Ocala, FL, March 25th, 2000 – Ocala Speedway was definitely the place to be this Saturday night. The stands were packed, racing was hot, there was food aplenty, and the Monster Trucks were in town. The Krimson Krusher, Lone Wolf, The Stone Cold Steve Austin Truck and Prime Time put on a freestylin’, car crushin’, hard jumpin’ good show. Ocala Speedway also took time out to remember Frank Hook, the manager of the Discount Auto Parts store. Frank Hook was murdered at his place of work. Funds were raised to help support the Hook family. Fans donated $750, and Ocala Speedway matched that to make a total of $1,500.

The Junior Cup Cars raced during halftime. Mariah Berry (24) had the inside and Connor Baxley (64) sat on the outside. Baxley got a good start and took the lead. Berry surprised the crowd when she made a bold move and took the lead on the second lap. She held it for one more. Connor Baxley gained it back and took the checkered flag. Mariah Berry came in second. A second race was run with Baxley starting from the inside and he led from wire to wire.

The Coca-Cola 4-Cylinder Bombers filled the field. The heat winners drew a complete inversion for starting positions for this feature so Mike Hillary (9t) and Joseph Waldron (9j) found themselves on the front row. When the green was thrown, the pack quickly slipped by Hillary and Waldron and for one lap, Terry Dunbar (72) found himself in the lead. Chauna Johnston (43) fought hard though and by the second lap, she had taken the lead. Robert Oxendine (7), driving a rental race car provided by the ChasinDreams race team, rolled into second behind Johnston. Jeff Oglesby (88x) was making up ground with every lap and by lap three, he was in third. Johnston was looking very strong in the lead until lap seven when she took turn two a tiny bit wide, giving Oglesby a hole to slip through. Oxendine also took advantage and followed Oglesby past Johnston. Hillary and Joel Eckman (5) were providing some thrills by spinning through turn four but there was no yellow flag because they both regained the track before the pack returned. After lap ten though, a yellow came out because Waldron spun coming out of turn four, clipping Neal Durbin’s (33) bumper and becoming an obstacle. Durbin and several others got by safely, but Hillary wasn’t so lucky. Both Hillary and Waldron limped from the track. Jeff Oglesby drove the last two laps very hard to take the checkered flag, fending off the last minute challenges from Robert Oxendine who took second. Chauna Johnston came in third. Terry Dunbar and Neal Durbin filled out the top five slots.

The WTRS Pure Stocks were out in force. Dave Dinehart (79) and Moose Alderman (7) sat on the first row. The green flag fell and Dinehart jumped to the lead. Alderman slid in behind Dinehart and Jason Gamble (201) moved into third. Dinehart was having trouble through turn four on every lap, but he was holding his lead. Alderman was directly behind and sometimes beside Dinehart and on the third lap Alderman got his chance. As Alderman moved out front, Gamble slipped through the hole and took second. The feature was clean, but Alderman and Gamble were in a very heated battle. Dinehart and Edward England (00) were also fighting it out for third. Moose Alderman held his place to take the checkered flag. Jason Gamble took second riding beside Alderman’s back fender. Edward England won his battle with Dinehart to take third and Dave Dinehart came in fourth. Mark Mitchell came in fifth.

The Dave’s Towing Street Stocks were out in full force tonight. Dave Baxley (64) sat on the pole and Mike Wilson (79) sat on the outside. Wilson got the jump on the green flag and Baxley settled into second. Charles Kopach (53) drove in third and Glenn Baum (23) drove fourth. The battle for first position was hot and heavy. The battle for fourth and fifth between Baum and Shane Nichols (65) was just as fierce. Wilson held off Baxley’s challenges but eventually, Baum lost out to Nichols. Nichols was able to gain the ground necessary to start an assault on Kopach. Kopach was sharp tonight though, and he held his own. The feature was clean and green for every lap and Mike Wilson took the checkered flag. Dave Baxley was clipped by a car he was lapping, and he fishtailed across the line for second. Charles Kopach finished third with Shane Nichols on his tail for fifth. Glenn Baum came in fifth.

