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"Rocket Man" Wayne Jefferson wins Open Wheel Modified Feature at Desoto
By : Tom Blakeley
(November 8, 2008, Bradenton, Florida)
“Rocket Man”Wayne Jefferson does it again, but with a lot more drama and excitement. After leading practically the entire race Bobby Baldwin gets inched out at the finish line. There they were, the three of them that were neck and neck from the green flag. Any one of the three could have won and it took the officials reviewing the tape to confirm the win. But win it he did. The official finish was Jefferson winning, Bobby Baldwin second and Pat Nanney third. All three drove a great race.
The evening got started with the Desoto Champ Karts. The first of two 8-lap heat races was won by Romay Venta in the #13 Kart. Bo Howard in the #88 Kart was second and Rance Williams in the #08 Kart took third. The second heat race was won by Andy Whah in the #3 Kart. Dustin Chisolm in the #7 Kart took second and placing third in the #99 Kart was J. D. Cordon.
The Rockem-Sockem Bombers took to the oval next. It was a great 25-lap race with John “The Mayor” Stewart in the #02 car, going to Victory Circle with the win. “The Punisher” Michael Crooks in the #33 car took second, and coming in third was Steve “The Hammer” Elder in the #42 car. With the racing season nearing its end, the car count was small, but the action was big.
Next up, it was the Pure Stocks turn. This 25-lap feature had a ton of excitement. After a complete restart the yellow flags continued to fly through out the entire race. The #18 car of Troy Theim was in the lead until the 22 lap when his car developed a problem. The points leader Randy Johnson in the #73 “Silver Bullet” took over the number one spot and went on to Victory Circle. Robert Crisp in the #02 car had tangled earlier in the race and had to made some adjustmentsto even finish, took a very respectable second place. Troy Meredith in the #75 car drove to third place. It was a really intense, hard driven race that gave the fans their money’s worth.
It was now Modified Mini time. This 50-lap event was another great race. Robbie Storer took the checkered flag in the #03 car. Coming in second was Rick Sirmans in the #05 car. Dustin Perez drove hard after being sent to the rear earlier in the race and came in third in his #62 car.
After a brief 10 minute intermission the action was back on. The Desoto Champ Karts drove a 25-lap feature race. The winner was Dustin Chisolm in the #7 Kart. Placing second was J. D. Cordon in the #99 Kart, and taking third was Andy Whah in the #3 Kart. There was a tense moment as one of the karts hit the wall on the back-stretch and spun, the driver and Kart were ok and finished the race.
Street Stocks took their turn next. The 25-lap feature had lots of thrills and spills and saw points leader Greg Krom in the #35 car be sent to the rear twice. The race was won by Alex Abbott in the #17 car and it was his first win of the year. James Nanney in the #06 car was second. Despite being sent to the rear Greg Krom in the #35 car took third place.
The Sportsmen class ran a 10-lap Dash for Cash with Roger Welch in the #98 car winning the event. Rick Case in the #35 car was second and third belonged to James Nanney in the #06 car.
The final event of the evening was the Open Wheel Modified feature race. The race had to be stopped in the 17th lap as there was a medical emergency in the pits and an ambulance had to be called. The end result was a photo finish with Wayne Jefferson taking the checkered flag. Bobby Baldwin in the #4 car took second and Pat Nanney in the #60 car third. All three of these drivers fought hard and earned their front three positions.
The racing continues next Saturday, November 15th at 7:00 P.M. The TBARA Winged Sprint cars will be invading Desoto Super Speedway and the house will be rockin. For more information please call 941-748-3171.