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| SOUTHARD WINS LATE MODEL SHOOTOUT AT BRONSON | by Gil Peck
Gary Southard notched a win in the 50-lap
shootout for Late Model Sportsman cars Saturday night
at the NEW Bronson Motor Speedway. Even bigger was the
point race between Roger Damron and Doc Batson for the
season championship. Batson, driving with broken ribs
and in a lot of pain finished third in a wild scramble
for the lead with Jerome Brown and Gary Southard.
Damron would finish sixth and it was time to put the
calculators to work . The end result- both drivers
finished in a TIE. In a sportsman like gesture, they
agreed to split the championship. " I really want to
thank my sponsors and the people that helped me put
this car together", said Doc. We got heavy
competition from Roger and I'm glad things turned out
the way they did." In a prophetic look towards next
season he then referenced his rookie daughter Krystal
when he told the crowd, " next year she'll win the
Pure Stock Championship.!" Gary Southard was also
elated and one happy guy in victory lane " This is one
hell of a motor", and I want to thank the guys for
putting it together and giving me such a great ride
tonite", he said. " My sponsers were terrific and
stood by us all season", said the grateful winner.
PURE STOCKS
Another heartwarming win came Saturday when
Tommy Ausburn put his brand new Pontiac Grand Prix
into victory lane for the first time in his career.
Tommy, a veteran of many Bronson Speedway wars, was
elated as his wife and family greeted him . " The car
was perfect, tonite". This makes up for the other
tough times!". Tommy was referring to several hard
crashes, including one last year that saw his car sail
right out of the speedway and break in two on the
other side of turn one. This likeable, hard working
driver deserves all the credit. Congratulations,
Tommy. 18 cars started the feature and it was a mad
scramble into turn one and two as the field got sorted
out. After a couple of spins and a re-starts the field
really got going until lap 13 of the event when Mark
Sanders ( 9x) and Patrick Lewis ( 46) got together in
turn four. A slam into the fourth turn wall turned
scary when Sanders got turned around and Lewis hit him
head on in the main straightaway. Both drivers were
shaken, nut unhurt, nut the same could not be said for
their cars as both sustained heavy frint end damage.
The re-start after the red flag saw Tommy Ausburn take
off again, this time with Doug Webster in hot pursuit.
He held on as Webster finished second and Mickey Burns
closed for third.
SUPER STOCKS
Bubba Hodge is making it a winning habit as he
saw victory lane again Saturday night. He held off a
stout challenge from Larry Goolsby who was having a
fine ride in just his second night out in these
powerful cars. " He really likes that Super Stock!"
said his proud Dad, Don in the pits earlier in the
evening. Rob Cooper was third in a team car to Goolsby
and, Gary Southard, doing double duty in the Late
Models and Super Stock was fourth.
MINI-STOCK
Tater Stalnaker jumped into Jeff's ( Stalnaker)
usual ride and notched a win in the mini-stocks .
Larry Goolsby, also doing double duty, was second.
That is not the whole story however. Both cars ran
side by side for the last 13 of the twenty lap
feature.! I mean, side by side! Even a photo finish
camera might not have determined who crossed the
stripe first as the race progressed, but in the end it
Stalnaker by a half a bumper. Just to make sure,
Goolsby pulled into victory lane as well, but was
second, only for the record book, because in the minds
of everyone, they had driven a spectacular race.
DWARF CARS
These feisty four - bangers were with us once
again and put a whale of a show. They never run far
apart and one never knows who is gonna win until the
checkered flag drops. One anxious moment did occur
when car # 21 slammed the outside retaining wall
coming out of turn four. The impact sheared the right
rear wheel of f the car, but the driver climbed out
unhurt. Dennis Archinal ( # 12), Dan Berry ( # 44),
and Allen Davis ( #74) made it a three car breakaway
and these three diced for the entire 20-lap feature.
Action really heated up as this trio scooted in and
out of traffic and raced nose to tail to the checkered
flag. Archinal won and Dan Berry, of Longwood, Florida
was third. The group runs out of the Orlando/Kissimmee
area and is at the track on a monthly basis. They will
be back with us on November 3.
Mini_CUP
These tiny, but beautifully prepared cars visited
the speedway for the first time Saturday night. Steve
Smith notched the win for the adult division and Tim
Dundas was the winner in the future stars group. These
cars are powered by "hopped up" go cart engines and
turn the track at speeds rivaling the mini-stocks. Fun
Stuff.
SPEAKING OF FUN STUFF-- the kids will have a ball
this Saturday night as the track holds a Halloween
costume contest. There will be candy, too, and of
course racing, as the Ghost and Goblin 50-lap MODIFIED
CARS TOUR roars into town with their powerful open
wheeled speedsters. 25 or more cars from around the
state of Florida are expected with the rest of the
Bronson Race Series. Racing starts at 7:30, but be
sure to get there early for fun and surprises.
RESULTS
LATE MODEL SPORTSMAN
1). # 29 Gary Southard, Bronson
2). # 25 Jerome Brown, Newberry
3) # 4 Doc Batson, Inverness
4) # 57 Doyle Boatwright, Stark
5) # 26 Mike Faulk, Ft. White
PURE STOCKS
1) # 38 Tommy Ausburn, Bronson
2) # 72 Doug Webster, Ocala
3) # 22 Mickey Burns, Hernando
4) # 02 Mike Baker, Inglis
5) # 90 Troy Fowler, Gainesville
MINI_STOCK
1) # 11 Tater Stalnaker, Williston
2) # 27 Larry Goolsby, Williston
3) #3 Tim Riviere, Keystone Heights
4) # 0 James Ervin, Dunnellon
5) # 81 Morris Richardson, Bronson
SUPER STOCK
1) # 18 Bubba Hodge, Cheifland
2) # 97 Larry Goolsby, Williston
3) # 98 Rob Cooper, Bronson
4) # 39 Gary Southard, Bronson
5) # 74 Al Bouchard, Williston
DWARF CARS
1) # 12 Dennis Archinal, Auburndale
2) # 44 Dan Berry, Longwood
3) # 74 Allen Davis, Kissimme
4) # 71 Ron Towles, Jacksonville
MINI-CUP
1) # 28 Steve Smith
2) # 3 Brian Etty
3) # 17 Doug Smith
4) # 27 Colt Smith
5) # 12 Mark Ross
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