 10th, spun in turn one and collected six other cars in the process. Only Keith Lilley lost any laps as he headed to the pits for repairs. Jay Middleton had a long, eventful night that started on lap two. Middleton spun in turn three, then on lap 12 he went for a spin in turn one and for good measure, went for a little dirt surfing on lap 90 as he went off the track on the backstretch.
Meanwhile Beauchemin, Jason Boyd and Wayne Morris started 1-2-3 and stayed that way until lap 94. Beauchemin and Boyd would separate themselves from the rest of the pack during long green flag runs. By lap 50, they had an 8 car length lead over the third place car of Morris. On lap 55, the yellow flag flew for a spin in turn two involving Chip Shell and Brad Barkis as they were battling for the sixth spot. On the restart, Beauchemin and Boyd took off again on the field and this time Boyd made an attempt on the bottom groove on lap 76 to get up under Beauchemin in turn four. Boyd could not make it stick and by lap 83 Beauchemin had built a four-car length lead.
After a lap 93 restart, Boyd missed a gear, slowed, went high and Morris took advantage to move into second place. A red flag occurred on lap 105 when a five-car incident blocked almost the whole track in turn four. On the restart, Boyd again slowed in turn two and this time Michael Faulk tapped him in the rear, but managed to keep the third spot. Beauchemin was able to build a three-car length lead until he ran into lapped traffic on lap 119.
In a battle for the fifth position, Joe Sumasky bumped Shell and they both went into the spin cycle. SARA officials sent Sumasky to the rear, while Shell kept the number five spot. On the ensuing restart, Morris looked low in turn two to challenge for the lead, but couldn't pull it off. Coming to the line Barkis and Shell once again got together coming off turn four and both went spinning. Beauchemin went on to a three-car length win, with Morris, Boyd, Tony Amico and Brent O'Neil rounding out the top five.
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| Auburndale is AWESOMEDALE! | By Rick Anges and Hans Nieborg
Dash For Cash Winner Sam Cressman
When Rick Anges took the microphone Saturday Night at Auburndale Speedway and announced that KARNAC.com and East Bay Raceway were sponsoring a six lap $1100 purse with $500 to win Dash for Cash for the top six cars in points for the Street Stock class the reaction from the crowd was mixed.
Sure there were plenty of cheers because we had come in to support their drivers but this dash thing was new to some. And we were told right off the bat by a fan in the stands "Dont you know this is a short track? Six laps aint enough for these guys."
Auburndale Speedway co-owner and announcer J.T. Beard worked the crowd all night announcing the KARNAC.com/Eastbay Raceway dash from the booth while Debi Beard took us through the pits and introduced us to all the drivers who would be in the race. Every driver shook our hands and thanked us for giving them the chance to compete in such an event. All the while Debi was thanking us for helping their drivers.
 Even though it was scheduled to be the second to the last event for the evening, the majority of fans stayed in their seats to see what this Dash for Cash was all about. The six cars pulled onto the track and were inverted with the first and second place cars in points #56 James Wright III and David Williamson in the #12 starting on the back row. Wright had finished second in a hard fought feature earlier in the evening to #68 Mike Wilson who was starting in the second row next to #31 Donnie Harp who took third in the feature. The front row consisted of #2 Paul Gibbs and Sam Cressman in the #88 he borrowed from Josh Haranda.
When the green dropped Cressman jumped out and took the lead but the other five cars behind were all battling and banging going two and three wide trying to make a pass. Gibbs made several attempts to get by the #88 going high and low looking for the right spot but even in a borrowed car Cressman was able to hold him off. Gibbs appeared to look low on Cressman but ended up going around and loosing positions on the racetrack.
Meanwhile the crowd was on their feet cheering these guys on like there was no tomorrow. James Wright took an outside line on the track making his way to the front with his eyes on Cressman and that $500 first place money but first he would have to get by the hard charging Wilson who had moved into the second spot. With laps winding down fast it took everything he could manage but Wright was able to get by Wilson and hold onto the second spot behind Slammin'Sammy Cressman who held onto a hard fought wire to wire victory in the borrowed ride. Wilson took the third spot followed by Williamson, Gibbs and Harp.
