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April 25, 2000

Speedways Levy Fines And Suspensions

Two incidents this weekend resulted in driver and crew suspensions at Florida Speedways. Florida Speed Park in St Augustine and DeSoto Speedway in Bradenton both made strong statements about the level of professionalism they expect at their speedways.

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Florida Speed Park issued the following statement today:

[Speedway officials announced today the levying of fines and suspensions stemming from an incident along the front stretch involving several drivers and crew members following the conclusion of this past Saturday night’s racing program.

Sportsman drivers Kenny Hall and David Cline have both been fined an undisclosed amount and suspended indefinitely from the speedway. Two non-competitors ­ Nelson (Tiny) Cline and Mike Harrison ­ have also been fined and suspended indefinitely. Two other non-competitors ­ Jimmie Bunn and Ronnie Tillman ­ have been fined an undisclosed amount.

"What happened Saturday night was an embarrassment not only to the fans but also to those competitors here who work so hard at success in this sport," said speedway manager Louis Smith. "We will not stand for this type of behavior, period. Racing is a family sport and this is a family program. The actions of those select teams and individuals involved in the post-race melee will not be tolerated here, under any circumstances."

The incident overshadowed a hard fought battle between Todd Ponce and Jason Garver for victory in the hotly contested Sportsman division feature. Ponce went on to eek out the win, just getting underneath Garver and taking the lead with only two laps to go. The Sportsman, plus all five other local divisions, will be in action this coming Saturday night.]
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A similar incident occurred this past weekend at DeSoto Speedway involving last year's Street Stock Champion Gus Coorssen and fellow Sportman racer George Shaver. Coorssen reportedly rammed Shaver who was parked while a red flag was out on the speedway. Both drivers have been suspended according to statements made by General Manager Earl Savage.

These incidents are reminiscent of East Bay Speedway last year on a wild afternoon when the officials disqualified nearly the entire field of Street Stocks for not stopping immediately under a red flag. Though that action nearly led to a riot amongst the drivers and the fans, General Manager Tom Hall stood by his decision saying "You can never have enough safety".

In the DeSoto incident the real loser may have been Brian Teeters, driver of the #97 Sportsman. Teeters was leading the race with one lap to go when the red flag was thrown. He intervened in the fracas between Coorssen and Shaver in an attempt to separate them, resulting in his own disqualification. After his car owner explained his case he was able to collect $100 for his efforts.

And it's only April.

-Jack Smith


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