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| Mike Hovis: Limited Late Model Winner at Charlotte | by by Dan Snow
The evening started with a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem being played by Crystal Carmean on her flute. Crystal is a student at Lehigh Senior High School. Thank you Crystal.
With the qualifying getting under way a little after 6 o'clock for the first race of the Circle One Limited Late Model 6-Pack Series with 13 cars shooting for the pole position, the fans were in for some great high speed action at Charlotte County Speedway. Mike "the Hobo" Hovis takes the fastest lap around the 3/8 mile with a time of 15.544 for the 100 lap feature.
Before the main event though the fans were treated to a six lap heat race for the Little Vic's Concessions Mini Modifieds with the #90 of Paul White of North Fort Myers starting on the pole. But it wasn't long before Frank Welch, also from North Fort Myers took the lead in his #96 mini mod and held off the #3 of Danny Yates from Cape Coral to go all the way to the finish to take the win and Paul White coming in third.
The Hendry's Mango Maniac Cowboy Cadillacs came up next for their heat race with seven trucks taking the start. The 8 lap race saw the #91 of Hugh Alexander of Punta Gorda starting on the pole and going on to win with Cheryl Weaver of Port Charlotte in her #37 taking second.
The first of two Pure Stock heat races starts with 8 cars for 6 laps. George Tanner's #8 from Cape Coral started on the pole. Kevin Murphy of Ft. Myers brought out the one and only yellow flag by spinning on lap 4 in car #22. After the restart, George Tanner (#8) goes on to win over a hard charging #50 driven by Joe Williamson of St. James City for second place. The second Pure Stock heat race finds #91x driven by Port Charlotte's John Plakiotis on the pole. Six cars start and finish this heat with no cautions from the green flag to the checkered flag. Christine Gibson of Lehigh Acres in car #49 took the win followed closely by #38 driven by Joe Reese of Bonita Springs for second.
The Lee's Auto Repair Road Warriors first heat had 14 cars lined up for 6 laps with #68h driven by John Hanuschik on the pole. The green flag flew for four laps before the yellow was brought out for a multi-car pile-up in turn 4. When the race gets back underway, #73 driven by Michael Collins of Bonita Springs takes a close win over #10's Mark Regner of North Ft. Myers who had led most of the race. Heat number two starts with 12 cars for their 6 lap race. Jim Kaczynski Jr. has the pole with his #59 from Cape Coral. Car #1 After a clean race, #1 from North Ft. Myers took the win with Jesse Gargus behind the wheel.
The Little Vic's Concessions Mini Mods Feature started with 4 cars to battle for the checkers for their 20 lap race. #90 of Paul White from North Ft. Myers started on the pole. Frank Welch from North Ft. Myers in the #96 car takes the lead on the first lap and then slows down on the second, dropping back to 3rd then 4th position by lap 6. Car #3 driven by Danny Yates of Cape Coral takes a commanding lead early in the race and holds it for the win.
The Hendry Mango Maniacs Cowboy Cadillacs 25 lap feature race begins with 7 trucks taking the green. The pole position was held by the #91 of Hugh Alexander from Punta Gorda. Hugh Alexander's truck broke putting him out of the race after holding the lead for 18 laps, giving the other trucks a chance for the lead. Cheryl Weaver of Port Charlotte in her #37 took the checkered over the #33 of Don Van Acker from Punta Gorda, who started in the back of the pack.
The Pure Stock class (who are looking for a division sponsor) started their 35 lap feature with 19 cars at the drop of the green. George Tanner of Cape Coral started on the pole in #8. The yellow came out on lap 3 as two cars spin out in turn 2. Before the restart #99 driven by Mark Collins of Cape Coral had to pit putting him down a few laps before he returned to the race. Although there were numerous yellows throughout the race, the longest by far was on lap 10 when car #33 driven by Mike Loney (home town not available) lost a wheel causing a 3 car melee in turn 3 resulting in his disqualification for unsportsman like conduct after he threw his helmet at one of the other drivers. After running a hard 2nd for most of the race, it must have been a disappointment for George Tanner to have to pit his #8 with only a few laps remaining in the race. Car #22 driven by Kevin Murphy of Ft. Myers had to do the same on lap 24. The checkered flag found Joe Reese of Bonita Springs in his #38 crossing the line first followed by #31x with Elbert Butts of Nocatee taking second.
