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WILLIAMSON AND KELLY TOP SSCS SPORTSMAN AND PRO TRUCKS AT AUBURNDALE SPEEDWAY
Auburndale Speedway ran its final Sunday afternoon show of the early racing season and there was action aplenty before a sun-baked crowd that had themselves thinking they were watching a race in late May rather than in mid February as temperatures hit the low 80s during the day.
The Sunshine State Challenge Series Sportsman division showed up 17 cars strong for their 50-lap run but Matt McCrary suffered mechanical woes during practice and was unable to compete. Aaron Williamson blistered the hot track surface with a record lap of 14.150 seconds in qualifying. Williamson was driving the Allman Family Special wrenched by Chad Allman and normally driven by Colin Allman who is away attending Newberry (SC) College where he is on a baseball scholarship. Allman plays infield and also pitches for the NCAA Division II Newberry Wolves.
Jason Rendell was second quick in time trials at 14.202 followed by the 14.331 lap of George Gorham, Jr. who was behind the wheel of the Joe Gentry machine out of Punta Gorda.
The top four were inverted with Devin McLeod and Gorham on row one. Gorham quickly made his way to the point followed by Rendell but Williamson was already charging and passed Rendell for second on the fourth lap. Rendell and Craig Cuzzone bounced off each other exiting turn four while battling for third on lap seven just before Brandon Martin's spin brought out the first yellow flag of the contest on the eighth lap.
Williamson took over the lead on the restart but Gorham was not about to give in easily and the two got together coming off turn four during the tenth lap stacking up the field as Gorham spun around. When all was said and done, several cars had damage including those of Kyle Cooper, James Wright III, Steve Barnes, Jacob Berkevich and Cuzzone. Barnes and Berkevich both pitted and returned after their cars were attended to.
Gorham was sent to the back of the field for the restart as Williamson kept up a torrid pace ahead of Rendell. Devin McLeod had been having trouble keeping up the pace and his car finally stalled in turn two during the 16th lap to bring out a third caution flag. Williamson stayed out front on the restart until caution number four on lap 20 as Gorham tapped Berkevich into a spin in turn two. Again Gorham took a trip to the back of the restart grid.
Just as the field took the crossed flags for half-way at lap 25, Martin and Barnes got together to bring out yellow flag number five. Barnes pitted again to get more repairs and returned to the track. The field took the green with Williamson edging in front of Rendell, Cuzzone, Wright and a resurging Gorham. Gorham continued his move toward the front passing Wright for fourth on lap 30.
Cooper went for a spin on lap 44 while Berkevich and Cody Allen made contact on the front stretch at the exact same time to bring out the final caution. Again Williamson breezed to a good-sized lead and he sped to a comfortable victory over Rendell and Cuzzone.
Wright made a last lap pass on Gorham to nab fourth at the checker. Sixth through tenth were Cooper, Allen, Barnes, Dora Thorne and Martin.
The SSCS Pro Trucks had 13 entries for their 50-lap contest and it was Austin Pickens who had fast time (14.273) until it was found in tech that his engine did not have the required "chip" in it and his time was disallowed. Tommy Kelly thus earned quick time honors with a lap of 14.377 seconds. Second quick was Cody McDuffie at 14.580 and third was Cody Martell at 14.634.
Again, the top four qualifiers were inverted placing Jason "Scooby Doo" Lester on the pole flanked by Martell. Lester grabbed the early advantage as Martell slipped back quickly. Caution was displayed on the fourth lap as Adam Briggs spun out in turn four. Once the field restarted, Lester, McDuffie and Kelly started pulling away until McDuffie dropped off the pace on lap nine. Eventually McDuffie's truck came back up to speed but, by now, he was at the back of the field.
Pickens, who had to start scratch on the grid, worked his way up to seventh by lap ten. Kristen Clements, who had run as high as sixth place, pulled off the track on lap 13 just as Briggs went for a second spin, this time in turn two, top bring out the second yellow. After pitting, Clements returned but had to tag the back of the field.
Things began to heat up after the restart as Kelly zipped by Lester to lead lap 17 while Lester fought back to lead the 18th lap before Kelly cleared Lester for the front position on the 19th lap. Meanwhile, Pickens and McDuffie were now up to the fifth and sixth positions. Kelly continued to build his lead past the half way mark and McDuffie zoomed by Pickens for fifth on lap 28 just before Chris Narramore, Sr. got tapped into a turn two spin to bring out the caution.
