IT'S TIME TO RACE!!

May 31, 2004 FSCR Doc Batson Wins Citrus Hobby Stock 50 by Larry MacMillan (Inverness, Fl. 5/29/04) Seven divisions took on the Citrus 3/8ths mile Saturday night and it was a wild night in most divisions. Thirty one Hobby Stocks went on the clocks to qualify for their Memorial Day 50 lap special with Bill Ryan turning a fast qualifying time, pulling the 9 pill to invert the front 9 of 18 qualifiers. Thirteen cars went to war in the 15 lap consolation race that gave the winner the option of taking the $100 win purse or moving up to the 19th starting spot for the feature. Jim Nocella elected to pass on the win purse to run in the feature. This moved Butch Patz into the winner position but he was disqualified in tech giving rookie Bob Becker his first ever win. When the green flag dropped for the third time on the start of the 50 lap feature the field decided no one could win on the first lap and settled down for three laps before the third caution came out. A total of 10 caution periods slowed the race down somewhat, using up 16 laps of the 50. It was all green flag racing after 30 laps with three more cautions before the checkers flew giving Doc James Batson the win. Batson started 7 and runner up Curtis Neumann started 8th for the one two finish after swapping the lead with Bobby Taylor and others on numerous occasions. Taylor picked up third followed by Bill Ryan, and Dean Lawyer to round out the top five. The Sportsman qualifying saw Johnny Sanders turn fast time and pull the #1 pill to win the pole. When the green flag flew Sanders put his rocket on a rail and never looked back for his first win of 2004. John Smith overcame an early spin on the back stretch to come back through traffic for a second place finish over Phillip Rook, Dwight Pinner and Steve King. Mike Wilson and Chris Fadling won the Modified heat races but it was all John Grimm in their 30 lap feature run. Grimm came off the pole and held off Tommy Schnader for the entire 30 laps. Mike Wilson held out for third after winning four weeks ago. Jimmy Wagner had an early spin but came back to hold off Chris Fadling for fourth when the checkers flew. Grimm moved into the Citrus Modified point lead on the merits of his win since Harold Cannon was a no show to defend his top position this weekend. Jacksonville’s Ron Towels was the big dog in the Open Wheel Lites Saturday night taking both his heat and the feature win. Rick Lundeen put the pressure on for the entire 20 laps to hold out for second over James Biglin, first heat winner Nick Shadid and Billy Geise. Rookie Jim Curry did a NEXTEL Cup burn out for the crowd after taking his first ever win in the Mini Stock feature and adding some icing to the cake with the heat win. Richard Stroup gave Curry a lot to think about throughout the race but had to settle for second when the checkers flew. Mike Lawhorn held out for third over Chad Johnson and Jeff Pittsley. Lee Keller went on to win his 5th Thunder Stock feature and certainly has been the dominant force in the division all year. He was heard to say that the carburetor was giving him trouble throughout the race but you wouldn’t know it from the way the car came from 9th to the point by the half way point in their 20 lap feature. John Donahue jockeyed from the lead to fifth and found his way back to second before it was all over. Rookie Gary Budek came from 20th to third when the checkers flew followed by Louie Cioe and Rick Badessa. Heat winner were Jerry Hoover, Budek and Keller. Clark Pittsley was the dominant force again in a very short 4 cylinder Bomber division with his fourth win of the season over his only competition Rusty Adams. The Sunbelt Super Late Models will be practicing for the Powell Memorial on Thursday night for their Friday night 150 lap annual race. This one usually brings in the Florida’s best Super Late Model Pilots and will be supported by another 50 lap Hobby Stock, 25 Lap Thunder Stock and 50 Lap Figure 8 features. It should be quite a show. Remember, this is a FRIDAY night June the 4th race. There are no Saturday night races scheduled this week. Citrus County Speedway Results 5/29/04 Sportsman Feature – 25 Laps – 9 Cars 1. #36 Johnny Sanders – Fast Qualifier 2. #31 John Smith 3. #59 Phillip Rook 4. #40 Dwight Pinner 5. #99 Steve King 6. #60 James Henick 7. #98 Maloy Kelly 8. # 3 Richie Smith 9. # 6 David White Modified Feature – 30 Laps – 11 Cars 1. #72 John Grimm 2. #19 Tommy Schnader 3. #79 Mike Wilson 4. #17 Jimmy Wagner 5. #29 Chris Fadling 6. #84 Jack Arnold III 7. #03 Kyle Bookmiller 8. # 6 Billy Bechtelheimer 9. # 0 Glen Ervin 10.# 2 Mickey Kempgens 11.#12 David Baxley 1st Heat Winner - #79 Mike Wilson 2nd Heat Winner - #29 Chris Fadling Hobby Stock Feature – 50 Laps – 19 Cars 1. #77 James “Doc” Batson 2. #01 Curtis Neumann 3. #66 Bobby Taylor 4. #33 Bill Ryan – Fast Qualifier 5. #19 Dean Lawyer Hobby Stock Consolation Race – 15 Laps – 13 Cars 1. #17 Bob Becker 2. #57 Frank Stromquist 3. #8X Anthony Santangelo 4. #35 Tim Whitehead 5. # 1 Larry Triana #21 James Nocella Won The Race and elected to start 19th in 50 Lap Feature #10 Butch Patz ran second and would have inherited win but was D.Q.’d in Tech Mini Stock Feature – 20 Laps – 9 Cars 1. #20 Jim Curry – First Feature Win Ever 2. #95 Richard Stroup 3. #44 Mike Lawhorn 4. #94 Chad Johnson 5. #20X Jeff Pittsley Heat Winner - # 20 Jim Curry Thunder Stock Feature – 20 Laps – 22 Cars 1. #21 Lee Keller – 5th Feature in 2004 2. #26 John Donahue 3. #05 Gary Budek 4. #88x Louie Cioe 5. #88 Rick Badessa 1st Heat Winner - #30 Jerry Hoover 2nd Heat Winner - #05 Gary Budek 3rd Heat Winner - #21 Lee Keller Open Wheel Lite Feature – 20 Laps – 13 Cars 1. #01 Ron Towels 2. #04 Rick Lundeen 3. #07 James Biglin 4. #68 Nick Shadid 5. #21 Billy Geise 1st Heat Winner - #68 Nick Shadid 2nd Heat Winner - #01 Ron Towels 4 Cylinder Bomber Feature – 10 Laps – 2 Cars 1. #64 Clark Pittsley – 4th Feature Wins in 2004 2. #67 Rusty Adams Heat Winner - #64 Clark Pittsley Have an opinion on this story? 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