For the ever popular Lee's Auto Repair Road Warriors 30 lap feature, John Hanuschik of Cape Coral in car #68h had the pole with 25 other weekend warriors behind him. Three or four cars got together in turn 1 for the first caution on lap 6. Before taking the green on the restart, the #14 car driven by Ricky Gill of North Ft. Myers spun causing another try at the restart. #73 driven by Michael Collins from Bonita Springs dominated the first half of the race. Ft. Myers' Andy Wood in car #21 took the lead and held on tight to take the win. Chris Oncken of Ft. Myers in #61 come in second. After holding 3rd place for the better part of the race, #M00 driven by Bob Williams from Naples had to go into the pits with only 3 laps left in the race, letting John Boyer from Cape Coral in car #3 take 3rd.
Race fans packed the stands for the first race of the Circle One Limited Late Models 6 Pack Series. Out of the 13 cars vying for the pole position, Mike "The Hobo" Hovis of North Ft. Myers had the honor in his #29 for the 100 lap feature. It was green flag racing for the first 6 laps before the first caution came out. After getting loose and losing 3 or 4 positions, #4 driven by Randy "Hondo" Fox of Lehigh Acres lost a tire on lap 31 and pitted for his first time of the night. Overheating later caused him to have to call it a night. The half way mark found #29, Mike "The Hobo" Hovis still in the lead as car #0, Charlie Bible of Georgia gets turned around by Johnny "Action" Jackson in the #1 car. #88, Doug Moff from Ft. Myers was disqualified when his pit crew came on to the track after the his car and #51 driven by Richie Anderson of North Ft. Myers got together on turn 2 of lap 56. The green flag drops for the final time with only 2 laps left in the race and the battle was on. Mike Hovis in car #29 catches the checkered as it flew for the win, followed by #57 Joe Winchell from Davie in second and #7 Rusty Hillman from North Ft. Myers in third.
A great big Thank You to all the folks behind the scenes at the track. They're an important part of the racing experience!
-Dan Snow
Race Results for 3-3-2001
Circle One Limited Late Models 6-Pk #1
#29 Mike Hovis
#57 Joe Winchell
# 7 Rusty Hillman
#34 Jeff Dufresne
#51 Richie Anderson
# 0 Charlie Bible
# 1 Johnny Jackson
#36X Al Fradette
#43 Glenn Morris
#62 Buzz Martin
#26 Bobby Shelton
# 4 Randy Fox
#88 Doug Moff Disqualified
Hendry's Mango Maniacs Cowboy Cadillacs
#37 Cheryl Weaver
#33 Don Van Aker
#46 Buck Wilson
#24 Justin Bryant
#16 Wally Smith
# 2 Gene Pack, Jr.
#91 Hugh Alexander
Little Vic's Concessions Modified Minis
# 3 Danny Yates
#96 Frank Welch
#98 Mike Ginaitt
#90 Paul White
Pure Stocks
#38 Joe Reese
#31X Elbert Butts
#18 Ray Jayne
# 6 Kevin Utter
#28 Hugh Hackney
# 3 Loren Rosenthal
#91X John Plakiotis
#21 Jeff Padilla, Jr.
#11 Doug Spitzer
#49 Christine Gibson
#10 Eric Smith
#12 Eric Solomon
# 8 George Tanner
#22 Kevin Murphy
#84 Bill Van Devender
# 4 David Bennett
#99 Mark Collins
#50 Joe Williamson
#71 Scott Moran Did not start
#33 Mike Loney Disqualified
Lee's Auto Repair Road Warriors
#21 Andy Wood
#61 Chris Oncken
# 3 John Boyer
#28 Joe Bossey
#72 Del Beckner
#29 Derek Ficarra
# 1 Jesse Gargus
#88 Wayne Wilson
#912J Candi Jackson
#82 Billy Lentz
#10 Mark Regner
# 7 Jonathan Abraham
#73 Mike Collins
#59 Jim Kaczynski, Jr.
#63 Gerald Bates
#14 Ricky Gill
#46 Alan Collins
#11 Robert Hendry
#Moo Bob Williams
#31 Scott Barnes
#35 Ron Dushek, Jr.
#18 Shane Leonard
#66 Dan Klein
#42 Mike Gibson
#68H John Hanuschik
#52 Donna Connolly Did not start
Races for next week 3-10-2001 will be K & S Transport Open Wheel Modifieds, Kix Country Sportsman, Big Wheels Mini Stocks, Shirley's Bookkeeping Rebel Road Warriors & Florida Dwarf Cars.
Front Gate Opens at 4:00 p.m. Races start at 6:00 p.m.
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