Ocala, FL, October 23, 1999 – Fall is here at Ocala Speedway. The cool air and the full moon made the evening especially enjoyable. The great racing was icing on the cake.

The Coca-Cola 4-Cylinder Bombers filled the track tonight. Tom Roberts (44) sat on the pole and Leo Kasper (74) sat on the outside. Roberts got a good lead from the start. Roberts (44) looked hot tonight and Bruce Teague (63) and Terry Dunbar (72) were all up front. A caution flag stopped the action but not for long. Racing resumed. Positions held together through several laps. Where in all this action was Brock Oglesby (88). Never fear, he was driving hard after floating along way back in the pack for most of the feature. A final caution lined everyone up bumper to bumper and Oglesby took advantage of this and drove around competition to gain a couple of positions. Now in full swing, Oglesby began to challenge the leaders. Roberts was holding point but with two laps to go, Oglesby had to do some fancy driving to catch up. After passing Dunbar and Teague, Oglesby applied the heat to Roberts’ bumper. On the last lap, Brock Oglesby took the lead to win the checkered flag. Tom Roberts finished second, and Bruce Teague came in third. Aaron Clark and Chauna Johnston filled out the top five finishers.

The WTRS Pure Stocks came out in full force. The lineup had Larry Bowden (77) sitting on the pole and Paul Gladin (9) sitting on the outside. Bowden jumped hard and took the lead as Mark Mitchell (71II) moved up to take second. John Cook (17) moved into third. A yellow flag flew before the second lap was completed as two cars spun, one in turn four and the other in turn one. The leaders were unaffected so positions held. After lap four, the second and final caution flag flew when a car lost traction and spun in turn four. The top four leaders were getting serious now and by lap six, Dave Dinehart had taken over fourth position, and he gained another by lap seven. Dinehart took second on lap eight. Larry Bowden was able to hold his lead to take the checkered flag. Dave Dinehart took second with John Cook coming in third. John Betts placed fourth leaving Mark Mitchell to come in fifth.

The Dave’s Towing Hobby Stocks had a huge field tonight with 24 starters. They drew a full invert so Norman Moody (3m) sat on the pole and Scott Knight (34) sat on the outside. Steve Mooers (5) had taken the lead by the end of the first lap, but Bob Masciarelli (72) had taken over by the second lap. Shane Nichols (65) moved strong, and he moved into second. A yellow flag flew after lap three when Ken Asbell (89) had to pull up with a flat tire. The rest of the feature was caution free. On the restart, Nichols challenged Masciarelli and took over the lead. Several laps went by with Mooers behind Masciarelli, but Mike Wilson was in the wings and on lap nine, he took the third position. The leaders held tight but the tension was high because of all the lapped traffic that had to be negotiated. Shane Nichols took home the checkered flag with Bob Masciarelli coming in second. Mike Wilson earned third leaving Charles Kopach and Steve Mooer to fill out the top five.

The Classic Cars came to Ocala Speedway tonight. Dan Hammerbech (65) sat on the pole and the number (7) sat beside him on the outside. The flag dropped and (7) fired hard to take the lead. Before the first lap could be completed, a car spun in turn two and another spun on the backstretch. A full double-up restart was called. Again, (7) jumped hard but a bad case of full-moonitis seemed to have a hold on this field. Turn one took its toll this time when two cars got tangled and moved the infield tire to a new spot. This time a single-file restart was called and Hammerbech was given the lead spot. One lap was completed, but the craziness was still in affect as two cars spun through turn four. Hammerbech was still leading and (7) was close behind in second. (77) was racing in third. On lap six, positions changed as (7) took over the lead. (7) raced ahead of the competition until after lap thirteen. In turn four, (7) got squirrelly and after trying to hold on down the front stretch, he finally lost in going into turn one. Hammerbech regained the lead to restart but David Nunes had been making strong moves through the pack and on the white-flag lap, Nunes took the point. David Nunes took home the checkered flag, making his win at Ocala Speedway his first. Dan Hammerbech took second and Jim Rahman took third. Rodney Eary and David Marsh filled out the top five.