Taking advantage of the Auburndale Speedway "restart rule," fourth-running Danny Anderson moved up outside of Kelly for the restart and gave him a good battle before slipping back to fourth again as both Lester and a hard-charging McDuffie sped past. Pickens' truck began to slow off the pace and he pulled off with an overheated engine on lap 35. With ten laps to go, McDuffie's truck went up in smoke as the caution flew to check track conditions.
Anderson again moved up outside of Kelly but had to settle back into third behind second-running Lester. With three laps to go William Kerns brought out the final caution with a spin in turn two. On the restart, Martell went for a spin after contact from Billy Carlbert, Jr. while Dakota Hunt had to make a quick move to avoid contacting the other trucks.
Kelly was again strong on the restart and he drove off to the win over Lester and Anderson. Behind them things got a bit heated coming off turn four as there was quite a bit of "bumping" but Hunt drove right past everyone to claim the fourth spot as she had her best-ever Truck finish. Tyler Davis just nipped Carlbert at the line for fifth while Martell, Narramore, Kerns and Briggs rounded out the top ten.
For Kelly, aka "The Hired Gun," it was his fourth straight Truck win over the past month. Kelly's brother, who works at Daytona International Speedway, made it to the track just in time to see his brother take the checker.
The V-8 Bomber feature was a crazy affair that started with Brandon Duchscherer nabbing the early advantage. James Wright III was uncharacteristically running a the back of the field and he suddenly slowed to a stop at the top of turn one to bring out the caution on the third lap. Wright was able to re-fire the car and returned to the tail of the field for the restart but his car continued to bog down after the green was displayed.
Duchscherer continued to set the pace until Danny Burchfield stopped in turn three on the ninth lap with a flat tire. Wright took his car pit side where his dad fixed the fuel pick-up issue that had been culprit of the problem. On the restart Duchscherer and Carl Thompson, Jr. screeched to a halt at the top of turn two with their cars locked together. Kyle Peters also got some damage in the incident and pitted to get a fender off his tire.
It took track crews several minutes to get the Duchscherer and Thompson cars apart but both were able to continue although from the rear of the restart grid. At this point veteran Eddie Hartin took off in the lead and held it until lap 17 when Josh Todd got around to take over the point. Burchfield spun in turn two with two laps to go to set up a dash to the checker. Wright had worked his way back to second place and he took over and led the final two laps to score the win over Todd and Duchscherer.
Peters rebounded to claim fourth trailed by Thompson, Burchfield, Hartin, Larry Chumney II, and Brey Holmes.
The Mini Stock feature was a crowd-pleaser to say the least as five of the nine drivers in the field led at least one lap. Bruce Cozad led the first three circuits before being passed by heat winner Colt Cecil who held the top spot for two laps before Tony Davidson took over. Cecil's car began to slow at this point trailing smoke and he spun to bring out a caution on lap eight.
Davidson led one more lap after the restart before being passed by a high-flying Chuck Frazier. Cecil had returned to the race but his car lost power and he was knocked into the front stretch wall on lap 13 forcing him out of the event. Frazier continued to set the pace but was unable to hold off the familiar late charge of Chris Narramore, Sr. who took over on lap 22 and drove to his fourth win in four starts this year.
Frazier held on to claim second ahead of Davidson and Cozad while John Cummins, Jr., Gordon Weaver, Danny Leet, Cecil and Fred Martin completed the finishers.
Chuck Frazier backed up his second place in the Mini Stocks with a win in the Mod Mini feature leading all the way as this one ran green to checker. Ray Miller finished a distant second ahead of Kenny Lawrence, Chris Spring and Wayne Stenstrom. Keith Roggen was leading the heat race when his engine exploded in turn three and he was unable to run the feature. Frazier also claimed the heat win as well.
The Scrambler feature also ran without a caution flag as Keith Cantrill led the first seven laps before giving way to Glen Swanson who drove his Saturn station wagon to his second win of the year. Dustin Wilson came home second trailed by Cantrill, Anthony Carroll, heat winner Shane Bennett, T. J. Tanner and William Kerns.
After winning the heat, Brey Holmes led every lap to claim the Mini Cup victory well ahead of Russell Bush. Douglas Herrin, Jr. had a great run for third followed by Clay Samuels, Alexa Anderson and Doug Higbie. Adam Briggs did not start.
