November 9, 2004 Sunday is Great Day For Bronson Race Fans GulfCoast Modifieds Fire Up North Florida By Rick Warren The Corteco Gaskets/GulfCoast Modifieds thundered into Bronson Motor Speedway Sunday afternoon to do battle on the tough, banked short track. The pit area was full to overflowing, and lots of race fans were on hand for the last race of the regular season for Bronson Speedway. 26 Modifieds signed up for the race, and almost all of the entries were also involved in the points battle for the Corteco Series. Lee Collins came into the race with a slim 20 point lead over Mike Hinegardner, and was hoping to extend his lead. The always competitive Dwayne Dempsey had dropped to fourth in the points after bad luck led to a DNF at the last race. As the cars lined up for their qualifying runs, the fans were anxious to see some quick times from these hot rods. Saturdays practice times were very fast, and everyone was expecting more of the same. Mother nature had other plans however, and Sunday turned out to be warmer than forecast, and as the track temperature went up, so did lap times. When all the drivers had taken a shot at the clocks, Lee Collins had turned the track in 13.335 seconds on his second lap. Just a tick behind him was Rob Partelo, at 13.376 seconds. After the draw, the 100 lap feature lined up on the starting grid with local driver Gary Southard on the pole, and Billy Mowery on the outside. The second row consisted of Timmy Moore and Rob Partelo, followed by Collins, Hinegardner, Dempsey, Phil Morrison, Buddy Hughes, and Kevin Durden completing the first ten starting spots. When the green flag waved, Southard beat Mowery to the first turn for the lead. The entire field of 26 cars was making a mad dash for the inside groove, and things began to get very crowded. Lap 2 saw Collins drive under Moore, and the two cars made contact in turn 2, with Collins spinning into the infield, and starting a chain reaction through the field, ending up with several cars against the wall. John Godwin, in the points chase and hoping for a good finish, found his front wheels pointing in opposite directions, and was done for the day. The field lined up for the restart with Southard out front, followed by Mowery, Moore, R.Partelo, Dempsey, Hinegardner, Hughes, Durden, Morrison, and Curtis Neuman filling the top ten. Collins lined up at the end of the field. The race stayed green until lap 17, when Hughes and Morrison got together in turn 3, and spun. The running order for the restart had Southard continuing to lead, with Mowery tight on his bumper. Timmy moore was forced to pit, moving R.Partelo into the 3 spot followed by Dempsey, Hinegardner, Durden, D.Partelo, Teddy Nelson, who almost didnt make the race with clutch problems, Curtis Neuman, and Kevyn Terry. Caution was again displayed on lap 25 for debris on the racetrack, with the only change in the top 10 Neuman moving ahead of Nelson. Collins wnet to the pit with a flat tire, and wasnt able to make it back before the green flag waved, effectively ending his chances for the win. The race resumed, and the competition was getting hotter by the lap. The front 4 remained the same, and Durden passed Hinegardner to join the top 5. Lap 35 saw the caution flag again, this time for a bumper on the track. As the race resumed, Collins was able to rejoin the race, and collect some valuable points for the championship. On lap 49, Morrison spun in turn 4, bringing out the caution again. The running order remained the same with the exception of John Anderson moving into the top ten, after starting last in the field. The green flag run lasted until lap 57 when Teddy Nelson finally had his clutch give up the ghost, and was unable to clear the track, bringing out the caution flag. The field lined up for the restart with Southard still in command, with Mowery right behind, followed by R.Partelo, Dempsey, Durden, Hinegardner, D.Partelo, Hughes, Anderson, Terry and Tommy Bower. Now that the field was past the halfway point of the race, things were getting hot. Competition was fierce, and every one had tirned it up a notch. Mowery was working Southard everywhere on the track, trying to get a run that would carry him into the lead. Lap 65 saw Mowery and Southard get together in turn 2, with Southard spinning into the infield, bringing out the caution. The race restarted with Southard returned to the lead, and Mowery at the end of the lead lap. R.Partelo moved into second, followed by Dempsey, Durden and Hinegardner. Lap 76 saw Durden enter the pit area with a flat tire, moving Hinegardner to fourth, and Anderson into the top 5. Lap 83 had Chris Escott and Mowery make contact in turn 3, causing a caution. The top 5 remained the same at the restart, with Southard able to open a 1 car lead over Partelo. Cautions occurred on laps 87 and 88 for minor incidents, with no change in the top 5 running order. As the laps wound down, Dempsey really turned up the wick, and was on the move. With less than 5 laps to go, Dempsey managed to get by R.Partelo, and go to work on Southard. Anderson had driven by Hinegardner to take over fourth spot, and coming for the checkered flag, Dempsey stuck his nose under Southard in turn 4, and it was a drag race to the line, with Southard grabbing the win by car length. Unofficial point standings after the race show Hinegardner moving into the lead by 25 points over Collins, Dempsey moved up to third in the standings, 90 points out of the lead. Final Results: 100 Laps - Bronson Motor Speedway 1. #39 Gary Southard 2. # 6 Dwayne Dempsey 3. #93 Rob Partelo 4. #1x John Anderson 5. #1h Mike Hinegardner 6. #14 Buddy Hughes 7. #63 Phil Morrison 8. #1t Kevyn Terry 9. #51 Tommy Bower 10. # 9 Danny Partelo 11. #23x John Kahl 12. # 8 Chris Escott 13. #82 Ralph Bowman 14. #55n Curtis Neuman 15. #89 Lee Collins 16. #2b Kevin Brickley 17. #71 L.B. Skaggs 18. #55 Billy Mowery 19. #88 Chris Robbins 20. #56 Kevin Durden 21. #23 Butch Bassett 22. #34 Teddy Nelson 23. #80 Jimmy Houle 24. #57 Timmy Moore 25. #11 Mark Nelson 26. #22 John Godwin Fast Qualifier #89 Lee Collins Hard Charger #1x John Anderson Have an opinion on this story? Post a message on our Message Board! <news@karnac.org>or send a letter to the editor!