Citrus Closes Down 2001 Racing Season With a Big Night
by Larry Mac Millan (Inverness, Fl. 11/10/01) One hundred thirteen race drivers closed out the 2001 racing season at Citrus County Speedway Saturday night with as much flare as they could muster after 34 weeks of racing. Added to the regular lineup twenty-three more ladies talked their significant others out of their race cars to take on the quarter mile in the novice Powder Puff Derby to end the final night of racing.
Billy Bechtelheimer took on twenty Late Model drivers and worked the outside groove for five laps before he took the point and his fourth feature win of the season, advancing to second to close out the point race for 2001. Danny Johnson nailed down second in the 25-lap finale settling for fourth in the point race behind Dale Sanders who fell out early logging a DNF for the night. Fred Stoner, Perry Lovelady and 2001 point champion Herb Neumann Jr. had a match race for third in the run for the checkers. Bechtelheimer, Mike Bresnahan and Lovelady picked up the heat wins.
Sportsman Rookie of the Year Chris Hooker was a man on a mission as he wrapped up his final division race by logging his third feature win and 6th heat win of the year, finishing the season third in the point race before moving up to Late Models in 2002. Three-time Sportsman champ Mike Veltman kept Chris honest with a close second place finish. John Gann outran point runner up Rex Struble in the race for third and Mark Dominique rounded out his season with a fifth place finish over the fourteen-car field. Alan Struble picked up his second heat win of the season before handgranading his engine in the feature.
Mike Bell went to a backup car to finish out the last two weeks of the season after destroying his racer three weeks ago. It paid off in the Street Stock finale with win #6 on the season over a 22-car field. Scott Hendrickson, racing for the Boys and Girls Club of Citrus County picked up a solid second place finish over Scott Guthman, Don Teague and David Kingsbury. The three heat winners were John Gibbs, Kingsbury and Point Champion Travis Nichols.
It took a single file restart to get the Mini Stocks underway with Rob Wheatley going to the point early and logging his fourth feature win of the season over an 18-car field. Rookie Jay McKenzie put a late charge on Harry Futch Jr. to snatch a second place finish in their shortened 15-lap feature. Rick Sirmons tried again for the start from the rear bonus but had to settle for a fourth place finish over Don Faunce. Heat wins went to Wheatley and Kevin Harrod who had to drop out of the feature at the mid point.
Hobby Stock champion Richie Smith closed out his season with his 12th feature win of the year making him the winningest driver at Citrus for 2001. Brandon Johnson outran point runner up J.D. Goff in the race for second. Roy Perkins out maneuvered Art Brueningsen in the race for fifth. Brueningsen and Tommy Smith picked up the heat wins.
Twenty-five Thunder Stocks wrapped up their wild season in a 15 lap run for the checkers with Josh Teague making it two in a row for his fifth win of the season. A melee in the run for the checkers had Troy Davis and Stuart Madison finishing backwards and sideways in the infield for second and third. Rick Badessa came from the middle of the pack to outrun Robin Bauer in the race for fourth.
Wrapping up the night, 23 novice drivers went to the car wars in the Powder Puff Derby and pole sitter Tressa Joyner looked like a pro out there. She threaded her way through lapped traffic for 13 of the 15 laps being chased all the way by Debra Green. Further back in the pack was Carmon McClure who was one of the few cars that wasnt lapped and finished third when the dust settled.
All seven divisions will be honored at the Womens Racing Club Annual Awards Banquet on December 8th at the Citrus County Fairgrounds auditorium. Tickets are on sale through the Womens Racing Club members and must be purchased by Friday November 30th. No tickets will be sold at the door.
Thanks to all 330 drivers, car owners and the thousands of fans who made Citrus County Speedways 46th racing season a great success. We look forward to an even better 47th year of operation and racing competition in 2002 and hope that all of you will be a part of it.
Citrus County Speedway Results 11/10/01 Late Model Feature – 25 Laps – 20 Cars 1. # 6 Billy Bechtelheimer Dover 2. #96 Danny Johnson Crystal River 3. # 7 Fred Stoner Hernando 4. #68 Perry Lovelady Lakeland 5. #38 Herb Neumann Jr. Inverness (2001 Champion) 1st Heat Winner - #6 Billy Bechtelheimer – Dover 2nd Heat Winner - #3x Mike Bresnahan – Homosassa 3rd Heat Winner - #68 Perry Lovelady – Lakeland Sportsman Feature – 20 Laps – 14 Cars 1. # 3 Chris Hooker Inverness 2. #55 Mike Veltman Crystal River (2001 Champion) 3. # 9 John Gann Brooksville 4. #69 Rex Struble Homosassa 5. # 7 Mark Dominique Lecanto 1st Heat Winner - #93 Alan Struble – Brooksville 2nd Heat Winner - #3 Chris Hooker – Inverness Street Stock Feature – 20 Laps – 22 Cars 1. #23 Mike Bell Brooksville 2. #21 Scott Hendrickson Inverness 3. #33 Scot Guthman Brooksville 4. #2x Don Teague Hernando 5. #73 David Kingsbury Brooksville 1st Heat Winner - #99 John Gibbs – Homosassa 2nd Heat Winner - #73 David Kingsbury – Brooksville 3rd Heat Winner - #2 Travis Nichols – Inverness (2001 Champion) Mini Stock Feature – 15 Laps – 18 Cars 1. #88 Rob Wheatley Inverness 2. #1x Jay McKenzie Inverness 3. #03 Harry Futch Jr. Brooksville 4. #61 Rick Sirmons Pinellas Park 5. # 2 Don Faunce Spring Hill 1st Heat Winner - #88 Rob Wheatley – Inverness 2nd Heat Winner - #34 Kevin Harrod – Bushnell Frank Coleman – (2001 Champion) Hobby Stock Feature – 20 Laps – 16 Cars 1. #42 Richie Smith Hernando (2001 Champion) 2. #88 Brandon Johnson Inverness 3. #14 J.D. Goff Brooksville 4. #07 Roy Perkins Inverness 5. #35 Art Brueningsen Brooksville 1st Heat Winner - #35 Art Brueningsen – Brooksville 2nd Heat Winner - #21 Tommy Smith – Floral City Thunder Stock Feature – 15 Laps – 25 Cars 1. #20 Josh Teague Clearwater 2. #88 Rick Badessa Inverness 3. #97 Robin Bauer Brooksville 4. # 4 Allen Turner Inverness 5. #2x Jeff Teague Clearwater Powder Puff Derby – 15 Laps – 23 Cars 1. #86 Tressa Joyner 2. #53 Debra Green 3. #15 Carman McClure