Auburndale Speedway now takes two weeks off from Stock Car racing action but there will be a day of drifting next Saturday, February 25th from 10 am - 7 pm. Admission for the day is just $10. The Daytona Antique Auto Racing Association moves in for their annual "Winternationals" that will be held Thursday-Saturday, March 3-4.
Regular racing returns on Saturday night, March 11 and will feature 100 laps for the SSCS Super Late Models presented by Sunoco. Legend Cars, V-8 Bombers, Mini Stocks, Scramblers and Mini Cup cars will also be on the card that night.
OFFICIAL SSCS RESULTS - AUBURNDALE SPEEDWAY - 2/19/17:
SPORTSMAN (50 Laps):
1) Aaron Williams, Lakeland #67
2) Jason Rendell, Lakeland #157
3) Craig Cuzzone, Lakeland #88
4) James Wright III, Auburndale #56
5) George Gorham, Jr., Winter Haven #93
6) Kyle Cooper, Lakeland #1
7) Cody Allen, Ft. Myers #98
8) Steve Barnes, Orlando #58
9) Dora Thorne, Floral City #48
10) Brandon Martin, Bartow #53
11) Jacob Berkevich, Mulberry #30
12) Sammy Cressman, Winter Haven #97
13) Tom Zimmerman, Largo #01
14) Colton Bramlett, St. Cloud #22
15) Devin McLeod, Zephyrhills #5
16) Rick Reed, Punta Gorda #4
DNS Matt McCrary, Lakeland #M5
PRO TRUCKS (50 Laps):
1) Tommy Kelly, Myakka City #15
2) Jason Lester, Palmetto #7
3) Danny Anderson, Bradenton #50
4) Dakota Hunt, Lakeland #99H
5) Tyler Davis Lakeland #4
6) Billy Carlbert, Jr. Palmetto #11
7) Cody Martell, Arcadia #99
8) Chris Narramnore, Sr., Lakeland #15K
9) William Kerns, Auburndale #69
10) Adam Briggs, Lakeland #38Z
11) Cody McDuffie, Lakeland #25
12) Austin Pickens, Windermere #63
13) Kristen Clements, Plant City #5K
Photos of Sportsman winner Aaron Williamson and Tommy Kelly (and Crew) courtesy Robert Howell Photography...
Auburndale Speedway ran its final Sunday afternoon show of the early racing season and there was action aplenty before a sun-baked crowd that had themselves thinking they were watching a race in late May rather than in mid February as temperatures hit the low 80s during the day.
The Sunshine State Challenge Series Sportsman division showed up 17 cars strong for their 50-lap run but Matt McCrary suffered mechanical woes during practice and was unable to compete. Aaron Williamson blistered the hot track surface with a record lap of 14.150 seconds in qualifying. Williamson was driving the Allman Family Special wrenched by Chad Allman and normally driven by Colin Allman who is away attending Newberry (SC) College where he is on a baseball scholarship. Allman plays infield and also pitches for the NCAA Division II Newberry Wolves.
Jason Rendell was second quick in time trials at 14.202 followed by the 14.331 lap of George Gorham, Jr. who was behind the wheel of the Joe Gentry machine out of Punta Gorda.
The top four were inverted with Devin McLeod and Gorham on row one. Gorham quickly made his way to the point followed by Rendell but Williamson was already charging and passed Rendell for second on the fourth lap. Rendell and Craig Cuzzone bounced off each other exiting turn four while battling for third on lap seven just before Brandon Martin's spin brought out the first yellow flag of the contest on the eighth lap.
Williamson took over the lead on the restart but Gorham was not about to give in easily and the two got together coming off turn four during the tenth lap stacking up the field as Gorham spun around. When all was said and done, several cars had damage including those of Kyle Cooper, James Wright III, Steve Barnes, Jacob Berkevich and Cuzzone. Barnes and Berkevich both pitted and returned after their cars were attended to.
Gorham was sent to the back of the field for the restart as Williamson kept up a torrid pace ahead of Rendell. Devin McLeod had been having trouble keeping up the pace and his car finally stalled in turn two during the 16th lap to bring out a third caution flag. Williamson stayed out front on the restart until caution number four on lap 20 as Gorham tapped Berkevich into a spin in turn two. Again Gorham took a trip to the back of the restart grid.
