| Hartley Hangs on for TBARA Win At New Smyrna | By Curtis Whalin
 The TBARA 2005 racing season found the club at New Smyrna Speedway on Saturday August 20. A total of 23 cars made their way to the track to take part in the evenings racing.
The first heat race saw David Retzlaff in the number 90 car start in the pole position alongside Bo Hartley in the 3X. At the start of the race it was the 3X that made a better start and took the race lead. The number 19 car driven by Keith Butler came to a stop on the track between turns 3 and 4 on lap 4 after the car jumped out of gear. The caution flag was brought out while he was pushed back off. The number 8 car driven by Nick Manikis retired to the infield on lap 6 while Bo Hartley went on to win the heat in the 3X followed by Sport Allen in the 42X who had started the race in fourth position.
It was the battle of the black 29 cars at the start of the second heat race when the 29T of Jim Alvis and the 29 of Gary Gimmler made up the front row of the grid. It was Gary Gimmler in the 29 car that made the best start and took the race lead. The 21 of Johnny Gilbertson retired from the heat on lap 4. Gary Gimmler stayed out in front to take the win with second place going to Dude Teate who was driving the 91 car.
The 42 car driven by Paulie Milum was to have started on the front row of the third heat but was unable to start the race due to a mechanical problem. This left the 5W of Randy Woodall on the pole with a new partner in the form of Stan Butler in the 118 alongside. An incident in the pit row when the cars were being pushed off resulted in the Ray Bragg in the 66 car being disqualified from the evenings racing program.
When the heat got starred, it was Stan in the 118 that took the lead and who led the race from beginning to end. Charles Ladner in the 41 took second place.
Due to the race average points inversion system, Randy Woodall in the 5W sat in the pole seat for the start of the 30-lap feature race with Jim Alvis in the 29T occupying the other front row seat. The field performed their signature 4-abreast parade lap, which is the driver’s salute to their fans, and lined back up 2 abreast for the start of the race.
The 29T made a good start and took the early lead. The 3Y driven by Sonny Hartley was the first car to retire on lap 7 and he was followed one lap later by the 21 of Johnny Gilbertson. On lap 8, the 3X of Bo Hartley made a move for the race lead and passed the race leader Jim Alvis in the 29T to take the lead. The 42 of Paulie Milum was black flagged on race lap 11 when the car started to smoke and he pulled into the pits and out of the race. On the same lap, David Retzlaff spun the number 90 car between turns 1 and 2, bringing out the caution flag while he was pushed back off.
The race got back to green with the 3X still in the lead. On lap 15, Keith Butler retired the number 19 car when it started to overheat. Also on race lap 15, the number 6 car driven by Dan Statter and the number 8 car of Nick Manikis were black flagged for being 3 laps down to the leader. On race lap 19, the number 18 car being driven by Rick Hockman was black flagged for being three laps down to the leader.
Just one lap later it was the 118 of Stan Butler that retired to the pits with the second case of overheating in this race. On race lap 22, the 03 driven by Tommy Nicols spun out at turn 2 on his own and chose not to restart the race and instead was pushed back to the pits. While the caution flag was out for the 03, the 47 of Richard Waddell also retired to the pits when he lost the power steering. The race got back to green for another 4 laps until the 5W of Randy Woodall and the 21B of Larry Jay Brazil Jr. both spun to a stop between turns 3 and 4. Neither car was able to rejoin the race and both were pushed to the pits.
The last 4 laps passed without further incidents and Bo Hartley took the feature race win in the 3X. Bo also gets the Barfield Clean Sweep award for winning both his heat and the feature race. Gary Gimmler in the 29 car claimed second place, Sport Allen in the 42X finished third, Dude Teate who was driving the 91 car tonight took fourth and Jim Alvis in the 29T rounded out the top 5. The next TBARA race event will be on September 3 at Charlotte County Speedway in Punta Gorda. We hope to see y’all there.
TBARA
New Smyrna Speedway, August 20, 2005
HEAT 1
1) 3X Bo Hartley
2) 42X Sport Allen
3) 68 Troy DeCaire
4) 21B Larry Jay Brazil, Jr.
5) 19 Keith Butler
6) 90 David Retzlaff
7) 18 Rick Hockman
8) 8 Nick Manikis
HEAT 2
1) 29 Gary Gimmler
2) 91 Dude Teate
3) 29T Jim Alvis
4) 7 John Gilbert Jr.
5) 03 Tommy Nicols
6) 21 Johnny Gilbertson
7) 6 Dan Statter
The 21T driven by Steve Heisler did not make the start of the heat race
HEAT 3
1) 118 Stan Butler
2) 41 Charles Ladner
3) 5W Randy Woodall
4) 3Y Sonny Hartley
5) 47 Richard Waddell
The 42 driven by Paulie Milum did not make the start of the heat race and the 66 driven by Ray Bragg was disqualified and did not make the start of the heat race.
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