Ocala, FL, July 31, 1999 – Ocala Speedway got a full taste of summer tonight. Temperatures were high but a brisk breeze helped make it tolerable. As night fell, the cooling breeze was very welcome. The track was heated by the racers on this exciting night of racing.
The Coca-Cola 4-Cylinder Bombers came out in full force tonight. A couple of the cars had new drivers tonight, and the feature was packed with action. Brock Oglesby (88) sat on the pole and Gary Hotalen (312) sat on the outside. The first attempt to start failed when a car stalled in turn one. The cars were squared back up and the next start also went awry when the lead car jumped the gun. Again things were lined back up and the race was on. Oglesby took a good lead and Cliff White moved up into second. A yellow flag flew after the fourth lap and the pack was snuggled up. Oglesby again took the lead but very shortly White managed to get by him coming into turn three. Danny Cretty (01), who was driving Tom Posavec’s old car, and Pete Close Jr. who was driving the 43 car for Chuana Johnson, also slipped through the hole and moved up behind White. The top three leaders were battling hard the rest of the feature. White was determined but so was Cretty. The battle was fought to the wire and Danny Cretty made the move that counted and he took the checkered flag. Cliff White pulled in second and Pete Close finished third. Brock Oglesby and Bruce Teague filled out the top five. IMPORTANT NOTE: Last week, July 24th, we reported that Tom Posavec (01) was disqualified after tech and didn’t win the feature. The disqualification was not because of illegal equipment but rather because of forfeiture by Posavec for not allowing his car to be claimed by a competitor.
The WTRS Pure Stocks streamed from the pits to fill their feature. Peter Portera (24) sat on the inside pole and John Cook (17) sat on the outside. Portera got a good start and took the lead. Richard McGlashan (113) tucked in behind Portera and Dave Dinehart (79) sat strong in third. Fighting was tough and positions were changing every lap. By lap three, Dinehart had moved from third into first position and was opening some space for himself. One yellow flag marred the action when Cook and Mark Mitchell (71II) got a little tangled up in turn four. The restart came quickly and Dinehart proved to the crowd that he earned the point. His car was fast and strong and he didn’t have to worry about the battles going on behind him. Portera, McGlashan and John Betts (81) were providing the thrills. Betts took third position from McGlashan then two laps later McGlashan took it back. With two laps to go, McGlashan moved past Portera and Betts moved with him. Dave Dinehart took a well-earned win with Richard McGlashan moving strong in second. John Betts brought home third with Peter Portera and Chuck Stewart filling the top five.
The Dave’s Towing Hobby Stocks came out with a full field tonight. Mike Davis (50) sat on the pole and Tim Quick (97) sat on the outside. Davis jumped out front and Mike Wilson (79) slipped up on the inside to get behind him. After the second lap a caution flag flew when Charles Kopach (53) and Glen Adams (3) got tangled up in turn two. Adams left the track with a flat tire. The racing restarted with Davis still on point but Wilson was hunting. After several laps, Wilson found the hole he needed and took the point from Davis. Bob Masciarelli (72), who had been in fourth gave way to Alan McCafferty (32). A second caution came when Pete Close Jr. (08) lost his engine in turn four and took his car to the infield. With two laps to go, Mike Wilson ran hard to the checkered flag and Mike Davis pulled in for second. Alan McCafferty took third place and Bob Masciarelli finished fourth. Glen Baum took home fifth.
The Budweiser Modifieds roared out onto the track for their feature. Bruce Davis (33x) had the pole and Rob Lefevre (93) sitting on the outside. When the green flag dropped, the pack seemed to split at the seams as cars streamed past Davis on both sides. Lefevre gained the point and Rick Hall settled into second. Wayne Reutimann sat in third and Red Vann had fourth. After lap three, a caution flag flew to slow the race just enough to allow Loren Thornton (N8) to take his smoking car to the pit. The race restarted with very little disruption, but restart was exciting as Vann and Hall tangled just enough to allow those behind to get by. Each was able to hold his car together so no flags were thrown. While this was going on in the pack, Scott Grossenbacher (09) was reminding the crowd the he was the dominator. Reutimann moved into second and Vann came through the pack to take third. By lap ten, Vann took second but he was unable to challenge Grossenbacher who was way out front. Scott Grossenbacher took his third win of the season with a big lead and Red Vann took home second. Rick Hall had worked back up and took third. Wayne Reutimann took fourth and Rob Lefevre earned fifth.
