It was a dirt sprint car race that promised a full field of cars, our Factory Driver was in the house and the weather was perfect, how could I not go to Bubba Raceway Park Saturday night?

Game on!

DATE: April 7, 2012

SERIES: Top Gun Sprints Series

ADMISSION: $30 for a pit pass, which I’ve slowly grown used to at Bubba Raceway Park. But I will say that they have FINALLY upgraded the men’s lavatories in the pits, installing “pee troughs” in there, thus not making it the claustrophobic nightmare it’s been for years. So if the extra five bucks was put to that, I say that’s money well spent.

FOOD ORDERED: Get this – a zuber dog with buffalo cheese dip on it and cheese sticks with marinara.

FOOD GRADE: A-. I swear to God/Allah/Buddha/Dave Steele I was in hot dog heaven. Two of my favorite food groups were combined into one delicious package. If they weren’t so f’ing expensive I would have ordered two of them. But the cheese sticks were very, very tasty. Also of food note was the big old grill front and center by the main admission area where they were cooking up hot dogs and hamburgers. I’m still not nuts about the food prices, but I will say this, Bubba Raceway Park currently has the best food offerings in my cheese-centric world. Ask Penrose how much I enjoyed that hot dog creation, it probably made him uncomfortable how much I was enjoying it. I also shared my cheese sticks with members of the Flying 14 team and they all gave them high marks.

DRINKS ORDERED: Pabst Blue Ribbon.

DRINKS GRADE: B. The price is a little steep for PBR, but it gets cheaper if you re-use the beer cup they sell you, so I can’t complain about that part of it too much. I’m just glad that PBR is an option. If a track has PBR or Yuengling on tap, really that’s a complete night of good, cheap American beer and some sprint car racing. And the girl selling the beer? Totally hot.

CROWD GRADE: B-. I’ve seen better at BRP and I’ve seen worse. I was somewhat disappointed that the joint wasn’t packed though because this was a high quality show with the modified feature thrown into the mix.

TRACK GRADE: B-. It was almost impossible to see the latter stages of the feature because it turned into a huge dustbowl, but the track was raceable and there was some great action going on, if you could see it. And truth be told a lot of that dust was because the sprint cars kept going lower and lower and lower. BUT I think this is a good thing because last year the track was narrowed up and that didn’t work too well for the sprint cars and now they have a lot more track to work with, so my hat’s off to BRP in that regard.

NUMBER OF SPRINT CARS: 23.

WHO WON:

Heat 1: Terry Witherspoon

Heat 2: Mark Ruel Jr.

Heat 3: Danny Martin Jr.

Feature: Danny Martin Jr.

SERIES GRADE: A+. This was the strongest field of Top Gun sprint cars I’ve seen over the last two years. There were a few slower drivers out there, but their stuff was good and it was more about them learning the ropes and getting seat time, but the quality of the cars overall was outstanding and there were 20+ sprint cars in the pits. In this economy, that’s good stuff right there.

FSCF.com DRIVER OF THE RACE: Andrew Griffin. Andrew won the KSE Hardcharger Award and deserved it. To the best of my knowledge (at least of the Top Gun races I’ve been to) this was Andrew’s best Top Gun finish. He was helped by some of the early front runners falling out, but once he worked himself up into the top five he stayed there the rest of the race. I also strongly considered Stephen Darvalics for this award, but Andrew gets the nod.

FSCF.COM HARD LUCK AWARD: As is generally the case, this one is easy and unfortunately goes to “The Bloodhound” Brett O’Donnell. I’ve said it before and I will say it again – Brett is positively electrifying to watch. When he gets a whiff of the front, he is on it. On the second restart he came rocketing from the second row and stormed into the lead. He then held off serious charges from Danny Martin Jr. and Matt Kurtz for the lead. If Martin came around the outside of Brett off of four, Brett would stuff it down on the bottom in one and emerge back in front again. As a sprint car fan, watching the three of them fight for the lead was a thing of absolute beauty. Unfortunately it all came to an end when they hit lapped traffic and Brett tangled with Tanner Witherspoon down in one and ended up flipping. As much as it pains me to say it, it was just one of them deals. Tanner was going slow and held his line, Brett was driving his guts out to stay in front and had to dive into every available opening to stay in front of Martin Jr. and Kurtz and it came to an unfortunate end, especially since we know, as Joe Guzzi pointed out in our 10 Questions, the team is very short on spares. I really think we were going to see Brett’ s first Top Gun win Saturday night.

