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First things first... I LOVE a Sunday afternoon race. I wish more tracks would try it on occasion, or even have Sundays as a built-in rain date in case of a Friday or Saturday rainout.
AB195 and myself started getting our racing fix even before we got down to Punta Gorda, by stopping at the old USA Speedway to mourn the passing of a cool track, that somehow wound up in greedy hands. It appears as if all work there has stopped... demolition is not complete, but is far enough along that it will never become an active track again. The racing surface is un-damaged, but the infrastructure is in shambles... almost looks like a tornado hit the place.
Continuing down the road, we got there, had a couple of frosty beers and headed in. Immediately ran into old friend Osmosis and his buddy Steve Pontious. Quickly found Carol Wicks, and a whole gang of people including: Bobby Diehl, Cindy Petty, Fla Video Bob, Oneoff (Fred), Jimmy Harris, his friend Tony, Gary J, Geoffrey and Linda Styner (and I hope I didn't leave some folks off... apologies if I did).
The Modified field was only 7 cars, but they did put on a good show. I thought it was only a matter of time before Robbie Cooper blasted to the front, but he never got a good run on Eric Rudd, who pulled off a nice win.
The Late Models had a pretty decent 17 cars, and it turned out to be a wild race... very exciting. Johnny Kay, coming from the rear, showed that you really CAN pass at CCMP. A hard crash by Gary Padula and Wayne Morris could have been worse, but it was still pretty bad. Brandon Johnson looked very good early on, but once Joe Winchell and Kay got to him, the action got alot heavier. On a late restart, Winchell, running 2nd at the time, lost it in turn 3 all by himself. I don't know what happened, but it was way out of Joe's character to see him backwards without any contact from anyone. I'll make sure to tease him at the Reunion!
Johnson, whose brakes worked just fine for 149 3/4 laps, all of a sudden had "brake failure" which nailed Kay in the rear, taking him out. The mystery brakes were working fine again just in time to pull into Victory Lane, to a loud round of booing. I like Brandon, but this was probably the dumbest move of his career. Officials gave Kay the flag and the check, but even that was pretty controversial. Thinking back, they maybe should have thrown the yellow (instead of the checkered), and put Johnson in back, with Kay on the point. He probably would have won anyhow, but anything can happen with 1 lap to go. Nevertheless, I believe the right guy was awarded the win, but I do NOT agree that Johnson should have been outright DQ'ed. Sorry CCMP, but that was a bad call.
Having had a GREAT time, we hit the highway headed for home... but our adventure wasn't quite over yet. We stopped in Ellenton at something like "Woody's Riverfront", a very cool tiki-bar type of place. We had a good time there also, until the bartender tried double charging us for stuff we had already paid for (and had the receipts to prove it). This girl was VERY rude, threatened to "replay the video surveilance", to which we answered "bring it on... it will prove YOU are wrong". Instead she grabbed a Manager that was even more rude than she was. He informed us that "she NEVER makes mistakes, and it would be best for us to pay her (again) and leave" After a few unpleasantries we left, vowing never to return there, and to make sure other people know how crooked and rude this place is. NEVER, EVER spend a dime with those crooks. If you do, don't say you weren't warned. Apparently, $10.50 is the amount that will break the bank with these assholes.
Got home late, and AB195 thought it would be cool to take the scooter out for a spin around the neighborhood. Sometime in the future, he might tell you how well THAT worked out!
Overall, I had one HELL of a great day. Good friends, fun and entertaining races, beautiful weather, shorts and T-shirt conditions.... all on a Sunday in early January. Very tough act to follow... I hope the rest of my 2009 season goes as well!
AB195 and myself started getting our racing fix even before we got down to Punta Gorda, by stopping at the old USA Speedway to mourn the passing of a cool track, that somehow wound up in greedy hands. It appears as if all work there has stopped... demolition is not complete, but is far enough along that it will never become an active track again. The racing surface is un-damaged, but the infrastructure is in shambles... almost looks like a tornado hit the place.
Continuing down the road, we got there, had a couple of frosty beers and headed in. Immediately ran into old friend Osmosis and his buddy Steve Pontious. Quickly found Carol Wicks, and a whole gang of people including: Bobby Diehl, Cindy Petty, Fla Video Bob, Oneoff (Fred), Jimmy Harris, his friend Tony, Gary J, Geoffrey and Linda Styner (and I hope I didn't leave some folks off... apologies if I did).
The Modified field was only 7 cars, but they did put on a good show. I thought it was only a matter of time before Robbie Cooper blasted to the front, but he never got a good run on Eric Rudd, who pulled off a nice win.
The Late Models had a pretty decent 17 cars, and it turned out to be a wild race... very exciting. Johnny Kay, coming from the rear, showed that you really CAN pass at CCMP. A hard crash by Gary Padula and Wayne Morris could have been worse, but it was still pretty bad. Brandon Johnson looked very good early on, but once Joe Winchell and Kay got to him, the action got alot heavier. On a late restart, Winchell, running 2nd at the time, lost it in turn 3 all by himself. I don't know what happened, but it was way out of Joe's character to see him backwards without any contact from anyone. I'll make sure to tease him at the Reunion!
Johnson, whose brakes worked just fine for 149 3/4 laps, all of a sudden had "brake failure" which nailed Kay in the rear, taking him out. The mystery brakes were working fine again just in time to pull into Victory Lane, to a loud round of booing. I like Brandon, but this was probably the dumbest move of his career. Officials gave Kay the flag and the check, but even that was pretty controversial. Thinking back, they maybe should have thrown the yellow (instead of the checkered), and put Johnson in back, with Kay on the point. He probably would have won anyhow, but anything can happen with 1 lap to go. Nevertheless, I believe the right guy was awarded the win, but I do NOT agree that Johnson should have been outright DQ'ed. Sorry CCMP, but that was a bad call.
Having had a GREAT time, we hit the highway headed for home... but our adventure wasn't quite over yet. We stopped in Ellenton at something like "Woody's Riverfront", a very cool tiki-bar type of place. We had a good time there also, until the bartender tried double charging us for stuff we had already paid for (and had the receipts to prove it). This girl was VERY rude, threatened to "replay the video surveilance", to which we answered "bring it on... it will prove YOU are wrong". Instead she grabbed a Manager that was even more rude than she was. He informed us that "she NEVER makes mistakes, and it would be best for us to pay her (again) and leave" After a few unpleasantries we left, vowing never to return there, and to make sure other people know how crooked and rude this place is. NEVER, EVER spend a dime with those crooks. If you do, don't say you weren't warned. Apparently, $10.50 is the amount that will break the bank with these assholes.
Got home late, and AB195 thought it would be cool to take the scooter out for a spin around the neighborhood. Sometime in the future, he might tell you how well THAT worked out!
Overall, I had one HELL of a great day. Good friends, fun and entertaining races, beautiful weather, shorts and T-shirt conditions.... all on a Sunday in early January. Very tough act to follow... I hope the rest of my 2009 season goes as well!
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