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SKAGGS AND GIBSON TOPS IN SSCS MODIFIEDS AND STREET STOCKS AT AUBURNDALE SPEEDWAY
It was a cool, yet comfortable night for racing Saturday evening at Auburndale Speedway with some red-hot racing giving the fans plenty to cheer about. Headlining the show were a pair of 50-lap contests for the Sunshine State Challenge Series Open-Wheel Modifieds and the Street Stocks.
Devin McLeod of Zephyrhills quickly proved he would be the man to beat in the Modifieds as he set quick time at 13.769 seconds just topping the 13.802 lap turned in by North Ft. Myers driver L. B. Skaggs. Richie Smith and Greg Krom were third and fourth quick and with McLeod pulling a "4" for the re-draw, that placed Krom on the pole with Smith on the outside.
Most of the "action" in this one would take place before the actual green flag flew. During the pace laps, fast qualifier McLeod suddenly pulled off the track in turn four, his machine totally silent. The culprit... a dead battery. In the pit area, Kim Narramore came to the rescue with a portable battery booster that was attached to the battery allowing the car to re-fire and get back on track. However, instead of starting fourth, McLeod now had to start scratch on the field.
On the initial start, outside pole-sitter Smith spun around and sent the field scattering. Although some cars had minor cosmetic damage, only Smith was unable to continue. The second attempt at getting the event started was much better as Krom set the early pace before Skaggs drove by for the lead on the sixth lap. Krom held second until Roger Blevins got by him on lap 21. By the half-way mark Skaggs had checked out by nearly a full straight over Blevins and Krom.
As the race continued under green the fans began to watch McLeod put on a passing clinic as, after starting 11th, he took over fourth spot on lap 26 then slipped by Krom for third on lap 30. McLeod then chased down Blevins and passed him for second with eight laps to go but ran out of time to close on the fleet Skaggs as the race ran all 50 laps under green flag conditions.
Skaggs took the win by about six car lengths in front of McLeod with Blevins in third trailed by Krom and steady Eric Rudd. Rounding out the top ten were Cody Pitts, Brandon Duchscherer, Todd Brown, Shawn Harper and Leroy Moore.
In victory lane, Skaggs was quick to thank Sean Bass of BA Chassis for getting the car ready just in time to go racing. "It was amazing just how fast this thing was right out of the trailer," said Skaggs.
"Man, if we could have just got a caution flag I know we would have won this race," said Mcleod. "We had the fastest car but the battery just quit. I really want to thank my dad Derick, step-dad Dave, girlfriend Brandais, Chris Narramore Sr., and Scott Clements for their help getting back out on track in time for the start," he said.
In the Street Stocks it was Ander Jackson of Punta Gorda setting fast time with a lap of 14.583 seconds. Danny Caylor of Lehigh was second quick tripping the clocks at 14.714. Kenny Gibson and Brandon Duchscherer were third and fourth fastest in a field of 14 great-looking cars.
The re-draw put local Auburndale driver Steven O'Steen on the front row for the start and the young driver wasted little time surging to the front ahead of Joey Bifaro and Gibson. Jackson was charging and made a pass on Gibson for third on lap 12 only to see the caution fly for Josh Lindsey's spin off turn two. Jackson was set to restart fourth but both Bifaro and Gibson elected to start behind leader O'Steen allowing Jackson to move up to second on the restart with Caylor also moving to the high side to restart fourth.
Try as he might, Jackson just could not make the outside lane work and both he and Caylor slipped back to fourth and fifth. Gibson zipped by Bifaro on the 16th lap to take second while Caylor got by Jackson for fourth on lap 23. Just past half-way, both Caylor and Jackson moved by Bifaro to take third and fourth.
Meanwhile, Gibson was tracking down O'Steen and he made the pass for the top spot on lap 29 with Caylor and Jackson following suit two laps later. Jackson's night came to an end on lap 37 as his machine went up in smoke to bring out the second yellow flag of the race. Track crews quickly cleaned up some fluid on the track and the field was set for a 13-lap shoot-out. However, nobody wanted to move to the outside lane for the restart until eighth-running Travis Barfield decided to try his luck up there as he would now start second.
Barfield gave a good account of himself but began to slip back as Gibson began to pull away from the field. James Nanney spun in turn two to bring out the final caution on lap 43 setting up one final restart. Second-running Caylor stayed behind the leader as O'Steen and Ted Head now decided to try their luck starting on the outer lane.
O'Steen gave it his all but had to settle in behind Caylor as Gibson streaked to the victory ahead of Caylor, O'Steen, Head and Bifaro. Completing the top ten were Barfield, Ross Francisco, Nanney, Lindsey and Donnie Powers who fell out of the race with just a few laps remaining.
The Mini Stock feature saw a great finish as heat winner Tony Davidson grabbed the early lead then began to put considerable distance on the field. 2016 track champion Chris Narramore, Sr. was not to be denied though as he started deep in the field and began picking off cars one by one until he was in second with a handful of laps to go seemingly too far behind Davidson to even think about anything but second place.
