LAKE CITY, FL (3/3) - North Florida Speedway kicked off its 2007 points season with a very good turnout of race cars and race fans. Five divisions of racing plus the visiting Daytona Antique Auto Racing Association made for a highly entertaining evening that gave the fans the most bang for their buck.
Shane Taylor outgunned polesitter Michael Knight and proceeded to outclass the Pure Stock field in the feature. While Taylor had things easy, the same could not be said for his 21 competitors as they shook off the rust from the winter break by rubbing and knocking it off against each other. Gerald Lewis and Billy Smith both gave good efforts as they picked their way through the pack but once freed, found they had nothing for the leader. The finishing order at the stripe was Taylor, Lewis, Smith, Rick Reed, and Chris Brown.
Shane Williams similarly outdsitanced polesitter Kevin Durden on the start of the Hobby Stock main event, but Durden would not allow a runaway as he dogged Williams lap after lap. A six-car train for the lead eventually whittled down to three with Scotty Nolan keeping pace with the lead duo. Lapped traffic proved to be Williams' undoing when he got wedged behind a slower competitor. Durden seized the moment and the lead with two turns remaining in the race and stole the checkers. Trailing Durden was Williams, Nolan, Joe Belkey, and Alan Peacock.
Joey Haslauer took a wire to wire victory over a strong Street Stock contingent. Stanton Mills overtook Rick Allen on the eighth lap and showed to be Haslauer's equal, Unfortunately for Mills, he lost a lot of distance to the leader while battling Allen and would need some help in getting to Victory Lane. Help arrived in the form of traffic as Haslauer was bottled up behind backmarkers. Mills got within striking distance, then found that the lapped cars giveth and the lapped cars taketh away as he was blocked off. Once free of traffic, Haslauer resumed his run and notched the win. Mills maintained second over Allen, Ricky Cooper, and Kevin Mills.
Richard Wells passed Justin Carney on lap four and dominated the field the remaining 11 laps to earn the win in Mini Stocks. Traffic played a part in the race for second by knotting up Carney, Blake Spencer, and Keith Briggs. Carney tried to salvage second, but gave that position up to Briggs on the 13th lap. The finishing order at the pay window was Wells, Briggs, Carney, Spencer, and James Conway.
The B-Modifieds were the last feature of the evening. This is a brand new Modified class aimed at drivers who have been calling for a less expensive alternative to the Modifieds currently racing across the state. The division features an $800 engine-swap claim and a hard tire compound. P.J. Wiggins shot from the pole to the lead and had things his way until traffic jammed up the leader and allowed Ronnie Chance to make a race winning move on lap nine. Chance never looked back and won going away. Wiggins recovered for second over Joe Watson, Hollywood Owen, and Don Wilson.
Next Saturday night's racing card will feature the return of the Modifieds and Late Models. Street Stocks, Hobby Stocks, and Pure Stocks will also race this evening. Gates open at 4 PM and racing begins at 7 PM. Check out www.northfloridaspeedway.com for the complete 2007 season schedule.