The reaction of the crowd was overwhelming and the people who had said six laps werent enough were applauding in approval. This is why KARNAC.com will return to Auburndale Speedway August 25th for another 6 lap dash for cash with some twists. The first twist is that Cressman and Wright are automatically qualified for the next dash BUT the fans will decide on who will be in the next Four by going on KARNAC.com and voting for the next four cars from the entire roster of Street Stocks.
CLICK HERE TO VOTE.
The other twists? Well I guess you'll just have to be there. Believe us, it will be fun!
Fastrucks
The Fastruck Racing Series took the green flag at Auburndale Speedway last Sunday night and it was a race worth watching! The action was close from the start as the lead 4 or 5 trucks jockeyed for position. Things seemed to settle down for a moment when suddenly on lap 9, the yellow #48 driven by Steve Anderson spun as he was going into turn one. As he was facing the oncoming traffic, his fellow competitors drove high and low trying hard to keep from connecting with his truck.
Unfortunately as the #92, driven by Kim Sheffler-Hays, neared Anderson stopped in the middle of the groove, Kim checked up and dove low in an attempt to go under him. As she did so, another truck tapped the corner of her truck and she spun too, thereby backing into Steve Anderson and damaging his radiator. It took a little time to sort them out and clean up the mess, which gave just enough time for the #92 limp off the track, then make it back in time for the restart.
When the green flag dropped this time, the 01 truck driven by Larry Moyer led the way with the 70 of James Glover and the white #25 truck driven by Gary Foxworth in hot pursuit. By lap 11 though, Glover passed Moyer on the outside for the lead. He then opened the lead up to about 6 truck lengths, as he seemed to pull away from Moyer on the front and back straights.
Farther back in the pack, Brian Donahue in the #3 truck was black flagged due to smoke billowing out from behind his truck as the #93 got a little out of shape between turns 1 and 2. By lap 20, Glover had a comfortable lead as he built it up to a full straight-away. Soon afterwards, Kim Sheffler-Hays made things exciting by executing a 3-wide pass though turns 3 and 4. The checkered flag flew on this 25 lap race as James Glover took the win with Larry Moyer and Gary Foxworth finishing off the top three.
Other racing action:
Aaron Williamson #12 topped the field in the four cylinder bomber class, Chad Ashley #7 took second, #63 Donald Gatlin was third, fourth went to #06 George Gorham and rounding out the top five #3 Tim McKenzie.
V-8 Bomber win was taken by #46 Randy King, Rob Hockaday #37 followed across in second, Brian Harbin #65 held off #41 Jamie Dunnahoe for third and fifth went to Matt Bozeman #18. Mike Wilson #68 held off James Wright III #56 for a hard fought Street Stock feature win #31 Donnie Harp, #2 Paul Gibbs and #12 David Williams came across the stripe in that order. All five drivers competed in the KARNAC.com Eastbay Raceway Dash 4 Cash later in the evening.
Mod-Mini action saw #89 Scott Sharp blaze to the winners circle followed by #90 Randy Storer, Chris Hamlet #55 ran third and #30 Jerry Smith held off #9 Robbie Storer for fourth.
Ron Lofquist #49 Ran away with the Limited Late Model feature win, #1 Bart Weatherford took the second spot, third went to #71 David Duncan, Harold Cannon in the #3 finished fourth and fifth was the #63 of Westley Bass.
By Rick Anges and Hans Nieborg
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| Wednesday, August 8, 2001 | |
| MESSAGE BOARDS AND OTHER 'DEVICES' | The second half of the 2001 racing season is underway and though the weather (lots of rain outs) has been a big item on everyone's mind, there are some really good things coming down the front straight and across the finish line for Florida Race Fans.
Recently several track owners got together to discuss some common issues facing stock car racing in Florida. Though KARNAC.com was instrumental in arranging the meeting we had nothing to do with the agenda or the content of the owners meeting. One of the issues the owners had discussed was the role of message boards. While they applauded the role KARNAC.com has played in the last several years, they seemed to be united in the idea that we needed a different type of message board.
We couldn't agree more, and a matter of fact two years ago tried to create a forum where people could express their opinions on important issues without the nonsense and childishness we see so much of on our current message boards. Jane Smith and Sharon Fancher have both written articles on the current state of our message boards. Jane's piece'Open Letter to the Fans of Florida Stock Car Racing' and Sharon's essay "The Message Board Saga" both describe the negative impacts of the trashiness of our boards. The folks with issues to discuss are being drowned out by some pretty childish time and resource wasters.
