LAKE CITY, FL (5/6) - Racing returned last Saturday night to North Florida Speedway and the 3/8-mile track was in much better condition this evening as personnel worked feverishly into the early AM hours all week long to put down new clay in the turns and alleviate dusty conditions that plagued the track's opening night last week. The efforts paid off as the track retained moisture and stayed smooth throughout the evening, much to the approval of drivers and fans alike.
Matt Kurtz grabbed the lead at the opening bell in the Winged Sprint division and proceeded to deliver a 20-lap beatdown on the field. Everything from second place on back was up for grabs, however, and the race ran fast and competitively with only one caution flag. Tommy Denton charged through the field and commanded second on lap four. Denton's machine looked to be the only one that could stay within eyesight of Kurtz, but his ride was KO'd by mechanical problems in the eighth round. Otto Scrape took the measure of Barry McCance for second, then held off a late-bout flurry from Dakotah Stephens to hold on to second. At the final bell it was Kurtz, Scrape, Stephens, Brett Cole, and McCance.
Pure Stocks made their 2006 debut. Michael Havard had things his way as he overcame polesitter Rick Reid on the opening lap to lead all fifteen circuits in the feature. Havard, however, missed one final left turn into the infield tech area after the race and that missed turn was costly as the top three finishers from each feature are required to go through tech. This error resulted in the win being taken away from Havard and awarded to Shawn Creech, who crossed the line second ahead of Rick Reid. At the pay window, the first five were Creech, Reid, Frank Premorel, Michael Pitts, and Brian Barton.
The trend of first lap leaders running away from the field continued in Street Stocks. Polesitter Dean Sands was no match on the start for Dewey Hall's #10X machine. Sands stayed with Hall for the first half of the race, but dropped back as the race wound down and Hall went on to lead 'em all to the checkers. Sands was the best of the rest in beating Heath Walker, Wayno Risner, and Tim Nolan to the line.
Late Models saw an abbreviated field take the green flag. Rance Phillips overcame Allen Cribbs early, and then outdistanced Patty Duren to take the victory. Phillips has over 80 victories throughout the years at this speedway and brought his tally one notch closer to the century mark.
Three Mini Stocks showed up and had their chance in a quick feature. Jeremy Rich avenged an earlier defeat in his heat race to take the measure of the field and win the feature over Scott Burgess and Chris Northrup.
Next Saturday night racing returns to North Florida Speedway with the Modifieds headlining the show. For more information on schedules and admission rates, visit www.northfloridaspeedway.com.
