Ocala, FL, February 11, 1999 – Pleasant breezes, cool temperatures and hard running cars made for a perfect evening at Ocala Speedway! The second night of Speedweek 1999 was underway!
The Thursday night of Speedweek 1999 featured the Dwarf Cars, the Pro 4 Modifieds, the Classic Cars and the Action American Trucks. Along with these were the Coca-Cola 4-Cylinders, the WTRS Pure Stocks and the Dave’s Towing Hobby Stocks. This was a feature-packed night. The Coca-Cola 4-Cylinders ran first with Pete Close taking the checkered flag. Gary Hotalen came in second, Norris Watkins was third, and Todd Jolly was fourth.
Pure Stocks and Hobby Stocks
Pure Stocks and Hobby Stocks combined to make a great feature race. The field was packed with cars. Tonight was a great indicator of things to come for the 1999 season. David Baxley in the number 64 had pole position with number 65 beside him. The yellow flag fell on the fourth lap after a spin in turn one. Baxley continued to hold the lead but Eddie Kilbury in the number 71 car was coming up strong. The second caution fell when two cars tangled in the front stretch. Baxley held on tight for first with Kilbury teasing him in every turn. The pack was shifting positions as last year’s Hobby Stock champion, Alan McCafferty, was making his way through the cars. One final caution flag flew in lap 9. The rest of the race belonged to Baxley, who took the checkered flag. Eddie Kilbury came in second with Alan McCafferty close behind for third. Shane Nichols and Charles Kopach filled out the top five finishers. The Pure Stock winner was Larry Bowden in the 77 car. John Betts was second with Mark Mitchell, John Mamph and Richard McGlaghen leading the rest.
Dwarf Cars
The Dwarf Cars buzzed out of the pits next. Randall English in the 02 car sat on the pole. Shannon Buckingham in the 44 car was on the outside. Racing was hot and clean until the sixth lap when the first yellow flag came out. Racing restarted quickly with English keeping his lead. Kelly Rass in the 01 car had pushed his way into second and the two battled hard for the lead. A third caution came out in lap 15. Randall English of Kingsport, TN, fought hard and it paid off as he took the checkered flag. Kelly Rass of Jonesborough, TN crossed the finish just inches behind the leader. Shannon Buckingham of Morristown, IN, pulled in third with Steve Tregear and Fred Brunson finishing in the top five.
Pro 4 Modifieds
The Pro 4 Modifieds again filled the track here at Ocala Speedway. Tom Rahrle in the 2 car sat the pole position with Tim Proctol in the 18vt car on the outside. The first caution flag of the feature came after the first lap. Proctol claimed the lead on the restart with the 56 car pushing hard in second. Hard, clean racing was the formula until lap 14 when a yellow flag signaled a big pile up in the backstretch. The number 56 car along with three others had to be towed from the track and clean up took a few minutes. The pack was rearranged after officials checked the order. The 81 car of Cliff Hodgkinson was the leader when all was sorted out. Turn 4 took out another car on the restart as the number 44 car spun and tapped the tire. The final restart was all it took to finish this feature. Cliff Hodgkinson of Breslau, Ont. in the 81 car finished first with a big lead. Tim Proctol of Hamilton, NJ came in second and Dave Hodgkinson of Breslau, Ont. was third. Randy Sands and Bill Fisher brought home fourth and fifth.
Classic Cars
The Classic Cars were at Ocala Speedway again tonight. Bill Brown Sr. in the 112 car sat the pole with Rodney Eary in the 6 car starting outside. The first start was bad and had to be redone. Finally the cars were racing and 112 took the lead with Eary close behind. The yellow flag came out during lap 3 as Jimmy Victory, last night’s feature winner; took a bite out of turn 4. The flag momentarily turned red as track safety crew checked to see that Jimmy was ok. Clean up was quick and the race was back underway. Two laps later the second caution flag flew. Again the restart was quick and racing continued with Brown Sr. in the lead. Third, fourth and fifth places were being traded behind the leaders but Brown Sr. continued to outpace the pack. Several cars spun to the infield during the last laps of the feature but no flags stopped the action and Bill Brown Sr. of Woodbine, MD took the checkered flag. Rodney Eary of Orlando came in second and Russ Myers of Winston Salem, NC in the 77x car came in third. Jerry Pownell and Isaac Coleman filled out the top five.
Action American Trucks
The Action American Trucks roared out of the pits to finish up the night’s program. Wes Bullock in the 25 car started on the pole. This feature was exciting for sure! Seems every lap or at least every other lap saw a caution flag thrown. Wes Bullock in the 25 car, Kenny Phillips in the 60 car and Todd Bontrager in the 8 car held on to the first three places through all the trials. A red flag came out in lap 7 as the 81 and 98 cars took it head on into the wall coming out of turn 4 and into the front stretch. Tempers flared but track officials quickly settled things down as the clean-up crew cleared the track. The time limit had come down and required that the feature finish up with only six laps to go. Bullock still held the lead and Phillips, last night’s feature winner, held onto his bumper. One more lap was completed before another yellow stopped the action as the 57z and 57 cars bumped in turn 4. There were 8 laps completed and only 4 to go. The final restart allowed the three leaders, who seemed to be unaffected by the shenanigans going on behind them, to continue their race to the checkered flag. Bullock of Cicero, IN led from the pole to the finish. Kenny Phillips of Wakeman, OH came in second. Todd Bontrager of Sarasota, FL was third with Robert Yoho and Al Neuman filling out the top five.
Friday night, February 12, Friday night at Ocala Speedway will be the same as Thursday night, and Saturday night will have a full card plus a 100 lap Modified race.