Just as the field took the crossed flags for half-way at lap 25, Martin and Barnes got together to bring out yellow flag number five. Barnes pitted again to get more repairs and returned to the track. The field took the green with Williamson edging in front of Rendell, Cuzzone, Wright and a resurging Gorham. Gorham continued his move toward the front passing Wright for fourth on lap 30.
Cooper went for a spin on lap 44 while Berkevich and Cody Allen made contact on the front stretch at the exact same time to bring out the final caution. Again Williamson breezed to a good-sized lead and he sped to a comfortable victory over Rendell and Cuzzone.
Wright made a last lap pass on Gorham to nab fourth at the checker. Sixth through tenth were Cooper, Allen, Barnes, Dora Thorne and Martin.
The SSCS Pro Trucks had 13 entries for their 50-lap contest and it was Austin Pickens who had fast time (14.273) until it was found in tech that his engine did not have the required "chip" in it and his time was disallowed. Tommy Kelly thus earned quick time honors with a lap of 14.377 seconds. Second quick was Cody McDuffie at 14.580 and third was Cody Martell at 14.634.
Again, the top four qualifiers were inverted placing Jason "Scooby Doo" Lester on the pole flanked by Martell. Lester grabbed the early advantage as Martell slipped back quickly. Caution was displayed on the fourth lap as Adam Briggs spun out in turn four. Once the field restarted, Lester, McDuffie and Kelly started pulling away until McDuffie dropped off the pace on lap nine. Eventually McDuffie's truck came back up to speed but, by now, he was at the back of the field.
Pickens, who had to start scratch on the grid, worked his way up to seventh by lap ten. Kristen Clements, who had run as high as sixth place, pulled off the track on lap 13 just as Briggs went for a second spin, this time in turn two, top bring out the second yellow. After pitting, Clements returned but had to tag the back of the field.
Things began to heat up after the restart as Kelly zipped by Lester to lead lap 17 while Lester fought back to lead the 18th lap before Kelly cleared Lester for the front position on the 19th lap. Meanwhile, Pickens and McDuffie were now up to the fifth and sixth positions. Kelly continued to build his lead past the half way mark and McDuffie zoomed by Pickens for fifth on lap 28 just before Chris Narramore, Sr. got tapped into a turn two spin to bring out the caution.
Taking advantage of the Auburndale Speedway "restart rule," fourth-running Danny Anderson moved up outside of Kelly for the restart and gave him a good battle before slipping back to fourth again as both Lester and a hard-charging McDuffie sped past. Pickens' truck began to slow off the pace and he pulled off with an overheated engine on lap 35. With ten laps to go, McDuffie's truck went up in smoke as the caution flew to check track conditions.
Anderson again moved up outside of Kelly but had to settle back into third behind second-running Lester. With three laps to go William Kerns brought out the final caution with a spin in turn two. On the restart, Martell went for a spin after contact from Billy Carlbert, Jr. while Dakota Hunt had to make a quick move to avoid contacting the other trucks.
Kelly was again strong on the restart and he drove off to the win over Lester and Anderson. Behind them things got a bit heated coming off turn four as there was quite a bit of "bumping" but Hunt drove right past everyone to claim the fourth spot as she had her best-ever Truck finish. Tyler Davis just nipped Carlbert at the line for fifth while Martell, Narramore, Kerns and Briggs rounded out the top ten.
For Kelly, aka "The Hired Gun," it was his fourth straight Truck win over the past month. Kelly's brother, who works at Daytona International Speedway, made it to the track just in time to see his brother take the checker.
The V-8 Bomber feature was a crazy affair that started with Brandon Duchscherer nabbing the early advantage. James Wright III was uncharacteristically running a the back of the field and he suddenly slowed to a stop at the top of turn one to bring out the caution on the third lap. Wright was able to re-fire the car and returned to the tail of the field for the restart but his car continued to bog down after the green was displayed.
Duchscherer continued to set the pace until Danny Burchfield stopped in turn three on the ninth lap with a flat tire. Wright took his car pit side where his dad fixed the fuel pick-up issue that had been culprit of the problem. On the restart Duchscherer and Carl Thompson, Jr. screeched to a halt at the top of turn two with their cars locked together. Kyle Peters also got some damage in the incident and pitted to get a fender off his tire.
It took track crews several minutes to get the Duchscherer and Thompson cars apart but both were able to continue although from the rear of the restart grid. At this point veteran Eddie Hartin took off in the lead and held it until lap 17 when Josh Todd got around to take over the point. Burchfield spun in turn two with two laps to go to set up a dash to the checker. Wright had worked his way back to second place and he took over and led the final two laps to score the win over Todd and Duchscherer.
