IT'S TIME TO RACE!!

June 15, 2009 David Foster tops 21 Car Citrus Modified Field by Larry MacMillan (Inverness, Fl. 6/13/09) Seven local division put on a super racing show for the fans with 119 race cars registered to provide the fans with an action packed night of tight finishes and a couple of first time winners for the season in Victory Lane. Twenty one Modifieds turned up the RPM’s and spent 40 laps chasing pole sitter David Foster in his first modified ride at Citrus County Speedway and became the eventual winner with his flag to flag win. It didn’t go easy for him and several cautions flags moved some of the heavy hitters to within striking distance of snatching that checkered flag away from him. Richie Smith put on plenty of heat when he moved from 4th to second on the final laps chalk up another top five finish in the division. Jeremy Gerstner locked onto Foster from the get go and was able to hold off Kyle Bookmiller who was in the hunt right to the checkered flag from his 5th starting position. Billy Bechtelheimer and Curtis Neumann put on a sided by side battle for 5th for at least 10 laps with Bechtelheimer finishing about a half car length ahead of Neumann. Point Leader Robbie Cooper moved from his 12th starting spot to finish 7th followed by Tommy Schnader, Keith Lilley and Bobby Blake who motored from 19th to finish 10th after having problems in the heat races that could have ended his night. Heat winners were Tommy Schnader, Mark Nelson and Robbie Cooper. A surprising 18 car Sportsman field made for another exciting night and introduced the fans to some new talented names and faces. One new comer Howard Osteen immediately made an impression with a win in the first heat and rookie driver Joey Catterelli followed up the win in the second heat. All 18 cars took the checkered flag with 2008 points runner up Bobby Ervien launching off the pole position and set the pace from flag to flag for his 2nd win of the season. Mike Bell locked onto Ervien’s rear bumper and stayed there all the way to the finish line while Joey Catterelli turned in his 7th top 5 finish for the season and is now tied with Ervien for the division point lead. Rounding out the top five were Ron Heard and Ernie Reed who survived an early spin but retained his spot on the restart. In week 12 of the Mini Stock Point Season Clint Foley was back on track with his new black ride after having to settle for a second place finish last week and logged his 5th win out of six weeks in the new car. Jim Curry held off the 12 car field from the pole before he looped it and had to go to the rear of the field on the restart. That put James Ellis on the point before Foley worked his way through traffic to make the pass, taking the win and putting some more cushion in his point lead. Ellis had to settle for second just ahead of 5th starter Travis Hoefler. Chris Harvey locked down 4th from his sixth starting spot followed by Mike Lawhorn who is chasing Foley for the point lead. Heat winners were Mark Powers and Lawhorn. Richard Kuhn seems to be intent on backing up last years championship with another in 2009 as he started 15th in the 16 car 4 Cylinder Bomber feature and made his way through traffic, made the pass on outside pole sitter Sonya Heater and she held the lead for the first 15 laps of the 20 lap main event holding off the rest of the field for a 2nd place finish. This was Richard’s 2nd win in a row. Rounding out the top five were Bobby Richardson and Phil Edwards. Richardson also won the 1st heat race and Nathan Florian locked down his 3rd heat win of the season in the second heat. Tommy Smith got back in the win column in the Pure Stock division after losing the Bounty Run to Curtis Flanagan last week. Smith started 8th this week in the 21 car field rather than in the rear as he had in the past 5 weeks and wasted no time going to the front and letting the rest of the field