Local Headlines

by VSP Media

BARBERVILLE, FL- A nearly perfect night for racing greeted a holiday weekend crowd at the fastest half mile in the southeast, as five racing divisions went for the checkers and throng of happy kids rifled through a mountain of hay for Easter eggs filled with prizes. Add an official visit from the Easter Bunny himself, plus a hard fought marshmallow Peeps eating contest on the front stretch, and it all added up to an exciting and fun Saturday night at Volusia Speedway Park. Challenger racer Davey Wolf washed down 13 pink Peeps with soda in 45 seconds to take top honors, while most other contenders littered the front stretch with Peep debris.

The Budweiser Open Wheel Modified Division opened the feature racing schedule with Rob Underwood at the point, but almost as soon as the flag green waved Jeff Matthews leapt from his fourth place starting position to challenge for the lead. But on lap 3 the third place car of Trevor Boettcher lost control and smacked hard into the inside front stretch barrier, bringing out a caution. Boettcher walked away from the violent hit, but his race car was finished.

Jeff Matthews used the restart to overtake Rob Underwood for the lead and immediately began putting real estate between himself and the rest of the field, but developed issues as the caution waved for Matthew Perrimann when his engine expired and he contacted the outside wall in turn one. Matthews would sneak off of the track on the backstretch under caution leaving the lead to Rob Underwood once again.

Underwood would hold that lead until Jamie Carter took it away on lap 11, then later Underwood would spin out on lap 17 while running second, taking him out of contention for a win. Carter would hold his lead despite challenges from Chip Owen in the final laps and get the winner's trophy, followed by Chip Owen for second place and James Smith for third. Rob Underwood recovered quickly enough to place fourth and Kyle Owen rounded out the top five.

After a weekend off the Daytona Sportswear Street Stocks hit the clay for a 20 lap feature race with Cory Hupp on the pole. But Phillip Brown stepped up to lead the first lap, then was quickly passed by Trevor Gamble who began to immediately stretch his lead. Brown hung onto the second spot as Bubba Christian and others argued over the third position.

A caution on lap 10 bunched the leaders up for the restart, but no one was able to outpace Trevor Gamble as the green waved again. And again after a multi car incident in turns three and four, Gamble handled the restart well and remained out front. Trevor Gamble collected the win, followed by Phillip Brown and Bubba Christian for second and third. Greg Vandergriff and Mike Eubanks claimed the fourth and fifth finishing positions.

Twenty-two racers took the green behind pole sitter Drew Smith in the Taylor Racing Products Sportsman feature race, and no sooner than things got underway then trouble erupted. Marc Kinley and Dan Lane ended up in a wad against the front stretch wall, ending their race night and causing the first of a string of cautions that kept the field tightly bunched through most of the race. Those cautions also spelled trouble for some top five runners like Aaron Barsness and David Clegg, who were either involved in the incidents or were sent to the rear of the field.

Through restarts and moves for position during racing, Shaun Daugharty maneuvered himself into position to challenge for the lead while Steve Shead and Matt McGillivray moved into top five spots. Daugharty grabbed the lead on lap 16 and never looked back, forcing a disappointed Drew Smith to settle for the second spot. Smith was followed by Steve Shead who grabbed the third spot, while Matt McGillivray and Shane Nichols passed under the checkers in the fourth and fifth positions.

So far in 2010 Shawn "Beavis" Kosier has taken home all of the first place hardware, so none of the other 20 racers were thrilled with seeing the yellow number 97 lead the field to the green as the 4 Cylinder Challengers began their 15 lap feature. And try as they did, none seemed to be able to outrun Kosier either, as he cruised to his third win in a row.

But Kosier never walked away from the field. A host of various contenders lined up behind him, but fell victim to either mistakes of mechanical issues, leaving Kosier in front. In the end RJ Glasier raced hard to come from 9th position to finish second, as Casey Feaster fought his way through traffic from a 15th starting position to the third place trophy. James Sullivan started in the 18th spot but managed to grab a fourth place finish, and Robert Graham came from 12th to wind up fifth on the night.

Luke Sadler had the pole position and looked strong in the early laps of the Amsoil Thunder Stock Division feature, but just short of halfway through the race his engine erupted on the front stretch, handing the lead over to Scott Mooers. Meanwhile Randy Strehle was focused on finding his way to the leaders, as a weight issue after the earlier heat races had placed his car at the rear of the 17 car field at the start. Strehle made his way forward and wound up side by side with Mooers on lap 12, eventually wrestling the lead away two laps later.

From that point Strehle managed to stay in front of a determined Scott Mooers and passed under the checkers first, but was challenged in post race tech after his celebration in Victory Lane. Randy Strehle refused the post race tear down of his engine as required by the challenge and therefore was disqualified, which made Scott Mooers the race winner. Jim Nichols moved up to the second place finish while Jumpin' Jim Shaw claimed the third spot. John Thorpe ended a good night in fourth place and Jim Goempel came home fifth.

Racing returns to Volusia Speedway Park on April 10th for Monster Energy Drink Night, featuring action from the Daytona Dodge Chrysler Late Models, Budweiser Modifieds, Daytona Sportswear Street Stocks, Amsoil Thunder Stocks, and the 4 Cylinder Challengers. For more information, be sure to visit the official home of the southeast's fastest half mile online, at www.VolusiaSpeedwayPark.com.