Local Headlines

by BJ Cavin- VSP Media

BARBERVILLE, FL- Florida dirt racing fans will have a long weekend this week and Volusia Speedway Park is celebrating with the return of the Daytona Harley-Davidson Sprint Cars to the World's Fastest Half Mile. Racers from five of Volusia's other divisions will also be hitting the clay, including the Budweiser Modifieds, the Daytona Machine Shop Sportsman Division, the Daytona Sportswear Street Stocks, the Amsoil Thunder Stocks, and the Sparkle N Shine Car Wash Challengers. And since it is the Easter weekend, kids can join in the search for fun and prizes during the Easter Egg Hunt.

And kids will be the focus of the annual VSP Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday night, where a group of gracious sponsors have enhanced the event with more fun and prizes, including plenty of sweet candy from Sparkle N Shine Car Wash. In addition to the egg hunt, there will be a Bunny Hop Contest plus a Chicken Dance Contest as well, both with prizes from Daytona Harley-Davidson and Cracker Barrel. And back by popular demand, the annual Easter Peeps eating contest will determine who can devour the most marshmallow Peeps in a set time limit. No word yet whether 2010 Champion Davey Wolf will be on hand to defend his Peeps title for 2011.

Danny Martin Jr. took late control of the first Daytona Harley Davidson Sprint Car feature of 2011 and outpaced his fellow competitors to a win, but Martin was not the only racer who spent some time at the front of the pack. Martin first had to deal with Mark Ruel and Sport Allen before he could win the race, and fans can bet that both of them want a rematch this Saturday night. In addition, that first race was run with top contender Ryan Partin sitting in the grandstands thanks to a mechanical issue with his machine, and Partin certainly will be ready to take on all comers this time around. Look for yet another full field of top contenders to hit the clay this Saturday night as sprint cars rule at Volusia Speedway Park, and remember that this is only the first of two consecutive weeks featuring sprint cars at the big half mile.

2011 began with Jeff Mathews in firm control of the Budweiser Modifieds, but since then some other racers have risen to the occasion, and Mathews has become a chaser instead of the man being chased. This past Saturday night saw the return of Rob Underwood to the Destination Daytona Victory Lane while Jim Passino had one of the faster cars on the track, so fans can only guess who will step up their game and steal the show this Saturday night. But if the fans know Florida Modified racing, they know that Jeff Mathews hates following, and that he will be on the hunt for his own return to a victory celebration.

Corey Holley has two wins under his belt with the Daytona Machine Shop Sportsman cars, but Danny Vogel has re entered the scene and scored a win on his first night back. Meanwhile Paul Shead had everything working in tandem this past Saturday, which was good enough to score him a second place behind Vogel while Holley followed for third. And then there is Blaise Hetznecker, who comes out swinging but usually runs out of gas toward the end. Hetznecker is as good, if not better, than the others, but still has not figured out how to make it last from green to checkers. If he ever discovers how to make it last, look out!

After winning three Daytona Sportswear Street Stock features in a row, Joe Belkey had to start from the rear last Saturday night and managed to fight his way up to third place before the checkers waved. And although Belkey may have finally lost a race in 2011, he showed that he still has the machine to beat each weekend regardless of the outcome. While Belkey was putting on a passing clinic, Mike Tovet and Bubba Christian were playing a game of cat and mouse at the front, with the "mouse" getting the upper hand this time around. So will Belkey find his way back to the front this week, and will Christian and Tovet renew their scrap for the top spot? This time could easily become a three way battle at the front just as soon as the green flag waves.

After a weekend off Chad Scranton returned to the Amsoil Thunder Stocks on Saturday night, but he failed to return to the Destination Daytona Victory Lane. That honor went to Sammy Dale, who had his 88 machine hooked up and riding on rails, outrunning Scranton, Tom Hughes, and VSP newcomer "Speedy" Pete Close. So now the question is can Dale do it again, or will finishing second be the motivation that Chad Scranton needs in order to return to his winning ways? And what about Tom Hughes and Luke Sadler? Both have been dialing in their machines and getting closer to where they want to be each Saturday night, and either could hit the mark this week.

Things looked really good for Casey Feaster last Saturday night until he passed Denica Hetznecker for a win in the final turn of the Sparkle N Shine Challenger feature. That act set a series of events in motion that left Feaster to travel home pennyless and pointless as his car failed a post race tech inspection, and opened up a new can of worms on the internet message boards. But Feaster has held his head high and declared that "the gloves are off" this Saturday night, while Hetznecker racing and 'Rowdy" Denica are ready and waiting for round two. Both will be racing to win, and both now know that the heat is on. Feaster insists that his car will be ready for the tech shed, and Hetznecker will be gunning for the Destination Daytona Victory Lane celebration that she failed to get last weekend.

The pit gate will open for competitors this Saturday at 4PM, with fans admitted to the grandstand area at 5:30. Heat races will get underway at 7PM with necessary B-mains and features to follow. For more information on this weekend's events, or to see the entire 2011 racing schedule for the World's Fastest Half Mile, please visit us online at www.TheVolusiaSpeedway.com.