Many owners of tracks around the state have attempted to operate their message boards for the good that they can serve and nearly all have given up and closed their boards. At the meeting we were asked to create a "Good Message Board" so that sincere people have the proper tool to communicate and discuss the real and important issues affecting our racing lives, tracks, and series.
We have created such a board. It is located here: KARNAC.com Community Forum
This board requires registration and fans are required to use their real name and real email address. We will continue to keep the old main board in place but we will eliminate it in due time. There are far more important issues facing Florida racing than are currently being talked about on what has become a 'trash' board. The new message board has very strict rules regarding registration and posting.
Just as we received a few e-mails from negative thinkers telling us how owners will never work together and how we are wasting our time trying to get them together on issues, some will undoubtedly tell us this new board will not work.
If we had listened to the naysayers KARNAC.com would never have been built and certainly would never have progressed to the level it has. Though the same petty jealousies that attempt to ruin our message boards will try to stop any positive action we take, we will make them work for the race fans, as we have made KARNAC.com work. In case you missed the story on the owner's meeting here is the link to read about it.
Check out the new board, give it a shot, give us your positive feedback on how to make things work for the drivers, fans, and owners, and let's continue to show the rest of the country Florida does racing right.
Hutchens Device Available through KARNAC.com
 This week KARNAC.com made a special arrangement with the MATTEC Corporation to market the Hutchens Device (Click Here for Full Information) , a head and neck restraint for racers that is both highly effective and very affordable. The problem with many of the other restraint systems is their price, which can be $1200 or more. The Hutchens Device can be had for less than the cost of a set a tires and can help prevent many serious types of injuries. We have already started receiving orders and expect to see the device in wide-spread use in Florida by year's end.
Classifieds - Technical Issues - Sponsor Issues
The Florida Classifieds are the best place to get your car sold or to buy parts and equipment. Thousands of drivers and crews visit these classifieds each week, making it easily the most widely read source for racing parts and cars in Florida. We have added two new forums for racers as part of the classifieds, these are the Tech Shed and the Sponsorship area.
CLASSIFIEDS -TECH SHED - SPONSORSHIP
Share tech questions and get answers to them with this new tool. Also, sponsorship procurement is one of the weakest areas for racers in Florida. not nearly enough attention is given to getting sponsors and keeping them. There are some great tools out there to help, but they must be used.Perhaps this new feature added to the classifieds can help.too.
Other Items Of Interest
The Fastruck Racing Series will put on a show at Auburndale Speedway this Saturday night followed by their Driving Experience on Sunday. Call 813-493-5046 for more information or visit the Fastruck site at www.fastruckracing.com/
Look for the official unveiling of the new "Trust Fund for Racers" created by KARNAC.com. The official announcement and details will be out shortly. This is a not-for-profit corporation organized to benefit drivers who become injured as well as for promoting safety in Florida racing.
East Bay Raceway is gearing up for the Annual Fall Nationals. You can experience some of the most awesome high-powered dirt Late Models and Sprint Car action in the Country this November as stars such as Scott Bloomquist, Donnie Moran and Rick Eckert arrive in Tampa for the East Bay Raceway Fall Nationals. Through a special offer from KARNAC.com (known as the "SUMMER SWEEPS") you can win two tickets plus $250 Cash to either the Sprints or Late Models shows. This is a $600 package and you can enter by clicking on this link: EAST BAY FALL NATIONALS AND KARNAC.com SUMMER SWEEPS. Plus by registering to win NOW, you get automatically entered into our 2002 Race Fantasy Package, which will include a trip to Daytona, the East Bay Winternationals , Cash Prizes, and a full season pass to all the racing in Florida in 2002.
Look for the new KARNAC.com Pace Truck coming to a track near you soon.
If you have news you want us to know send it in to: news@karnac.com
Let's go Racing!
