After weeks of dodging Mother Nature the fans and drivers at Ocala Speedway were finally blessed with an almost perfect night for racing, but while the weather conditions may have been excellent, other things were not so settled. And by the time it was all over and everyone headed home, many race car drivers faced a week of hammering out sheet metal and straightening out bent race cars. For them, Friday the 12th was not Friday the 13th, but it was close enough and might as well have been. And it was a night of long stories that cannot be explained without ignoring some of the action, so there will be no "making a long story short" in reporting what happened.
Things got off to a great start as the V8 Pure Stocks hit the track for qualifying in preparation for their 50 lap, $1000 to win, feature race. Matt Schell posted the fast qualifying time on Ocala's 3/8ths mile D-shaped oval, with an 18.113. For his accomplishment he collected an extra $50 from Tommy Roberts and Slimm Construction.
Mike Veltman posted the second quickest lap with a 18.336, and Mike Smith followed with a 18.389. The drivers then left the track after qualifying to prepare for the big race, while a make up feature and heat races were held for the other divisions.
The night was designated as Ford of Ocala Night and featured a rollout of all of the new 2008 F-Series trucks, so it was only fitting that the 4 Cylinder Stocks got to run two feature races on the night since Ford of Ocala has been the loyal sponsor of that division at Ocala Speedway. So before any heat races were run the 4 Cylinder racers hit the track for a makeup of the feature race that was rained out on September 21st. Only a couple of cars that ran in the heat race back in September failed to show up for the feature in October, and the rest of the field did not disappoint.
John Layerd has been a strong contender as of late and his 02 machine led the field to the green flag. But the second fastest car belonged to Brandon Elwood, and he blasted his way through the field and into the top three before half of the race was in the books. An accident involving three cars on lap 7 brought out a caution, which narrowed the gap between Brandon Elwood and Mike Taylor, and Elwood made the pass on the next lap of green flag racing to move into second place. Meanwhile John Layerd had no one attempting to race him and that allowed his 02 car to open up a comfortable lead while others mixed it up. But another caution involving a couple of cars deep in the pack on lap 17 again erased the gap. As the green waved again Layerd had to mash the gas hard to outrun a determined Brandon Elwood. In the end it was Layerd who took the 1st place trophy home while Elwood settled for the second spot. Mike Taylor finished in the third spot, but had issues in post race tech, so the 17 of Justyn Elwood was awarded the third place trophy. Justin Durbin and Richard Kuhn rounded out the top five.
After the remaining heat races it was time for the big event, namely the 50 lap V8 Pure Stock feature. The cars and drivers were lined up on the front stretch and introduced to the fans "NASCAR style" and given a parade lap in the back of the 2008 Ford F-Series trucks. The drivers appreciated the extra attention, but what they really wanted was to race. Thanks to the pill draw, fast qualifyer Matt Schell found himself mired in the field and Aaron Welter led 20 cars to the green flag to begin the race. But with only 2 laps completed some drivers quickly discovered that only so many race cars can fit into a limited area of race track. Several cars bounced off of each other coming out of turn 4 and onto the front stretch, but it was the 97 of Brent Cooper that got the worst of it through no fault of his own. Cooper's car took a vicious lick and spun onto the infield where it stopped, and Cooper had to take a moment or two to collect himself before finally climbing out. This brought out a red flag until it was determined that Brent Cooper was alright, and with at least three other cars sporting damage from the collisions it allowed for some clean up as well. Cooper later managed some quick repairs and returned to the track in time to remain on the lead lap, but his car was too damaged in the end to be competitive and he retired from the race.
When the green flag waved for the second time Aaron Welter found that his biggest competition for the moment was coming from his own family tree. Don Welter slipped by to assume the lead, and shortly after that it was Larry Welter Sr. who joined the party up front and passed Aaron for second. The only car not driven by a Welter in the top three was the 21 machine of Joey Durbin. Another caution on lap 7 again bunched things up on the track, and allowed other drivers a chance to also join the Welter family reunion up front.
After the race resumed it was Larry Welter Sr. who passed Joey Durbin for the lead. But yet another caution on lap 12 gave more drivers a chance to get involved up front, including the 94 of Mike Veltman. And a quick check of the pack further back revealed Matt Schell in the top five as he made his way forward through traffic. The 66 of James Erickson also was up front and challenging for the top three, but Schell wasted little time in forcing him back to 5th with a pass for 4th place. And by the time there were 20 laps in the books, Schell had also passed Joey Durbin and set his sights on the two cars up front, occupied by Mike Veltman, and Larry Welter Sr.
As Veltman attempted to pass Welter for the lead in turn, there was contact and Welter Sr. ended up facing the wrong way in the grass below turn 2. That brought out another caution and relegated Veltman to the rear as Larry Welter Sr, was awarded his lead position back. But with Matt Schell now behind him in second, Welter Sr. did not get to lead the race for long once racing resumed. On lap 32 Matt Schell motored his way up front for good, and left the racing for positions to the others who followed.
