Archive for FMSA Reports
Jul
12
Volusia Race Report – Complete with In Car Footage!
Posted by: | CommentsIt was the Jack Miller Memorial. What other reason did you need to be there?
DATE: July 9, 2011
SERIES: Volusia Speedway Park Sprints & Florida Mini Sprint Association
ADMISSION PRICE: $25 for the pit pass.
FOOD ORDERED: BBQ Sandwich & Nachos.
FOOD GRADE: C-. I should have known better with a BBQ sandwich from a crock pot! And the nachos were stale.
DRINKS ORDERED: Powerade & Sweet Tea.
DRINKS GRADE: B+. The tea wasn’t as sweet as before but the Powerade came in three flavor choices.
CROWD GRADE: C-. It was better than the previous sprint night there.
NUMBER OF SPRINT CARS: 25 big sprints and 19 mini sprints.
SERIES GRADE: B. If you take into consideration all the races going on elsewhere, the turnout wasn’t too bad.
TRACK GRADE: C-. The track was plenty tacky, but all the rain during the week made the track rough.
WHO WON: Danny “The Hammer” Martin Jr. for the big sprints and Jesse Teed for the mini sprints.
FSCF.COM DRIVER(S) OF THE RACE: They made him work for this one but Danny Martin Jr. gets the nod. Danny used lapped traffic to get past early race leader “Superman” Sport Allen. We do also have to mention a strong third place run by Robbie Smith. Over on the mini sprint side of things, Rhea Lynn Moss drove a whale of a race to come home a strong second to race winner Jesse Teed.
FSCF.COM HARD LUCK AWARD: Tony Agin was running a strong top five when a flat rear tire ended his night. An honorable mention goes out to Darren Oarth who had a nasty wreck on the front stretch during the feature. Darren was able to walk away but I can’t say the same for the car.
OTHER NOTES:
* While the track may not have been perfect, it certainly made for an entertaining race. It was like watching an old USCS race with Sport Allen and Danny Martin Jr. doing battle. Unfortunately we found Superman’s kryptonite last night in the form of the lapped car of Danny Stattor. Martin was able to use “Kryptonite” Danny to take the lead from Allen. Martin was also able to use Stattor one other time to get away from Allen in the final laps to take the victory.
* Also have to make mention that the FMSA did not take action against two of the participants in the Bubba Raceway Park fight last time out. This is after we were assured that suspensions would be handed out.
* It was a rough night for the FSCF.com Factory Driver “Hot Nuts” Ryan Partin. Ryan had a strong car during his heat race until the engine decided it didn’t need one of its pistons any more.
* We have to give a shoutout to former podcast guest “OTG” Tyler Godwin. OTG had a solid second place run in his heat race and followed it up with a nice feature run.
* It was good to see John & Matt Kurtz back in action at the speedway. Matt was very competitive in the feature. As many know his dad John had been very sick and missed a lot of races, but it was good to see him back supporting his son. Welcome back John!
* Also need to extend a welcome back to Shawn Murray after serving in the Middle East. Thanks Shawn for your service to our country!
RACE REPORTER: Brian Penrose
And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for, our new in-car camera strapped into the mount of our Factory Driver Flyin’ Ryan Partin. Except for the part where his engine goes kablammo, we hope you enjoy.
Jun
26
FMSA Race Report – 06.25.11
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The rain stopped, the crew worked tirelessly to prep the track and Gavin Thomas was your FMSA feature winner.
Hopefully we’ll have a second race report from someone that’s volunteered (got drafted?) to be a race reporter for us and was also in the house at Bubba Raceway Park Saturday night. But since this was the only sprint car race of the weekend, instead of the quick results page you’re used to on Sunday, here we go…
Date: June 25, 2011
Track: Bubba Raceway Park (Ocala, FL)
Series: Florida Mini Sprint Association.
Admission: I threw down $30 for a pit pass. Extra points for the pit pass girl that got sassy with me in a cute way.
Number of Mini Sprints: 20 at first, then the Sheldon Kinser entry rolled in to the pits for 21.
Who Won:
- Heat #1 – Brett O’Donnell
- Heat #2 – David Pleaugh
- FEATURE – Gavin Thomas
Track Grade: A. The fact that there was racing at all was rather shocking. It rained all over the state, including Ocala earlier in the day, but the track crew worked tirelessly at Bubba Raceway Park to get the track in shape and it was in good condition, all things considered.
Food Ordered: I went with “old reliable” for me at BRP/Ocala Speedway – the Zuber Dog with chili and cheese.
Food Grade: A. The Zuber Dog always delivers and is still my favorite hot dog of any track in the state. Though, I must confess I really wanted that Bubba buffalo cheese spread sauce stuff on some nachos. Sadly the gentleman in front of me snagged the last of the then current batch, so the stuff was cold (they had to heat up a new batch) and my hunger couldn’t wait. But the sweet young thing behind the counter gave me a sample of the cold stuff and it was mighty yummy.
