Billy Bigley, Jr. (Naples) has been local short track racing for over twenty years, starting his racing career at the now defunct Collier County Speedway in the late 1970’s. There he learned how to work on the motor, set-up his own chassis and drive like the wind. Through the years he moved up through the ranks of short track stock car racing at tracks all over Florida, eventually winding up in NASCAR’s Slim Jim All Pro Series where he ended the 1999 season with four wins enabling him to take second place in the points race.

Saturday, February 26 found Bigley racing in the Slim Jim All Pro race in Homestead, Florida where he started in the 15th position. He moved up steadily through the pack of cars until he sat in second place comfortably waiting to take the lead until he made a pit stop, three quarters through the race for tires and fuel. As he pulled out of his pit, the gas can was still attached to the car and he was sent to the back of the pack. That didn’t
stop him for long though as he made his way back up through the field, ending the Homestead race with a sixth place finish.

However, that did not end his day of racing. He then hopped on a plane and headed to Punta Gorda, Florida to participate in the first Cat Country Limited Late Model feature of the season at Charlotte County Speedway. He
got to CCS in time to check the tires and chassis on the Lawton Motorsports car he was driving for the evening. He started in the seventh position but moved up to third by the third lap. On the tenth lap, an altercation between
Race Leader Chris Libak (Fort Myers) and second place Joe Sumasky (Lehigh Acres) sent them both to the pits. This gave Bigley the lead and the eventual win, as the crowd and his crew went wild. Fellow racing buddy, Jeff Dufresne (Fort Myers) finished second and John “Taz’ Garrett (North Fort Myers) finished third.

The Oldies 95 Open Wheel Modified feature had proved to be almost as exciting. Dave Oblinger (North Fort Myers) lead the race with Jimmy Thompson (Pinellas Park) hot on his tail. While they battled, Wayne “Rocket Man” Jefferson (Pinellas Park) steadily made his way up behind him after starting in ninth place. On the 17th lap he took the lead but a caution flag sent the field back to last completed lap, which moved Jefferson back to second spot. On the restart, he again made his way to the front, where he stayed to take his first win at CCS. Oblinger had to settle for second place and Thompson third.

James Dubose (Arcadia) took the win in the first Sportsman division race of the season, after taking the lead from Cliff Bifaro (Naples). This left Bifaro to finish second, while Raymond “Super Frog” Jones (Arcadia) took
third place.

Chuck Sweet’s (Port Charlotte) new car was like a rocket as he led the Q Country Pure Stock feature from the first lap. No one was able to get around him, as he took the checkered flag. Cliff Simer (Cape Coral) finished
second, while Chris Davis (Lehigh Acres) had her best ever finish in third place.

The Big Wheels Mini Stocks ran out of time in their caution-filled feature race. The field of cars was given the checkered flag only five laps into their race due to the 30-minute time limit. This gave Danny Yates (Cape Coral) the win, followed by Keith Risinger (Fort Myers) and 1999 Rookie of the Year Steve Arnold (Cape Coral).

Thirty cars showed up to race in the Road Warrior division so the field was split into two heat races. John Plakiotis (Port Charlotte) and Denny Ray (Naples) won the heats, which started them in the first row for the 20-car
feature. Ray went on to win the feature, while Bob Williams (Naples) and “Tipover” Terry Price (Punta Gorda) rounded out the Top Three.

Charlotte County Speedway’s own maintenance man extraordinaire, Don Van Acker (Punta Gorda) won the Cowboy Cadillac feature. Robert St. John (Arcadia) finished second and Buck Wilson (Arcadia) finished third.

CHARLOTTE COUNTY SPEEDWAY RACE RESULTS FEBRUARY 26, 2000

LIMITED LATE MODELS

1. Billy Bigley, Jr. #34
2. Jeff Dufresne #3
3. John Garrett #59
4. Glenn Morris #107
5. Jackie Smith #80X

OPEN WHEEL MODIFIED

1. Wayne "Rocket Man" Jefferson #1
2. Dave Oblinger #44
3. Jimmy Thompson #11
4. Chet Senokossoff #6S
5. Ronnie Barnett #72

SPORTSMAN

1. James Dubose #67
2. Cliff Bifaro #12
3. Raymond Jones #8
4. Buzz Martin #62
5. Scott Moran #17

PURE STOCK

1. Chuck Sweet #81
2. Cliff Simer #25
3. Chris Davis #49
4. Ronnie Allen #68
5. L.B. Skaggs #71X

MINI STOCKS

1. Danny Yates #3
2. Keith Risinger #94
3. Steve Arnold #19
4. Frank Welch #96
5. Billy Ray, Jr. #41


ROAD WARRIORS

1. Denny Ray #72
2. Bob Williams #Moo
3. Terry Price #27
4. Dennis Hale #77
5. Mike Lebeau #42

-Robin Meiser


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