Middleton tops ASA Late Model at Bronson Motor Speedway
Bronson Motor Speedway
History was made at Bronson Motor Speedway on Saturday night as the inaugural event for the ASA Late Model Series Southern Division was held at the famous high banks. The only stop for the ASA Late models in this region gave the local fans an opportunity to see a promising group of rising stars. Drivers traveled from as far away as Iowa, Pennsylvania, and Missouri to take part in the show.
It was a festive event beginning with an Autograph Session sponsored by Gainesville Roofing as the fans got a chance to get up close and personal with the drivers on the track, including Matt Martin son of Nextel Cup Legend Mark Martin. After qualifying, twenty drivers would take the green flag in the Coors Light 100 lap feature event. Joining in on the action would be the wild and crazy figure eight division and the ultra competitive Florida Mini Cup Challenge Series.
In the main event, Lake City’s own Jay Middleton would start from the top spot after the inverted start. Fast Qualifier, Ryan Carlson would roll off from the fifth position. At the drop of the green Middleton faced a challenge from surprisingly strong Missouri competitor, Bo Miller. They battled door to door for several laps as the standing room only crowd watched in amazement. Middleton was able to establish himself at the top of the heap with Miller and Carlson hot on his tail.
As the top three charged away from the rest of the field, a very talented group of youngsters were trying to settle the balance of the top five. John Wes Townley, David Pollen jr., and Dalton Zehr swapped positions the entire event.
Fan favorite Matt Martin suffered through a long night after a brush with the wall in the early laps. He battled all night to the delight of the Bronson fans and wound up just outside the top ten. Carlson was able to use lapped traffic as an ace in the hole to squeeze by Bo Miller.
In the final laps Carlson was able to close in on the point man Middleton, but would come up short. Middleton was dominant as he led wire to wire to capture the victory in the first ever ASALMS Southern Division. It proved to be a wonderful way to kick off the 2006 racing season at Bronson Motor Speedway.
The wild and crazy figure eight division would live up to name as the cars charged to the green flag, Bobby Towe would lead the field and Robbie Powell and Joey Catterali had the balance of the top three spots held down. Local driver Ken Sheffield raced at the front until an untimely spin set back his effort. In the end, Towe held off a strong field to capture his second straight win.
Always a crowd pleaser, the Super Mini Cup Cars raced both a junior and senior division. In an eerie coincidence, Jr Cup racer Seth Greco drove his machine that carried the same number and paint scheme as Jay Middleton’s to a wire to wire victory.
The Senior division event was marred by a scary crash that sent driver Derek Morey to the hospital for observation. The 2005 points champion Rick Auriemma stole the victory from early leaders Rick Blair and Doug Smith.
The next Special Event on the action packed schedule will be world renowned Crash A Rama! Saturday March 18 the wildest show on wheels returns to Bronson Motor Speedway! The Billy Meyers Grandstands on the backstretch will be open and additional food vendors will be on hand. You want to mark your calendar for this event and plan to get to the track early to take advantage of all the facility has to offer. There are lots to see and do with great food and entertainment and tons of kids activities.
The Crash A Rama is always a crowd pleaser and will feature School Bus Figure Eight, Pro Figure Eight, Boat Trailer Races, Two Demo Derbies, Skid Car Race, Block Race, Blindfold Race, a Stunt Show, X Bikes, Fireworks and much, much more. For more information call the speedway at 352-486-2763 or visit www.bronsonmotorspeedway.com.
Coors Light 100 Unofficial Results Pos. Start Car #/Driver Laps Status 1 1 74 Jay Middleton 100 Running 2 6 32 Ryan Carlson 100 Running 3 2 38 Bo Miller-R 100 Running 4 4 09 John Wes Townley-R 100 Running 5 10 188 David Pollen Jr.-R 100 Running 6 13 119 Dalton Zehr-R 100 Running 7 8 2 James Buescher-R 100 Running 8 15 99 Tony Willis-R 100 Running 9 14 62 Travis Wilson-R 100 Running 10 7 66 Kevin Willis-R 100 Running 11 3 33 Dillon Oliver-R 100 Running 12 12 59 Kyle Martel 100 Running 13 5 7 Landon Cassill 100 Running 14 9 07 Andrew Weldon-R 99 Running 15 16 166 Matt Martin-R 89 Mechanical 16 18 4 Nolan Wilson-R 80 Clutch 17 17 16 Jeff Bedell 55 Mechanical 18 11 94 Jason Miller-R 37 Accident 19 19 9 Eric Wallace-R 2 Brakes DID NOT START: 91 Doug Smith-R