Drinks Ordered: None. I just had some Gatorade in the Penrose Racing hauler. It was hot out.
Crowd Grade: B. Given the rain everywhere, this was a very good crowd. The only reason I didn’t give it an A is because the join wasn’t full to the rafters.
FMSA Driver of the Race: David Hall. Hall piloted the Todd’s Tomatoes entry to a fine third place finish and was fast and smooth all night. I also strongly considered Eddie Moss Sr. and Pete Smith.
FMSA Hard Luck Award: Unfortunately this is an easy one – Alan Craig. If anyone had anything for Gavin Thomas (except for Brett O’Donnell, more on that in a moment…) it was Alan Craig. Craig was very fast and put a nifty move on Thomas going into one for the lead but a few laps later after Thomas retook the lead Craig spun coming out of turn four. Craig did recover to come home 10th.
Other Notes:
- There was some confusion over the starting lineup for the feature that unfortunately lead to some fights in the pits last night. We (Penrose Racing) thought we were going to be on the front row but started to load our Editor at Speed into his car anyway (we’re lovers, not fighters) when we were told Gavin Thomas and Brett O’Donnell got into it. This ended with the O’Donnells loading up their car. Then there was another dust-up with the O’Donnell and Moss families in the chute just before the feature. Now since my college journalism teacher told me not to report on stories where I the reporter becomes part of the story line, I did help break up the fights just before the feature, so I’ll leave it at that. Then there were more altercations after the race and I’ll play the same card again. The only point I’ll make here is that I do realize that sometimes fighting is part of racing, but this all had to do with non-racing incidents, so it was all unpleasant to see unfold, especially since I think I get along well with both the O’Donnell and Moss families.
- File this under “something you don’t see every day.” So during the last skirmish in the pits after the feature, who was the voice of reason over at the O’Donnell pits to get them loaded up? Gene Lasker. You read that right. And Gene was helping with track prep. Gene was a busy guy last night and I tip my cap to him. Look for Gene to be racing when the sprints return to Bubba Raceway Park.
- Gavin Thomas once again proved to be a fast and smooth shoe, taking home the victory.
- Terry Taylor was in action, but sadly I was not able to go and try out any Red Rooster jokes.
- Unfortunately our Editor at Speed developed a mysterious fuel pressure problem in the chute and elected to tag the field (we were to start third) due to it still fluctuating wildly, eventually causing his car to shut off under caution, right at the flag stand. Great photo opportunity though!
- Harold Matthews had an almost scary moment trying to get around a lapped car on the front stretch and ended up clobbering a huge dirt pile in the infield. Harold was lucky all it was was dirt.
- Dirk Miller also had a big moment when he ended up upside down and brought out a red flag, but thankfully was alright and walked back to the pits.
- Eddie Moss had a nice strong feature run to come home second. Eddie ran strong all night.
- Another driver with a good strung run was Pete Smith who made some nice moves and came home fifth.
- There’s been a “for sale” sign on the O’Donnell #28 car and we heard rumor that BTLS purchased the car for his son. If that’s the case, watch out because watching the #28 go through turns one and two is a thing of beauty the way it’s set up.
- Shawn Murray, I promise I’ll try to bring you your JBT award next time I’m at the track.
Race Reporter: Todd Michaels
May
23
East Bay Race Report – 05.21.11
Posted by: | CommentsWith the rapture upon us Saturday, we figured end times would necessitate the one and only Josh Wichers to turn in a race report, as they are about as frequent as the rapture itself…
Date: 05.21.2011
Track: East Bay Raceway Park (Tampa, FL)
Series: Top Gun Sprint Series and Florida Mini Sprint Association.
Admission:
Adult ……………………. $12
Senior …………………. $10
Teens 13-17 ………… $7
Kids under 12 ………. FREE
Pit Pass ……………….. $25
# of Sprint Cars: 23
# of Mini Sprints: 19
Who Won:
Mini Sprint Feature : Chris Pacetti
Sprints : Heat 1 – Billy Boyd Jr.
Heat 2 – Danny Martin Jr.
Heat 3 – Stephen Darvalics
Feature – DANNY “the Hammer” MARTIN JR.