OTHER NOTES:

• Terry Witherspoon was a rocket in his heat and never once put a wheel wrong to pick up the win. Unfortunately his feature came to a quick end when he came coasting to a stop shortly after the green.
• So far this year Jimmy Ballew has used up all the bad luck I think he wants to use up. This time a broken spindle on the right front brought his feature to an abrupt end. This was after his big time wreck last time out at Bubba Raceway Park. A nicer guy you won’t meet, so hopefully some good luck will come his way next time out.
• I spotted “OTG” Tyler Godwin working down in the Tony Agin pits Saturday night. Tyler said we’ll be seeing back behind the wheel of a sprint car in the not too distant future.
• Our Factory Driver Flyin’ Ryan Partin had a rough feature. He led most of his heat race and Danny Martin Jr. got by him at the end, but this was Ryan’s kind of track – the bottom was the place to be. With the attrition at the front, Ryan should have been in the cat bird’s seat, but he suffered a flat right rear under caution and had to change it and tag the field. He fought back to tenth, but a second place finish was easily in the cards.
• What can I say about Danny “The Hammer” Martin Jr. that hasn’t already been said? It seems no matter what car he finds himself in, he’s up front. Saturday was no different and when most drivers struggled to make the top work, Danny seemed to make it work at will and he is a complete master at working lapped traffic.
• “The Jacksonville Jet” Matt Kurtz lived up to his nickname and was once again lightning quick until he coasted to a stop under a caution and it was game over, unfortunately.
• Stephen Darvalics put in a somewhat quiet evening and came home with a well-deserved second place finish in the Shaw house car. Each time Steven is in the Shaw car he looks more and more comfortable and I would suspect a win is right around the corner this season.
• “The Peruvian Outlaw” Mark Ruel Jr. was a monster in his heat race and just completely yarded everyone and was getting out of turn four like no one’s business. Mark kind of stumbled a little on some of the starts in the feature, but still stayed up front all night and was running second for quite a spell until Darvalics got around him toward the end. This was easily Mark’s finest hour in Top Gun competition and his family operation had a very fine accounting of themselves and should be very proud of the job they did. I still want to see a flag of Peru on the side of the car though.
• “Mean” Gene Lasker‘s engine woes continue, unfortunately. The car looked good in hot laps but then he abruptly pulled in toward the end of his heat race and didn’t answer the bell for the feature. They might need to hold an exorcism for that motor because it’s just not cooperating at the moment.
• Kerry Gilbert, sporting a new MAACO decal on his top wing, put in a fine workman-like drive to bring home a nice seventh place finish. Look for Kerry’s 10 Questions shortly.
• I will say that Bubba Raceway Park is rapidly becoming the best dirt track to take in a sprint car race in the state of Florida. There is now a nice bar area, complete with band playing music, the pits bathrooms have been upgraded, there is PBR on tap and the food seems to be getting better as well. Penrose and I enjoyed the tables over by the band area so we could stand and drink our PBRs in comfort. BTLS is certainly working hard to improve the overall experience, and compared to last year, he’s come a long way.
• There were over 100 cars in total in the pits and a ton of good modifieds. The fans got their dollar’s worth for the evening, that’s for sure.
• My only knock on the evening is that things were very late to get started and Danny Martin Jr. technically won the race on Easter Sunday as the feature started shortly before midnight. I didn’t get home until 2:15 am, a very long evening indeed, but I had a thoroughly awesome time regardless.

RACE REPORTER: Todd Michaels

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DATE: November 26, 2011

SERIES: Top Gun Sprints Series

ADMISSION PRICE: $25 for the pit pass, which is certainly a fair price and better than some other tracks.

FOOD ORDERED:  Cheese Dog, Double Cheese Burger. I like cheese, what can I say.

FOOD GRADE: C-. This grade has a good explanation, I assure you. When I got to the track I was starving since I didn’t have lunch and was late to pick up our Factory Driver, so as soon as the concession stand opened I got myself a cheese dog and paid $4.50 for this privilege. It was a good cheese dog, but no cheese dog is worth $4.50 and I’ve had them all over the country. We’re not even talking chili cheese, just cheese. When the racing was over I found myself hungry once again and went to the pits concession stand and ordered a double cheeseburger for $5.50. So for a cheese dog and double cheese burger I was out $10. Now on price alone, East Bay gets an F. But I got some homemade garlic pickles on my double cheese burger (yum!) and even got a free lesson on how to make pickles at home from the lovely woman working the concession stand. Score! And the guys and gals working the main concession stand are super friendly and the food comes out lightning quick and it is very good. I would dare say East Bay has the best run concession stands in the state, but the prices are outrageous at the moment.

DRINKS ORDERED: Nothing.

DRINKS GRADE: N/A. I was broke after paying for my food.

