Stacey Roberts Tops NLMS Dirt Late Models at Ocala
by Dave Westerman
Sylvester, GA driver Stacey Roberts passed fast qualifier and early leader Richard Sauter at the halfway mark then cruised to an easy victory as the National Late Model Series dirt cars thrilled fans at Ocala Speedway Friday night.
Buddy's Home Furnishings of Ocala sponsored the NLMS 50-lap event and also gave away a 27-inch color television. a fan from Ocala won the TV and promptly said he would be donating it to a local charity. Sauter set fast time among the 22 entrants, won his heat and started from the pole, but he was hounded lap after lap by Roberts who finally made the move at the end of lap 24 following a long caution period needed when Aaron McQuaig's throttle stuck and he pounded the turn one wall on lap 23. McQuaig's was the only serious incident of the race and a total of only three caution flags were needed.
Once in the lead, no one could touch Roberts' "Topless Taurus." Michael Lloyd got around Sauter for second on lap 38 but could never mount a serious challenge and settled for second. Sauter held on for third followed by Gene Ross and Charles Sealey.
Johnny Collins, NLMS point leader Patrick Sheltra, David Clegg, Jimmy Britts, and Cecil Eunice rounded out the top ten.
Anthony's David Baxley had another perfect night in the WIND-FM Modfifieds setting fast time, drawing the pole for the 20-lap feature and leading all the way for his third win of the year in his HTI special.
Three cautions for minor spins slowed the action, but Baxley pulled away to a big lead on each occasion to take the win over Jamie Tinkham, John Foerg, Chris Fadling, and Johnnie "The Rat" Newsome. The Diamond H Air & Heat Sportsman feature was a wild one that saw an altercation between second and third running Michael Jordan and Roger Damron that got a bit ugly on the front straightaway and resulted in Jordan's disqualification.
Through it all, Bellview's Patrick "Sweet Pea" Mennenga held off all comers and re-claimed the point lead he'd lost last week as Frank Buchanan could do no better than seventh.
In just the third week out in his new car, William Edwards was right there at the end, even trying to unseat Mennenga with a last turn bump and run, but Mennenga was up to the test to get his second win of the year.
Edwards was second followed by Tom Posavec, Dusty Bouchard (a great run in his first race at the track), and Big John Smith. The K-Country Street Stocks performed the impossible, with the big field running green to checker for the first time in recent memory. Although young Kyle Maynard led all the way for his third win of the year in his Southside Builders Nova, the action behind him was worthy of a Vin Diesel movie as it was certainly fast and furious.
"Zephyrhills" Paul Fletcher held off a host of challengers to nab second in front of David Chastain, point leader Doug Webster and "Ocala" Paul Fletcher.
It again was the Sirmans/Goolsby show in the Mini Stocks with Rick Sirmans holding off a hard charging Goolsby in his Fascats Cattery machine. Sirmans claimed his third win of the year.
Following Goolsby's Maguire's Racing special to the stripe were Clint Foley, newcomer Brent Yoder and Marlon Durbin who came back from an opening race tangle with Jake Garver to work his way back into the top five.
Rick Kuhn started the Four Cylinder Stock feature from the fifth spot, but he had the lead by the time the field got to turn one and it was all history from there as he took his second win of the year. This race was full of altercations including a hard hit into the frontstretch wall by Randy Futch who was highly upset with a fellow driver, but OK physically.
The time limit would stop the race at 13 laps with Kuhn easily outdistancing fellow Toyota Celica driver Ric Fort for the win. Michael Stalnaker did a fantastic job coming from 18th on the starting grid to third, just ahead of Jeff Oglesby and Harry Drier, who got his first top five of the year with his Chevette.
