IT'S TIME TO RACE!!

April 2, 2006 Citrus Restarts 2006 Season with 153 Racers and Full Grandstand by Larry MacMillan After a month off Citrus County Speedway re-fired their 51st racing season with a 7 division race card, a full pit, and full grandstand. One hundred fifty three race drivers registered to compete with the adrenalin running high and quite a few rookies with big dreams on their first night out. Five local divisions registered 107 race cars in the Open Wheel Modified, Limited Sportsman, Mini Stock, Thunder Stock and 4 Cylinder Bomber Divisions. Twenty Five TBARA winged Sprinters and 21 All Pro and Jr. All Star Mini Cup drivers balanced out the 153 racers that signed up for the full night of action. Local drivers restarted their point’s races with a 24 car Open Wheel Modified field. Bobby Blakeley, Jimmy Wagner and Eric Purcell, driving for recovering Ronnie Campbell, took the wins in the 3 heat races. Bobby Blakeley set the pace from the pole for a 30 lap flag to flag win being chased by Jimmy Wagner, Steve Parez, Kyle Bookmiller and defending champion Billy Bechtelheimer rounding out the top five. Sixteen cars went to war in the second Limited Sportsman race of the season and Malloy Kelly set the pace for both his heat and the feature with a wire to wire win in both for his first feature win in the division. Ernie Reed moved from 5th to second in the green white checkered finish in the time shortened main event. Bobby Taylor took the win in the second heat and held out for a third place finish from his 8th starting spot. Jim Altobelli and Dustin Aaron topped off the front five. Defending Mini Stock champion Chris Hooker was dominate over the 23 car feature lineup. He won the first heat but was put back to second for jumping the green flag on the start. Jeff Pittsley inherited the heat win. George Neumann and Clint Foley took the wins in the second and third heat. It only took Hooker one lap to take the point in the feature run and despite numerous caution flags he left the rest of the field in his dust on his way to his first win of 2006. Jesse Henley, George Neumann, Clint Foley and Jay McKenzie diced for the top five slots and finished in that order. Fifteen 4 Cylinder Bombers took the green flag for their 15 lap feature run and Justin Durbin moved from 8th to Victory Lane followed by Peter Nelson and Phil Edwards. Second and third place were decided in the post race inspection with Nelson and Edwards found illegal, moving Kevin Stone up to second and Michelle Wagner into third. Joey Durbin held out for 4th followed by Brandon Elwood in fifth. Heat wins went to Stone and Durbin. Twenty nine Thunder Stocks qualified in three heat races with Gary Johnson, Dan Bouchard and point leader Tim Wilson coming up with the wins. With numerous caution flags and lengthly cleanups time ran out on the 11 o’clock curfew and the 20 lap feature was postponed until The visiting TBARA Winged Sprints put on the usual high speed excitement with a 25 car turnout featuring all the heavy hitters in the series. Defending TBARA and Silver Crown Champion David Steele snatched away the win in the first heat from 16 year old rookie Erik MacMillan. It was Sonny Hartley all the way in heat 2 and Stan Butler was the dominant force in the third heat in preparation for capturing his first feature win of the season in the 30 lap main event. The race got started on a sour note with 6 cars going for the WIN in the first lap and coming into turn 4, four deep, knotting up six cars on the turn four wall. Erik MacMillan, with no place to go at the tail end of the wreck, was the only car that had to go on the hook in a crash that took about 10 minutes to unknot. Only 12 of the 23 starters were able to finish the race mostly due to mechanical problems. When the checkers flew Stan Butler took the win followed by Bo Hartley, David Steele, Keith Butler and John Anderson. Wearing NEXTEL Cup Champion Tony Stewarts number and colors must have been an inspiration for Doug Smith as he dominated the 13 car Mini Cup All Pro field in both his heat and the 25 lap feature. Nando Pinto, Rick Blair and pole sitter Brett Jameson held out for the top four spots. Jameson took the win in the first heat. Ray Black Jr. was a winner in both his heat and the 20 lap Jr. All Stars main event. Critter Witte, Daniel Miller, Blake Orr and Thomas Warnick locked in the top five positions. Next Saturday night Florida’s best Super Late Models take center stage at Citrus County Speedway with the Sunbelt Series taking on the 3/8ths mile in a 125 lap feature race. Rounding out a five division race card will be the Fantastic Figure 8’s, Mini Stocks, double features for the Thunder Stocks and the return of the Hobby Stocks who always have a full field and put on an exciting show. Racing continues every Saturday night through November 11th. Citrus County Speedway Results April 1, 2006 – 153 Cars Modified Feature – 30 Laps - 24 Cars 1. #75 Bobby Blakeley - 1st Season Feature 2. #17 Jimmy Wagner 3. #92 Steve Parez 4. #03 Kyle Bookmiller 5. # 6 Billy Bechtelheimer 1st Heat Winner - #75 Bobby Blakeley 2nd Heat Winner - #17 Jimmy Wagner 3rd Heat Winner - # 5 Eric Purcell Limited Sportsman Feature – 20 Laps – 16 Cars 1. #92 Maloy Kelly – 1st Season Win 2. #55 Ernie Reed 3. #66 Bobby Taylor 4. #76 Jim Altobelli 5. #98 DustinAaron 1st Heat Winner - #92 Maloy Kelly 2nd Heat Winner - #66 Bobby Taylor Mini Stock Feature – 20 Laps – 23 Cars 1. # 6 Chris Hooker – 1st Season Win 2. #23 Jesse Henley 3. # 1 George Neumann 4. # 7 Clint Foley 5. # 5 Jay McKenzie 1st Heat Winner - #20 Jeff Pittsley 2nd Heat Winner - # 1 George Neumann 3rd Heat Winner - # 7 Clint Foley Thunder Car Feature – 20 Laps – 29 Cars Postponed Until 4/8 Due to Curfew 1st Heat Winner - #40 Gary Johnson 2nd Heat Winner - #14 Daniel Bouchard 3rd Heat Winner - # 85 Tim Wilson 4 Cylinder Bomber Feature – 15 Laps – 15 Cars 1. #34 Justin Durbin - 2. #98 Kevin Stone 3. # 7 Michelle Wagner 4. #72 Joey Durbin 5. #28 Brandon Elwood 1st Heat Winner - #98 Kevin Stone 2nd Heat Winner - #34 Justin Durbin TBARA Winged Sprint Feature – 30 Laps – 25 Cars – 23 Starters 1. #18 Stan Butler 2. #3X Bo Hartley 3. #91 David Steele 4. #19 Keith Butler 5. #1X John Anderson 1st Heat Winner - #91 David Steele 2nd Heat Winner - #3Y Sonny Hartley 3rd Heat Winner - #18 Stan Butler All Pro Mini Cup Feature – 25 Laps – 13 Cars 1. #20 Doug Smith 2. #16 Nando Pinto 3. #28 Rick Blair 4. #70 Brett Jameson 1st Heat Winner - #70 Brett Jameson 2nd Heat Winner - #20 Doug Smith Jr. All Star Mini Cup Feature – 20 Laps – 8 Cars 1. #4 Ray Black Jr. – Also won the Heat 2. #11 Critter Witte 3. #00 Daniel Miller 4. #20 Blake Orr 5. #9 Thomas Warnick Have an opinion on this story? 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