At the checkers it was Matt Schell who crossed the line for the win, followed by Joey Durbin, Mike Veltman who had fought his way back to the front, and Larry Welter Sr. But after the racing ended and the date with the tech man began, things began to change. Both Durbin and Veltman had issues in post race tech and earned DQ's, moving Larry Welter Sr. officially into second place and Bruce Pernitza into third. Aaron Welter, and Larry Welter Jr. rounded out the top five finishers on the night.
The 4 Cylinder Stocks returned to the track for their regularly scheduled feature race, this time with 12 cars taking the green flag along with pole sitter Karl Born. Born managed to hold onto his lead for only 2 laps before Justin Durbin passed him and Richard Kuhn followed suit, forcing Born to third place. A caution on lap 8 slowed things down as the 28 of Brandon Elwood spun out, thus bunching up the field for the restart. That allowed Nick Kerr in the 75 machine to move into third place.
At the finish it was Justin Durbin who took the win, followed by Richard Kuhn in second place and Nick Kerr in third. Karl born earned a fourth place finish and the 17 of Justyn Elwood struggled to the fifth place spot.
When the Street Stocks began their 20 lap feature they wasted no time in showing that this race was going to be up close and personal. At the start Hall Robertson, Jeff Stalnaker, and Don Woosley, all tried to occupy the same space at the same time, forcing a caution and setting up a restart. But before field could complete a lap under caution, tempers flared as Hall Robertson and Jeff Stalnaker had a shoving match with their cars that ended with Robertson pinning Stalnaker's car to the front stretch wall. While that incident energized the crowd, it caused a brief red flag, sent both drivers to the pits with a DQ, and set the tone for the remainder of the race and most of the rest of the evening.
After a delay to removed the wrecked cars and sort out the field, the green flag again waved and Micheal Stalnaker led from the pole. Shelby Mather was having handling problems with his number 17 car, and a couple of times he slid up and contacted other cars in the turns as he fought to maintain control. Despite that, he remained in the top five with some skillful driving. This would later have a huge payoff for Mather after the race had ended, but in the meantime he appeared to be unable to contend for the win.
On lap nine the crowd was again brought to it's feet by a fire under the 13X of Jonathon Appleby and his engine expired on the front stretch. The flames were quickly extinguished by the track crews, but Appleby's night was well done and a red flag condition was again in place while crews cleaned up the resulting mess. After the delay and green flag racing returned, the 86 of Pete Close worked forward from the last starting spot and broke into the top five on lap 11, while the 4 of David Foster, Carl Carr in the 09, and David Baxley in the 1, rounded out the top five behind Mike Stalnaker.
Trouble again flared on lap 14 just after Pete Close managed to climb to the 3rd place spot. James Sealey spun to bring out a caution, then on the restart he spun out in turn 4 as he took the green. Again the caution came out and Sealey called it quits, and after another restart Pete Close passed Carl Carr for second, then Mike Stalnaker finally relinquished his lead to Pete Close after some determined driving by both racers. At the checkers it was Pete Close taking the win, with Shelby Mather fighting to the second position Mike Stalnaker in third.
That would have been the end of it, but Pete Close and Mike Stalnaker were still not finished after their hard driving in the waning laps, and after the finish Pete Close spun the 8 of Mike Stalnaker, then spun his own car into the infield. The crowd cheered wildly, but both Pete Close and Mike Stalnaker earned DQ's for unsportsmanlike conduct, giving the win to Shelby Mather. Carl Carr took the second place trophy home while Justin Durbin wound up in the third spot. They were followed by Rick Bass and John Buzinec in fourth and fifth, respectively.
After a wild Street Stock race it was time for the V8 Thunder Stocks to have a go with a scheduled 15 lap feature. Shawn Bailey had the pole and led the field to the green flag, but was quickly overtaken by Donnie Buckner, Guy Bacelo Jr, Brian Brogan, and Greg Morgan. Guy Bacelo Jr. jumped out to the early lead, but Donnie Buckner slipped past Brian Brogan for second on lap 4, then challenge Bacelo for the top spot. On lap 8 Buckner found an opening and took it, passing Bacelo and racing from there to take the win. The speedy 14year old, Bacelo, ended up with the second place finish, followed by Brian Brogan in third place. Doug Morgan and Shawn Bailey managed fourth and fifth place finishes.
Whatever got into the Street Stock drivers earlier during their race was not lost on the Sportsman drivers later, as the V8 Thunder Stock race was merely a pause in the mayhem. Three attempts at starting the Sportsman race resulted in major accidents, and by the time the race actually got underway and a lap was completed, many of the cars were either sitting on the infield in pieces or dragged away to the pit area. And in the end, thanks to the pre race attrition a wrecked car that was bashed before the race officially began, ended up in the 10th place spot when it finally was over.
The first attempt at starting the race fell apart as the 04 of Mike Bastow tangled with another car and smashed into the front stretch wall. Bastow was alright, but his race car was beyond done for the night. While all of that was going on, there was also contact in turn 4 between Harold Barrup and Todd Kelly. Harold Barups' night ended as his car left on the dreaded hook with substantial damage. Todd Kelly managed to drive away but ended up parked in the infield grass thanks to damage resulting from the crash. This brought out a red flag and a clean up ensued, and quite a bit of time passed before the second attempt at starting the race could occur.
