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Double Excitement At Ocala Speedway
by BJ Cavin
7-27-07
For the first time in many days not one drop of rain fell on Ocala Speedway during
the afternoon and evening hours, and a good crowd endured hot and humid
weather to see some awesome racing action. The night featured two open wheel
modified feature races that were a make up event from an earlier rainout, and the
continuation of a four race series that began over a month earlier at Citrus County
Speedway. And to add to the excitement, $1000 was up for grabs for the driver
that ran all four races and accumulated the most points. Coming into Friday's
races at Ocala the three top contenders for the bonus cash were Curtis Neumann,
Robbie Cooper, and Wayne Anderson. Anderson failed to show up at Ocala with a
modifed to race and Robbie Cooper found himself mired in traffic in the night's
second feature race. That made it Curtis Neumann's money to lose and he made it
a point not to lose it. Neumann finished third in the first race and fourth in the
second one to claim the prize and go home $1000 richer.
The first modified feature race saw Robbie Cooper overtake Troy Robinson early
and hold him off in order to earn the win. Robinson would constantly challenge
Cooper but could not regain the lead and settled for second while Curtis Neumann
finished a solid third. After that race was completed the cars were led into the
infield by the pace car and parked there for ten minutes, allowing the pit crews to
refuel them and make some adjustments. However, the drivers were informed that
any tire changes would result in that car being relegated to the rear to begin the
second feature, and no cars changed even one tire. And before beginning the
second feature race the field of lead lap cars was inverted, putting the race leaders
in the rear, and by the end of the second race it became apparent that this was the
kiss of death for some while it only serveds as a temporary obstacle to others.
The second 25 lap feature race for the modifieds did not go as smoothly as the
first as Troy Robinson was forced to park his car early on and various tangles and
bouts of lousy luck served to aggravate many other contenders. Patrick
Mennenga had found himself mired in traffic during the first race, but he was near
the front for the second race and used that to his advantage. Mennenga took the
lead 6 laps in and held it for the duration of the race, winning the second feature
race. Teddy Nelson also benefited from starting near the front as he managed a
second place finish, and Alan McCafferty battled from near the rear to the front to
claim the third spot. And while Curtis Neumann, Alan McCafferty, Michael
Stalnaker, and Kurt Jett were able to come from deep in the field to finish near the
front, some drivers like Robbie Cooper and Jimmy Wagner could not make their
way through traffic to reclaim front positions.
The other regular divisions at Ocala Speedway saw plenty of action as well, and it
was the V8 Pure Stocks that began the night with James Sullivan out in front in the
pole position. Sullivan had hoped this would pay off for him 20 laps later, but by
the sixth lap Larry Welter Sr. had stolen the lead and was obviously determined to
win. But Jessie Corbett had something to say about that and he picked his way
through the field from a dismal starting position to eventually take the lead and win
the race. Larry Welter Sr. would settle for second place while Josh Brown
managed a top 3 finish for the second week in a row after his move up from the
Thunder Stock class.
The Sportsman division race was dominated by Michael Mennenga as he started
from the pole and never looked back, but in the end the tech man would have the
final say and another strong driver would fall victim to over zealousness as Shelton
Bowers claimed another first place trophy. John Mamph would have yet another
strong night and wind up second while Rick Bass clawed his way to what turned out
to be a third place finish. But the award for sheer determination had to go to Jim
Higginbotham as he blew the engine in his primary car in hot laps early on, then
went home and gathered up his secondary car that had not raced in over a year.
Higginbotham returned to the track in time to start the feature race in the backup
car and blew the cobwebs out of it on the way to a respectable eighth place finish.
Brandon Elwood started from the pole and never looked back in the 4 Cylinder
Stock race, but had he chanced a glance e he would have seen Justyn Elwood
trying everything in his power to make a pass and take the lead. Brandon would
hold on for the win while Justyn settled for second and Karl Born battled to a third
place finish.
Sixteen Street Stocks took the green flag behind pole sitter Joe Boyd, and it was
not long before Shelby Mather was challenging Boyd for the lead. However, Mather
may have been a tad too aggressive and ended up tangled up with Boyd on the
backstretch. Boyd spun and was able to continue, while Mather was sent to the
rear and had to battle his way back up font. Meanwhile it was Pete Close who
continually fought hard to gain positions and wound up in the top three, eventually
taking the lead on lap 13 and holding on for a win. Justin Durbin had a solid
second place finish and Joe Boyd hung on to claim third place.
The night was capped off by a crowd favorite, the Figure 8 cars. Larry Welter Jr.
took control of the race from the pole and literally drove away from everyone else,
while Justin Durbin fought for a second place finish and Rick Hart managed to claim
third prize.
Next week Ocala Speedway welcomes the late models back for another long
awaited feature race, along with the 4 Cylinder Stocks, V8 Stocks, Street Stocks,
Sportsman. The Thunder Stocks will also be back after a week off. And added to
the program will be a powder puff race, featuring wives, daughters, and even one
of the speedway owners as well, plus a kidney bean race featuring V8 Pure Stock
cars.
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