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| The Lights Are On For Citrus Saturday Racing | By Larry MacMillan
(Inverness, Fl. 9/14/04) Citrus County Speedway survived Hurricane Charley with little damage but racing was cancelled for the weekend.
Frances was a different story. This gal left most of the lighting in disrepair and a lot of water on and around the track causing the third and fourth cancellation of the year.
Two major shows were postponed due to the storms and promoter Billy Hooker is working on rescheduling the Triple Late Model 50’s and the Enduro 150/Demolition Derby races that lost out to the weather on September 4th and September 11th. Rescheduling will be worked out this weekend on dates that hopefully will not conflict with other special races in the state.
Baring any unforeseen weather conditions Citrus County Speedway will be back in business this weekend with the Open Wheel Lites, Super Stocks, Mini Stocks, Hobby Stocks, Thunder Stocks and the 4 Cylinder Bombers. The regular Thursday night practice will be in session from 5 to 8 p.m. in preparation for getting things back on track. Racers and fans certainly need a break from the stress that has been caused by the storms and hopefully Ivan will not interfere with this weekend’s action.
With only 7 weeks left in the division point races the run for the individual championship crowns will definitely heat up. The lack of racing activity in recent weeks will add some more enthusiasm to those drivers eager to get back behind the wheel and put the hammer down. Super Stocks will be after Joe Viverito who holds a 140 point lead over Richie Smith. Ernie Reed has been hot on their rear bumpers with Stephen Anderson and James Hendrickson holding up the top five spots in the division.
Jim Curry has done an outstanding job of holding on to the number one spot in the Mini Stock chase and is anxious to get back in the groove. There is a lot of experience chasing the rookie with George Neumann looking for his fourth championship in the division and defending champion Chris Hooker also in the hunt.
The Hobby Stocks have been showing up with 25 to 35 cars necessitating double features to hold down on the traffic jam. Tommy Smith has been see-sawing with Bobby Taylor for the point lead and holds a slim 22 point lead coming into Saturday’s action. Dean Lawyer, Alvin Williamson and Bill Ryan round out the top five.
Jerry Hoover has a 63 point lead over Rick Badessa in the Thunder Stock division with other battles heating up for the top five spots. Steven Stinedurf, Louie Cioe and Victor Shahid don’t have a lock on their spots in the top five either.
The Open Wheel Lites and Four Cylinder Bombers will round out the race card for this weekend as their two week, unwanted vacation hopefully comes to and end. Keep your fingers crossed that the weather Gods will smile upon all the race tracks in Florida.
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