The Steven A. Bagen Late Models raced a 50-lap feature tonight at Ocala Speedway. After qualifying, Rich Pratt (0) sat on the pole and Chris Tedder (13) sat beside him. Chuck Burkhalter (30) was on the inside second row, and Jimmy Britts (92) sat on his right. Pratt took the lead when the green flag dropped and Burkhalter immediately took the space he left and pulled into second. Tedder rode in third for one lap, but then, Britts moved up to take it. On lap fifteen, Burkhalter powered by Pratt to take the lead. Racing was very fast for fifteen laps, after which there was a caution flag thrown. Britts and Herb Neumann (98) got to close and they spun in turn four. Each was sent to the rear on the restart. They both were quickly underway so the yellow laps only counted to three before the green flag dropped again. This incident reshuffled the leaders. Burkhalter kept his lead and Pratt stayed in second, but Darryl Shelnut found himself in third. Tedder was back in fourth and Roger Damron was in fifth. The feature was clean from this point on due to the great driving skills displayed by all the racers. Burkhalter was strong and never really challenged, but Pratt was under constant pressure from Shelnut. Lap after lap, Neumann was gaining ground and by lap forty-one, he was back in the top five. Tedder was the victim of a black flag and was unable to finish. Chuck Burkhalter finished a great race by taking the checkered flag. He took the flag from Wild Child and drove a victory lap with it flying outside his window. Darryl Shelnut finished a strong second with Rich Pratt taking home third. Herb Neumann finished fourth and Roger Damron took fifth.
Don’t miss any of the Ocala Speedway racing season. Next week, Saturday August 7th, all divisions plus the Outlaw Winged Sprints and a Roll-Over Derby will be on tap.
The Coca-Cola 4-Cylinder Bombers came out in full force tonight. A couple of the cars had new drivers tonight, and the feature was packed with action. Brock Oglesby (88) sat on the pole and Gary Hotalen (312) sat on the outside. The first attempt to start failed when a car stalled in turn one. The cars were squared back up and the next start also went awry when the lead car jumped the gun. Again things were lined back up and the race was on. Oglesby took a good lead and Cliff White moved up into second. A yellow flag flew after the fourth lap and the pack was snuggled up. Oglesby again took the lead but very shortly White managed to get by him coming into turn three. Danny Cretty (01), who was driving Tom Posavec’s old car, and Pete Close Jr. who was driving the 43 car for Chuana Johnson, also slipped through the hole and moved up behind White. The top three leaders were battling hard the rest of the feature. White was determined but so was Cretty. The battle was fought to the wire and Danny Cretty made the move that counted and he took the checkered flag. Cliff White pulled in second and Pete Close finished third. Brock Oglesby and Bruce Teague filled out the top five. IMPORTANT NOTE: Last week, July 24th, we reported that Tom Posavec (01) was disqualified after tech and didn’t win the feature. The disqualification was not because of illegal equipment but rather because of forfeiture by Posavec for not allowing his car to be claimed by a competitor.
The WTRS Pure Stocks streamed from the pits to fill their feature. Peter Portera (24) sat on the inside pole and John Cook (17) sat on the outside. Portera got a good start and took the lead. Richard McGlashan (113) tucked in behind Portera and Dave Dinehart (79) sat strong in third. Fighting was tough and positions were changing every lap. By lap three, Dinehart had moved from third into first position and was opening some space for himself. One yellow flag marred the action when Cook and Mark Mitchell (71II) got a little tangled up in turn four. The restart came quickly and Dinehart proved to the crowd that he earned the point. His car was fast and strong and he didn’t have to worry about the battles going on behind him. Portera, McGlashan and John Betts (81) were providing the thrills. Betts took third position from McGlashan then two laps later McGlashan took it back. With two laps to go, McGlashan moved past Portera and Betts moved with him. Dave Dinehart took a well-earned win with Richard McGlashan moving strong in second. John Betts brought home third with Peter Portera and Chuck Stewart filling the top five.