The Finish:
Mini Sprints – 16 Chris Pacetti, 71 John Craddock, 5 Steve Crabtree, 83 Justin Kolves, 8 Eddie Moss Jr., 68 Dierk Miller, 88 Morgan Blanchard, 711 David Pleaugh, 23 Rhea Lynn Moss, 34 Pete Smith, 61 Andy Denton, 1M Eddie Moss Sr., 0 Luke Fidler, 22 Andrew Kurjack, 14 Brian Penrose, 6 Timmy Loveday, 67 David Paul, 30 John Crowder – dns, 59 Austin Jackson – dns
Sprints – 24 Danny Martin Jr., 83 Mark Ruel Jr., 41 Stephen Darvalics, 3A AJ Maddox, 14W Danny Jones, 4 Billy Boyd Jr., 15 Johnny Gilbertson, 1* Tim George, 43 Terry Witherspoon, 55 Kerry Gilbert, 6S Robbie Smith, 0 Jimmy Ballew Jr., 8 Rich Alexander, 17D Bruce Durden, 92 Matt Kurtz, 83A Christine Auld, 03 Tyler Eaton, 36 Kenneth Laureno, 38 Tony Agin, 3 Travis Bleimeister, 27 Troy Knowles, 07 Clint Reynolds, Z1 Harley Zimmerman
Crowd Grade: A. It wasn’t the best crowd that I’ve seen at East Bay, but the stands were fairly full of energetic race fans. It’s always great to see a descent crowd on hand when the sprints are in town. East Bay is historically a Late Model friendly track, so to see them draw the sprint fans is a very welcome site. And I saw a lot of sprint car shirts as I meandered through the grandstands and around the concession midway. But why not, when you bring the two best touring dirt series in the state on the same night, the fans are going to come. And speaking of shirts, a quick note to the drivers and teams: if you have shirts, make them accessible for purchase. Shirt sales can be a great way to offset operating cost.
Track Grade: A. I have to admit, when I first arrived at around 5 o’clock, I was a little concerned that the valve on the water truck had broken. It looked the tide in the Bay had rose and flooded the track. I was afraid that it was going to be a sloppy mess, but it was far from it. By the time that the heats rolled off, the track was coming in nicely. And by feature time, it started taking rubber. By the end of the feature, there was a two wide black groove all the way around the track which made for some of the best racing that I’ve seen in a while.
Drinks Ordered: Coca Cola, Root Beer, and Frubob – Mango (all bottled)
Drinks Grade: Hmmmmmmmm. Since it’s really hard to mess up bottled drinks, it’s just not fair to give them a grade. And since I had a pit pass, I couldn’t consume any frosty adult beverages. But if you’ve read my reports in the past, you know that I go for the sweet tea. Well, they didn’t have any. I first learned of this travesty a few weeks ago when I went to East Bay with a friend to catch some limited late model action. I was devastated. The sweet tea at East Bay always made the trip worthwhile. After talking to Dave who runs the pit concession, he explained that the track had removed their water filtration system, and that the water was unfit for making his signature sweet tea. He assured me that I could find his signature sweet tea at any of the local Kazbor’s or Bubba Que’s restaurants. But I want it at the track. It’s just un-American to not have sweet tea at a race track. Hopefully, the powers that be at East Bay will read this and invest in another water filtration system.
Food Ordered: Cheeseburger, Fried Chicken Sandwich.
Food Grade: B-. The burger and the chicken were average at best, but I think what kept them from being good was the buns. They just seemed a little dry, not stale, just dry. Punta Gorda Speedway still, in my opinion, has set the bar on the top rung when it comes to track food. It’s going to be hard to compete with their fried bologna and massive pork tenderloin sandwiches. And who can forget the deep fried Oreos and steak-on-a-stick at Volusia.
Series Grade – Top Gun Sprint Series: A-. Don Rehm and the staff at TGSS always bring a good field of quality cars to every track they go to. This was no exception. Don and crew always run a tight ship and a great program. I was hoping that more of the cars that have been showing up at Volusia would have made the trek to East Bay for this race. Don’t get me wrong, 23 is a great field of cars, but it would still be great to see 30+. A great big thanks go out to BoomTrux.com for coming onboard and contributing to the purse.
Series Grade – Florida Mini Sprint Association: A-. The FMSA truly is “Florida’s Best Kept Secret.” These guys, and girl, always put on a great show. Most of which drove over 7 hours just to be at East Bay. The FMSA had a race at Oglethorpe Speedway Park on Friday night. For those of you not familiar with Oglethorpe, it’s just north of Savannah, GA. Doing quick math in my head, most of the teams had to leave Savannah by 8am just to make it to East Bay in time. Now that’s dedication.
TGSS Driver of the Race: Mark Ruel, Jr. Despite finishing in nearly the same positions as they started, Martin, Ruel, and Darvalics put on a great race for the lead through traffic. Ruel was able to get by Darvalics on lap 9 and was able to keep him at bay for the remaining 16 laps. After breaking free from Darvalics, Ruel had his sights set on Martin. It appeared that Ruel was going to get one last shot at Martin in the closing two circuits as they closed in on a pack of lapped cars. It wasn’t meant to be for Ruel, as he crossed the stripe narrowly behind Martin.