Peters rebounded to claim fourth trailed by Thompson, Burchfield, Hartin, Larry Chumney II, and Brey Holmes.
The Mini Stock feature was a crowd-pleaser to say the least as five of the nine drivers in the field led at least one lap. Bruce Cozad led the first three circuits before being passed by heat winner Colt Cecil who held the top spot for two laps before Tony Davidson took over. Cecil's car began to slow at this point trailing smoke and he spun to bring out a caution on lap eight.
Davidson led one more lap after the restart before being passed by a high-flying Chuck Frazier. Cecil had returned to the race but his car lost power and he was knocked into the front stretch wall on lap 13 forcing him out of the event. Frazier continued to set the pace but was unable to hold off the familiar late charge of Chris Narramore, Sr. who took over on lap 22 and drove to his fourth win in four starts this year.
Frazier held on to claim second ahead of Davidson and Cozad while John Cummins, Jr., Gordon Weaver, Danny Leet, Cecil and Fred Martin completed the finishers.
Chuck Frazier backed up his second place in the Mini Stocks with a win in the Mod Mini feature leading all the way as this one ran green to checker. Ray Miller finished a distant second ahead of Kenny Lawrence, Chris Spring and Wayne Stenstrom. Keith Roggen was leading the heat race when his engine exploded in turn three and he was unable to run the feature. Frazier also claimed the heat win as well.
The Scrambler feature also ran without a caution flag as Keith Cantrill led the first seven laps before giving way to Glen Swanson who drove his Saturn station wagon to his second win of the year. Dustin Wilson came home second trailed by Cantrill, Anthony Carroll, heat winner Shane Bennett, T. J. Tanner and William Kerns.
After winning the heat, Brey Holmes led every lap to claim the Mini Cup victory well ahead of Russell Bush. Douglas Herrin, Jr. had a great run for third followed by Clay Samuels, Alexa Anderson and Doug Higbie. Adam Briggs did not start.
Auburndale Speedway now takes two weeks off from Stock Car racing action but there will be a day of drifting next Saturday, February 25th from 10 am - 7 pm. Admission for the day is just $10. The Daytona Antique Auto Racing Association moves in for their annual "Winternationals" that will be held Thursday-Saturday, March 3-4.
Regular racing returns on Saturday night, March 11 and will feature 100 laps for the SSCS Super Late Models presented by Sunoco. Legend Cars, V-8 Bombers, Mini Stocks, Scramblers and Mini Cup cars will also be on the card that night.
OFFICIAL SSCS RESULTS - AUBURNDALE SPEEDWAY - 2/19/17:
SPORTSMAN (50 Laps):
1) Aaron Williams, Lakeland #67
2) Jason Rendell, Lakeland #157
3) Craig Cuzzone, Lakeland #88
4) James Wright III, Auburndale #56
5) George Gorham, Jr., Winter Haven #93
6) Kyle Cooper, Lakeland #1
7) Cody Allen, Ft. Myers #98
8) Steve Barnes, Orlando #58
9) Dora Thorne, Floral City #48
10) Brandon Martin, Bartow #53
11) Jacob Berkevich, Mulberry #30
12) Sammy Cressman, Winter Haven #97
13) Tom Zimmerman, Largo #01
14) Colton Bramlett, St. Cloud #22
15) Devin McLeod, Zephyrhills #5
16) Rick Reed, Punta Gorda #4
DNS Matt McCrary, Lakeland #M5
PRO TRUCKS (50 Laps):
1) Tommy Kelly, Myakka City #15
2) Jason Lester, Palmetto #7
3) Danny Anderson, Bradenton #50
4) Dakota Hunt, Lakeland #99H
5) Tyler Davis Lakeland #4
6) Billy Carlbert, Jr. Palmetto #11
7) Cody Martell, Arcadia #99
8) Chris Narramnore, Sr., Lakeland #15K
9) William Kerns, Auburndale #69
10) Adam Briggs, Lakeland #38Z
11) Cody McDuffie, Lakeland #25
12) Austin Pickens, Windermere #63
13) Kristen Clements, Plant City #5K
Photos of Sportsman winner Aaron Williamson and Tommy Kelly (and Crew) courtesy Robert Howell Photography...
Attached Files