Thomas Takes Second Win of Season as FSCAr Point Battle Heats Up
By: Tera Gunter
If one thing is a given in racing, it is that anything can happen. Saturday night’s action at North Florida Speedway certainly proved that adage is correct. From Larry Pickett lining up with little sleep after a cross country trip, to three racers suffering engine failure, to point leader Otto Scrape in the infield watching his 85 point lead over Matt Kurtz dwindle to a 31 point lead….anything can happen.
Mark Ruel Jr. led wire to wire in the first heat race, taking the win over Willie Jude. Scott Anderson dispatched Shawn Murray and challenged Barry McCance in an attempt to snag McCance’s lead in the second heat race. McCance held Anderson off only to see Shawn Murray snatch the lead and take the checkered.
John Cinkota and Dan Pickett lined up on the front row of a fifteen car field. Fans looking for fast paced action certainly got their wish as the green flag dropped and Murray, bringing Anderson with him, shot to the lead on the front stretch from a 4th starting position. Anderson proved to be a worthy competitor as he challenged Murray hard working the inside and outside grooves in an attempt to shake Murray down. Jude, who had a strong run in the first heat race, took up position behind Anderson as Murray, Anderson, and Jude gained ground over the field.
Making a hard charge from rear of the field starting positions, Gavin Thomas and Kurtz worked up to the 4th and 5th positions. Anderson’s persistence paid off as he snagged the lead from Murray in turn 1 of lap 12 only to see a caution tighten the field back up one lap later after Murray made contact with the wall. At the restart, contact between Thomas and Jude out of turn 1 send Jude spinning. Kurtz and Cinkota shot past Jude without incident but Scrape, running the low line out of turn 1, with no time to react, hit Jude nearly head on.
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With both racers in the infield, Anderson took the lead at the restart. Fending off hard charges from Thomas, who skillfully worked both the inside and outside grooves, Anderson appeared poised to take the feature until his engine failed on the backstretch, handing the lead to Thomas. Eying a potential championship, Kurtz pulled out all the stops as he challenged Thomas. Thomas fended Kurtz off and took the checkered over Kurtz, Ruel, Barry McCance, and Cinkota.
The FSCA returns to North Florida Speedway on October 27th for the final point race of the season. Join us for exciting edge of the seat action as young gun Matt Kurtz attempts to shake down seasoned pro Otto Scrape for the 2007 Florida Sprint Car Association championship!