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| Mini Stock Memorial 50 Goes To Sowell | by Larry MacMillan
(Inverness, Fl. 9/1/01) Thirty Mini Stocks from central Florida made the trip to Citrus County Speedway for the Lenny Brown/Ed Ironside Perry Memorial 50. Three-time champion George Neumann Jr. turned the quarter mile at a blazing 15.835 for the fast qualifier bonus from Corts Racing. The promoters decided to start all 30 cars but the overcrowded racecourse reduced the field to 21 by lap nine due to multiple caution flags.
The top twelve qualifiers drew pills for their starting positions. Mike Foley drew the one pill for the pole and set the pace for the first fifteen laps before Frank Coleman made the pass. Mark Sowell took the point five laps later and held out through several more caution flags picking up the $100 mid race leader bonus and most laps led bonus for another $100 from ICC/Astec Paints. Eleventh starter Rick Sirmons turned up the heat in the final ten laps to take the lead away from Sowell late in the race for the checkered flag only to lose in tech for an illegal flywheel. As a result of the D.Q. Sowell walked away with $950.00 for his nights work.
Kevin Harrod picked up $400 for second over Frank Coleman, George Neumann, Rob Wheatley, Billy Smith, Phillip Joyner, Rick Coleman, Chris Thornton and Jimmy Bartley to round out the top ten. 17 cars finished the race that was shortened to 45 laps due to multiple caution flags and time restraints.
Rex Struble drove the WRC racer to his first Late Model win in an exciting dual with first time runner Jared Allison. Struble took the lead away from the pole sitter in lap twenty six of the thirty lap main to pick up the $1,500 win purse. Rookie Jim Smith came up with another third place finish over former champion Danny Johnson. Point leader Herb Neumann Jr. had his work cut out for him coming from eleventh to finish fifth over the 19 car-starting field. Billy Bechtelheimer, Dale Sanders and Struble won their heats but Billy and Dale suffered DNFs in the feature.
Rex Struble made it a double header for the night in taking the win in the Sportsman 20 lap main making the pass on pole sitter Terry Cater when Caters tires started going away on him late in the 20 lap main. Chris Hooker and Mike Veltman also made the pass on Cater before the checkers came out relegating him to fourth over Johnny Sanders. Cater and Veltman logged the heat wins.
In other action James Green celebrated his birthday and made it two in a row over 20 Street Stock starters. Don Teague outran Dean Lawyer, Ernie Reed and Travis Nichols in the race for second. Art Brueningsen picked up his first Hobby Stock win in his second year of racing with the TLS Motorsports team. Brandon Johnson, Kreg Belcastro, Chris Allen and Roy Perkins round out the top five over the 22 starters.
And Twenty one Thunder Stocks lost sight of Josh Teague as he checked out on the entire field leaving Billy White to battle his was to a second place finish over Troy Davis, Robert Jordan and Melvin Farmer.
A field of fifteen Figure 8s saw four caution flags in the first lap and reducing the number of starters to eleven before they got their act together. Darryl Hage came up with his first win of the season setting the pace from flag to flag, over Robbie Hage, Mike Veltman, Robert Aaron and Mark Wilkins. It was rough going for everyone for the entire 20 laps.
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