CROWD GRADE: B-. Not the best crowd I’ve seen for a season ending sprint car show at East Bay, but still not a bad crowd.

TRACK GRADE: C. Not the worst I’ve seen at East Bay and not the best.  They might want to rethink the inside of Turn One though as a few people clobbered the inside berm, including our Factory Driver who just might have got all four wheels off the ground when he did so.

NUMBER OF SPRINT CARS: 24.

WHO WON:

Heat 1: Brett O’Donnell

Heat 2: Matt Kurtz

Heat 3: Robbie Smith

Feature: Robbie Smith

SERIES GRADE: B. This was a very good field of cars and 24 cars in this economy is nothing to sneeze at. Are there more sprint cars out there? Sure. But this was a good field with multiple drivers that were to be considered legitimate threats to win.

FSCF.com DRIVER OF THE RACE: Danny “The Hammer” Martin Jr. Watching Martin Jr. carve his way from 17^th to 2^nd was like watching a master craftsman, he is simply on top of his game right now, especially when other drivers were struggling to pass. He went high, he went low, he went underneath people when you didn’t think there was any room down there and his scrap with Steven Darvalics (more on that below) had you holding your breath. Had there been one more caution Martin Jr. may have been standing in victory lane. Honorable Mention goes to AJ Maddox who led for a long time and was strong all night.

FSCF.COM HARD LUCK AWARD: Unfortunately this one is easy – Collin Cabre. Haulin’ Collin had a very fast car that he could put almost anywhere on the track and his scrap with Brett O’Donnell was simply breathtaking and then Collin came rolling to a stop on the track, because he was out of gas…

OTHER NOTES:

• If you missed the heat races you missed some great action. Brett O’Donnell was a rocket and put a sweet slide job on AJ Maddox for the win. In the second heat Matt Kurtz came flying from the back of the field to take the win.
• Speaking of Brett O’Donnell, I’m telling you right now, he is going to win a lot of sprint car races. Brett is fast, fearless and a hard racer. He puts the #11 wherever there is an opening and just goes for it and doesn’t put a wheel wrong. O’Donnell’s scrap with Collin Cabre during the feature was mesmerizing as they passed each other back and forth.  I want to start referring to him as “Mr. Electricity” Brett O’Donnell because he is electrifying out there, but then I thought I like “The Bloodhound” Brett O’Donnell better because when he gets a whiff of the front, he is on it. I just don’t know which way to go yet…
• Speaking of nicknames and O’Donnells, we’ve got our new nickname for Mark Ruel Jr. He likes “Peruvian Outlaw” while we like “Kyle Petty” but a top secret member of the O’Donnell crew did us one better…Mark “Peruvian Petty” Ruel Jr. I’m just upset with myself for not coming up with that one on my own…
• Speaking of whom, Mark Ruel Jr. had a consistent night, bringing home a top five finish, and with Tim George’s DNF due to mechanical issues, ended up second in the Top Gun Sprint Series standings.
• It was a Butler family reunion in the #19 pits as Keith Butler and Stan Butler were working on the car and 2010 TBARA champ “The Bushnell Bullet” Shane Butler was driving. It had been a while since Shane has driven at East Bay, but he was smooth out there but unfortunately had his night come to an early end when the cam spud on the back of the motor rounded off. Keith is recovering well from recent eye surgery and should be back on the dirt in the #19 next year, while Shane is looking to do some more dirt racing next year while prepping the #55 he drove at Bristol for a run at the Little 500 at Anderson Speedway.
• Jimmy Ballew had an up and down night. On the first start he went rocketing around the outside and plunked himself into the top five but when the track started to go away so did the handle on the car. Jimmy deserves an atta’boy for the year he has had. This was his first proper season in sprint cars and he looked good all year long and brought home a well deserved fourth place in the final Top Gun points, a scant six points away from defending champ Tim George. Jimmy is picking up a JEI chassis in the off season for next year’s campaign.
• Steven Darvalics was once again in the Shaw Motorsports #24 entry and had quite the scrap with former pilot Danny Martin Jr. as the two of them were coming through the field. At one point Martin Jr. got into the back of Darvalics, which well and truly appeared to be unintentional and just good hard racing, bending up Danny’s front bumper, which he autographed after the race and had it given to Steven. Steven thought it was pretty entertaining and said he was going to hang it up at home. Look for Steven to be back in the Shaw #24 next year.
• Not to overshadow Robbie Smith’s win, I’m just shocked it’s taken him this long to win this season. Robbie has a long history of winning in sprint cars, including pavement and his equipment is top notch.
• “The Jackonsville Jet” Matt Kurtz put in another impressive night, winning his heat and coming home fourth behind AJ Maddox.
• It sure was strange seeing someone other than Gene Lasker in the #02 he’s made famous, but Alex Boerner handled the driving duties Saturday night.
• Shawn Murray probably wants to forget this race, first for jumping the start while he was the leader and then spinning out in front of the field on the second go around.
• Our Factory Driver Flyin’ Ryan Partin had a rough night with timing and fuel mixture issues plaguing the team and then when he spun in the feature the torque tube slid out, thus ending the night.
• Shane Kreidler had a lot of ponies under the hood of his #88 but was disqualified for not going to tech after the race.
• One last point, I really do enjoy going to East Bay to take in a race. Except for the food, the price is right, the staff is very courteous and the track layout makes for good racing.

