Ocala, FL, July 10, 1999 – Ocala Speedway roared with the sounds of hot racecars and distant thunder tonight. The weather was good and the cooling breezes were welcome.

The Coca-Cola 4-Cylinder Bombers streamed from the pits, filling the track. Bruce Teague (63) sat on the pole. Cliff White (18) had the outside. The first start took a bad turn when Brock Oglesby (88) took a spin into the infield and a double up restart was called. Everyone regained their positions. With in several laps, Tom Posavec (01) took the lead. White held on to second and Teague settled into third. White pulled off the surprise of the night when he managed to move past Posavec and take the lead. As laps ticked off, Posavec was unable to regain the point. Teague picked a spot of bad luck and took a spin that took him out of contention. Cliff White raced his way to the checkered flag with Tom Posavec having to settle for second. Brock Oglesby took home third and Bobby Valeo came in fourth. Matt Connelly took home fifth.

The WTRS Pure Stocks stormed out of the pits with a full slate or entries. Mark Mitchell (71II) sat on the pole and John Betts (81) had the outside. Mitchell jumped well on the start and took the lead. On lap two, Betts found some power and took the lead from Mitchell. Betts was able to keep this lead until lap five when Mitchell took it back again. A yellow caution was thrown when the white barrier tire leading into turn three got hit and took a trip to the infield lake. During the yellow, cars 1 and 13 went pitside. On the restart, Betts was unable to hold onto second and he faded badly as the others passed by. He pitted his car the next lap. With Mitchell still leading, Richard McGlashan (113) found himself sitting in second and Dave Dinehart (79) sat in third. On lap seven, cars 94 and 9 took a spin in turn one but they were both able to regain the track before the pack returned. The rest of the feature was caution free and Mark Mitchell took the checkered flag. Richard McGlashan took home second with Dave Dinehart coming in third. Larry Bowden and John Cook brought in the top five.

The Budweiser Modifieds thundered from the pits with a full field. Wayne Reutimann (00) sat on the pole. Rick Hall (15) sat on the outside pole. Hall fired hard on the green flag and took the lead. W. Reutimann settled into second with Red Vann (32) riding in third. A yellow flag was thrown after lap five when car 31 spun on the backstretch. The restart was quick and the race was on. Hall was solidly in first and the big fight was for third between Vann and David Reutimann (D00). D. Reutimann made his move and got by Vann on lap ten and Ed Brown (1) used the confusion to get by Vann too. The top three leaders were Hall, W. Reutimann and D. Reutimann. Vann and Brown were the two to watch as they now battled for fourth. Vann and Brown swapped positions several times. No more caution periods occurred, and racing was fast. Rick Hall took the checkered flag with W. Reutimann close on his bumper for second. D. Reutimann took home third with Red Vann coming in fourth. Ed Brown came in fifth, closing out the top five finishers.

The Dave’s Towing Hobby Stocks shot out onto the track for the special 50-lap feature. After running qualifying laps earlier in the evening, Shane Nichols had the fastest lap with a 17.91 and David Baxley clocked a 17.94. Moose Alderman (55) had the pole position with Charles Kopach (53) on the outside. The first start came hard and Kopach took the point. Before the first lap was completed, a pile coming out of turn four sent Hank Stewart (30) into the front stretch wall and Peter Portera (28) and Edward England (98) through the infield. A red flag was thrown so track crew could check on Stewart. All was ok except for Stewart’s car, which had to be towed. After a quick clean up by the track crew the cars were doubled up for a complete restart. Kopach took the point again with Moose Alderman (55) slipping into second. Mike Davis (50) was in third. These positions were not set in stone though and within a few laps, all had changed. Mike Wilson took the lead and Shane Nichols (65) pulled into second. David Baxley (64) settled into third. Kopach held at fourth with Alan McCafferty (32) in fifth. This seemed to be the order of the night although all those behind Wilson were trying hard to improve. Wilson had the touch as he held off Nichols’ challenges time and time again. For many laps, things were “quiet” as drivers clocked off laps. It wasn’t until lap twenty-six that another caution flag was thrown. Alderman slowed drastically on the backstretch and he limped around to the pit road with a damaged right front tire. The restart came but with it came another caution when cars 78 and 5 took a spin in turn four. After it was all straightened out, the race was resumed. Wilson was still leading with Nichols in second. Baxley was no longer willing to wait to see if Nichols could get by Wilson and he began an all out assault on the 65 car. Back in the pack, Kopach and McCafferty were fighting the same battle. McCafferty slipped by Kopach around lap thirty-three and two laps later, Baxley got by Nichols. McCafferty found a way to get past Nichols too. Wilson had the power to hold off Nichols, but with Baxley it was a different story. The leaders were bunched up very tight and everyone was dealing with heavy lapped traffic. Baxley made his move in turn four and took the point from Wilson. Baxley proved he had the power as he opened up a good safety net for himself. Several laps later, Nichols managed to regain third by passing McCafferty. A final caution flag was thrown on lap forty-nine when Davis took a spin in turn four. The green flag was thrown along with the white one and David Baxley powered his way to the checkered flag for a well-earned win. Mike Wilson came under the wire for second with Shane Nichols coming in a close third. Alan McCafferty and Charles Kopach filled out the top five finishers.

Don’t miss any of the Ocala Speedway racing season. Next week, Saturday July 17th, all divisions except the Modifieds will be racing. The popular Dwarf cars will appear as guests at Ocala Speedway.