FMSA Driver of the Race: Chris Pacetti. Pacetti started very deep in the field for the feature. From his 7th row starting spot, Pacetti wasted no time getting to the front. By lap 3, he had already secured the 3rd spot. On lap 8, Pacetti took the lead from John Craddock, who started from the P1 spot. Honorable mention goes out to Eddie Moss Jr. Moss Jr. was running in the second spot on lap 5 when he spun in turn 1 and had to tag the rear for the restart. Moss Jr. worked his way back through the field in the remaining 10 laps to come with a respectable 5th place finish.
Other Notes:
* I found out upon arrival to the track that Larry J. Brazil Sr. had a heart attack last Friday and had to have a number of stents put in. After speaking to his daughter, Amanda, she assured me that he is at home and doing well. Get well wishes go out to Larry Sr.!!!!
* I was shocked to see His Holiness Dave Steele in attendance along with his wife and daughter. When I asked him why he wasn’t on the Ark, he replied that he waited until after 6 pm and then sent everyone back home since nothing happened. I’m quite certain that there will be a “smoking deal” on a barely used Ark over at Steele Performance Parts later this week. Among the notables that I also spoke to in attendance were Collin Cabre’s ace mechanic, Matt Grimes, Collin’s dad, Lou, and Gary Green. John Inman was kind enough to purchase a cheeseburger and coke for me. Thanks again John!!
* Heat 1 saw the 4 of Billy Boyd Jr. and the 83A of Christine Auld on the front row. Boyd took the immediate lead, but was pursued by AJ Maddox. On lap 6 of the 8 lap contest, the caution flag would wave for Tony Agin who had spun in turn 4. Boyd led the group back to the green flag and would hold on to pick up the win followed by Maddox, Bruce Durden, Danny Jones, and Troy Knowles.
* Heat 2 would roll off with Travis Bleimeister and Danny Martin Jr. looking at an open track ahead of them. Martin stormed to the point with Harley Zimmerman tied to his rear bumper. The race went caution free, with Martin leading Zimmerman, Johnny Gilbertson, Terry Witherspoon, and Bleimeister to the checkers.
* Kerry Gilbert and Robbie Smith made up the front row for heat 3. Smith flexed his horsepower from the onset, jumping out to a commanding lead at the drop of the green flag. Smith took the white flag as he was lapping the 5th place running car. Upon exiting turn 2, Smith looped his 6s machine into the infield while trying to negotiate lapped traffic. The track stayed green as Smith came to a rest. Stephen Darvalics, who had given chase to Smith from his 6th starting spot, inherited the lead and went on to take the checkers. Darvalics was followed to the finish by Rich Alexander, Mark Ruel Jr., Gilbert, Clint Reynolds, and Smith.
* To the disappointment of many, Danny Martin Jr. found himself sitting outside of row one to start the 25 lap feature for the Top Gun Sprints. On the initial start, pole sitter Harley Zimmerman did his best impression of the sprint car olympics, doing a complete 360 degree spin as he got in the throttle coming off turn 4. Zimmerman was able to keep his car going , but a caution flew on the speedway. A complete restart brought the field back together. On lap 2, it was Zimmerman once more giving the fans a show. This time it was his best impression of the high jump. Zimmerman hopped the cushion and got in the marbles in turn 1, climbing the wall and tearing down the catch fence. Thankfully, Zimmerman climbed from his mount unscathed as the red flag brought the field to a stop. After a 26 minute delay, the track crew was able to repair the catch fence and get the action back under way. It was Martin leading the field back to the green. It would be short lived though as the 07 of Reynolds and the 3 of Bleimeister made contact on the front stretch. With Darvalics and Ruel in tow, Martin would again bring the field back to the green. The red would fly once more as Tony Agin got on his lid and took a tumble into turn 1 on lap 12. The final 13 circuits around the 1/3 mile Clay By The Bay would remain green. Darvalics and Ruel waged a tough battle for 2nd, jockeying back and forth for position for a few laps before Ruel Jr. seemingly pulled away from Darvalics and into the tracks of Martin. During the last 2 laps, Martin and Ruel rapidly approached a pack of slower cars. It appeared as though Ruel was going to break the streak of dominance that Martin brought with him. Martin used his uncanny ability to maneuver through lap traffic to edge out Ruel at the stripe by the narrowest margin of any of his wins yet this season.
Race Reporter: Josh Wichers
And as always our man on the scene Gary “Walk Quietly But Carry A Big” Johnson roamed the pits and snapped some pit walk photos for your viewing pleasure. We once again warmly encourage you to join the Kerry Gilbert Fan Club. We’d smile too in that photo…