But, just like Tom Brady the next night, never giving up as he led the New England Patriots to an incredible come from behind win, Narramore kept his foot in the gas and, despite a little bit of "bumping" on the final circuit, slipped to the inside off turn four and made a move past Davidson leading only the final 20 yards of the race. Davidson took a bitterly disappointing second followed by Chuck Frazier, Colt Cecil, John Cummins, Jr., Danny Leet, Gordon Weaver, Fred Martin and Bruce Cozad.
Scrambler action was dominated by Glenn Swanson as he led every lap of both the heat and feature races. There was plenty of action behind Swanson in the feature resulting in a victory lane shouting match between second and third place finishers Dustin Wilson and Shane Bennett. Cooler heads prevailed and the two kept their finishes as T. J. Tanner made his return to the class with a nice fourth place finish ahead of William Kerns, Keith Cantrill, Kyle Little and Anthony Carroll.
SSCS RESULTS - AUBURNDALE SPEEDWAY 2/4/17:
OPEN WHEEL MODIFIEDS (50 Laps):
1) L. B. Skaggs, N. Ft. Myers #71
2) Devin McLeod, Zephyrhills #21
3) Roger Blevins, Bartow #1
4) Greg Krom, Sarasota #45
5) Eric Rudd, Naples #12
6) Cody Pitts, Auburndale #47
7) Brandon Duchscherer, Auburndale #29
8) Todd Brown, Bushnell #23
9) Shawn Harper, Winter Haven #00
10) Leroy Moore, Brooksville #28
11) Bobby Blake, Eustis #75 - DNF
12) Richie Smith, Hernando #42 - DNF/DNS
Street Stock (50 Laps):
1) Kenny Gibson, Venice #23
2) Danny Caylor, Lehigh #7
3) Steven O'Steen, Auburndale #41
4) Ted Head, Winter Haven #92
5) Joey Bifaro, Inverness #12
6) Travis Barfield, Myakka City #11
7) Ross Francisco, Lakeland #39
8) James Nanney, Bradenton #6
9) Josh Lindsey, Lakeland #93
10) Donnie Powers, Myakka City #4 - DNF
11) Ander Jackson, Punta Gorda #91 - DNF
12) Dennis Wilson, Manatee #42 - DNF
13) James Wright III, Auburndale - #5 - DNF
14) Brandon Duchscherer, Auburndale #78 - DNF
It was a cool, yet comfortable night for racing Saturday evening at Auburndale Speedway with some red-hot racing giving the fans plenty to cheer about. Headlining the show were a pair of 50-lap contests for the Sunshine State Challenge Series Open-Wheel Modifieds and the Street Stocks.
Devin McLeod of Zephyrhills quickly proved he would be the man to beat in the Modifieds as he set quick time at 13.769 seconds just topping the 13.802 lap turned in by North Ft. Myers driver L. B. Skaggs. Richie Smith and Greg Krom were third and fourth quick and with McLeod pulling a "4" for the re-draw, that placed Krom on the pole with Smith on the outside.
Most of the "action" in this one would take place before the actual green flag flew. During the pace laps, fast qualifier McLeod suddenly pulled off the track in turn four, his machine totally silent. The culprit... a dead battery. In the pit area, Kim Narramore came to the rescue with a portable battery booster that was attached to the battery allowing the car to re-fire and get back on track. However, instead of starting fourth, McLeod now had to start scratch on the field.
On the initial start, outside pole-sitter Smith spun around and sent the field scattering. Although some cars had minor cosmetic damage, only Smith was unable to continue. The second attempt at getting the event started was much better as Krom set the early pace before Skaggs drove by for the lead on the sixth lap. Krom held second until Roger Blevins got by him on lap 21. By the half-way mark Skaggs had checked out by nearly a full straight over Blevins and Krom.
As the race continued under green the fans began to watch McLeod put on a passing clinic as, after starting 11th, he took over fourth spot on lap 26 then slipped by Krom for third on lap 30. McLeod then chased down Blevins and passed him for second with eight laps to go but ran out of time to close on the fleet Skaggs as the race ran all 50 laps under green flag conditions.
Skaggs took the win by about six car lengths in front of McLeod with Blevins in third trailed by Krom and steady Eric Rudd. Rounding out the top ten were Cody Pitts, Brandon Duchscherer, Todd Brown, Shawn Harper and Leroy Moore.
In victory lane, Skaggs was quick to thank Sean Bass of BA Chassis for getting the car ready just in time to go racing. "It was amazing just how fast this thing was right out of the trailer," said Skaggs.
"Man, if we could have just got a caution flag I know we would have won this race," said Mcleod. "We had the fastest car but the battery just quit. I really want to thank my dad Derick, step-dad Dave, girlfriend Brandais, Chris Narramore Sr., and Scott Clements for their help getting back out on track in time for the start," he said.