The second green flag saw trouble erupt in turn 2, as the 76 of Jim Higginbotham somehow ended up sideways in the turn and was hammered by the 02 of Mike Bates. It was an especially hard hit, as Bates attempted to avoid the collision but failed, smacking the 76 hard in the driver's side front quarter panel. Both cars were done for the night with heavy damage to both, while both drivers were able to walk away from the blow. Higginbotham lamented later that he had just gotten the car to where it was handling and running almost perfectly, only to have it all undone in an instant. Bates was also upset that his car was a mess, but apologized to Higginbotham saying that he tried his best to avoid the collision but had nowhere to go. Bates added that it was the hardest hit that he had ever taken on the race track.
After yet another clean up another attempt was made to start the race, this time with a single file starting grid. In addition, since so much time had been devoted to the two pre race clean ups, track officials decided to shorten the race from 20 laps to 15 in an effort to save some time. Tom Posovic led from the pole, but developed some handling issues as the race progressed. That allowed Shelton Bowers to make an outside pass for the lead on lap 4 after racing side by side for 2 circuits of the track. Once Bowers made the pass, it was Patrick Mennega's turn to move outside of Posovic's car and attempt to get the second position. But on lap 8 Tim Shull spun his car into the infield and brought out a caution, bunching up the field and further complicating the race for the top three.
As the field slowed for the caution flag, the 16 of Patrick Mennenga developed a brake problem in the rear wheel that showered sparks all over the track and left the inside of the rim glowing brightly. This condition apparently corrected itself under caution and the brakes cooled down, but the damage was done and at the restart the car was no longer handling, forcing Mennenga to retire for the night. This moved Mike Veltman up and allowed him a shot to pass Posovic for third place after the restart. Defending Sportsman champion, William Edwards, had moved his 08 machine from the back to the front, and was now challenging Shelton Bowers for the lead as Tim Shull again made his way from the rear to the 5th spot. Bowers managed to hold off Edwards and earn the win, with Edwards in second and Mike Veltman racing for the third place trophy. Tom Posovic eventually finished fourth while Tim Shull salvaged a fifth place finish.
Rich Pratt joined the field of Super Late Models for their 30 lap feature race, driving the 20X machine. Eddie Allen hauled his race car in from Adel, Georgia, and ended up with the pole position, leading the field to the green flag. Allen's lead vanished in a flash, as Scott Grossenbacher rocketed past and literally ran away with the race. Grossenbacher's 09 machine was hooked up and untouchable as he opened up a half lap lead over the majority of the field. The second place machine of Rich Pratt was the only car that looked to be able to catch the 09, but he could not close the gap after passing Eddie Allen for second place. Pratt extended another huge gap between himself and the eventual third place finisher, but never managed to get close to Grossenbacher. Behind Rich Pratt it was up to Eddie Allen and Jim Smith to race for the third spot, and Smith eventually won the battle for the trophy. Allen settled for fourth place while Scott Millar moved up to take the final spot in the top five.
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There will be no Friday night racing at Ocala Speedway on October 19th. This is to allow teams to arrive from as far away as Maine and prepare for the 2nd Annual 12 Hours of Ocala Endurance Challenge on Saturday, October 20th. The 12 Hours of Ocala is the only endurance race of it's kind held at a short track in America, and brings in teams from across the country. Entries will be accepted until Saturday morning, and an entry form can be downloaded at OcalaSpeedway.com. The race will run from 9AM until 9PM on Saturday the 20th, rain or shine. The grandstands will be open for spectators, and RV parking is available at the speedway for traveling race teams, plus hotel/motel accommodations can be arranged through the Ramada Inn and Conference Center. Regular divisional racing returns to Ocala Speedway on Friday, October 26th.
Things got off to a great start as the V8 Pure Stocks hit the track for qualifying in preparation for their 50 lap, $1000 to win, feature race. Matt Schell posted the fast qualifying time on Ocala's 3/8ths mile D-shaped oval, with an 18.113. For his accomplishment he collected an extra $50 from Tommy Roberts and Slimm Construction.
Rich Pratt joined the field of Super Late Models for their 30 lap feature race, driving the 20X machine. Eddie Allen hauled his race car in from Adel, Georgia, and ended up with the pole position, leading the field to the green flag. Allen's lead vanished in a flash, as Scott Grossenbacher rocketed past and literally ran away with the race. Grossenbacher's 09 machine was hooked up and untouchable as he opened up a half lap lead over the majority of the field. The second place machine of Rich Pratt was the only car that looked to be able to catch the 09, but he could not close the gap after passing Eddie Allen for second place. Pratt extended another huge gap between himself and the eventual third place finisher, but never managed to get close to Grossenbacher. Behind Rich Pratt it was up to Eddie Allen and Jim Smith to race for the third spot, and Smith eventually won the battle for the trophy. Allen settled for fourth place while Scott Millar moved up to take the final spot in the top five.
