Ocala, FL, February 10, 1999 – Speedweek at Ocala Speedway! What a great way to start a brand new season of racing. All upcoming events and feature results will be posted on the web site every week.
There is exciting racing every night through Saturday this week. Come check it out!
The first night of Speedweek 1999 featured the Dwarf Cars, the Pro 4 Modifieds, the Classic Cars and Super Trucks. Clouds loomed early in the evening, but rain stayed away as racing got under way.
Dwarf Cars
The Dwarf Cars kicked off the night. The brightly painted, open-wheeled cars provided fans with great racing action. Car number 01, driven by Kelly Rass started in pole position with number 22t driven by Tom Buckingham on the outside. After an exciting first lap, cars spun and stalled in turn 1, bringing out the first caution. Rass took a commanding lead until lap 6. The second caution of the feature was thrown when two cars spun in turn 4. Rass kept his first place position and again took a good lead ahead of the pack until lap 11 when three cars tangled in turn 1, again bringing out the a third yellow caution flag. The field had a short run as the fourth yellow flag flew in lap 14 when another tangle developed in turn 4. Rass still held his lead but Buckingham in the 22 car was tickling his bumper. Rass retook his commanding lead, but lap 21 brought the fifth caution and while waiting for the restart, he pulled to the infield, leaking fluid. Buckingham now had the lead, and he held on for the win. Rick Lundeen in the 04 car was second and Allen Davis in the 73 car was third. Shannon Buckingham and Michael Holland filled in the top five.
Pro 4 Modifieds
The Pro 4 Modifieds are new to Ocala Speedway. The full field of hot 4 cylinder outlaw cars screamed around the track to the delight of the fans. Bill Fisher in the number 9 car held pole position and J.R. Gorman in the 9vt car had the outside. Fisher took a commanding lead and the number 17 car of Arnold Pressey quickly claimed second. Car number 44, driven by Ken Fabel was making its way to the front until he was able to claim second position. Car number 56, driven by Billy Grace was pushing hard and momentarily took second, but a caution flag that was thrown almost immediately after, causing a restart that allowed Fabel to reclaim second position. He made good use of his position and took the lead from Fisher. The Grace passed Fisher and the field went several laps in that order. On lap 17, Grace was pushing hard and passed Fabel to take his turn at the lead. Fabel had some bad luck on lap 19 and spun on the backstretch, finding himself out of the race. Grace started in front on the restart but seemed to stall and the number 17 car of Randy Sands took advantage and squeaked through the pack to take first. The leaders were all new as 17, 19vt and the 36 car took the top three spots. Randy Sands took the checkered flag with Dave Hodgkinson in the 36 car taking second. Bill Fisher claimed third. Bill Grace and Doug Bland brought in the top five.
Classic Cars
The Classic Cars made their appearance at Ocala Speedway. The number 6 car of Rodney Eary had pole position and the number 5 car of Jim Rahman held the outside. The first lap was completed but it also held the first yellow of the feature. Turn 4 claimed another victim but the race restarted quickly. Rahman maintained his lead and the number 112 car of Bill Brown Sr. of Tennessee worked its way up into second. Rahman lost traction in turn 4, giving up several places and causing the second yellow of the feature. Brown Sr. tapped him and they came to a stop. The restart began with Brown Sr. in the lead, Jimmy Victory in the number 93 car in second and Bill Brown Jr. in the 88 car in third. A third yellow was thrown on lap 18 when the 77 car slid into the wall in turn 4. Brown Sr. lead the restart but just out of turn 4, Victory passed him and Brown Jr. and Brown Sr. hooked each other, causing another yellow and both went to the rear. Victory led the restart as the pack made the final lap to the checkered flag. Jim Victory of Tennessee was the winner of this hard-fought feature. Josh Freeman came in second with Bill Bolinger in third. Rodney Eary and Terry Lathrop brought home the top five.
Action American Trucks
The Action American Trucks roared out of the pits to finish up the night’s program. Rob Yoho in the 00 truck sat on the pole. While lining up to start, the outside pole sitter in the number 8 truck pulled into the pits. This allowed the 98 truck driven by Andy Carrol to move up as the race started. Racing was clean until lap 4 when the number 2 truck of Randy Yoho, Rob’s brother spun in turn 4 and hit the outside wall hard. A red flag came out as track crew cleared the track. The number 23 truck of Eddie Meter moved into second position as Carrol took his 98 truck to the pits. Rob Yoho continued in the lead with Meter pushing him very hard. Meter took the lead from Yoho for one lap, but Yoho quickly regained first. A yellow flag was thrown in lap 16 when the number 57 car spun coming out of turn 2. Closing ranks on the restart helped Kenny Phillips in the number 60 car to continue his quiet run from the middle of the pack into third position where he began to challenge the leaders. A third yellow came out on lap 18. Again closing ranks for the restart, Yoho came under intense pressure from Phillips who had passed Meter. Racing was at its best as Phillips threatened to take the lead whenever they came to turn 4. On the final lap, Kenny Phillips was able to make the move that counted and he claimed the victory, overcoming Yoho who finished in second. Eddie Meter came in third while Brandon Fagin and Mike Kern filled out the top five.
Thursday night, February 11, Ocala Speedway will feature the same divisions as Wednesday night and include the Coca-Cola 4-Cylinder Bombers, the WTRS sponsored Pure Stocks and the Dave’s Towing sponsored Hobby Stocks. Friday night will be the same as Thursday and Saturday night will have a full card plus a 100 lap Modified race.