(Bradenton, FL; 9/9/2000)Hard-charging Tony Elrod, Jr. of Kathleen roared from 16th place to the checkered flag in the Q Auto & Injury Attorneys Stock Mini 50-lap shootout at DeSoto Speedway Saturday night.

"I'd been having problems all day," Elrod said. "I couldn't even qualify. From the time we took the car off the trailer until the time to start the race, we had carburator trouble."

Off to a bad start, Elrod just hoped for a decent finish, especially when four-time winner, Tommy Huffstutler of Bradenton, set fast time for the event with a 17.60 (77 mph) lap time. With the draw of the top ten, Jesse Dutilly of Bradenton claimed the pole, and Syndee Brown of Bradenton was on the outside.

Brown quickly jumped to the lead and led 35 laps until Elrod made an inside pass to take over the lead. "The tires did it," Elrod said. "We bought a new set just before the race."

Clay Joseph of Bradenton, who placed second, brought a new car to the track just for the championship event. "I thought we had him covered, but the car started running hot," Joseph said. "We lost all the water, so we just rode for second. It was bad for 10 or 15 laps so I just tried to hang on. I have to thank everyone that helped me get the car ready, especially my wife, Stephanie, and the crew at the shop."

Jesse Dutilly of Bradenton took third place in the shootout. Bill Close of Bradenton took his second straight win in the Selective HR Solutions Sportsman feature event.

"This is a first for us, we've never taken back-to-back wins," Close said. "Been here nine or ten years and never done it before. I'm proud of this one. It was tough though. Clyde and Lonnie are both running really good. I picked up a push late in the race and it slowed me a little but the handling is something. It's just rolling through the corners." The ageless Clyde Cole of Sarasota took second place and points leader, Lonny Miller of Bradenton took third place.

Gary Flynn of Palmetto took his second win of the season in the Contemporary Cabinetry & Closet Concepts Pure Stock feature event. "It always runs good when you can work out the bugs," said points leader Flynn. "I got totaled one week and and I've had to work on it." Howard Higgins of Arcadia placed second and Gary Mcfall of Venice took third.

Kenny Hankins of Lakeland won the Manatee Lumber Modified Minis feature event after a hard fought race with Randy Koon of Lakeland. "It was a strong race," said Hankins, who has won 10 races between Orlando and DeSoto this year. "Randy's a great driver with a great car. I think he got held in traffic a little. I wasn't expecting that last caution and he's alot quicker on the restarts than I am. He did get his nose under me, but it didn't work. I was just a little stronger. It was a great race." Matt Watts of Dade City took third place.

Kurt Haywood of Ft. Lauderdale took the checkered flag in the DeSoto Speedway Pro Trucks feature event. "It was just a good race, this is my first win," said Haywood, a rookie in truck racing. "We just built this truck and started racing it this year. Todd (Bontrager) was the man to beat. He's a good driver with a lot of experience." Todd Bontrager of Sarasota placed second, with Ron Gill taking third.

Randy Sands of the Florida Keys won the Outlaw Modified 25-lap event. Sands, a two-time points champion and current points leader, led the 21 car field almost throughout the entire race. "Truthfully, I don't know how to pass on this track so I figured I better get anything I can when I can," Sands said. "It may not look like it, but I had to work hard for this one. This is the first time I've raced at this track. I love it. I think it's the best one in Florida."

-Ken Willis-

DeSoto Speedway Results for Saturday, September 9,2000
SPORTSMAN
1. #75 BILL CLOSE, BRADENTON
2. #17 CLYDE COLE, SARASOTA
3. #98 LONNY MILLER, BRADENTON
4. #89 JIMMY COOK, SARASOTA
5. #18A CRAIG AMBOYAN,
6. #86 JEFF ANDERSON, BRADENTON
7. #22 FRED WAGNER, BRADENTON
8. #03 BARRY CARLSON, LARGO
9. #5 BRENDA CLOSE, BRADENTON
10. #7 PATRICK MCGINNIS, BRADENTON
11. #54 ROY NELSON,

PURE STOCK
1. #56 GARY FLYNN, PALMETTO
2. #7 HOWARD HIGGINS, ARCADIA
3. #68 GARY MCFALL, VENICE
4. #6 DANNY ANDERSON, BRADENTON
5. #3 PEGGY HURST, SARASOTA
6. #20 GREG BANACH, BRADENTON
7. #54 MARK GILL, BRADENTON
8. #4 MARK PICKELSIMER, BRADENTON
9. #30 JOE WENGERD, SARASOTA

MODIFIED MINI
1. #8 KENNY HANKINS, LAKELAND
2. #22 RANDY KOON, LAKELAND
3. #3 MATT WATTS, DADE CITY
4. #7 STEVE MARTIN, PINELLAS PARK
5. #03 JIMMY HURLEY,
6. #31 GREG LUECKE, ST PETERSBURG
7. #7 PHIL CRUSE,
8. #04 TOM MEYER,
9. #16 RONNIE HEARD JR, SEFFNER
10. #86 FRED PARAVICINI, BRADENTON
11. #72 CHIP GAINES, SARASOTA
12. #1 BILLY CARLBERT JR,

MINI-STOCK
1. #70 TONY ELROD JR, KATHLEEN
2. #95 CLAY JOSEPH, BRADENTON
3. #30 JESSE DUTILLY, BRADENTON
4. #98 ARLIN POPE, BRADENTON
5. #14 JON BAILEY, ST. PETERSBURG
6. #23 MIKE GAYLE, SARASOTA
7. #74 PAUL HUFFSTUTLER, BRADENTON
8. #84 ROBERT HAYGOOD, BRADENTON
9. #2 MARK CHAPMAN, SARASOTA
10. #8 STEVE GLOVER, BRADENTON
11. #17X SYNDEE BROWN, BRADENTON
12. #4 TOMMY HUFFSTUTLER, BRADENTON
13. #68 DANNY POLING, SARASOTA
14. #35 GREG KROM, SARASOTA
15. #24T SCOTT FINCH, BRADENTON

DESOTO SPEEDWAY PRO TRUCK
1. #97 KURT HAYWOOD, FT LAUDERDALE
2. #8 TODD BONTRAGER, SARASOTA
3. #18 RON GILL,
4. #31 DOUG MILLER,
5. #27 SHAWN ICELY, BRADENTON
6. #03 CHARLIE WORTH, LOXAHATCHEE
8. #15 BOBBY SPAETI, MADEIRA BEACH
9. #25 GARY FOXWORTH,
10. #0 FRED LAY, BRANDON
11. #96 JASON SEEKINS, ZEPHYRHILLS
12. #0 BOBBY DIEHL, RIVERVIEW
13. #93 JEFF FIRESTINE, NOKOMIS
14. #71 LEONARD MCCUE, ST PETERSBURG
15. #3 DENNIS ROCKENHAUS, NORT FT MYERS
16. #40 STEVE ANDERSON,
17. #2 JAMES HUMBERSON,
18. #40 PAUL GRENEWICZ, HUDSON
19. #9 DAVID BAUTE, BRANDON
20. #99F DANNY FOSTER, SARASOTA
21. #21 KELLY HUFF, NAPLES
22. #54 DOUG KENNEY, TAMPA
23. #0 JERRY PERRY,
24. #21X BRIAN DONAHUE,
25. #50 ANDY BREEDLOVE, SARASOTA
26. #4 AL NEWMANN, BRADENTON





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