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After winning the FASTKIDS race Friday
night here, Sam Watts
was pumped and ready for RE/MAX Legends Car competition
Saturday night as he grabbed the lead early and sped
to his third win of the season at Orlando Speedworld.
Kevin Abbott led the opening lap,
but Watts was on
the charge at the drop of the green and took over on
lap two to lead the remainder of the 25 lap distance.
Only a lap three tangle involving
Darin Coker and Matt Bowers slowed the action as Watts
expertly weaved his way through heavy lapped traffic
in the latter stages of the run. Jeremy Colangelo took
second from Abbott on lap 13 but was never able to challenge
Watts and settled
for the place position. Abbott crossed the stripe in
third in front of Bobby Byars and Brandon Thomson.
Spike Sabo, Jarred Cawley, James Rodriguez,
Kevin Howard and Mike Verhaagh rounded out the top ten.
Colangelo, Abbott and Sabo won the heats.
Both of the former "Dwarf Car" clubs
running in the State of Florida raced on the same card
at the same time for the first time ever Saturday night,
each running a separate program with several drivers
running with both groups.
The Florida Welterweight Racing Association
Modified Lites were first to run and it was basically
a replay of earlier races as Mark Landis took the win
and his brother George was second, but this time it
was at the expense of Brian Gingras who looked to be
the driver to finally shove the Landis brothers out
of the front spot.
Action was wild in this one as Spanky
McFarland blew his engine in a huge plume of smoke on
lap one. Landis led the opening two circuits before
Gingras took over only to see the caution out again
as Harvey Johnson's car suffered and engine problem
and he spun into the turn one wall.
On the restart, Nick Shadid's car
balked causing the field to scatter. Ron Towles had
nowhere to go and ended up in the front stretch wall.
Ron was unhurt, but the two time winner at Speedworld
this year was done for the night.
Gingras continued to set the pace
with the Landis boys right behind only to see yet another
caution on lap eight as Phil Krauthoff spun and was
collected by Bob Crandall. At this point only half of
the starting field of 16 was still around.
Dan Berry's strong run came to an
abrupt halt on lap ten as his engine expired while he
was solidly in the top five. Meanwhile, Gingras and
both Landis brothers were in a great fight for the lead.
With five laps to go, the engine in
Gingras' car began to sound sour although he was still
holding off all challenges. They say the engine runs
fastest just before it blows and that's just what happened
to Gingras on the last as he coasted to the infield
handing the lead and the win to Mark Landis. George
Landis was again second ahead of Doug Parlamento, Zane
Davis and Eric Powell. Heat races were won by Mark Landis,
Parlamento, and Berry.
Later, the Florida Open Wheel Lites
(FOWL) also ran a 25 lapper. With his brother Mark's
car not legal in this Series, George Landis finally
had a chance to break his string of second place finishes,
and that he did, taking over the top spot from early
leader Wild Bill Burback and pacing the field to the
checker.
Only 15 of the scheduled 21 starters
could make the green flag after the carnage of the earlier
race, but the competition was still very good with only
one caution needed this time for Robert Hight's bout
with the front straightaway wall on lap eleven.
George Landis took the win ahead of
Burback, Jim Biglin, Doug Parlamento, and Bob Quick.
Heat races were won by Landis, Burback, and Ron Towles.
Pro Challenge action was close as
always with Brad Sanders leading the opening five laps
before Ken Watts sped by him to take the lead. Watts
led the remaining distance for his first ever win in
the Pro Challenge cars/trucks. Sanders finished second
trailed by David Hall, Howard Brennan and Tyler David.
Watts and Brennan won the heats.
Chelsea Schillig took her fourth win
of the year in the Bandolero Young Guns. Matthew Jarrett
took advantage of a last lap tangle between his older
brother Scott Jarrett and Brandon Thomson to take second
spot after winning the heat race earlier. The younger
Jarrett continues to get more impressive backing up
his recent first feature win with a second this week.
Gerald White, Jr. again topped the
Bandolero Bandits feature race leading all the way to
claim the win over Josh Williams, Blake Eden, Ryan Rust
and Donovan Ponder. White also won the heat.
For the first time this year, the
Bandolero Outlaws outnumbered both the Bandits and the
Young Guns with Evan Russell claiming both the heat
and feature win. Dave Jarrett took second while newcomer
Glenn Garrison was third. Shane Henry and Sam Gearhart
completed the top five.
Sly Cawley out-lasted the Hurricane
field for his first win of the year in his Chevy Corsica.
Brian Bleau, Tom Gildart and A.J. Flywheel trailed Cawley.
Reproduced
with permission.
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