IT'S TIME TO RACE!!

July 21, 2008 Williams tops Super Lates at Orlando SpeedWorld by Dave Westerman After several weeks of inactivity due to weather and the July 4th holiday, Orlando Speedworld finally got a Friday night program in the books but still had to fend off some late afternoon drizzle before practice could get under way. Despite the delay, action began just a few minutes late with the Super Late Models getting their first crack at the track in over a month. Bobby Orr won the heat race and led the opening 13 laps of the Super Late Model feature. His car was getting looser and looser each lap and veteran Michael Williams eventually got by and went on to score his second win in a row, although they have come over a month apart. Orr spun his car out of second position two laps after being passed by Williams, then spun again two laps later to bring out a second caution. A disappointed Orr took his ill-handling machine to the pits after his second spin. Second place didn't seem to be the spot to be in as Ronnie Roach looped his mount out of the runner-up slot following the restart. From there it was clean and green as Williams took the checker comfortably in front of Travis Towell who battled back from a heat race incident to claim second in the feature. Derrick Wood drove a steady race to take third in front of Mark Emberson and Earl Beckner. Rounding out the top ten were Roach, Danny Maddox, Scott McKinley, Orr and Bob Green. Mark Emberson backed up his third place SLM effort with a win in the Modified feature. After winning the heat, Emberson led flag to flag in the feature race to claim his third win of the year over Chris Smyth, Shain Held, Art Kunzeman, and Terri Bryant. New Smyrna Speedway regular Todd Allen scored his first ever Super Stock win here following a wild affair that saw yet another altercation between point leaders John Hodge and Bobby Riley. Allen had things pretty much in control from the outset as he let the rest of the field duke it out behind him. Matt Jarrett came through late to get second trailed by Austin Carr, Ron McCreary, and Hodge. The second five consisted of Ray Mullis, William Hindman, Riley, Nathan Haystead and Jason Pick. Heat wins were taken by Hodge and Pick. Derrick Wood led the first four laps of the Sportsman feature before he spun handing the lead and eventual win to point leader Andy Nicholls. Heat winner Jeff Wright held off a charging Wood for second with Mike Santana and Jessie Cuddy fourth and fifth. Paul Colgan was unhurt after a bout with the turn three wall while leading the heat race when the steering shaft broke on his car. Pedie Allison made his return to the Mini Stocks a winning won as he led all the way in both the heat and feature. Young Markey Powers was impressive coming home in second spot and was actually able to keep the fleet Allison in sight. R.J. Arnone was third trailed by Randy Blakeslee, John Cook, Ray Mullis, Chase Miller and Rob Reynolds. Ricky Solomon, Jr. topped the Action Gator Tire Strictly Stock field in his Nissan holding off the Ford Probe of Neal Kirby and Glen Rhodes' new Chevelle. Tim Walters, Jr. was fourth followed by Ronald Chancey, Dustin Higdon, Gary Thomas and Devon Cuddy. Solomon also won the heat. OFFICIAL RESULTS ORLANDO SPEEDWORLD JULY 18, 2008 SUPER LATE MODELS 1. #32 Michael Williams 2. #14X Travis Towell 3. #33 Derrick Wood 4. #30 Mark Emberson 5. #36 Earl Beckner 6. #14 Ronnie Roach 7. #82 Danny Maddox 8. #12 Scott McKinley 9. #30X Bobby Orr 10. #13 Bob Green DNS MODIFIED 1. #30 Mark Emberson 2. #07 Christopher Smyth 3. #55 Shain Held 4. #9 Art Kunzeman 5. #08 Terri Bryant SPORTSMAN 1. #66 Andy Nicholls 2. #50 Jeff Wright 3. #33 Derrick Wood 4. #151 Mike Santana 5. #64 Jessie Cuddy 6. #7 Steve Farris 7. #31 Paul Colgan DNS SUPER STOCK 1. #11x Todd Allen 2. #98 Matt Jarrett 3. #8 Austin Carr 4. #4Q Ron McCreary 5. #00 John Hodge 6. #316 Ray Mullis 7. #89 William Hindman 8. #52 Bobby Riley 9. #72 Nathan Haystead 10. #44 Jason Pick 11. #15 Billy Bellflower 12. #55 Denny Johns DNS MINI STOCK 1. #92 Pedie Allison 2. #9X Markey Powers 3. #30 R.J. Arnone 4. #77 Randy Blakeslee 5. #24 John Cook 6. #09 Ray Mullis 7. #14 Chase Miller 8. #A1 Rob Reynolds STRICTLY STOCK 1. #19 Ricky Solomon, Jr. 2. #8 Neil Kirby 3. #63 Glenn Rhodes 4. #29 Tim Walters, Jr. 5. #19X Ronald Chancey 6. #18 Dustin Higdon 7. #76 Gary Thomas 8. #4 Devon Cuddy Have an opinion on this story? Post a message on our Message Board! or Email KARNACto send a letter to the editor!