know who is boss. In the final five laps it was 19th starter Curtis Flanagan giving the leader some heat to deal with to hang onto his lead and logging his 6th win of the season. Flanagan had to settle for 2nd when the checkered flag flew plus the pair shared heat wins. Sport Wilson was driving in his first race in over a year in John Drye’s racer and ran a solid 3rd ahead of Bill Ryan and Chad Markland. Thirteen Figure 8 cars made 40 passes through the intersection and they spent their evening chasing the grand old man of the former “A” team at Sunshine Speedway Charlie Meyer. Charlie came off the pole and set the pace from flag to flag but got slowed down after the first lap that saw Robbie Aaron and Neil Herne get together putting Herne on his top and Robbie out for the night with a broken radiator and front end damage. On the restart Charging Charlie kept up the pace and picked up his 1st win in quite a while much to the approval of the fans. Robbie Hage motored his way from 10 to second when the checkers flew followed by 9th starter John Baranauskas, Wayne Calkins and Clifford Rousseau who started 12th. The V8 Thunder Stock Rookies put on quite a show with 18 cars taking the green flag. Sixth starter Cody Stickler, 12th starter Arden Franklin, 14th starter Austin Roberts and 16th starter Levi Roberts put on a final 5 lap show in the run for the flag that had the fans on their feet right to the finish line. When the see-saw battle was over Arden Franklin took his 3rd win of the season over Cody Stickler followed very closely by Levi Roberts and Austin Roberts who were side by side at the finish line. Rounding out the top five was Randy Werstein. Saturday’s race card will feature the Street Stocks, Pure Stocks, V8 Thunder Stocks, 4 Cylinder Bombers, Desoto Champ Karts and the Mini Cup Cars. Citrus County Speedway Results 6/13/09 Open Wheel Modified Feature – 40 Laps – 21 Cars 1. # 4 David Foster – Wildwood – 1st Season Win 2. #42 Richie Smith – Hernando 3. #27 Jeremy Gerstner – Wesley Chapel 4. #03 Kyle Bookmiller – Valrico 5. # 6 Billy Bechtelheimer – Dover 1st Heat Winner - #19 Tommy Schnader – St. Petersburg 2nd Heat Winner - #11 Mark Nelson – Clearwater Sportsman Feature – 20 Laps – 18 Cars 1. #88 Bobby Ervien – St. Petersburg – 2nd Season Win 2. #17 Mike Bell – Brooksville 3. #15 Joey Catterelli – St. Petersburg 4. #100 Ron Heard - ? 5. #55 Ernie Reed – Lecanto 1st Heat Winner - #80 Howard Osteen 2nd Heat Winner - #15 Joey Catterelli Mini Stock Feature – 20 Laps – 12 Cars 1. # 7 Clint Foley – Dunnellon – 5th Season Win 2. #98 James Ellis – Brooksville 3. #20 Travis Hoefler – Floral City 4. #51 Chris Harvey – Belleview 5. #44 Mike Lawhorn – Claremont 1st Heat Winner - # 9 Mark Powers – Hernando 2nd Heat Winner - #44 Mike Lawhorn 4 Cylinder Bomber Feature – 20 Laps – 16 Cars 1. #47 Richard Kuhn – Ocala – 4th Season Win 2. #71 Sonya Heater – Homosassa 3. #22 Bobby Richardson – Lecanto 4. #26 Nathan Florian – Homosassa 5. #21 Phil Edwards – Crystal River 1st heat Winner - #22 Bobby Richardson 2nd Heat Winner - #26 Nathan Florian Pure Stock Feature – 20 Laps – 21 Cars 1. #24 Tommy Smith – Hernando – 6th Season Win 2. #51 Curtis Flanagan – Inverness 3. #39 Sport Wilson – Floral City 4. #33 Bill Ryan – Bushnell 5. #34 Chad Markland – Bushnell 1st Heat Winner - #51 Curtis Flanagan 2nd Heat Winner - #24 Tommy Smith Figure 8 Feature – 20 Laps – 13 Cars 1. #94 Charlie Meyer – Pinellas Park – 1st Season Win 2. #39 Robbie Hage – St. Petersburg 3. #27 John Baranauskas – St. Petersburg 4. #14 Wayne Calkins – St. Petersburg 5. # 3 Clifford Rousseau – St. Petersburg V8 Thunder Stock Rookies – 20 Laps – 18 Cars 1. #7 Arden Franklin – Hernando – 3rd Season Win 2. #99 Cody Stickler – 3. #51 Levi Roberts – Hernando 4. #31 Austin Roberts – Hernando 5. #411 Randy Werstein – Belleview Have an opinion on this story? 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