The Dave’s Towing Hobby Stocks came out with a full field tonight. Mike Davis (50) sat on the pole and Tim Quick (97) sat on the outside. Davis jumped out front and Mike Wilson (79) slipped up on the inside to get behind him. After the second lap a caution flag flew when Charles Kopach (53) and Glen Adams (3) got tangled up in turn two. Adams left the track with a flat tire. The racing restarted with Davis still on point but Wilson was hunting. After several laps, Wilson found the hole he needed and took the point from Davis. Bob Masciarelli (72), who had been in fourth gave way to Alan McCafferty (32). A second caution came when Pete Close Jr. (08) lost his engine in turn four and took his car to the infield. With two laps to go, Mike Wilson ran hard to the checkered flag and Mike Davis pulled in for second. Alan McCafferty took third place and Bob Masciarelli finished fourth. Glen Baum took home fifth.
The Budweiser Modifieds roared out onto the track for their feature. Bruce Davis (33x) had the pole and Rob Lefevre (93) sitting on the outside. When the green flag dropped, the pack seemed to split at the seams as cars streamed past Davis on both sides. Lefevre gained the point and Rick Hall settled into second. Wayne Reutimann sat in third and Red Vann had fourth. After lap three, a caution flag flew to slow the race just enough to allow Loren Thornton (N8) to take his smoking car to the pit. The race restarted with very little disruption, but restart was exciting as Vann and Hall tangled just enough to allow those behind to get by. Each was able to hold his car together so no flags were thrown. While this was going on in the pack, Scott Grossenbacher (09) was reminding the crowd the he was the dominator. Reutimann moved into second and Vann came through the pack to take third. By lap ten, Vann took second but he was unable to challenge Grossenbacher who was way out front. Scott Grossenbacher took his third win of the season with a big lead and Red Vann took home second. Rick Hall had worked back up and took third. Wayne Reutimann took fourth and Rob Lefevre earned fifth.
The Steven A. Bagen Late Models raced a 50-lap feature tonight at Ocala Speedway. After qualifying, Rich Pratt (0) sat on the pole and Chris Tedder (13) sat beside him. Chuck Burkhalter (30) was on the inside second row, and Jimmy Britts (92) sat on his right. Pratt took the lead when the green flag dropped and Burkhalter immediately took the space he left and pulled into second. Tedder rode in third for one lap, but then, Britts moved up to take it. On lap fifteen, Burkhalter powered by Pratt to take the lead. Racing was very fast for fifteen laps, after which there was a caution flag thrown. Britts and Herb Neumann (98) got to close and they spun in turn four. Each was sent to the rear on the restart. They both were quickly underway so the yellow laps only counted to three before the green flag dropped again. This incident reshuffled the leaders. Burkhalter kept his lead and Pratt stayed in second, but Darryl Shelnut found himself in third. Tedder was back in fourth and Roger Damron was in fifth. The feature was clean from this point on due to the great driving skills displayed by all the racers. Burkhalter was strong and never really challenged, but Pratt was under constant pressure from Shelnut. Lap after lap, Neumann was gaining ground and by lap forty-one, he was back in the top five. Tedder was the victim of a black flag and was unable to finish. Chuck Burkhalter finished a great race by taking the checkered flag. He took the flag from Wild Child and drove a victory lap with it flying outside his window. Darryl Shelnut finished a strong second with Rich Pratt taking home third. Herb Neumann finished fourth and Roger Damron took fifth.
Don’t miss any of the Ocala Speedway racing season. Next week, Saturday August 7th, all divisions plus the Outlaw Winged Sprints and a Roll-Over Derby will be on tap.