Ocala, FL, July 29, 2000 – Rains came early, but the faithful were rewarded for their patience as the skies cleared. The racing was extra hot tonight, and it was well worth staying through short delay.
The Junior Cup Cars were the first to race. Mariah Berry (24) sat on pole, and Conner Baxley (64) sat on the outside. Berry took the lead early and decisively. Cynthia Boettcher (88) ran a tough race, pushing her car to the limits time and time again. Boettcher found the limits several times when her car got loose and spun. Baxley was able to get by her to take second. Mariah Berry held her lead to take the win. Conner Baxley finished second followed by Cynthia Boettcher.
The Coca Cola Four Cylinder Bombers came out in force. Marlon Durbin (72) sat on the pole, and Carl Thomas (19) sat on the outside. The green flag flew and the drivers were off with a sense of urgency. Thomas got the early lead, but Pete Close (89) was moving up from a couple of rows back. Chris Richardson (7) was also on the move, and after struggling with Close for a lap, Richardson gained the point. Richardson held his lead to the wire and took the win for this caution-free feature. Pete Close came in second, and Joel Eckman was third. Jeff Oglesby and Carl Thomas filled out the top five finishers.
The WTRS Pure Stocks roared out of the pits. Tommy Roberts (44) sat on the pole, and Jamie Dunn (24) sat on the outside. Roberts jumped well and took the lead. Doug Webster (72) was right on his tail, but John Betts (81) quickly slipped through to challenge Roberts. Racing was hot and heavy for several laps with the field staying well packed. On lap eight, Betts was making his move on the inside when Betts and Roberts started a tandem spin through turn two. Drivers directly behind were able to clear the two sliding cars, but Dunn had nowhere to go, and he slid directly into Roberts’ front end. Both cars left the track. Betts returned to racing, albeit in the rear. Webster had a clear view of the track on the restart, and he put all that open space to good use. Moose Alderman (7) wasn’t giving up, and he had a close-up view of Webster’s bumper. Edward England (00) was moving up steadily, and on the thirteenth lap, England gained second. On the last lap, Edward England made a bold move that gained him the lead and the checkered flag. Moose Alderman regained and took second while Doug Webster finished third. Kenny Abney and Mark Mitchell filled out the top five.
The Stephen A. Bagen Limited Sportsman were next out of the pits. The lightning was off in the distance as Ken Asbell (89) came to sit on the pole. Eddie Kilbury (71) sat on the outside. Kilbury made a strong jump to take the lead, and Mike Wilson (79) quickly claimed the second position. Glenn Baum (23) settled into third, and the entire feature ran this formation. The feature was caution free due to the great driving. Back in the pack there were numerous battles for fourth and fifth, but the top three were unchallenged. Eddie Kilbury took the checkered flag followed by Mike Wilson, Glenn Baum, Rusty Staines and Tom Posavec.
The Budweiser Modifieds showed up in large numbers. Red Vann (32) was back and on the pole. David Baxley (64) sat on the outside. Vann took the lead as Baxley and Scott Millar (14) settled in behind him. A boiling point was reached quickly and Millar lost control in turn four on the third lap. This placed Raymond Vann (99) in third for the restart. On lap seven, another yellow was thrown when Baxley and Raymond Vann tangled in turn two. Red Vann maintained his lead and now Alan McCafferty (32g) sat in second. McCafferty is getting his car hooked up, and he never let Vann get very far ahead. A third yellow slowed the race a lap later, but racing restarted quickly. Johnny Newsome (31) was riding easy in third, but bad luck hit for him on the fourteenth lap, and he spun in turn two. One more yellow repacked the field, and two laps later Red Vann was flagged the winner again, with Alan McCafferty close behind for second. Rick Hall came in third followed by Scott Millar and Johnny Newsome.
The special feature was the $1,000 to win, Demolition Derby. Thirteen entries appeared on the track but only twelve cars were able to start. Twelve cars filled the track in front of the grandstands with little room to spare. The start was hard and loud. It also became very smoky at one point as drivers gunned their engines and spun their tires trying to ram the “enemy”. Everyone was hard at it for several minutes but gradually cars were eliminated as they stalled and lost motion. Several crowd favorites were still running near the end, and the final battle came down to four cars. Jim Bertotto in his 54 police car, Leslie Devary in the white 25 car, the M&M car and Kenny Asbell in the yellow 89 car were the final four. In the end, Kenny Asbell was declared the winner and he performed a few extra donuts for the fun of it all. Leslie Devary was declared the second place finisher and Jim Bertotto was placed third.
The Ocala Speedway 2000 season continues with weekly racing. The racing season continues Saturday August 5th, with All Divisions plus Mini Cup Cars and a special 50 lap Modified race. Come out every Saturday night during the regular season for the many exciting features. This is high-action racing fun for the whole family.