In the Street Stocks it was Ander Jackson of Punta Gorda setting fast time with a lap of 14.583 seconds. Danny Caylor of Lehigh was second quick tripping the clocks at 14.714. Kenny Gibson and Brandon Duchscherer were third and fourth fastest in a field of 14 great-looking cars.
The re-draw put local Auburndale driver Steven O'Steen on the front row for the start and the young driver wasted little time surging to the front ahead of Joey Bifaro and Gibson. Jackson was charging and made a pass on Gibson for third on lap 12 only to see the caution fly for Josh Lindsey's spin off turn two. Jackson was set to restart fourth but both Bifaro and Gibson elected to start behind leader O'Steen allowing Jackson to move up to second on the restart with Caylor also moving to the high side to restart fourth.
Try as he might, Jackson just could not make the outside lane work and both he and Caylor slipped back to fourth and fifth. Gibson zipped by Bifaro on the 16th lap to take second while Caylor got by Jackson for fourth on lap 23. Just past half-way, both Caylor and Jackson moved by Bifaro to take third and fourth.
Meanwhile, Gibson was tracking down O'Steen and he made the pass for the top spot on lap 29 with Caylor and Jackson following suit two laps later. Jackson's night came to an end on lap 37 as his machine went up in smoke to bring out the second yellow flag of the race. Track crews quickly cleaned up some fluid on the track and the field was set for a 13-lap shoot-out. However, nobody wanted to move to the outside lane for the restart until eighth-running Travis Barfield decided to try his luck up there as he would now start second.
Barfield gave a good account of himself but began to slip back as Gibson began to pull away from the field. James Nanney spun in turn two to bring out the final caution on lap 43 setting up one final restart. Second-running Caylor stayed behind the leader as O'Steen and Ted Head now decided to try their luck starting on the outer lane.
O'Steen gave it his all but had to settle in behind Caylor as Gibson streaked to the victory ahead of Caylor, O'Steen, Head and Bifaro. Completing the top ten were Barfield, Ross Francisco, Nanney, Lindsey and Donnie Powers who fell out of the race with just a few laps remaining.
The Mini Stock feature saw a great finish as heat winner Tony Davidson grabbed the early lead then began to put considerable distance on the field. 2016 track champion Chris Narramore, Sr. was not to be denied though as he started deep in the field and began picking off cars one by one until he was in second with a handful of laps to go seemingly too far behind Davidson to even think about anything but second place.
But, just like Tom Brady the next night, never giving up as he led the New England Patriots to an incredible come from behind win, Narramore kept his foot in the gas and, despite a little bit of "bumping" on the final circuit, slipped to the inside off turn four and made a move past Davidson leading only the final 20 yards of the race. Davidson took a bitterly disappointing second followed by Chuck Frazier, Colt Cecil, John Cummins, Jr., Danny Leet, Gordon Weaver, Fred Martin and Bruce Cozad.
Scrambler action was dominated by Glenn Swanson as he led every lap of both the heat and feature races. There was plenty of action behind Swanson in the feature resulting in a victory lane shouting match between second and third place finishers Dustin Wilson and Shane Bennett. Cooler heads prevailed and the two kept their finishes as T. J. Tanner made his return to the class with a nice fourth place finish ahead of William Kerns, Keith Cantrill, Kyle Little and Anthony Carroll.
SSCS RESULTS - AUBURNDALE SPEEDWAY 2/4/17:
OPEN WHEEL MODIFIEDS (50 Laps):
1) L. B. Skaggs, N. Ft. Myers #71
2) Devin McLeod, Zephyrhills #21
3) Roger Blevins, Bartow #1
4) Greg Krom, Sarasota #45
5) Eric Rudd, Naples #12
6) Cody Pitts, Auburndale #47
7) Brandon Duchscherer, Auburndale #29
8) Todd Brown, Bushnell #23
9) Shawn Harper, Winter Haven #00
10) Leroy Moore, Brooksville #28
11) Bobby Blake, Eustis #75 - DNF
12) Richie Smith, Hernando #42 - DNF/DNS
Street Stock (50 Laps):
1) Kenny Gibson, Venice #23
2) Danny Caylor, Lehigh #7
3) Steven O'Steen, Auburndale #41
4) Ted Head, Winter Haven #92
5) Joey Bifaro, Inverness #12
6) Travis Barfield, Myakka City #11
7) Ross Francisco, Lakeland #39
8) James Nanney, Bradenton #6
9) Josh Lindsey, Lakeland #93
10) Donnie Powers, Myakka City #4 - DNF
11) Ander Jackson, Punta Gorda #91 - DNF
12) Dennis Wilson, Manatee #42 - DNF
13) James Wright III, Auburndale - #5 - DNF
14) Brandon Duchscherer, Auburndale #78 - DNF