Close combat at Citrus with Wayne Jefferson (61) all over Perry Brown
Cool temperatures, clear skies, a light breeze, and the Citrus County Speedway pit area filled with racecars. This was the scene as the Gulfcoast Modified Series prepared for a 50 Green Flag Lap Feature. With this being the next to last race in the series, and the points race very tight, this race had all the signs of a classic battle for the top spot.
Chris Escott, of St. Petersburg, set fast time in qualifying with a lap of 14.240 seconds. This was Escotts’ first pole award in his Gulfcoast efforts. Right behind Escott was Andrew Alderman, of Pinellas Park, with a lap of 14.272 seconds. Alderman, fresh out of High School, has shown improvement with every race, and is still seeking a sponsor for his family financed racing career. Mike Hinegardner, of Largo, was third quickest with a time of 14.293 in his entry sponsored by thebox.com.
After the top qualifiers cleared post qualifying tech inspection, the draw for the starting inversion was held, and the line up was set. When the field rolled onto the track for the start of the 50 lap shoot out, Dwayne Dempsey held the #1 spot in his ATEX Transmission entry, with Hinegardner filling in the outside spot on the front row.
The second row had Andrew Alderman on the inside, with Escott on the outside. Row three consisted of Perry Brown, in the Evergreen Development entry, with John Godwin on the outside, in the Fla. Manufactured Housing entry, followed by Danny Partelo, Shane Grigsby, Jimmy Houle and Blake Lehr completing the top ten.
Uncharacteristically absent from the top ten starting positions were Wayne Jefferson, Lee Collins, and Robbie Cooper, starting 11th, 12th, and 14th.
As the field came for the green flag, it took 3 tries to get the race started cleanly. When the race actually did start, Dempsey flashed to the lead, followed by Hinegardner, Brown, Partelo and Alderman. Their was a brief caution on lap 4 caused by debris on the track.
When the race restarted, Hinegardner slipped high, and Brown drove under him for second spot, while Partelo and Hinegardner raced side by side for several laps, battling for the third position, with Jefferson moving up and adding to the battle. Lap 10 saw Partelo in third, Hinegardner in fourth, and Jefferson moving by Alderman into fifth. While the battle for third was heating up, Dempsey and Brown had opened a comfortable lead and were having a big time race of their own for the lead.
Brown was breathing down Dempseys’ neck, looking for a chance to make a move.
The caution flag came out again on lap 11 as the #20 of Mitch Korezenski made contact with the wall. The track was quickly cleared, and the field was reset for the restart, with Dempsey out front, followed by Brown, Hinegardner, Partelo, Jefferson, Alderman, Grigsby, David Davis, Cooper, and Collins rounding out the top ten. On the restart, Jefferson was able to drive by Partelo for fourth spot, and the battle for third spot started with Hinegardner. The field was able to do a great deal of passing and re-passing, and every position on the track was contested and fought for.
The fans were treated to some exciting racing through out the field. Brown was worrying Dempsey, but the veteran Dempsey is not one to be easily rattled. Caution again came onto the speedway on lap 25 for a minor spin, and the field got set for the restart, with Dempsey, Brown, Hinegardner, Jefferson, and Partelo in the first five positions. The race was slowed by a series of cautions for minor spins, and the restarts were exciting to say the least.
Jefferson was able to pass Hinegardner for third spot, and begin to race with the leaders. On one of the subsequent restarts, Brown and Jefferson were both able to slip under Dempsey and move into the top 2 spots. Cooper and Collins were also working there way through traffic, and were making moves into the top of the pack.
Jefferson was making things tough for Brown, and not giving him a moments rest. Jefferson ran outside of Brown for several laps, trying to make the pass, but Brown was strong enough to hold off Jeffersons’ attempts at a pass. The two drivers almost forgot about Dempsey, but there he was toward the end of the race, trying to make one more charge to the front, and things got very tight.
The race ended with Brown, Jefferson and Dempsey tightly packed together at the finish. Fourth went to Hinegardner, with Andrew Alderman finishing a strong fifth.
During Post race Tech inspection, Browns car was disqualified, due to a weight infraction, and the win awarded to Jefferson. However, (as they say in the NFL), upon further review, it was determined that there was a mistake made in the tech area, due to a misunderstanding of the burn off allowance. Browns car was not illegal, and the original finish was re-instated.
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Final Results – GULFCOAST Modifieds Citrus County Speedway 10-14-2006
Fast Qualifier Chris Escott Hard Charger Wayne Jefferson Most Laps Led Dwayne Dempsey
1. #83X Perry Brown Riverview, Fl. 2. #61X Wayne Jefferson Pinellas Park, Fl. 3. # 6 Dwayne Dempsey St. Petersburg, Fl. 4. #1H Mike Hinegardner Largo, FL. 5. #83 Andrew Alderman Pinellas Park, FL. 6. #98 Robbie Cooper Bronson, FL. 7. #89 Lee Collins Immokalee, Fl. 8. #08 David Davis Floral City, FL. 9. # 8 Chris Escott St. Petersburg, FL. 10. #22 John Godwin Zephyrhills, Fl. 11. #57 Timmy Moore Pinellas Park, Fl. 12. #99 Sean McLaughlin Port Charlotte, Fl. 13. #23X Shane Grigsby Pinellas Park, Fl. 14. #20 Mitch Korzenski Pinellas Park, Fl. 15. #23 John Kahl Orange Springs, FL. 16. #1X Rich Anderson Pinellas Park, FL. 17. #80 Jimmy Houle Pinellas Park, FL. 18. # 4 Blake Lehr Orlando, FL. 19. # 9 Danny Partelo St. Petersburg, Fl. 20. #15 Mike Coleman Jr. Largo, FL. 21. #61 Dennis Himmelberger Inverness, Fl. DQ. #27 Ron Campbell DNS #47 Herman Brame
