IT'S TIME TO RACE!!

May 2, 2004 FSCR Mike Wilson Takes First Modified Win at Citrus by Larry MacMillan Another 7 division night of racing at Citrus County Speedway Saturday night featuring the Modified 30, Sportsman 40, Figure 8’s, Mini Stocks, Hobby Stocks, Thunder Stocks and 4 Cylinder Stocks. Sportsman qualified with time trials while five divisions kicked off the night in heat races and Figures ran a solo 20 lap feature race. Richie Smith proved again he was the man to beat in Sportsman action, qualifying with fast time and pulling the 8 pill that put him in 8th starting position. Richie made short work of the field driving to the front and winning the battle for the point over Phillip Rook. When the checkers flew it was Smith in Victory Lane for the second consecutive time, cementing his point lead in the division with another 175 points for the win and 10 points for fast qualifier. Rook settled for second over Stephen Anderson who had to go to the rear of the pack and rebound to the front late in the race. Dwight Pinner held the early lead for a short time and spent the rest of the race holding off the three front runners and Johnny Sanders and David White who finished behind him. Eleven Modifieds qualified for their 30 lap feature with Billy Bechtelheimer and Harold Cannon taking the wins in their heat races. Mike Wilson came off the outside pole to take the point away from pole sitter John Grimm and they battled for the first half of the race before Grimm lost it while holding off Harold Cannon who was looking for his third win in a row. Cannon moved into second after the restart and just couldn’t find the power he needed to overtake Wilson at the checkers. Rick Hall put the pressure on Cannon in the run for second but had to settle for third over Grimm and Billy Bechtelheimer to round out the top five. Mini Stocks were in short supply and Jay McKenzie was the strongest car on the racetrack, taking his heat and coming from the middle of the pack to take the win only to lose it in tech for illegal engine parts. Steve Griffin finished second and inherited the win by virtue of the D.Q. Chris Hooker continues to put the pressure on in his championship defense with a second place finish. Rookie Jim Curry continues to run well with a third after winning his first heat race ever and learning a little more each week. George Neumann is still working on his new ride to get it right holding out for fourth. When he does find the combination he is looking for, watch out for this three time Mini Stock champion. Mark Sowell locked in a fifth on the D.Q. Twenty six Hobby Stocks took the green in what turned out to be a crash fest and was cut to 11 laps due to multiple caution flags. A newcomer from Ocala Pete Close motored his way from the back of his heat for the win and then moved from 13th to Victory Lane when the checkers flew in Lap 11. Neil Herne Jr. pulled off a second place finish over Bobby Taylor, Tommy Smith and Shawn Conner. Taylor took the win in the first heat and Todd Downs won the third heat. Another 26 car Thunder Stock field took the green flag and went for the entire 20 laps with first time winner Jerry Hoover ending Lee Keller’s win streak at 3 in a row. Keller put the pressure on right to the checkers. Another new driver at Citrus, Robert Jordan, was a definite threat from start to finish and held out for third over last week’s winner Rick Badessa who had to start at the rear of the pack. Stuart Madison has been out of the running since winning the Thunder Stock Championship in 2002 but came back on strong for his first race of the season, slipping from what appeared to be a second place finish to fifth when the checkers flew. Ron Schreifels is apparently a man on a mission after taking several years off from Figure 8 racing after winning the championship. He and Robert Aaron made the drag race for the point when the green flew and when Schreifels took the point it was all over but the Victory Lane celebration, for his second win in a row. Aaron was able to hold off several runs from Curtis Youmans who settled for third. “Weaven” Steven Brown returned to Figure 8 racing with a fourth place finish in front of “Stormin” Norman Moody. Justin Durbin made it two for two in the 4 Cylinder Stock Division over heat winner Dan Sanderson, John DeGeorge, Rick Fort and Clark Pittsley. The Florida Pro Super Late Model Series moves into Citrus next Saturday night, supported by the Super Streets, Mini Stocks, Hobby Stocks, Thunder Stocks and 4 Cylinder Stocks. Citrus County Speedway Results 5/1/04 Sportsman Feature – 40 Laps – 10 Cars 1. # 3 Richie Smith 2. #98 Phillip Rook 3. #48 Stephen Anderson 4. #40 Dwight Pinner 5. #36 Johnny Sanders Fast Qualifier - # 3 Richie Smith Modified Feature – 11 Cars – 30 Laps 1. #79 Mike Wilson 2. # 3 Harold Cannon 3. #15 Rick Hall 4. #72 John Grimm 5. # 6 Billy Bechtelheimer 1st Heat Winner - # 6 Billy Bechterlheimer 2nd Heat Winner - # 3 Harold Cannon Mini Stock Feature – 10 Cars – 20 Laps 1. # 3 Steve Griffin 2. #1x Chris Hooker 3. #20 Jim Curry 4. # 1 George Neumann 5. # 5 Mark Sowell 1st Heat Winner - #20 Jim Curry 2nd Heat Winner – # 3 Steve Griffin Hobby Stock Feature – 20 Laps (11 Laps run) – 26 Cars 1. #86 Pete Close 2. #13 Neil Herne Jr. 3. #66 Bobby Taylor 4. #42 Tommy Smith 5. #44 Shawn Conner 1st Heat Winner - #66 Bobby Taylor 2nd Heat Winner - #86 Pete Close 3rd Heat Winner - #00 Todd Downs Thunder Stock Feature – 20 Laps – 26 Cars 1. #30 Jerry Hoover 2. #21 Lee Keller 3. #28 Robert Jordan 4. #88 Rick Badessa 5. # 2 Stuart Madison 1st Heat Winner - #71 Wayne Heater 2nd Heat Winner - #4x Glen Colyer 3rd Heat Winner - #0x Steven Steindurf Figure 8 Feature – 20 Laps – 9 Cars 1. #64 Ron Schreifels 2. # 6 Robert Aaron 3. #21 Curtis Youmans 4. #99 Steve Brown 5. #98 Norman Moody 4 Cylinder Stocks Feature – 20 Laps – 6 Cars 1. # 2 Justin Durbin 2. # 7 Dan Sanderson 3. #22 John DeGeorge 4. #43 Rick Fort 5. #64 Clark Pittsley Heat Winner - #7 Dan Sanderson Have an opinion on this story? 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