The Racers of the FasTruck Series showed up in force at Bronson Motor Speedway, and they showed why they are one of the most popular traveling series in Florida. The racers of this series can always be counted on to bring lots of trucks, lots of action, and exciting racing. Tonight was no exception, as Jimmy Gill blistered the track with a time of 14.692 sec., to claim the top spot in qualifying, claiming the CHECKERED FLAG GRAPHICS Fast Time Award, and the 5 bonus points.
After the pill was drawn for inverting the start, the #55 truck of Patrick Thomas lined up on the pole, with the #25 of Gary Foxworth on the outside. When the Green flag waved to launch the 50 lap battle, the #55 took the early lead, with the #56 of Wright following closely. On lap 3, Wright drove by Thomas to take the lead, and looked like he was about to check out on the field, and leave the rest to fight for runner up. It didn’t work out that way for the hard charging Wright, as several cautions allowed the field to stay in sight of the leader, as several trucks were charging thru the field, working toward the front. By lap 10, the trucks of Gorham, Grynewicz Sr., and Gill had moved from their starting positions in the middle of the pack to fifth, sixth and seventh spots. On lap 16, the 17 truck of John Mitchell, running in second, was forced to pit with an engine problem. Caution was displayed on lap 20, for a spin in turn 4 by the #15 truck. The trucks lined up for the restart with Wright in front followed by King, Foxworth, Gorham, Grynewicz Sr., Gill, Thomas, and Wendel Bristol. On the restart, Wright again resumed his blistering pace, with the pack behind him in a serious dogfight. Caution again was displayed on lap 26, as Thomas in the 55 truck had contact with the wall. The restart took two tries, as on the first attempt, the #25, #46, and the #01 all got turned around and made contact in turn 2. Racing resumed until lap 33 when the #88 truck of David Pollen got into the turn 3 wall, backwards. The restart had Wright still leading, followed by King, Gorham, Grynewicz Sr., Gill, Foxworth, Owen, Firestine, and Bristol. On lap 39, Gorham slipped a little high off turn 2, and Grynewicz Sr. drove into the opening. The trucks made contact on the back straight, with body pieces flying, causing Gorham and a close following Gill to both get flat tires. As the track was being cleaned, both Gorham and Gill were able to duck into the pit area for a fast tire change, and return to the race. Both trucks were required by rule to restart at the end of the lead lap. The race restarted, with Wright still showing the way. Lap 43 saw a brief caution as the #15 spun in turn 4. Lap 45 saw caution again as the #202, #33 and #91 al got together in turn 2.
The dash for the finish saw King really turn up the wick on the #16 truck, and gave Wright all he could handle to hold on for the win. King tried every spot on the track to find a way around Wright in the final laps, racing hard and clean. Wright claimed the victory, and in victory lane was very complimentary of the way that King raced him for the win. Grampa Grynewicz finished a close third, followed by Gary Foxworth and Bobby Owens. Kudos to the entire FasTruck Series for an enjoyable, exciting show.
Final Results (un-official, pending review by FasTruck)
1. #56 James Wright III
2. #16 Tommy King
3. #40 Paul Grynewicz Sr.
4. #25 Gary Foxworth
5. # 1 Bobby Owens
6. #93 Jeff Firestine
7. #18 Wendell Bristol
8. # 9 Marty Wolf
9. #29 Tim Shaffner
10. #10 George Gorham
11. #46 Brandon Anderson
12. # 4 Al Neumann
13. #32 Bill Stacy
14. # 5 Jimmy Gill
15. #55 Patrick Thomas
16. #15 Eddie Moran
17. #17 John Mitchell
18. #01 Billy Barstow
19. #33 Steven Jordan
20. #202 Tony Jenier
21. #88 David Pollen Jr.
22. #M1 Bud McIntyre
23. #47 John Gilbeau
The Bronson regulars were in action as well, with the Modified division out first, putting on a great show as well. Kevin Durden and Gene Owen Jumped out front at the start, and ran 30 hard laps, with Owen trying everything to drive by Durden, but Durden had enough juice to hold off Owen for the win.
Rob Cooper returned to the winners circle in the Sportsman Division, while Billy Smith held off a hard charging Dave Westrich to claim the Mini Stock feature win. Arthur Conquest maintained his point lead with a win in the pure stock division, and Billy “ Stir Fry” Padgett claimed the V-8 Bomber victory. Justin Durbin returned to victory lane with another win in the 4Cyl. Bombers.
