Jeff Matthews Wins Daytona CV Axle Madd Modd 75 at Putnam County Speedway!
By Tera Gunter
Nineteen modifieds showed up for the $3000 to win Madd Modd 75 sponsored by Daytona CV Axle. After winning the Fast Qualifier Award for a qualifying time of 18.401, Roger Crouse took the pole position with Jeff Matthews on the front row.
Crouse and Matthews flew under the green flag side by side with Matthews taking the lead out of turn 2. Crouse clearly wasn’t allowing Matthews any slack as he remained in Matthews’ shadow, challenging Matthews for the lead for most of the race while defending his own position from a hard charging Jamie Burrows who had snagged third from Jason Lowe.
The lead cars lapped the field early and by the time the first caution flew on lap 11, Burrows had wrested second from Crouse and the field was spread out. The restart closed the field back up and Crouse tried to shake Burrows down in an effort to regain his position.
As the first three dueled, a battle for fourth broke out between Lowe and Devin Dixon. Dixon wrested fourth from Lowe and despite heated charges from Lowe, Dixon maintained his position behind Crouse. Burrows bided his time, waiting for the right moment to make his move. A restart after a caution on lap 31 handed Burrows’ his opportunity as he shot into the lead on the front stretch.
Burrows’ lead didn’t last long though as Matthews snatched it back in turn 4 on the same lap. Scott Howard overcame Tiny Greene and challenged Lowe for fifth, running side by side with Lowe before passing Lowe on the backstretch.
Lowe wrested his position back from Howard and concentrated on Dixon. Burrows got loose in turn two and recovered quickly, but not before Crouse and Dixon had taken advantage of Burrows’ misfortune. An incident between P. J. Wiggins and Greene on lap 43 put both racers out of contention, and the restart saw Matthews, Crouse, and Burrows once again dueling for position. Burrows luck ran out when he lost his drive shaft, and Matthews led Crouse, Dixon, 2006 division champion Lowe, and Hank Corbin under the checkered flag.
Coming off a hugely successful Hobby 100 last week, a full field of 24 hobbies took the green with David Dowling Jr. and Ben Booth on the front row. Booth took the lead out of turn 2 and never looked back. Bubba Moore challenged Dowling for second as Bruce Birkett and Mike Tripp dueled for the right to challenge Moore.
Tripp won that battle and after reeling in Moore and Dowling, Tripp set his sights on Booth. Booth and Tripp entertained with side by side racing before Booth shook loose of Tripp and once again took the lead in turn 2. Birkett overcame Moore and took on Dowling for second while defending himself from a hard charging Moore.
Moore’s attention on Birkett was diverted as Ron Frank and Alan Peacock roared into the picture with Moore, Frank, and Peacock flying three wide into turn 4 before Moore pulled out on the front stretch. Birkett continued to challenge Dowling for second and on lap 17, Birkett took the inside groove out of turn 4 to pass Dowling on the front stretch.
A caution before the lap was complete placed Birkett back behind Dowling and Booth, in his first win this season, led Dowling, who has captured the 2006 hobby stock championship, Birkett, Tripp, and William Martin to victory lane.
Stanton Mills took the lead that counted over Floyd Martin Sr. in the street stock feature after a few mishaps resulted in a couple of restarts. Grady Christian overcame Martin for second and set off after Stanton Mills. Kevin Mills, who has locked in the 2006 championship in the street stocks, flew up into contention, passed Martin, and took up position behind Christian.
Stanton Mills gained a good lead over the field, but each lap saw Christian closing that gap more until by lap 16, Christian was challenging Mills hard for the lead. After getting loose out of turn 2, Mills gained a small breather before Christian challenged him for the lead. Running nearly side by side with Mills, Christian once again got a little loose but quickly recovered. Stanton Mills led Christian, Kevin Mills, Martin, and Richard Adams under the checkered.
Bill Howard took the lead in the late model feature as Shaun Smith challenged Keith Briggs for second. Briggs, who recovered from a scary wreck in last week’s Late Model 50 feature, overcame Howard for the lead after a restart, leaving Howard to fend himself from Smith. A battle broke out between Frank Sharpe and Billy Costello.
As Smith passed Howard for second, Costello, who has locked in the 2006 late model championship, overcame Sharpe and set off after Howard. Smith’s fortune ran out as Tate Singler and Hank Wilson both tangled with Smith in separate incidents before Smith spun by himself twice more and fell out of contention. Costello placed hard charges on Howard in an attempt to gain the second position.
Singler and Costello tangled when Singler passed Costello and hooked both rides up before they pulled loose. Both recovered without bringing out the caution before Singler slowed up momentarily. Costello took advantage of the moment to snatch his position back from Singler and Briggs, in his first victory in only his second late model race, led Howard, Costello, Singler, and Sharpe to victory lane.
Doing double duty tonight, Briggs took the lead in the mini stock feature with a hard challenging Blake Spencer behind him. Spencer did not let up on Briggs as he tried to shake down the race leader. By lap 5, the leaders lapped the rear of the field and one lap later, Spencer overcame Briggs for the lead.
Briggs exited the track two laps later as problems with his ride necessitated attention. Returning to the field, Briggs showed his mettle as he once again pulled into contention for the race. Richard Wells Jr., who took up the second position, challenged, but was unable to dethrone Spencer. By the end of the race, Briggs was challenging Josh Leth for third when Spencer, the 2006 division champion led Wells, Leth, Briggs, and Freddie Daniels to victory lane.
Bruce Denman made a trek to his home track from his current home in South Carolina for the first time this year and led wire to wire in the box stock feature. Unfortunately, Denman’s ride was not legal according to Putnam box stock rules, handing the win to 2006 division champion Shawn Pawlak. Rounding out the top five were Bruce Burk, Matthew Holbrook, and Wayne Pawlak.
Racing resumes Saturday with all divisions running in their final point race of the season and a spectacular Winged Sprint Shootout, sponsored by Durden Surveying and Mapping on the card. With many of the top names in winged sprint racing from Florida scheduled to race, this will be a night race fans won’t want to miss. Grandstands open at 7pm. For more information, visit the speedway’s website at www.putnamcountyspeedway.com or call the track at 386-649-5210.
