FMSA Race Report – 07.16.10

Steve Wheeler knows how to make headlines around this place.

Date: July 16, 2010

Track: Ocala Speedway

Series: Florida Mini Sprint Association

Admission Price: $30 Pit Pass.

# of Sprint Cars: 29

Who Won: Gavin Thomas

Crowd Grade: C. I was kind of let down by the size of the crowd at Ocala. The last couple of sprint car shows I’ve been to at Ocala were pretty darn packed. Perhaps it was the threat of rain that kept people away? One other pundit thought perhaps we lost some of the snowbird crowd that we saw the last time the Top Gunners were in town. It was pretty damn hot out too, but that shouldn’t have hurt the crowd because it’s always hot in the summer. You got me…

Food Ordered: This is Ocala Speedway, chili cheese dog state champ! Did I order the chili cheese dog? You’re damn right I did. Was it the best in the state, for a race track? You’re damn right it is. This thing was such a mess the gentleman working the pits concession pointed me to the forks. I politely declined.

Food Grade: A+. I see no reason to order anything but the chili cheese dog at Ocala.

Drink Ordered: N/A. I got bribed with some Orange Crush down at the Partin Racing hauler, so that pretty much sealed the deal for me for the night.

Track Grade: C-. I’m grading on a scale here for Ocala. During hot laps the track was a mess best described as gumbo. Hot laps were useless. Heat races were a little better. For the feature, the groove wasn’t bad (I’m grading for the mini sprints) but I still think something has to be done in the off season to improve the surface at Ocala.

Series Grade: A. The only thing holding back this grade from an A+ is because this was billed as a Border War between Florida and Georgia. And I guess Georgia either a) didn’t get the memo or b) thought better of it knowing full well we would send them packing, tail between their legs. Hey, if this was supposed to be a war, we can surely insult the enemy by calling them pansies, right? Nonetheless, 29 cars, good field depth and a dog fight at the front in the feature between John Craddock, Gavin Thomas and eventually Brett O’Donnell. If you don’t think this is the best sprint car touring series in the state right now, you’ve got rocks in your head. I don’t care that they are smaller and have motorcycle engines. I want to see good racing and right now nobody is doing it better than the FMSA.

FSCF.com Driver of the Race: He never raced a mini sprint before. Dirt experience? Hardly. Tested much before the race? Not really. That didn’t stop TBARA driver Steve Heisler. Making his FMSA debut in the Penrose Racing #14D (normally driven by our Editor at Speed “The Hot Foot” Brian Penrose) Steve put his head down, started 25th in the feature and came home 8th. He was in 7th until the last turn when Steve Crabtree got around him on the outside, but Steve did hold off Tim O’Donnell coming to the stripe – no easy task. Steve made six nice passes for position that I counted and stayed out of trouble all night. He also had a great crew chief helping him out. Now for those of you that know I was working on Steve’s car and want to call BS on me giving this award to Steve, well, the numbers don’t lie, but hey, I’m a sport. If you don’t like my choice, Brett O’Donnell is just as deserving. He too made his way through the pack and challenged for the win, eventually coming home in second.Watching Brett come through the pack was a thing of beauty as well.

Other Notes:

• Rhea Lynn Moss took a tough lick in the feature, due to a broken shock, but was thankfully alright. Rhea Lynn has been the revelation of the season and was sitting third in points, so this was a tough hit all the way around.
• I think I heard Steve Crabtree yell out, “Banzai!” as he made that last lap, last corner pass on Steve Heisler. Holy Guacamole did Steve have a head of steam as he went around the outside of our car. Nice pass.
• Gavin Thomas took it to everyone’s dome in the #7 Jesse James Demolition/Atlantic Powder Coating Special. Gavin has a boatload of talent and we suspect he could get the job done in a full blown sprint car if given half a chance.
• Justin Kolves and Ocala just don’t mix. Justin tore his car up something fierce last time out and came back on the hook again after he got caught up in someone else’s mess, breaking his brake line. It’s been an expensive year for the Kolves family.
• Jody McKenzie had a scary looking fire that brought out the red, just after the yellow had flown.
• Sheldon Kinser made a guest appearance up in the announcing booth. He’s still trying to get a powerplant under him to get back out there.
• John Craddock looked like the man to beat early on until Gavin Thomas got around him. Craddock was strong all night.
• Our Editor at Speed had a tough night. His brand new car drew a small crowd every time it was stationary, but despite the crew’s best efforts, it wouldn’t fire for the feature. Brian would like to send a special thank you to Don Taylor of Taylor’s Garage in Ocklawaha for doing his best to try and fix the motor.
• I wonder if Paul and Dominic Lanza are related to Blackjack Lanza…

Race Reporter: Todd Michaels

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