"I'm
noticing a turn of the tide on racing Web sites like Florida's
Karnac.com, the gathering place for the most dedicated race
fans in the state." -Orlando Sentinel
(Inverness, Fl. 5/30/09) After a rain out last week and a rain shortened race night 2 weeks ago Citrus County Speedway was more than ready to get back to racing Saturday night. Six divisions made up the regular race card and fans got a bonus with the Pure Stock and V8 Thunder Stock make up races and a 50 lap 4 Cylinder Bomber race.
In Pure Stock action the bounty was out on Tommy Smith after winning 5 of the first 7 races of the season with only two drivers, Bill Ryan and John Drye entering the bounty entry list. Tommy looked strong entering into the Saturday night race after winning the heat race that was run on May 16th.
With 21 cars in the lineup for the make up race kicking off the night his brother Richie rocketed to the front from his 7th starting position in short order while Tommy was making his way through traffic from the 15th starting spot trying to reel in Ritchie in search of his sixth win of the season but having to settle for second when the checkers flew. In the second race of the night, Tommy and Richie both took wins in the heats and lined up side by side in 13th and 14th when the green dropped and again the pair looked like it was going to be a brotherly dual to the finish line until Tommy ran into trouble late in the race ending his evening with a DNF.
Ritchie dedicated the two wins to his mother in law who passed away this past week as fans and drivers passed condolences to the Smith family on their loss.
V8 Thunder Stocks also ran twin features in a makeup for the race they lost to rain on May 16th. It was all the Cody Stickler show from the drop of the green flag in the first race as he came off the pole to set the pace all the way to the checkered flag.
Arden Franklin and Thomas McKay seemed to be the only drivers that had anything for Stickler despite closing big leads that he built up that closed up due to several caution flags. Franklin, McKay, Scott Werstein and Ron Sellers III took the top five spots in race #1. Scott Werstein got the pole position in race #2 for the night and made it pay off with a flag to flag win with Arden Franklin again being the aggressor when the checkers flew for another second place finish. Rounding out the top five were Levi Roberts, Thomas McKay and Cody Stickler.
Four Cylinder Bombers were in the spot light with a 50 lap feature on the race card. Twenty one cars went on the clocks to qualify with defending champion Richard Kuhn turning a 16.436 second lap to earn fast qualifying honors.
The top six were inverted for the start with Phil Edwards wining the pole and starting beside Anthony LaPoint followed by Justin Durbin, Bryson Ward, Mike Ogren and Kuhn. All the top six qualifiers took a turn at leading the early part of the race with Justin Durbin leading when Mike Ogren took his V.W. Rabbit to the front and held onto the position for the final 20 laps and saw the checkers flag for the win. The win was short lived after a trip to post race inspection which found they chopped out the center of the intake. Mikes comment to the D.Q. was that is the way they bought the car and they had no way of knowing that wasnt the way it was supposed to be.
Fast qualifier Richard Kuhn inherited the win for his 3rd of the season. Rounding out the top five were Bryson Ward, Justin Durbin, Phil Edwards and Nathan Florian.
Fourteen Street Stocks made the show for their 20 lap main event with Jay Witfoth and David Foster taking the wins in their heat races. When the green flag flew for their feature Kenny May set the early pace for the first few laps with Herb Hoefler and David Foster battling for second. Foster won that battle and then proceeded to take the point while defending champion Tim Quick was cautiously working his way through traffic in pursuit of his 2nd win in a row after two weeks off.
It was a three way battle to the checkers between Foster, Bubba Martone and Tim Quick with a late caution coming out to make it a shot gun finish in the final laps. Tim Quick proved just how quick he is with a run on the outside lane and taking the checkered flag over David Foster, Bubba Martone, Jay Witfoth and Jim Hand to round out the top five.
Rounding out the local race card Clint Foley is proving to be unbeatable in his black #7 that starts in the rear of the pack and makes the rest of the field look like they need to check in on his set up and horsepower to see what he is doing right. The black rocket locked down the 2nd heat and motored his way to Victory Lane for the 4th time this season in both columns.
He started off the season in a borrowed car while he was putting the finishing touches on his new ride which has won in all four races it has run. Travis Hoefler survived an early wreck to salvage a second place finish over James Ellis, 1st heat winner Mike Lawhorn and George Neumann. Neumann was another survivor of a wild ride off turn two in a three wide race that turned him around and put him in the infield.
The Outlaw Modifieds Johnny Doucette dominated the 7 car heat race for the win. Doug Hopper started in the rear of the field in both races and had 30 laps to make his way through traffic to take the win at the race track that he has run for 20 years in a variety of divisions. He came into this race running second in the point run for his fourth championship in the division. Doucette was the man to beat at the start but had to settle for second when the checkers flew. Finishing a distant 3rd was Billy Campbell followed by Tom Meyer and Rick Mills.
Next Saturday night its the return of the Super Late Models, Mini Stocks, Street Stocks, Pure Stocks, V8 Thunder Stocks and Mini Cup Cars. Citrus County Speedway will be running every Saturday night through November 14th except for July 4th in deference to the Daytona Coca Cola 400 Saturday night July 4th.
