IT'S TIME TO RACE!!

August 17, 2008 A Night of Honor at Desoto Super Speedway By Tom Blakeley Saturday night was a night to be remembered at Desoto Super Speedway. The racing action was non-stop and the class of the Desoto Drivers, Fans, and Owners came shining through. The night was jam packed with 11 races, great action and some of the best driving we have seen in a long time. Does the color YELLOW ring a bell? The Champ Karts honored the late Don MacCalla of Tampa. They raced to his honor and the special guest of the night was his daughter Lorrie who drove the #68 Champ Kart to the finish line. After the feature race a big group of the Champ Kart family had a photo taken at Victory Circle to preserve the memory. What a great group of people. Also honored was Pete Craccolicci. Pete recently passed away and was well know in the racing circuit. He was a racer and the flag man on turn one at Sunshine Speedway. When Sunshine closed he moved on to Citrus County. His family has been having difficult times. The class act drivers at Desoto decided to go into the stands and pass around their helmets for donations to Pete?s family . They collected quite a sum of money and we hope that it will help the Craccolicci family. The drivers who passed their helmets were Mike Crooks, John Stewart, Chad Cushing, Ken Smith, Steve Elder, Rodney Alverez. We thank you guys for being the class drivers you are. The action started with 2 Champ Kart 8 lap heat races.. The Thundering Herd showed up in force and put on quite a show. The feature race was really exciting with the #99, #44, #08 and #22 running side by side and drafting for many laps. There were 2 big accidents, one involving 3 karts and the wall . Tara Henderson in the #44 Kart went to victory circle and took the huge trophy. The Thundering Herd will be returning to Desoto Super Speedway very soon. The Outlaw Sportsman came up next with two heat races of their own. Later, the Budweiser Outlaw Sportsman Feature outlived the 4 yellow flags and Cliff Steinman in the #23 car claimed victory circle rights. Doug Hopper in the #15 was second and third place belonged to Roy Campbell in the #91. Doug Hopper started the race in the 7th position and drove his way to second. It was then time for all of us to take our blood pressure medicines, place our hands over our hearts, get down on our knees?.cause it?s Showtime at Desoto. The Rockem Sockem bombers blasted their way onto the oval circle. What a thriller race. After starting in the 6th position Michael ?The Punisher? Crooks won the checkered flag n his #33 car. Steve ?The Hammer? Elder took a very tough 2nd in the #42, and John ?The Crusher? Stewart took 3rd in the #02. It was an awesome show. The Street Stocks and Sportsman took the track by storm. Jimmy Best, of Sarasota, started in the 12th position drove over and around to a great win. Roger Welch of St. Petersburg, started 7th, came in 2nd in the 98 Car. James Nanney of Bradenton, took 3rd. this was a great race to watch as the drivers really got after it and it was petal to the metal all the way. Pure Stocks turned out in a big way. Robert Crisp honored his Father by dedicating this race, from victory circle, to his father who had sudden health problems the past week. Robert drove an exceptional race to come from the 4th starting position to win it for his Dad.. Anthony Easton in the great looking #90 car brought home 2nd. Third place was taken by Richard Sheppard in the #30 car. The Magic 4?s took care of business next. After several spinouts and and lots of mud on the track Alex Patten of St. Petersburg was the winner in the #13 car. Alex drove a hard nosed race and it paid off for him. On Alex?s bumper all race was Jessica ?O? Ostrovskis of St. Petersburg who came from a starting place of 4th to come in second, by inches. Zac Campilonga of Bradenton came in 3rd. Jo Ann Danielson 11 years old, who started only her second race made great improvement and is learning the ropes. The perfect ending to a perfect night who else but The Super Late Models. This was a 4 car inversion of a field of 15 cars, and it only took two yellow flags to get the first lap in. There was a total of 7 yellow flags for this 125 lap feature. The action packed race saw tremendous driving and red-hot speed. The winner was Chris Fontaine in the #47 car. Anthony Cami in the #81 car drove to 2nd place. Third place miraculously belong to Robert Yoho. After leading the race, spinning out and having to go to the back, Robert Yoho drove to an unbelievable 3rd spot. David Wilson lead for many laps but spun out with only seven laps to go, and was sent to the back. The pace was fast and furious, and the action never stopped as there always seemed to be a pack of cars on the leaders bumper. Join us next Saturday at 7 PM for another evening of family fun and racing at ?The South?s Fastest Short Track,? Desoto Super Speedway. Have an opinion on this story? Post a message on our Message Board! or Email KARNACto send a letter to the editor!