--Editors at KARNAC.com
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| HAMPTON TAKES MR. BUDWEISER MINI STOCK TITLE AND MONEY | by Thom Watson
GIBSONTON, FL - Jamie Burrows was all set to take the $2,500 winners share of the Mr. Budweiser, but on lap 23, of the 25 lap Mini Stock Mr. Budweiser main, he slipped out of the low groove and that allowed William Hampton to sneak by. Hampton went by on the low side on the backstretch to take the lead. Burrows tried valiantly to get the lead back, but it wasn't to be as Hampton was too strong. Burrows started on the point but lost it to Devin Dixon on lap two. Dixon looked like he was going to lead the rest of the way, but on lap 20, he suddenly slowed in turn two and was done for the night. Burrows had been patiently biding his time in second and quickly took the lead when Dixon slowed. Meanwhile Hampton was riding along in third at the time and moved into the runner-up spot. On lap 22 Derrick Nagle spun on the front stretch and got bogged ion the mud. On the restart, Burrows took the lead but went high going down the backstretch and allowed Hampton to get in front and after he smelled the $2,500 winners share, he was not to be passed. "I was looking forward to winning this as it will be my last year in the Mini-Stocks class," said Hampton from Victory Circle.
In a full night of racing sponsored by Buddy's Home Furnishings, the sprint cars decided to go topless for the first time in many years at East Bay Raceway. In the 11-car field, Sport Allen proved he knows how to drive the winged and the wingless cars as he led wire-to-wire and built huge leads when the green flag was flying. Only caution flags allowed the rest of the field to even get close to Allen. After the final caution of the night, Allen pulled away to a three-car length win. Joe Melnick, who took over second on lap 11, was the runner-up and Casey Johnson came home third.
In the Street Stock A main feature, Hollie Smith started on the pole and took the early lead. On lap five, Smith suddenly slowed and Ronnie Pope took advantage to take the lead. His lead was only for one lap as he bobbled and Danny Paris quickly took over the lead and never looked back as he went on to win the 15 lap feature on Buddy's Home Furnishing night. Pope was able to hold on to the runner-up spot and Jason Bronson was third. " Three months ago I dedicated a race to a friend who passed away, Sandy, this week here fianc also passed away, this is dedicated to them, they were close friends, " said Paris.
Raymond Rogers was able to jump to the lead from his fourth starting position on the first lap and led wire-to-wire in the Limited Late Model feature event. It wasn't as easy as it looked, Forrest Gough and Jerry Rogers swapped the runner-up spot four times in the last half of the race. Finally on lap 12, Gough was able to wrestle second place to himself and set his sights on Raymond Rogers. He tried for four laps to take the high groove but could never make it work to take the lead and had to settle for second. Jerry Rogers, Raymond's father came in third.
In the Limited Sprints, Tony Pinero started on the point and held the lead early. It took Donnie Maxwell until lap three to move up from his fifth starting position to take over the lead. He took the low groove and made it work as he passed the top four to bolt into the lead. Jim Ballew used the high groove coming out of turn four to pick up two spots in the final two laps to finish second. Pinero was able to finish third. " They told me it wouldn't run on the bottom, but this Ford power did pretty good down there tonight," said winner Maxwell to the crowd. After a five-car pileup before a lap could be completed, K.D. Kelly was able to hold his point position for the first four laps. In the meantime, Phillip Cobb was on the move and was able to avoid another pileup on lap three, which collected the second through fifth place running cars. On lap five, Cobb went high in turn four and took the point. He was able to hold on the rest of the way and stretched it out to a five-car length win. over Bobby Alexander, Jr. who had taken over second on lap 10. Donnie Tanner came home third.
In the Street Stock B Main ten lap feature race, Terry Bronson led from the start to take the win. By the end of the race it was a one-horse race as Bronson stretched out to 10-car lead. The real race was for second place, as Mac Kersey tried to pass Steve Spencer for the final two laps but could never pull it off. Spencer was second, while Kersey had to settle for third place.
