By Diana Brake

Ocala, FL, June 10, 2000 - Ocala Speedway is always the place to be on Saturday night. Cool breezes and hot racing made this a family night to remember. The Roll Over Derby provided great entertainment as one of the cars rolled one and half times for the win.

The Coca Cola Four Cylinder Bombers came out with some serious racing planned. This feature was caution free and Neal Durbin lead pole to wire. Chauna Johnston sat in second position for the first four laps, but Marlon Durbin was keeping the pressure very high, and he finally gained her spot. Ric Hart continued the assault on Johnston. On the final lap, both Hart and Roberts passed Johnston, but Hart suddenly lost power and slipped back in the pack. Neal Durbin took the checkered flag. Marlon Durbin finished second followed by Todd Roberts, Joel Eckman and Chauna Johnston.

The WTRS Pure Stocks were next to roar out of the pits. John Betts quickly took a commanding lead. Hart, Moose Alderman, Kenny Abney and Mike Davis were running so close together, they sometimes drove through the turns three and four cars wide. Alderman finally broke free and began to seriously challenge Betts. Alderman got a break when a caution regrouped the pack, putting him on Betts' bumper. John Betts was able to hold off every challenge for the win, but he had to work for each lap. Moose Alderman finished second followed by Mike Davis, Mark Mitchell and Kenny Abney.

The Dave's Towing Street Stocks filled the track. Gary Wayne was the first to take the. Glenn Baum and Eddie Kilbury were constantly applying pressure on the leaders, and on the fifth lap, they broke through. Baum was in the lead and Kilbury tapped Baum's inside rear fender causing Baum to spin. Baum regained the lead, and Kilbury went to the rear of the field. Baum now had to contend with Mike Wilson who was also running very well. Kilbury spent several laps regaining position, finally working his way back into third position. The last lap was started when a yellow flag flew for a car spinning on the backstretch. The flags on the restart were green and white and Glenn Baum held on for his first win of the season. Mike Wilson came in second, and Eddie Kilbury finished third. Charles Kopach and Bob Gregg filled out the top five.

The Budweiser Modifieds were next on the track. The first start went wrong when cars tangled in turn three and a double-up restart was called. A second yellow was thrown to clear debris. On the third start, David Baxley took the lead and Johnny Newsome slipped into second. Gary Sexton quickly passed Newsome and Alan McCafferty, in his new car, pulled into third. Red Vann started on the fourth row, but lap four, he was up behind McCafferty. Racing was clean until lap eleven when another caution was thrown for a spun car in turn four. Vann used the restart to gain two spots, and he began to apply pressure to Baxley. One lap later, Vann was in the lead. Two more cautions slowed the action momentarily, but Red Vann ran hard to take the checkered flag. Dave Baxley finished second and Alan McCafferty turned in a good run for third. Scott Millar and Johnny Newsome finished fourth and fifth.

You can count on the Stephen A. Bagen Late Model Sportsman to put on a good show at Ocala Speedway. The first start went sour when the leaders jumped the flag. The second start went bad when Garver got sideways on the front stretch. The third restart was single file. Garver kept the point for four laps. Ronald Lentz, Roy Staines, Roger Damron and Kelly Charles were all right up front, jockeying for position. With credit to all drivers, the race was caution free from that point on. Lentz was able to gain to point on the fifth lap and Damron moved into second. Staines was running hot and never far behind. Ronald Lentz held a line that Damron was unable to penetrate, so Ronald Lentz took the checkered flag for the first time this season. Roger Damron claimed second, ending the longest winning streak of his career. Roy Staines finished third, and Jason Garver and Kelly Charles filled out the top five.

The Ocala Speedway 2000 season continues with weekly racing. The June 17th Anniversary Night has been postponed until the fall because of the inability to obtain a fireworks permit. This event will be rescheduled. June 17th will feature all divisions. Come out every Saturday night during the regular season for the many exciting features. This is high-action racing fun for the whole family.

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