Barry Wins at Citrus with Rainout, Doug Rose Tires Again Next Week
by Larry MacMillan
Citrus County Speedway management followed suit with many central Florida race tracks and decided early to pull the plug on the Saturday night race card. The Super Late Models, Sportsman, Mini Stocks, Pure Stocks, V8 Thunder Stocks, 4 Cylinder Bombers and the Florida Open Wheel Lites lose a week of racing due to Tropical Storm Barry.
At 10:30 a.m. the storm looked like it was tracking towards the Florida peninsula with a direct hit on Citrus County. That of course didn’t happen as the storm took a hard right turn and hit the Tampa Bay and South Florida area pretty hard.
Fortunately it wasn’t a destructive storm but provided some much needed rain in the entire state. Rain and race cars and fans don’t make for a good combination so it is probably best that the early cancellation was called so those drivers hauling from distant locations wouldn’t make the trip for nothing.
With a week off most of the racers will be ready to take on Citrus with a vengeance to make up for lost time. Open Wheel Modifieds, Sportsman, Mini Stocks, Street Stocks, Pure Stocks, V8 Thunder Rookies and the Pro Figure 8’s will take on the 3/8ths mile asphalt in point races as we approach the middle of the season. The originally scheduled Twin 35 Open Wheel Modified race has been moved to Saturday night, June 23rd and this Saturday night will be a tune up for that big showdown.
The spotlight will also be back on the return of Doug Rose and his fascinating Green Mamba Jet car after the curfew postponed his big finale on May 26th. He will chain a retired car, donated by Wayne Carter’s Auto Recycling and Towing, to the back of the Green Mamba, hit the afterburner and literally blow it away in an amazing fireworks display that will have the fans oohing and aaahing like a 4th of July fireworks display. Doug built the car in 1968 and has traveled the eastern seaboard for all these years putting on a show that the fans never seem to tire of no matter how many times they have seen it. The car was stolen and stripped several months ago and Doug has spent months putting it back together after the car was found in pieces. Bring your marshmallows and a long stick because when he fires up the afterburners you will definitely see the speedway light up and feel the heat generated in the grandstands.
Citrus County Speedway is located 2 miles south of Inverness on U.S. 41 at the Citrus County Fairgrounds. Grandstand gates open at 4 pm and races get underway at 5:30. Regular admission prices are in effect and a family of 2 adults and 2 children can take advantage of the $30.00 family special.
