Mini stocks had their chance to shine tonight at Putnam County Speedway, and shine they did as the minis put on a totally entertaining show for the fans. Justin Carney took the lead over Josh Leth before Steve Bennett wrested the lead from Carney.
Bennett showed he had the car to beat but Bennett didn’t have an easy victory as Ryan Van Sickle would prove to be a strong contender this evening. As Carney fell back, Van Sickle challenged Leth and took the second position out of turn 1.
Bennett and Van Sickle maintained a good lead over the field as a battle for position broke out behind them between Carney and Danny Vogel, and Warren Dukes and Randy Strehle. Leth, who lost position earlier, worked back up into contention.
Vogel and Leth took up the 3rd and 4th positions and gained ground on Bennett and Van Sickle. By lap 15, Bennett, Van Sickle, Vogel, Leth, Strehle, and Dukes were a tight pack with Dukes moving to through to snatch 2nd from Van Sickle. Dukes and Van Sickle totally entertained fans with hard racing as Van Sickle placed multiple challenges on Dukes in an effort to gain his position back. Several laps later, Van Sickle made his move to overcome Dukes out of turn 4, with Jay Farris passing Dukes a few laps later. Bennett led Van Sickle, Farris, Dukes, and Carney under the checkered flag.
The always entertaining Florida Mini Sprint Association returned to the speedway with Harold Matthews taking a good lead at the green flag drop. Andy Griffin took up position behind Matthews with John Craddock following as Jesse Teed and Matt Wilson battled for position. Craddock put the heat on Griffin with Griffin holding Craddock off for a couple of laps before Craddock and Teed overcame Griffin.
As Craddock and Teed battled for position ahead of him, Griffin remained patient, a virtue that would pay off for Griffin in the end. Craddock closed in and made a run for Matthews as Teed flew up to run side by side with Craddock. Craddock kept Matthews in his sight while holding Teed off but mechanical troubles ended Craddock’s evening way too early.
As Craddock’s ride failed him on the backstretch, Teed, unable to avoid it, made contact with Craddock. Teed quickly recovered and was able to continue the race although he lost two positions. One lap later, Matthews fell out of contention when his car caught on fire. With the fire out and Matthews safe, the race resumed with Griffin in the lead and Teed placing hard challenges on Griffin while holding off Paul Gottschalk. Griffin gained a good lead over the field as Gottschalk continued to pressure Teed. Gottschalk made his move of the race on the white flag lap to overtake Teed as Griffin led Gottschalk, Teed, Greg Skyta, and Gavin Thomas to Victory Lane.
Stanton Mills returned to the speedway to run the late model feature and led the race wire to wire. With Mills safely ensconced in the front of the field, the battle blazed behind him with David Crews in second and Billy Costello and Richard Ferry determined to take it away from him. Costello and Ferry entertained with great side by side racing before Ferry took up position behind Crews.
The field spread out with Tony Lewis and John Trammell behind Costello. Crews, last week’s late model feature winner, fell out of contention in a plume of smoke, bringing out the caution. The restart tightened the field back up, with Ferry challenging Mills but Mills pulled out to take the checkered flag over Ferry, Costello, Lewis, and Trammell.
Hobby stocks had an awesome field tonight as more racers join in anticipation of the upcoming Halloween Hobby 100 showdown, set for the weekend of October 27-28. Bubba Moore and Randy Moody battled for the lead at the green flag drop with Moore taking the honors. Grady Christian, a street stock racer who debuted a brand new hobby built in anticipation of the Big Race, overcame Moody and placed hard challenges on Moore. Christian took the lead on lap 4 as Moody passed Moore, and Mike Tovet moved up to challenge Moody with David Miller Jr. following. The race became a battle of teammates as Tovet closed in on Christian, running side by side with Christian.
As the race wound down, fans were riveted on the entertaining action between Tovet and Christian as Moore tried to snag Miller’s position. Tovet made a last lap charge on Christian before losing his grip on his ride out of turn four. Christian led Miller, Moore, Mike Donahue, and Luke Sadler to Victory Lane.
Modified fans saw the return of Robby Barris to the open-wheeled division and an oft repeated showdown between best friends Barris and Jason Lowe, the division point lead. Nick Kirkus took the lead at the green flag drop before Mike Tripp hot-footed it into the lead. Buddy Rohn overcame Don Rollison to take second behind Tripp. Barris, who started on the tail of the field, moved up to challenge Kenny Blair with Blair holding Barris off before his throttle stuck, causing Blair to careen into the turn 1 wall and rupturing his fuel cell.
The race resumed with Barris passing Rohn and snagging the lead from Tripp in turn 2, taking Lowe with him. One lap later, Tripp found himself displaced by John Bradley. The field settled down behind Barris and Lowe and the remainder of the race became an entertaining battle between the race leaders. Barris and Lowe did not disappoint as both challenged one another, often running side by side. Barris held Lowe off before Lowe got a good run on Barris, running side by side before Lowe pulled out on the backstretch. Lowe led Barris, Bradley, Tripp, and Rollison under the checkered flag.
Shawn Pawlak proved why he remains the Box Stock king as he took the lead on lap 1 from a 6th starting position. The box stock feature became a family affair as Wayne Pawlak took up second behind Shawn Pawlak. Hal Cochran was ensconced in the 3rd position as James Smith challenged Bear Hughes before Cochran’s ride failed him too early, handing the 3rd position to Kevin Dugan.
The restart saw Pawlak and Pawlak once again in the lead and no serious challengers. Shawn Pawlak led Wayne Pawlak, Dugan, Smith, and Hughes to Victory Lane.
Racing resumes Saturday at 7pm, Food Harvest Night, where a can of non-perishable food gains a $2 discount off of general admission. The Florida Mini Sprints return and the speedway features the final showdown of the Modified Summer Shootout, as well as the final Hobby Stock qualifier for the Halloween Hobby 100. For more information, visit the speedway’s website at www.putnamcountyspeedway.com or call 386-649-5210.
