Jeff Matthews Wins Round Three of Modified Summer Shootout!
By Tera Gunter
The third and final round of the Modified Summer Shootout at Putnam County Speedway brought some of the East Bay Raceway racers back to Putnam County Speedway to do battle with the track regulars. Jamie Burrows and Roger Crouse lined up on the front row with Crouse taking the lead out of turn two.
Crouse was strong tonight but so were quite a few racers as the field battled for position behind Crouse. By lap 2, Buzzie Reutimann overcame Jeff Matthews and Burrows to take up position behind Crouse before a caution placed him back behind Burrows.
Forewarned is forearmed and Burrows fiercely defended his position from Reutimann at the restart, with Reutimann snatching second from Burrows and Burrows snatching it back. Burrows became the least of Reutimann’s problems though as Jeff Matthews proved a force to be reckoned with and gave the modified racing legend a battle for third.
After dispatching Reutimann, Matthews set off after Burrows. Burrows held Matthews off and Matthews settled in waiting for the right opportunity, which came several laps later, as Matthews passed Burrows and set his sights on Crouse.
The remainder of the race became a battle of wits as Matthews would place challenge after challenge on Crouse with Crouse holding Matthews off. Matthews would close in on Crouse going into the turns only to see Crouse pull ahead coming out of the turns. With each lap, Matthews gained a little more ground on Crouse, often running side by side with the race leader.
With ten laps to go, Matthews hung tight and passed Crouse out of turn 4 to take the lead. Meanwhile, Reutimann had a battle in the form of Putnam regular Jason Lowe as Lowe gained ground on Reutimann, passed Reutimann, and placed hard charges on Burrows. Burrows held Lowe off and Matthews took the checkered flag over Crouse, Burrows, Lowe, and Reutimann.
Tim Dowling and Ricky Land flew side by side at the green flag drop in the Street stock feature with Land gaining the lead on the backstretch. Land maintained the lead before he slid sideways coming out of turn four. Dowling took the lead at the restart with Grady Christian and Dewey Hall battling for position behind him. Christian won that battle and set off after Dowling.
As Christian challenged Dowling, hard racing amongst other racers resulted in quite a few cautions. In the midst of all the cautions, Kevin Mills and Marc Kinley dueled, running side by side before cautions would place Kinley back behind Mills. Good racing between Dowling and Christian, with both racers running side by side, entertained the fans.
Christian gained on Dowling after a restart and took the lead as Kinley gained on Mills and Hall and took up position behind Dowling. Christian pulled out from the field as Dowling held Kinley off before hard racing between Kinley and Dowling into turn 3 resulted in Kinley spinning and Dowling’s ride plowing hard into the outside retaining wall. Both racers emerged unhurt from their rides and the field was red flagged as track officials worked to pull Dowling’s car from out of the wall. Officials disqualified both Dowling and Kinley, costing them their points for the evening. The restart became a green, white, checkered shootout and Christian lost three positions when he sailed too high into turn 2. Land led Stanton Mills, Kevin Mills, Christian, and Martin Johnson under the checkered.
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The Florida Mini Sprint Association returned to the speedway for their final appearance of 2006. Paul Gottschalk and Andy Griffin led the field under the green flag and Gottschalk took the lead as Matt Wilson flew past John Craddock to challenge Harold Matthews. Matthews maintained his position as Craddock dispatched Wilson and proceeded to challenge Matthews. Craddock passed Matthews in turn 1 and set his sights on Griffin. Griffin held Craddock off for 7 laps before Craddock put the pressure on and overcame Griffin coming out of turn 1. Craddock then proceeded to challenge Gottschalk for the lead in a totally entertaining battle while defending himself from Wilson. The final laps of the race proved why winged sprints are so much fun to watch due to the quick changing, furious action these racers are famous for. Gottschalk and Craddock would run side by side before Gottschalk would pull out ahead, leaving Craddock and Wilson to do battle in side by side action. Craddock received a break from Wilson’s challenges and concentrated on displacing Gottschalk as Matthews dueled with Wilson and Russ Heider moved up into contention. Gottschalk rocketed under the checkered flag over “Crash” Craddock, Matthews, Heider, and Wilson.
Randy Strehle took the lead in the Mini stock feature as Justin Carney took up position behind him. David Ham and Jay Farris took up position behind Carney before mechanical issues ended Ham’s evening. After Strehle spun out, Carney took the lead position only to see Farris snatch it from him. Keith Briggs moved up to challenge Farris for the lead, bringing Blake Spencer with him. Farris, Briggs, and Spencer gained a good lead over the rest of the field. Fans became riveted to the action amongst the race leaders as Briggs would challenge Farris and Spencer just as determinedly challenged Briggs. Spencer dispatched Briggs and set off after Farris, who held Spencer at bay for several laps. With two laps remaining in the race, Spencer overcame Farris and led Farris, Briggs, Richard Wells Jr., and Robert Long to victory lane.
An unprecedented 31 Hobby stocks showed up to battle, giving fans a sneak peek at what the entertainment factor will hold in the big Halloween hobby stock race set for the weekend of October 28-29. Grady Christian put his brand new hobby stock ride in the lead with David Miller taking second out of turn 2 followed by Jesse Brown. Patrick Williams upset Brown for third as Christian gained a good lead over the field. Brown gained his position back and Miller, Brown and Williams dueled for position behind Christian. Miller won that skirmish as David Dowling Sr. and Mike Donahue moved up into contention. Christian pitted with a flat tire, handing Miller a short lived lead before Dowling and Donahue passed Miller. The race leaders totally entertained the crowd as Miller snatched second from Donahue only to see Donahue snatch it back a few laps later. Christian worked back up into contention to challenge Donahue, taking second from Donahue and setting off after Dowling. Several laps later, Christian upset Dowling for the lead, taking Donahue with him. Dowling fell out of contention when he lost his drive shaft. Mike Tripp moved up to challenge Miller. Tripp passed Miller and took off after Donahue. Christian led Donahue, Tripp, Ron Frank, and Bruce Birkett to victory lane. Birkett was later disqualified when he failed to go to the scales, handing fifth to Miller.
Wayne Pawlak and Nathan Rhoades lined up in the front row of the Box stock feature and Hal Cochran took the lead only to see point leader Shawn Pawlak snatch it from him by lap 4. Pawlak smoked the field and led the remainder of the race unchallenged as a battle for position broke out behind him. Matthew Holbrook dueled with Cochran for second before Rhoades upset both Holbrook and Cochran a few laps later. Shawn Pawlak flew under the checkered flag with a lead of nearly 1/3 the length of the speedway ahead of Rhoades, Cochran, Holbrook, and Wayne Pawlak.
Racing resumes Saturday at 7pm with infield games for the kids, a spectator race, and an appearance by the Daytona Antique Auto Racing Association. For additional information, visit the speedway’s website at www.putnamcountyspeedway.com or call 386-649-5210.
The third and final round of the Modified Summer Shootout at Putnam County Speedway brought some of the East Bay Raceway racers back to Putnam County Speedway to do battle with the track regulars. Jamie Burrows and Roger Crouse lined up on the front row with Crouse taking the lead out of turn two. 
