IT'S TIME TO RACE!!

September 14, 2008 Citrus Fan Appreciation Night Action Packed by Larry MacMillan (Inverness, Fl. 9/13/08) Citrus County Speedway’s Fan Appreciation Night provided the spectators more than their money’s worth in action and a smooth running race card. Six divisions turned up the wick and raced their hearts out as the season begins to wind down. Three age groups participated in the Kids Bike Races from the very young to teenagers which got a lot of support from the fans and thanks to Becky Aaron for putting it together and running it very smoothly and to approximately 40 kids who participated. The fuel cost crunch definitely had its effect after Hurricane Ike preventing many of the drivers from making the trip much less affording the racing fuel they need to run well. Only 9 Modifieds made the trip running 1 heat and a 30 lap feature. Point leader Curtis Neumann got caught up in a 2nd lap situation trying to avoid a crash on the front straight that put him into the infield. He was looking for a caution flag that never came out and this put him down 4 laps before he got back into the race. In the meantime the race continued with a battle for the lead seeing Teddy Nelson taking advantage of a three wide run for the lead off turn four and checked out on the field for his first win of the season from his 5th starting position. Meanwhile Richie Smith battled with Doug Miller and went on to hold out for 2nd with Miller right on his rear bumper. Kyle Owens made his first trip to Citrus payoff with a 4th place run followed by former champion Kyle Bookmiller. Curtis Neumann did pick up an extra 10 points with a run away heat win but had to settle for a ninth place finish in the feature. He still holds a 16 point lead in the race for the crown over Richie Smith. Nineteen Street Stocks added to the heat of the evening and put on a great race. Point leader Tim Quick proved just how quick he is as he launched his racer from 9th to the point in short order and locked down his 8th win of the season. Larry Welter Jr. was the only driver that appeared to have anything for Quick but after starting 10th couldn’t close the gap to overtake Tim in the run for the flag and had to settle for second. Kyle Peters made a late pass on Doc. Mark Fallows in the traffic jam that was racing for third with Brent Cooper coming from his 17th starting spot to finish fifth. Apparent 3rd place finisher Thomas “Bubba” Martone lost the spot in post race inspection for illegal heads. Heat winners were Larry Welter Jr. and Doc Fallows. Twenty three cars registered for the Pure Stock battle with 22 taking the green flag and it was a battle royal from the get go. Wayne Heater, Glen Colyer, and last week’s winner Chad Markland did a three wide run for the point for a couple of laps before Bill Ryan came through the heavy traffic to take the point and he looked like he was on his way to his 7th win of the season. Richie Smith followed Bill through all that traffic from his 14th starting spot and made the pass for the point putting Ryan on the spot. Richie wound up logging his 3rd feature in Mike Hinde’s ride with Ryan locking down second over Tommy Smith, point leader John Drye and Chad Markland rounding out the top five. Larry Welter Sr. and Richie Smith won the heat races. John Baranauskas proved he is king of Victory Lane in Figure 8 action. He took the green flag from the pole position and never gave up the lead for the entire 20 laps. The rest of the field put on a wild battle in the fight for 2nd with Darryl Hage taking a late run at Robby Aaron for a nose to tail second place finish. Also in the freight train finish in order were Robbie Hage, Clifford Rousseau and Joey Catterelli. The traffic got spread out on several occasions and had the fans on the edge of their seats for the 11 of Bob Hage who made several wild passes for close calls in the intersection. Despite his sixth place finish Joey Catterelli still holds the point lead by 14 points over Darryl Hage. Rounding out the local racing the V8 Thunder Stock Rookies started 15 cars and got a surprise when the Race Director decided to give them an extra 10 laps in their 20 lap feature. Del Beckner started in the rear of the field and worked his way through traffic and was definitely the fastest car in the field. Cotee Clark launched his racer from the 7th starting position and charged to the front and then spent most of the race falling back and then coming back up to the top 3 taking advantage of caution flags. In lap 21, newcomer Darrell Demonbreun lost it on the back straight and wound up backing into the infield, unfortunately hitting the right rear side of the pace car. Del Beckner in his second start in his new MOO2 came from the rear of the pack and took the lead late in the race. After leading for several laps he bailed out and went to the pits. In the final 10 laps Cotee Clark made a run for the leader Drew Matissek and took his third win of the season. Matissek lost his second place finish in tech for too much weight in the left side of his racer. Third finisher Dan Bennett lost his spot for being too light in tech. C.J. Wright inherited 2nd place after the D.Q.’s with Arden Franklin, Mike Pancake and Larry Nevels Jr. all moving up and rounding out the top five. The traveling Mini Cup series brought 7 cars for their heat and feature races. The night belonged to 12 year old Brady Marshall from Sarasota as he just dominated both races. Bobby Rogers, 59 out of Branson, Fl. made a late pass on Brady’s dad Doug Marshall in the run for second. Rounding out the top 5 were Mike Holt and Carlos Pinto both from Groveland. None of the drivers that were chasing Brady were under 40 years old. Next Saturday night will feature the return of the Super Late Models, Sportsman, Mini Stocks, Street Stocks, Pure Stocks, V8 Thunder Stocks, 4 Cylinder Bombers and Florida Midgets. Citrus County Speedway Results 9/13/08 Open Wheel Modified Feature – 30 Laps, 9 Cars 1. #34 Teddy Nelson – Pinellas Park – 1st Season Win 2. #42 Richie Smith – Hernando 3. #53 Doug Miller – Largo 4. # 1 Kyle Owen - ? 5. #03 Kyle Bookmiller – Valrico Heat Winner - #01 Curtis Neumann – Inverness Street Stock Feature – 20 Laps – 20 Cars 1. #97 Tim Quick – Lecanto – 8th Season Win 2. #58 Larry Welter Jr. – Bronson 3. #33 Kyle Peters - ? 4. #007 Doc Mark Fallows – Crystal River 5. #197 Brent Cooper – Ocala 1st Heat Winner - #58 Larry Welter Jr. 2nd Heat Winner - #007 Doc Mark Fallows Pure Stock Feature – 20 Laps – 23 Cars 1. #142 Richie Smith – Hernando – 3rd Season Win 2. #33 Bill Ryan – Bushnell 3. #93 Tommy Smith – Hernando 4. #39 John Drye – Inverness 5. #34 Chad Markland – Bushnell 1st Heat Winner - #85 Larry Welter Sr. – Williston 2nd Heat Winner - #142 Richie Smith Figure 8 Feature – 20 Laps – 14 Cars 1. #27 John Baranauskas – St. Petersburg – 4th Season Win 2. # 8 Darryl Hage – St. Petersburg 3. # 6 Robby Aaron – Brooksville 4. #74 Robbie Hage – St. Petersburg 5. # 3 Cliff Rousseau – St. Petersburg V8 Thunder Stock Rookies Feature – 30 Laps – 15 Cars 1. #39 Cotee Clark – New Port Richey – 3rd Season Win 2. #88 C.J. Wright - ? 3. #07 Arden Franklin – Inverness 4. #13 Mike Pancake – Moonlake 5. #138 Larry Nevels Jr. – Inverness Mini Cup Feature – 20 Laps – 7 Cars 1. #20 Brady Marshall – Sarasota 2. #12 Bobby Rogers – Branson 3. #11x Doug Marshall – Sarasota 4. #24 Mike Holt – Groveland 5. #48 Carlos Pinto – Groveland Heat Winner - #20 Brady Marshall Have an opinion on this story? Post a message on our Message Board! or Email KARNACto send a letter to the editor!