The Dwarf Cars packed the track tonight at Ocala Speedway. These little cars are great fun to watch. The high pitched screaming engines are a testament to their speed as they zip around the track. Bob Quick (06) sat on the pole and Allen Davis (74) sat on the outside. Quick was just that as the green flag flew, but Fred Brunson (99) was hot on his tail and by the third lap, Brunson had the lead. Just as Brunson was opening up some working room, a yellow flag fell because Bill Burbidge (24) had spun through turn four. Brunson led the way on the restart with Quick in second and Davis held onto third. Brunson took off, running his own race. Davis slipped by Quick to take second. Dennis Archinal (12) and Bill Burback (77) were fighting it out for fourth and fifth. A second yellow flag was thrown after lap eleven when Little Max Howe (49) hit the turn four wall, taking out his right front tire. Three more laps were completed and then another yellow flag came out. Jerry Heflin (23) spun into turn three but he was able to restart under his own power. On the first lap after the restart, Burback made a slick move and got by Archinal and started a run on the front runners. Brunson was safely out front but behind him, places were not yet locked down. Quick’s tires came loose in turn four just as lap eighteen was being completed. This left an opening for Burback, who slipped by into second. Fred Brunson took the checkered flag. Bill Burback rolled over the wire in second. Dennis Archinal came in third, leaving Allen Davis to take fourth. Dan Berry took fifth.

The Budweiser Modifieds came next on the card. Scott Millar (14) sat on the pole and Rob Lefevre (93) sat on the outside. Before the first lap was completed, Lefevre and Kevin Spiddle (77) spun through turn three so a complete double-up restart was called. The second time the green flew, Millar jumped well and gained the lead. Alan McCafferty (12) and Red Vann were concentrating on each other so hard that they didn’t see Scott Grossenbacher slip by them both to take second position. After lap four, another yellow was thrown because Rex Williams (88) and Brent Jordan (04) spun through turn four. On the restart, Vann was quick and he slipped by Grossenbacher. By the sixth lap, McCafferty was back in third behind Vann and in front of Grossenbacher. Vann was upping the pressure on Millar and by lap seven, Vann had gained the lead. It took a few more laps for McCafferty to slip by Millar but by lap ten he had done so. The leaders were dealing with lapped traffic now and the excitement was at fever pitch. A yellow was thrown when Millar got loose in turn four and went spinning. Shortly after the flag came out, Vann tapped on Brock Oglesby’s (88x) bumper to let him know he was there and needing to get by. Oglesby spun on the backstretch, but he was given back his spot in the pack on the restart. The restart bunched the pack back up, clearing the lapped traffic. With Millar out of the running, Grossenbacher was sitting behind McCafferty for third position. Red Vann took the checkered flag with a good bit of track between him and Alan McCafferty who took second. Scott Grossenbacher earned third and Sal DeFranco came in fourth. Rob Lefevre brought home fifth.

The Steven A Bagen Late Models roared from the pits. Roger Damron (76) sat on the pole and Ronald Lentz (96) sat on the outside. This was Damron’s race as jumped to the lead and raced away. Lentz was unable to hold his position for more than one lap. David Christopher (0) and Butch Dees (20) slipped by Lentz, but neither of them was able to seriously challenge Damron. There was a heated battle going on between Michael Wright (82), David White (6) and Wolf Bowers (86). Each was trying to claim the fifth position and after some shuffling, Wright won out. Racing was clean until near the end of the feature when Bowers’ tires let go in turn four and he spun to a stop. Roger Damron took the checkered flag. David Christopher came in second and Butch Dees settled for third. Ronald Lentz and Michael Wright brought in the top five.

The Pro Figure Eights closed out an exciting night at Ocala Speedway. Scott Knight (34) had the pole to start and Paul Gladden (9) sat on the outside. Knight put his foot in the pedal right away and took the lead. Knight has turned in some great runs in previous figure eight races, but he hadn’t had to deal with Alan McCafferty (32). McCafferty jumped in behind Knight and kept the pressure to the max until he finally got by him. As always, the place to watch is the crossroads. The near hits drew gasps from the fans, but the judgement calls were good though sometimes very close. Gary Sweet (22) was running third for most of the feature, and Charles Kopach (53) was in fourth. Kopach’s car was smoking badly, but after one attempt to black flag him, it was decided to just let him run. There were no crippling accidents although several cars flew through the air after hitting the ditches in the corners of the crossroads. Lap thirteen was bad luck for Knight. He spun out of control and lost a bit of ground. His lead had been such that he only slipped back to fourth, letting Sweet and Kopach get by. Knight regained one place by passing Kopach but he was never again able to seriously challenge Sweet. McCafferty was at least a half-track ahead of Sweet. Alan McCafferty took the checkered flag with a good lead. Gary Sweet raced in for second and Scott Knight came in third. Charles Kopach’s motor held out and carried him in fourth. Tom Roberts earned fifth.

The Ocala Speedway 2000 season continues with weekly racing. April 1st, will feature a full regular program with Outlaw Winged Sprints and the Mini Cup Cars as guests. Come out every Saturday night during the regular season for the many exciting features. This is high-action racing fun for the whole family.