Rich Pratt and Terry Dunbar Conquer Ocala
by BJ Cavin
Nature provided an almost perfect evening for racing at Ocala Speedway, and a large crowd fans that turned out for the show were never disappointed by the action on the track. Ocala Speedway has seen a fair share of drama over the past couple of weeks in addition to great racing, but drama was not on the schedule for this week's events. Instead of drama, the fans witnessed even better racing action, plus what most fans regarded as the best late model race of the season. And in addition, they saw two drivers claim their first wins on Florida's most historic dirt track.
The Hobby Stocks were the first division to get a crack at the clay in beautiful downtown Zuber, and right from the start the action was wild up front. David Miller Jr. started from the pole but immediately had to fight off a hard charging Wally Schneider. Grady Christian had started further back and was on his way to the front on lap 2 when Bubba Christian got into his way. There was contact between the two cars in turn one and Bubba ended up the victim. Schneider continued to hound David Miller Jr. until Grady Christian got involved in the fray, and by lap 9 those three had distanced themselves from the rest of the field. In the end it was David Miller Jr. who claimed the win after fighting off his favorite nemesis, Grady Christian, who finished second. Wally Schneider would cross the line in the third spot followed by William Martin and Bubba Christian.
The Gladiators got the chance to race their feature event early in the night as they followed the Hobby Stocks. Brian Chisholm claimed the pole and led the field to the green flag, and from there he took control of the race. Chisholm would run away from the others to claim the win, followed by Dalton Strehle who nosed out Paul Hahn at the checkers for second. Brian Brogan claimed the fourth spot while Guy Bacelo Jr. finished fifth.
From that point on it was a night for first timers at Ocala. The Late Models had put on quite a show during their heat races, but as soon as the green flag dropped on their feature race they cranked it up to extreme and never let up. Dalton Lanich held the early lead from the pole followed by Shane Williams, but on the second lap a flat tire would send Lanich to the pits and Williams would find himself fighting off a hard charging Rich Pratt for the lead.
Pratt was on fire and was not to be denied, and a small bobble by Williams in turn 1 gave Pratt the chance to steal the lead on lap 7. Meanwhile Roger Crouse was moving forward and into the mix up front, as was Mark Whitener. Whitener would get the better of Crouse to claim the third spot before disaster struck Shane Williams on lap 20. After some contact coming out of turn 4 with another car, Williams would smack the front stretch wall hard, trashing his car and ending his night. A very unhappy Williams would leave the track on a hook as Mark Whitener took over the job of harassing Rich Pratt for the lead.
Whitener and Pratt put on quite a show for the last five laps of the race, with Roger Crouse adding to the tension in the third spot. Whitener seemed to gain position under Pratt a few times but Pratt managed to fight him off, but it was a late attempt to steal second place by Crouse that slowed Whitener just long enough that Pratt took the win. It was Rich Pratt's first win on the clay at Ocala after some horrendous luck there early in the racing season. Mark Whitener hung on the take the second spot while Roger Crouse settled for third. Shan Smith and J.O. Nobles rounded out the top five.
The V8 Thunder Stock feature race did not get off to a very promising start due to a mess that developed in turn 4 on lap 2. Michael Stalnaker misjudged the turn and clipped a tractor tire, then spun in front of the field. Many cars missed while others did not, and by the time the melee stopped happening several cars were in a wad at the bottom of the turn. All managed to drive away and Stalnaker's car seemed to get the worst of the damage, but that didn't stop him from making his way back through the field over the course of the race to finish in the top three.
Another mess developed in the same area of the track two laps later as Harold Erickson's car shed a rear wheel coming through the turn while challenging for the lead. He bounced off the front stretch wall and a couple of cars while the loose rim and tire were run completely over by at least four other race cars and hit by a couple more. From that point it looked like Jeff Stalnaker Jr might have the race well in hand, setting up another father and son show like the fans had seen earlier in a heat race as Jeff Jr. and Sr. had battled it out. But Terry Dunbar had no wish to see a repeat performance and so he stole the show by taking the lead from Jeff Stalnaker Jr. on lap 9. Dunbar would hold off all challenges from there to take his first win at Ocala, while Jeff Stalnaker Jr would settle for the second spot. Michael Stalnaker would fight back from his earlier misfortunes to claim the third spot and Jeff Stalnaker Sr. would finish fourth. James Sealey would round out the top five finishers.
Next week at Ocala Speedway the Open Wheel Modifieds return for a big show and big money as the Ocala Fall Brawl heats up the clay. The mods will be going for $1500 to win while joining them on the schedule are the V8 Thunder Stocks, Mini Stocks, and the Gladiators. And kids will get a shot at the clay as well as Kid's Bike Races return to Ocala Speedway.