The Budweiser Modifieds fielded a full pack tonight. Gary Southard (39) sat on the pole beside Rick Hall (15) who was on the outside. Southard jumped well and Red Vann (32) moved up to take second. Hall held third. After the second lap, a yellow flag flew a when Wayne Reutimann (00) rubbed Loren Thornton (n8), causing Thornton to spin in turn two. Thornton and Reutimann restarted in the rear. Southard was still out front and opening up a lead that left him unchallenged. The top three leaders held their positions for many laps and racing was fast until after lap ten when a caution flag flew so the track crew could pick up some debris. The restart came quickly. After holding their positions for several more laps and through a final yellow flag, the top three were set. Gary Southard took the checkered flag with Red Vann coming in second. Rick Hall took third and Wayne Reutimann returned to take fourth. Scott Millar took fifth.

The Outlaw Winged Sprints from the Tampa Bay Area Racing Association returned to Ocala Speedway tonight. As always, these wild, rumbling cars are a fan favorite. The field was very large for this the last point race of the season for these drivers. After one bad start, car number 99 took an early lead and held on way out front until lap eighteen. After lap nine, a caution flag flew when the 3x car spun on the front stretch, taking him out of a good place in the number 3 slot. Lap nineteen gave us a new leader. Car number 91 took over the lead and took the checkered flag. Number 63 followed in for second with the 16 car coming in third. The 0 car and the 22 car filled out the top five. A short ceremony on the track was held to crown the point champion. Dude Teate was the point champion for this season.

The Steven A. Bagen Late Models brought out a huge field of cars tonight. Rob Elting (27) sat on the pole and Tim Sharrone (32) sat on the outside. The leaders fired when the flag fell, but in turn one of the first lap, Rich Pratt tapped Sharrone and a pile-up in turn two brought out the yellow flag. A full double-up restart was called and all positions were retained. This start went well with Elting taking the lead and Sharrone giving way to Herb Neumann (98) and Rich Pratt (0). The second yellow flag flew after lap four when the 88 car spun in turn two. Two more laps were completed before the third caution flew. Ed Sartori (50) and another car tangled in turn two as David White (6) was slowing to a stop on the backstretch. White was pushed pitside and racing resumed. Lap nine seemed to belong to Neumann as he managed to slip by Elting, bringing Pratt along with him. But, Kevin Bryant had pulled into the infield and positioned himself to go to the pit, stopping a little to close to the racing surface for comfort. The yellow flag flew before lap nine was completed so the restart returned Elting to the lead. Elting held this lead through all the challenges Neumann gave through another yellow period and until lap eighteen. By lap nineteen, Neumann and Pratt both slipped by Elting again. There was one more caution after lap twenty-two when three cars tangled in turn two. Neumann fought with Pratt for the last three laps, but all of Pratt’s challenges were defeated. Herb Neumann took a hard-earned win with Rich Pratt coming in a close second. Rob Elting took home third. Tim Sharrone and Roger Damron filled out the top five finishers.

The Pro Figure 8 division raced their last race of the season. The points chase was tight and the field was packed. Steve Mooers (5) started on the pole and Peter Portera (24) sat on the outside. There was a car stuck in between turns four and three but the race started anyway. The full feature was run around this obstacle. Red Vann (32) quickly took the lead but Scott Knight (34) was back in the field and charging hard. Alan McCafferty (53), driving a borrowed car, was pushing Knight. Very soon, Knight and McCafferty had the lead. They sure made the cross road an exciting place as each searched for the hole that would allow them to maintain their speed. The two switched positions a couple of times until finally Knight pulled away, leaving McCafferty to hold off the pack. Several close calls brought yells from the fans. Several cars retired and Shane Nichols (25) landed in the deep ditch near the cross road, bottoming out his car. Scott Knight held on through thick and thin to take the checkered flag. Alan McCafferty came in a distant second and Mike Soares finished third. John Cook, who was dragging parts for much of the feature, finished fourth. J.W. McNeal came in fifth.

Don’t miss any of the Ocala Speedway racing season. Next week, Saturday October 30, there will be a full schedule of racing plus a special Bag Race. Don’t miss out on the great Halloween happenings at Ocala Speedway. Bring yourself and the kids out in costume and have some fun.