In the Main Event on Buddy's Home Furnishing night at East Bay Raceway, the demolition derby started 22 cars, including one driven by KARNAC.COM's own Rick Anges. As the cars were lining up in their unique hood-to-hood rows of five or six cars, a water truck also was pulling out of the pits and coming around the track.  On the side was a sign that said "Rick from KARNAC.COM". This might be an advantage considering the truck weighted about two tons more than all the other cars and it was up higher than the others were also. Announcer Ken Sands finally got Anges to get out of the truck to discuss the situation. Although Anges insisted he be able to drive the tanker, Sands was able to persuade him not to.. Then Anges finally pointed to the orange, KARNAC.COM sponsored, #413x Lincoln sitting on the backstretch.It was outfitted with an in-car camera to give a birds-eye view of the action from a driver's perspective. At the start of the derby, the cars were banging away and several quickly dropped and littered the front-stretch area. Sadly to say, after three hits (and it might have been only one) the #413x, KARNAC.COM car was finished for the night.  Although it did take a few more hits from some of the others. It finally came down to the final two, with the winner collecting $1000 and the runner-up $500. It was now between Mark Dewaine and Chris Hoffman. After several running attempts of about 100 feet at Hoffman, Dewaine was finally able to disable him and be declared the winner.
-Thom Watson
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| FISHING AT THE OLE RACE HOLE | By Jane Smith
 Hopefully, this is pure fiction but if the rain does not slow down over Florida, IT COULD BECOME REAL.
"Hey David" shouted Jack, "want to go fishing tonight at the Orlando race pond?" "Sure", David answered. "Let me make a few calls and the more the merrier. If nothing else, we can fish competitively. I heard they are catching some big ones at that hole"
David took out his trusted black race book and started checking to see who he should call to go fishing tonight. First, he called Dickie because he was always telling fish tales and he wanted to see just how big a fish he could catch. Then he called B.J. who was taught by the best to fish, his grandmom. Of course if B.J. came, the whole family would come along with Pete and Bobby. Next he would call James and Mike F. and Michael and Jimmy. Then to make it really sporty, he would call Barry, Travis, Brian, Morgan and Jonathan. And, of course, fishing would not be fishing without Don, Sandy, and Donnie and the Pierces. Then a judge had to be there to judge who did catch the biggest fish, now who could do that. Roland Martin of course, the great Florida fisherman.
As the guys started to gather round the asphalt banks of the fishing hole, a four foot gator swim right in front of them. "Now," Dickie said, "that is fun to catch. He will definitely give you a run for your money." "Now guys," Roland began, "there is only one gator so to make this contest fair, you have to catch FISH."
As the guys started taking out their fishing tackle and eyeing each other's poles, the fight began. "Hey Roland, Mike F. has bigger hooks than mine Is that fair or do we all need the same size hooks?" As Roland thought on the subject for a minute, he found enough of the same size hooks in his tackle and so to stop the arguing, he gave each fisherman the same size hook. "Now Jimmy, are you happy" laughed Roland.
Now being that these are race drivers and not really fisherman, how many knew what kind of bait to use and how to put the bait on the hook. In disgust Roland looks at each of the bank fishers and shakes his head. "What do you guys do all the time? Don't you know fishing is the best sport in the world. You babies can't even bait a fish hook. Shame, shame on you."
At that point, Roland presented the bait - worms and minnows. Either one would catch a fish, a big fish, if you have the patience to wait for that big bite. "Okay fellows, chose your bait and start your reels to working" commanded Roland. As the guys took their open face and closed faced reels and lifted them to cast them out, a cry was heard, "hey, his fishing line is thicker than mine."
Poor Roland, Florida's best known fisherman, was at a loss. "Okay guys, any size line will do. But it takes a Class A fisherman to land that big fish on four pound test line. If you think you can't do it, switch, get a bigger pound test but stop whinning." Roland cried out. "What does it take to get you guys lined up and ready to fish?"
Finally, all the guys had a line in the track hole each waiting to catch the biggest fish at Orlando. But little did they know that Don and Sandy had a head run on them because they knew where the big fish were hiding. Before all the rain came, there was a natural low spot on the track and this was where the big bass lay waiting for that minnow or worm to catch their attention.
As each fisherman pulled in their prize catch, it was funny but they all seemed about the same size. "Hey, maybe we can step on it and stretch it just alittle" said James to Jonathan. "Who would know if they don't catch us?" But James thought twice about it and decided he really didn't want to step on a fish to win.
As Roland measured each fish, a smile came upon that weathered face of his. "Hey fellas, you are all winners. Not one fish is bigger than another." "Oh well" said David, "how about we try the DeSoto hole next week??" And so went the fishing saga of the race drivers and crews and promoters of asphalt bank fishing.
Jane Smith
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