RSEULTS - OCALA SPEEDWAY - 5/2/03:
NATIONAL LATE MODEL SERIES PRESENTED BY BUDDY'S HOME FURNISHINGS (50 Laps):
1) Stacey Roberts, Sylvester, GA #11 2) Michael Lloyd, Jacksonville, FL #18 3) Richard Sauter, Cordele, GA #48 4) Gene Ross, Lake Park, GA #33 5) Charles Sealey, Coolidge, GA #35 6) Johnny Collins, Jacksonville, FL #5C 7) Patrick Sheltra, Indiantown, FL #23 8) David Clegg, Bunnell, FL #07 9) Jimmy Britts, Jacksonville, FL #9 10) Cecil Eunice, Blackshear, GA #22 11) Greg Ward, Ormond Beach, FL #241 12) Tal Etheridge, Sylvester, GA #8E 13) DeWayne Johnson, Columbus, GA #45 14) Steve Whitener, Jacksonville, FL #8W 15) Everett Phillips, Lake City, FL #46 16) Toby Justice, Waycross, GA #91 17) Paul Jorgensen, Blackshear, GA #J3 18) Bob McQuaig, Ocala, FL #5M 19) Cale Simons, Albany, GA #C2 20) John Rankin, Ocala, FL #53 21) Skip Pannell, Albany, GA #X 22) Aaron McQuaig, Ocala, FL #8M
WIND-FM MODIFIEDS (20 Laps):
1) David Baxley #64 2) Jamie Tinkham #98 3) John Foerg #1 4) Chris Fadling #29 5) Johnnie Newsome #31 6) Jeremy Gerstner #70 7) Bobby Valeo #8 8) Paul Combast #90 9) Tom Bailey #24 10) Robert Gulvin #33 11) Dan Hammerbeck #30 12) Wayne Kissam #7 DNS Adam McQuaig #13
DIAMOND H AIR & HEAT SPORTSMAN (20 Laps):
1) Patrick Mennenga #16 2) William Edwards #08 3) Tom Posavec #01 4) Dusty Bouchard #47 5) Big John Smith #31 6) Roger Damron #76D 7) Frank Buchanan #07 8) Wally Schneider #57 9) Kathy Ray #63 10) Charles Hornbeak #67 11) Jim Higginbotham #76 12) Robbie Cooper #98 13) Tommy Carter #86 14) Michael Jordan #7 DNS Bob Masciarelli #72
MINI STOCK (20 Laps):
1) Rick Sirmans #05 2) Larry Goolsby #27 3) Clint Foley #7 4) Brent Yoder #1 5) Marlon Durbin #72 6) Greg Valdez #60 7) A.J. Schreier #98 8) Jake Garver #10R 9) Jeff Stalnaker, Sr. #10B 10) Billy Davis #25
K-COUNTRY STREET STOCK (20 Laps):
1) Kyle Maynard #07 2) Paul Fletcher #28 3) David Chastain #17 4) Doug Webster #72 5) Paul Fletcher #94 6) Tom Fralish #1 7) Mark Mitchell #71 8) Bobby Taylor #66 9) Tommy Roberts #44 10) Mike Fiddia #41 11) Bobby Carter #99 12) Todd Roberts #T4 13) Dave Danielson #70 14) Jamie Dunn #24 15) Rick Bass #21 16) Sid Mosbrucker #62 17) Harold Edwards #65 18) Dot Kelley #38 19) Shirley Johnson #79 20) Patrick Williams #121 21) Dan Geer #65W DNS Gordon Cade #21X DNS Kenny Abney #6X
FOUR CYLINDER STOCKS (13 Laps - time limit):
1) Rick Kuhn #47 2) Ric Fort #2 3) Michael Stalnaker #8 4) Jeff Oglesby #88 5) Harry Drier #61 6) Terry Dunbar #72 7) Kurtis Mitchell #00 8) Harold Barup #3 9) Tom Ellis #31 10) Joel Byall #40 11) Justin Durbin #34 12) Jeff Pittsley #20 13) Clark Pittsley #64 14) Mike Hillary #9 15) Chris Noce #99 16) Mike Muroski #M61 17) Charles Mishow #57 18) Heather Stalker #78 19) Randy Futch #9-11 20) James Antis #19 21) Robert Antis #5
