The Bronson "bullring" was at it again on Saturday nite, turning out fender to fender racing in three hotly contested divisions. The PURE STOCKS, MINI-STOCKS, and 4-CYLINDER CRUISERS put on an excellent show with several thrills and spills.

PURE STOCK

This group of cars is really " gettin after it" as no one is sure who will win on any given Saturday nite. Saturday saw plenty of action as Jerome Brown in his # 25 Camero and Steve Seymour in the Autozone # 88 battled through the pack to chase eventual winner Corkey Miley in his # 93 Camero. Corkey had to survive several re-starts, each time holding off a snarling group of cars that had the power to catch him. Catching is one thing, passing is another at the bullring.Tommy Ausborn was the first to give it a whirl in his # 69 Olds Cutlass. He chased Miley for the first half of the race before giving ground to Jerome Brown who had clawed his way from a mid-pack jam up of cars to take over second on lap 16. John " Hammerhead" Hughes took a wild ride in his # 77 Camero as it slid down the backstretch and slammed into the third turn sand retaining wall on lap # 8. Then it was Jack Dampier 's turn for showtime as his car showered the backstretch with sparks after snapping a wheel hub and came to a grinding halt in turn three. " The car kept coming out on the turns and would'nt run the outside like I am used to. It turned out it was a bearing that let loose and caused the wheel to break. We'll be back next week," said a philosophical Dampier after the race. The re-start on lap 17 was wild as Jerome Brown snatched second place away from Tommy Ausborn and then tried to get a run on Miley. Corkey held on a notched his second win of the early season with Jerome coming in second.

MINI-STOCK

Jeff Stalnaker, Sr. has been confounded in his # 10 Pinto by " a bunch of little things that would'nt come together" in this early race season . Saturday nite, things changed as Jeff scored his first win on the bullring's high banks. He had plenty of pressure from another driver that his ride all togerther and looking good, Joe Lawson in his # 20 machine. The 20 lap feature must have seemed like an eternity to the senior member of the Stalnaker family as he had to survive several re-starts for the win. David Westrich was equal to Jeff's challenge and he, Joe Lawson, and Clint Foley gave chase in the early going. Foley was mounting a serious charge for the lead when his car erupted in flames in the backstretch. Foley brought the Bronson Family Restaurant machine to a halt as fire and safety crews were right on top of the incident before any damage could be done. Foley brought the car into the pits for repairs and was able to get back in the race only to have the same thing happen again, this time on the main straightaway on lap 13. The car was obviously done for the nite. Josh " Thumper" Hars always brings an immaculate car to the track and he had his # 04 Dr. Jays entry running strong in the early going. It was great to see Al Bouchard back in his # 74 mini-truck . Al built this truck last year and then relinquished the ride to Chet Marlowe so that he could help John Naber get his truck ready for the Cruiser Class. " I've had ebough of waiting in the wings",Al told me before the race." I gotta get some seat time". Seat time and a great run were his reward. " At one point on lap 14, Joe Lawson got loose in front of me. I thought of last year 's crashes and said-- here we go again, but the brakes worked and we came out fine. We had a lot of fun." So did we, Al. Hope to see you back in the show again soon! On the final re-start, Jeff Stalnaker gave it all he had and was able to outrun Joe Lawson and David Westrich to the checkered.

4-CYLINDER CRUISER

These young lions are learning fast. John Naber is oldest driver of the bunch at a whopping 28. Chad Dixon, Ryan Nagele, and Lil'J", Jeff Stalnaker Jr. make up the rest of these young guns that do battle every Saturday nite. This nite saw three abreast racing and some excellent moves on the part of Chad Dixon as he threaded his car into the narrow low groove to make passes for position. Ryan Nagele had the early lead in the feature and d id his best to hold off the charge of Dixon and John Naber, who was coming fast in the mini-truck. It was'nt enough as Naber went by Nagele on lap 15 and held on to win. Dixon was also able to get by and finished second, with Ryan rounding out the top three.

Be sure to be with us this Saturday nite when the Daytona Antique Racing association will bring their beautifully restored cars of the 40's and 50's and race. Some of these cars are open wheel sprints and midgets with Indianapolis bloodlines. The entire Bronson Race Series will also run, Late Models excepted. They will run another SUPER SHOW on April 15th.


RESULTS

PURE STOCK

1) # 93 Corkey Miley, Hernando, Fla. 2) # 25 Jerome Brown, Newberry, Fla. 3) # 69 Tommy Ausborn, Bronson, Fla.

MINI-STOCK

1) # 10 Jeff Stalnaker, Sr., Ocala, Fla. 2) # 20 Joe Lawson , Hawthorne, Fla. 3) # 6 David Westrich, Old Town, Fla.

4-CYLINDER CRUISER

1) # 3 John Naber, Dunnellon, Fla. 2) # 27 Chad Dixon, Ocala, Fla. 3) # 9 Ryan Nagele, Citra, Fla.

by Gil Peck

Have an opinion on this story? Post a message on our Message Board!
or send a letter to the editor!