Local Headlines

(4/26/2011) by BJ Cavin- VSP Media

BARBERVILLE, FL- Florida sprint cars fans will be getting their fill of alcohol fueled winged action this weekend as the Daytona Harley-Davidson Sprint Cars will be blistering the clay at Volusia Speedway Park for the second consecutive Saturday night. And if that were not enough, they will be joined by the popular Florida Mini Sprint Association which will be making their second visit to the World's Fastest Half Mile in 2011. Volusia's regular racing divisions will be hitting the track as well, loading the schedule with seven different divisions of high speed excitement.

Danny Martin Jr. has been next to perfect so far in 2011, not just winning every race but literally embarrassing the competition in the process. Martin's dominance has been challenged in every way possible by his fellow competitors, but so far the only thing that has come even close to ruining his perfection was his own turn 3 close encounter with the wall last Saturday night that all but ended in disaster. But as Martin said in Destination Daytona Victory Lane, he stood on it and miraculously the car stayed off of the barrier. Sport Allen and Mark Ruel have been the only competitors to give much of a challenge to Martin thus far, and on Saturday night they will return to Volusia Speedway to try again.

Jesse Teed outran the field and grabbed a win as he returned to the Florida Mini Sprints in something other than an executive role at Volusia Speedway Park back on April 9th, and as he and his fellow competitors return to the big half mile it is a sure bet that more than a few racers will be out to make sure that he doesn't do it again. As fans already know, any competitor can have what it takes to win on any given night in mini sprint competition, so the odds are already against Teed for pulling a repeat performance. The mini winged monsters will be flat footed around the track as usual on Saturday night, so the set up is the key. Whoever hits the mark and gets it right will have the distinct advantage.

Fans and racers are beginning to ask themselves if anyone can step up and consistently outrun Jeff Mathews as the Budweiser Modifieds take their turn on the clay this Saturday night, and so far there have been no takers. Larry Burkins has managed to pull it off once as has Rob Underwood, but Mathews has had the advantage in virtually every other race, and he rocketed to another win this past Saturday as well. But Jamie Carter seems to have worked the kinks out after a sluggish start to the season, and may be just the racer to keep Mathews looking over his shoulder. Carter finished right behind Mathews on Saturday and will be gunning for him once again this time around.

Danny Vogel Jr. has been back at Volusia Speedway Park for two weeks and has won both Daytona Machine Shop Sportsman races since his return. But while Vogel was notching another win this past weekend, Aaron Barsness finally got the Incredible 11 machine hooked up and running in the front pack, scoring a second place finish behind Vogel. And another familiar face returned on Saturday night, that being Ronnie Ponce at the wheel of the 57P. Ponce was strong as well, finishing third on the night and showing that the car is just as fast as it was in 2010. So Danny Vogel now has a couple of tough competitors to contend with, plus other sportsman racers are improving each week as well.

So far in 2011 Joe Belkey has won all but one Daytona Sportswear Street Stock feature, and no matter where he ends up starting the race he finds his way to the front of the pack. Mike Tovet would love to beat Belkey like he did a few weeks back, but failed to hold off the 119 this past Saturday night. Meanwhile Bubba Christian has already replaced the engine that expired on him in hot laps last weekend, and he will be back in the hunt this Saturday night as well. Tovet and Christian may have the best chances of anyone else for upsetting Belkey, and Belkey will be watching both of them as the green flies this weekend.

Chad Scranton came out strong in 2011 as he snatched some quick Amsoil Thunder Stock victories, but Scranton has been MIA a couple of times since, plus Tom Hughes has ratcheted up his game and grabbed two wins himself, beating Scranton once in the process. Hughes now has the points lead and is in position to take over the division depending on what Scranton does, or whoever else may manage to step up and challenge the front pack. And just as he has asserted his dominance over the others, Hughes is showing no signs of weakness in his rise to the top.

Looking at the results from the Sparkle N Shine Car Wash Challengers in 2011, it may seem that the only thing that can stop Casey Feaster is the tech man. And despite the recent rivalry between Feaster and Denica Hetznecker, the racer who is seemingly in the best position to put the brakes on Feaster's reign is RJ Glaser. Glaser has greatly improved his game, and last Saturday he had Feaster on the ropes until a brief bobble in turn 2 that allowed Feaster to gain the advantage. Hetznecker's effort fell victim to a dead battery last Saturday, so she will be back in the game this weekend and just as ready as Glaser to do something about the guy in the 20 machine.

Volusia Speedway Park will open the pit gate for competitors at 4PM on Saturday, with fans admitted to the grandstand area at 5:30. Racing action will get underway at 7PM with the first heat races, followed by necessary B mains and the feature events. For more information on the World's Fastest Half Mile, be sure to visit online at www.TheVolusiaSpeedway.com, or phone the track at 386-985-4402.