IT'S TIME TO RACE!!

May 15, 2005 FSCR Herb Neumann Jr. and Jim Smith Share Late Model Wins at Citrus by Larry MacMillan Due to a power outage two weeks ago Citrus County Speedway had an unusual race card for the fans Saturday night. With 11 laps showing on the scoreboard Herb Neumann Jr. took the green flag to restart over 16 of the 18 original cars for the final 19 laps of the race that was delayed. Neumann popped to the front from the start and never looked back. Dale Sanders had his hands full holding off Gary Grubbs, Chris Hooker Mike Bell, Jim Smith and Raymond Lovelady in his run for second. When the checkers flew Raymond Lovelady who was 7th on the restart chased Sanders to the flag for a third place finish followed by Chris Hooker and Mike Bell. In the regularly scheduled 21 car Late Model card Jim Smith made short work of pole sitter Brandon Anderson to take the point while Mike Bell moved from 5th to second to hook up with Smith for the entire 30 laps with multiple caution flags causing numerous restarts. Fifteenth starter Herb Neumann Jr. got caught up in a couple of the caution flags but despite cosmetic damage to the right front of his racer moved through traffic to out run Raymond Lovelady in the race for third while Chris Hooker moved from 10th to fifth at the start finish line. John Buzinec won his first heat race at Citrus while track speed record holder Scott Grossenbacher locked onto the second heat win. Sixteen of 17 Super Stocks took the green flag for their 20 lap main and spent the night trying to catch Doc James Batson who took a wire to wire win for his second in the division this season. Stephen Anderson just didn’t have enough for Batson and had to settle for second ahead of Scott Hendrickson who has a new ride under him after taking a year off. Bobby Taylor continues to do well with a fourth place finish over Tom Posavec who has returned to race at Citrus after racing elsewhere for the past several years. Heat winners were Batson and Richie Smith who was one of three drivers that lost motors in the feature race. James Green and Sport Wilson also lost motors causing extensive cleanups. A short Mini Stock field watched Chris Hooker leave the pack at will and take his second checkered flag of the season after multiple mechanical problems early in the year. Jay McKenzie moved from 5th to second when it was all over followed by Mike Lawhorn, George Neumann and Johnny Siner. Hooker also took the win in the heat race. Thirty four Hobby Stockers required three heats and B Main to get the 24 car starting field put together for their main event. Corky Miley made some wild moves coming from his 15th starting spot to take the lead with four laps to go for his third win of the year. Curtis Flanagan started 23rd after his win last week to log a nose to tail second place finish. Doc James Batson, doing double duty was just short of making it two wins in one night with a third place finish from his 24th starting spot. Bill Ryan made a late pass on Johnny Zuidema to pick up fourth. Heat wins went to Tony Trancucci, Corky Miley and Tommy Smith who had a DNF in the feature. Barry Bartlett led the pack for the win in the B Main qualifier. Another 24 car Thunder Stock field put on quite a show with a new winner in the division taking home the honors in the way of Doug Jenson. Jenson started fourth and took the lead in lap six watching the battle for second behind him for the final 14 laps. Glen Colyer took advantage of several caution flags to move from his 15th starting spot to outrun Wayne Heater in a close race for second. Early leader Frank McGinness held out for fourth just ahead of 14th starter Steven Stinedurf. Heat winners were McGinness, Heater and Colyer. Closing out the night was the Wild Figure 8’s and it was definitely a night for the St. Pete bunch to show the way to the Winner’s Circle. 2003 Champion Bob Hage held off Darryl Hage, Rodney Davis, Danny Hamilton and Carl McPeak in a race that saw multiple cautions and only two locals finish. Still hanging in there at the checkered flag were Scott Gullett and Neil Herne. Six of the 16 starters were forced to park it before the end of the race. Next Saturday night will see the return of the Open Wheel Modifieds who have been showing up 20 cars strong, plus the Figure 8’s and Sportsman return. Added to the show will be the Mini stocks, Hobby Stocks, Thunder Stocks and 4 Cylinder Bombers. Citrus County Speedway Results 5/14/05 Late Model Completion 4/30/05 – 19 Laps – 16 Cars 1. #98 Herb Neumann Jr. 2. # 1 Dale Sanders 3. #17 Raymond Lovelady 4. #33 Chris Hooker 5. #X96 Mike Bell 1st Heat Winner 4/30 - #1 Dale Sanders 2nd Heat Winner - #10 Gary Grubbs Late Model Feature – 30 Laps – 21 Cars 1. #32 Jim Smith 2. #96X Mike Bell 3. #98 Herb Neumann JR. 4. #17 Raymond Lovelady 5. #33 Chris Hooker 1st Heat Winner #14 John Buzinec 2nd Heat Winner #09 Scott Grossenbacher Super Stock Feature – 20 Laps – 17 Cars 1. #B4 Doc James Batson 2. #48 Stephen Anderson 3. # 3 Scott Hendrickson 4. #66 Bobby Taylor 5. #01 Tom Posavec 1st Heat Winner – #B4 Doc James Batson 2nd Heat Winner - #41 Richie Smith Mini Stock Feature – 20 Laps – 8 Cars 1. #1X Chris Hooker 2. #5X Jay McKenzie 3. #44 Mike Lawhorn 4. # 1 George Neumann 5. #01 Johnny Siner Heat Winner - #1X Chris Hooker Hobby Stock Feature – 20 Laps – 24 Cars 1. #55 Corky Miley 2. #3x Curtis Flanagan 3. #77 Doc James Batson 4. #33 Bill Ryan 5. #47 John Zuidema 1st Heat Winner - #05 Tony Trancucci 2nd Heat Winner - #55 Corky Miley 3rd Heat Winner - #42 Tommy Smith B-Main – 10 Laps – 16 Cars Eligible Winner #71 Barry Bartlett Thunder Stock Feature – 20 Laps – 24 Cars 1. #3 Douglas Jenson 2. #44 Glen Colyer 3. #71 Wayne Heater 4. #48 Frank McGinness 5. 0X Steven Stinedurf 1st Heat Winner - #48 Frank McGinness 2nd Heat Winner - #71 Wayne Heater 3rd Heat Winner - #44 Glen Colyer Figure 8 Feature – 20 Laps – 16 Cars 1. #52 Bob Hage 2. # 8 Darryl Hage 3. #89 Rodney Davis 4. #15 Danny Hamilton 5. #8x Carl McPeak Have an opinion on this story? 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