Kurtz Notches Third Win of the Season at North Florida Speedway
By Tera Gunter
Sprint fever hit the fans Saturday night as the Florida Sprint Car Association and Florida Mini Sprint Association descended on North Florida Speedway. Thirteen FSCA sprinters rebounded from last week at Putnam County Speedway and, joined by John Cinkota, demonstrated what sprint car racing is all about. Mark Ruel Jr. took the lead in the first heat race, leading wire to wire to take the win. Barry McCance took the lead on lap 4 of the second heat and snagged the checkered two laps later.
Dan Pickett and Ruel lined up in the front row of the feature event with Ruel taking the lead out of turn 2. Pickett found his night over far too early when he came to a stop in turn 4 with his wings on the track behind him, the result of contact with another racer. Ruel took the lead again at the restart and Willie Jude placed heat on Larry Pickett for 2nd. Flying side by side in turn 1, Jude used turn 2 to pass Larry Pickett and set his sights on Ruel.
As Jude snagged the lead from Ruel, Matt Kurtz, who started deep in the field, reeled in Barry McCance and Ruel to take up position behind Jude. Jude and Kurtz put on a show for the fans as Kurtz challenged Jude. Jude held Kurtz off until Kurtz took the lead out of turn 3. Putting his ride on warp speed, Kurtz left his fellow racers to battle for position behind him. Red Stauffer overcame Jude for 2nd until a caution placed Stauffer at the rear of the lead lap. Gavin Thomas moved into contention from a starting point deep in the field and at the restart Thomas placed heat on Kurtz with both gaining some ground over the field. Thomas looked to be the best bet to shake Kurtz down until Thomas’s ride failed late in the race.
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As the laps wound down, a caution for Stauffer and John Byers tightened the field back up and set the stage for a two lap shootout. Otto Scrape and Jude totally entertained as they jockeyed for position behind Kurtz. Kurtz rocketed to the finish line with Otto Scrape, Willie Jude, Barry McCance, and Wes Scrape rounding out the top five. Otto Scrape maintains the point lead with 85 points over Kurtz.
The FSCA will be back in action at North Florida Speedway on Saturday, October 13th. Come join us as Otto seeks to add a third FSCA championship to his resume with Kurtz equally determined to take his first FSCA championship!
