| Thursday, February 28, 2002 | |
| Spotlight On Street Stocks At Citrus County | By Larry MacMillan
 This will be the last race of the pre-fair break. The Street Stock division hits the green flag for their first special of the year Saturday night. A $600 win purse is waiting in the winners circle for the driver who figures out the new Citrus County Speedway layout and can outmaneuver the 23 registrants that have tried it on for size in the early season. The additional payoff money will probably draw some visitors that should beef up the field and it could be anybodys race. With just 2 points races under their belts the top five are chasing Ernie Reed, Danny Cretty, Mike Bell, Harley Wilson and David Kingsbury.
Due to the rainout last Saturday night there havent been too many hotshoes that have put a lot of laps on the new 3/8th mile expansion at Citrus County Speedway. The 40 lap Hobby Stock special had to be postponed due to the inclement weather and a make up date will be announced later in the season.
Mike Bresnahan heads up a 23 car Late Model field that have raced in the first two point races of the year with a slim four point lead on Jim Smith. First feature winner Teddy Nelson holds out in third while Rex Struble and Raymond Lovelady are knotted in a tie for fourth.
Sixteen Sportsman pilots have a pair of races behind them and the familiar point man, Mike Veltman, has Mark Dominique, Bill Oestreicher, George Neumann and Buddy Kessler in his review mirror in the race for the top five positions. Veltman has his eye on a fourth straight Sportsman crown in 2002 but his competition will be doing everything they can to put a new name on that trophy. More competitors will be in the running after the County Fair break.
Mini Stocks are enjoying the extra racing room with the new configuration and are going four and five wide in some tight racing situations. Top shoe in the early going is Rob Wheatley who won the first 40 lap special on opening night. Robbie Yoakam is always a threat at his home track. Jay McKenzie rides in a racecar that won the Championship for George Neumann and holds out in third over Kevin Harrod who won the second feature race of the year. Harry Futch Jr. holds out in fifth in a division that has a whole season full of excitement ahead of them.
With the Hobby Stock first special of the year being rained out last week it will postpone who will be the top dog in that big money run. Twenty-seven racers have chased the Smith brothers in the first two weeks of the season with older brother Tommy on top of the heap with a six-point edge on Richie. Richie is supposed to move up to a Late Model ride after the Fair and weather he will do double duty going after his second Hobby Stock Championship remains to be seen. Roy Perkins, Dustin Aaron and Joe Rauner who moved up from Thunder Stocks this season.
An unfamiliar name tops the Thunder Stock point ladder with Robert Jordan showing a win and a top five finish in the first two races. He is 50 points up on Josh Teague. The next three, Terry Sharrone, Stuart Madison and Tim Wilson have a little tighter race going for their share of the top five spots with thirty cars registered and running.
Figure 8s return for the second of their 12 races for the season with fourteen cars in the point race. Three time Figure 8 Champion Robert Aaron came up with the first win of the season on a final turn run for the start finish line over runner up Darryl Hage. Jeff Kramer, Charlie Meyer and Dwayne Fults round out the top five.
Pit gates open at 3, while the grandstand gates open 4 and Street Stock Time Trials begin at 5:30. Regular race heats will take the green at 6 p.m.
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