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Surprises Abound At Ocala Speedway Opener
by BJ Cavin
Race fans and racers braved a frosty Florida night as they gathered to reopen the historic Ocala
Speedway for another exciting season of racing, and Florida's oldest speedway did not
disappoint. The Sunoco United Dirt Late Model Challenge Series was also kicking off their
season as a part of the festivities at Ocala, as were Ocala's own Amsoil V8 Thunder Stocks, and
the Mini Stocks. The fans and racers also collected over $260 to pass along to the founder and
operator of Karnac.com and Real Racin' USA, Jack Smith. Smith has recently been undergoing
extensive surgery and was diagnosed with cancer.
Much of the attention on the night went to the Sunoco United Dirt Late Models as the new and
improved version of the racing series debuted. The Ocala race officially was part of the new
Southern division of the UDLMCS, but racers from the north also participated. Also garnering
plenty of attention was the newly formed team included Ocala's own Ivedent Lloyd and Darrell
Padgett. That attention to this Roush-Yates powered team would last well into the early morning
hours after Ivedent Lloyd wasted no time in setting the bar high, as he set fast time in qualifying
with a blistering 16.275 on his second solo lap.
Four heat races and a B-main set the field for the feature event, with Keith Nosbisch on the point
for the 50 lapper. The B-Main was a last chance for two final cars to transfer to the big race, and
Dillon Wood made the cut despite earlier problems that kept him out of contention during heat
racing.
As the Sunoco United Dirt Late Model Challenge Series got their feature event underway, Keith
Nosbisch headed to the point and took control, while all others gave chase. Trouble came on lap
6 as Jeff Mathews and Philip Cobb tangled, creating the first caution of the race. That incident
was only the beginning of what proved to be a very frustrating night for Mathews, who found
himself mired in heavy traffic. It also sent the 26 of Dillon Wood to the pits for a quick fix and put
him on the rear of the field for the restart.
Also dealing with traffic was 2 time and defending series champion, Johnny Collins. Collins would
start the race behind the front rows, and was picking his way forward when Mathews' rough night
got a little rougher in turn 4. Jeff Mathews' spin would cause the caution to wave again, bunching
up the field behind Keith Nosbisch once more, and when the green waved Nosbisch was being
chased by Brandon Dewitt, Bo Allen, Tyler Ivey, and Mark Whitener.
Another fracas would erupt on lap 19 in turn 1, leading to a five car mess between turns 1 and 2
and another caution. That incident would end the night for Jeff Mathews, and also send Darrell
Padgett to the pits for the evening as well. That caution seemed to be a signal for the front
runners to make bold moves, and those moves began as soon as the green waved again.
Lurking just behind the front five for most of the race was a very confident Ivedent Lloyd, who
watched for opportunities and pounced as soon as he discovered them. Lloyd had gradually
picked off the front runners until he was behind Nosbisch, with Tyler Ivey running in the third spot.
Ivey would make a bold move on the 21 machine, but ended up in a spin instead, bringing out a
caution and relegating Ivey to the rear. And meanwhile Dillon Wood was making headway back
toward the front of the pack after his earlier misfortunes.
By lap 30 it became evident that Ivedent was again on the move, as he pulled up on Keith
Nosbisch and cranked up the heat on the race leader. Lloyd took advantage on lap 32 and
jumped out front, then began to pull away to lead the field to the checkers. Nosbisch followed
Lloyd at the finish, as Dillon Wood managed to climb into the top three followed by Brandon
Cameron and Tyler Ivey, who also had to make quick work of the remaining racers to power back
to the front.
Ivedent Lloyd had displayed a cool confidence all night at Ocala, and that confidence went with
him and his crew from the front stretch celebration to the Ocala Speedway tech shed. Sunoco
United Dirt Late Model tech officials poured over the top three machines as crews and some
hearty fans watched, and sometime before 2 AM the cool confidence of the 21 team began to
change. Virtually no one believed that anyone on the 21 team thought that their car had any
chance of failing post race tech, but it did.
The order to disassemble the power plant in the 101 of Keith Nosbisch signaled that there would
be a different winner than the one that took the checkers first, as the 21 crew dejectedly pushed
their car back to their hauler. The 101 was inspected and declared the winner, which moved
Dillon Wood to second place and Brandon Cameron to third.
Ocala Speedway's most competitive division also was in action on the night as the Amsoil V8
Thunder Stocks hit the clay for the first time in 2010. Austin Gamble had moved up from the
ranks of the Gladiators after last season, and he wasted no time in jumping out front as things got
underway. Gamble would remain there as trouble would erupt for another former Gladiator racer,
Eddie Lentz, causing the first caution.
Meanwhile Michael Stalnaker was back at Ocala and out to prove that he is tough whether it is on
clay or asphalt. Stalnaker battled his way to the front and took control, while Harold Erickson
followed in the second spot. Austin Gamble slipped to third and was under attack from the Amsoil
sponsored 12 of Jarrod Bennett.
The Amsoil V8 Thunder Stock machines are tough, and the racers are not afraid to go all out
even if it means contact with other cars or the wall. And while that makes it an exciting division to
watch, it also means that sometimes too many cautions cause too many delays. Time expired on
the race during a caution on lap 16, so the racers battled to a green/white/checkered finish.
Michael Stalnaker took a convincing win to earn a visit to Victory Lane, while Harold Erickson held
on to second place. Jarrod Bennett placed third followed by Brian Shea and Mike Tyre.
Mini Stock racers wrapped up the feature races with an exciting event that saw all sorts of
unexpected surprises in the final laps. Keith Briggs was behind the wheel of the 19T despite a
recent hospitalization thanks to back problems, and despite being in pain he battled Nick and Dan
Kerr almost to the end. Also in the mix was 2009 division champion, Paul Combast, who tangled
with Briggs on lap 4 and banged hard into the front stretch wall at the exit of turn 4.
Combast would battle back from that misfortune to earn a third place finish as more drama played
out in front of him. Keith Briggs had fought hard with both Dan and Nick Kerr who were running
first and second, with Briggs finally passing the 75 of Nick Kerr for second. Briggs was about to
make a move in turn four in the final laps when the 73 machine suddenly spun in front of him,
bringing out a caution and putting Briggs in front.
As the green flag waved the crowd looked on in shock as Keith Briggs waved out of his window
and pulled aside, allowing the field to pass as he headed off to the pits. Although it was unclear if
a mechanical issue happened or if Briggs' pain proved too much, Nick Kerr held off the rest of the
field for the win while Dan Kerr followed in second place. Paul Combast settled for third while
Mike Oglesby and Buddy Pope rounded out the top five.
Racing returns to Ocala Speedway next Friday night as the Open Wheel Modifieds go at it for the
first time in 2010. Also on the card is the debut of the Sportsman cars as a regular division at
Ocala. For more information, visit www.OcalaSpeedway.com.
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