RACE REPORTER: Todd Michaels

As always, our man about town Gary “Walk Quietly But Carry A Big” Johnson roamed the pits taking pictures for your viewing delight. Enjoy.

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DATE: November 12, 2011

SERIES: Top Gun Sprints Series

ADMISSION PRICE: $15 for the general admission and $30 for a pit pass.

FOOD ORDERED:  Nothing.

FOOD GRADE: N/A. I continue my refusal to pay for overpriced track food.

DRINKS ORDERED: Nothing.

DRINKS GRADE: N/A. I continue my refusal to pay for overpriced track refreshments.

CROWD GRADE: B-.

NUMBER OF SPRINT CARS: 23.

WHO WON:

Heat 1: Sport Allen

Heat 2: Robbie Smith

Heat 3: Kerry Glbert

Feature: Danny Martin Jr.

SERIES GRADE: C+. Hey, it is average, but we all know there are more sprint cars out there. Please suspend the Hoosier tire right rear only rule for the final night at East Bay! We said please.

TRACK GRADE: A. The track held moisture and didn’t rut up like it has been doing in the past. Bubba and his staff continued to work the track all night to get it right. Of course that meant the sprint feature didn’t start until 11:10 PM but such is life.

FSCF.com DRIVER OF THE RACE: Brett O’Donnell. The former Florida Mini Sprint Association champion made his first visit to Bubba Raceway Park in a sprint car and he didn’t disappoint. He had a third place finish in his heat race and then backed it up with a solid fourth in the feature, this from a ninth place starting spot. Job well done by the O’Donnell Racing team.

FSCF.COM HARD LUCK AWARD: Kyle Welchance. Kyle finished fourth in the fast heat race and looked to be a top ten car for the feature. Unfortunately, Kyle’s night came to an abrupt end when he got over on his side in turn one on lap three. Kyle was able to walk away, but the car did suffer some damage.

OTHER NOTES:

• The “Jacksonville Jet” Matt Kurtz had an in car camera for hot laps and promised to send the footage to us at FSCF.com. That should be fun to watch! Matt struggled in his heat race as they missed the setup. However, the crew went to work making changes and Matt raced his way to a top ten finish after starting 19th in the feature…Matt is due for a win.
•  If people have never had the opportunity to watch Sport Allen work on a sprint car in the pits. they need to spend the extra money to watch him in action. I love how he knows how he wants the car to feel and what he needs to do. It reminds me of watching Sammy Swindell in the pits.

• Jimmy Ballew has quietly put together a nice season for himself. Jimmy had another top ten finish and sits fourth in Top Gun points.

• Danny Martin Jr. said in his victory lane interview that he is unsure of who he will be driving for next season. Danny has stepped into the #43 of Terry Witherspoon to finish the season. Danny did say he would like to continue to drive for Terry, but he does have a new chassis sitting in his shop if that does not happen.
•  The feature got off to an ugly start with one red for Kyle Welchance and two cautions (one for “Hot Nuts” Ryan Partin and one for Haulin’ Collin Cabre). Once they got some green flag laps under their belts, the action was fast and furious. Martin, Robbie Smith and Sport Allen carved through early traffic like a hot knife through butter. Smith then dogged Martin through later traffic and showed Martin his nose a couple of times. Allen lost touch with the front two when he encountered heavy lapped traffic.

• Former pavement specialist David Slawiak made the tow to BRP. It was his first dirt experience other than driving the push truck a month back at BRP. Slawiak suffered all night from engine issues… Is this a sign of the pavement pounders making the switch to dirt for next season? I’m just sayin’.
•  Nobody asked me, but I’d like to see late model super shoe Ivedent Lloyd, Jr. in a sprint car. The man can drive.

RACE REPORTER: Brian Penrose

Also, our man about town Gary “Walk Quietly But Carry a Big” Johnson roamed the pits of BRP to take a boatload of photos for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy.

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