Tracks: Manucy picks up 2nd season win in Alpha Communications Feature at St. Augustine
28 September 1999
Posted By Terry
Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
ST. AUGUSTINE, FLA -Chris Manucy of St. Augustine
came from his fourth
starting position to pick up his second win of the 1999 Hobby Stock season
at
St. Augustine Speedway Saturday night in the Alpha Communications 40-lap,
double point Hobby-Bowl. In doing so, he became the first feature winner
in
the race toward the 1999 Top Gun Challenge.The St. Augustine native had his hands full through the early portion of the race trying to contend with a very stout Jody Stratton also of St. Augustine who battled the lead away from Manucy on lap 27. Stratton however, had his bid for the win come to an early end just three laps later when he tangled with the lapped car of J.W. Mixon at the exit of turn four eventually came to rest against the front straightaway retaining wall.
Manucy was able to drive around the Stratton incident and went on to lead the final ten laps and win the biggest Hobby Stock race of the year. Brad Pilinko, Randy Wilkes(Fast Qualifier), Scooter Hicks and Randy Moody followed Manucy across the line. However, in post-race tech inspection Wilkes and Hicks were both penalized for technical violations moving Moody to third and Shea Clay and Bart Heck up to fourth and fifth respectively. St. Augustine's Todd Ponce, fast qualifier, continued his domination of the Snap-On Sportsman Division winning his seventh race in a row and extending his bounty to $500 for next Saturday's event.
Kenny Hall of St. Augustine was able to pace Ponce for the first half of the race but as Hall's car started to fade near the midway point, Ponce just seemed to get stronger. The talented racer pulled away from Hall in the closing laps to notch another impressive win, his eleventh of the season. Behind Ponce and Hall, David Hitchcock, Tiny Cline and Les Burl rounded out the top five finishers in the 35-lap Snap-On Sportsman main.The 35-lap Late Model feature event went to another driver who has found success of late on the St. Augustine half-mile, Scotty Lagasse Jr. of St. Augustine. Lagasse took the lead from Clermont, Florida's Larry Osteen on a lap 16 restart and then held off the veteran for the final 19 circuits to score his third win in a row.
Pole sitter, by virtue of the draw, Chris Tedder of Gainesville finished in the third spot followed by early race leader Richard Ferry of Macclenny, Fla. and first time visitor, Chris Lawerence of DeLeon Springs. Jimmy Britts of Orange Park first blistered the field during time trials early in the evening and then continued to turn up the heat in the Rick's Muffler Modified 35-lap main to score his third win of the '99 season. Britts had a mirror full of last week's winner Russ Miscally of Lawtey, Fla. and Larry Martin of Gainesville until lapped traffic allowed the No. 14 Hatch Logging entry to draw away from the field and open a sizable advantage.
A late race caution packed the field back up for a three-lap-shootout but Britts was too strong to be challenged and went on to the win. Martin and Miscally held on for the place and show positions while Joshua Manning of Yulee and the 1998 Modified Champion Marc Kinley of Osteen, Fla. rounded out the top five.
Ricky Cooper of Elkton found his way back into victory lane Saturday night for the first time in six attempts in the increasingly popular Thunder Truck Division.
After winning five races in a row during the middle of the season, Cooper seemed to have been struggling of late to find the handle. But the St. Augustine native was definitely back in the groove on this night, leading from flag to flag enroute to the win. Cooper was chased across the finish line by Ron Thomas, also of Elkton and Mini Stock regular Mike Ponce of St. Augustine driving Jared Cooper's No. 22c truck. Andy Waldron of Lake City and Wade Lynn of Switzerland, Fla. finished fourth and fifth respectively. Ponce was the fast qualifier.
The 20-lap Mini Stock feature got off to a shaky start and the early cautions played a major role on the final outcome. Pole sitter, Jake Hartley of Jacksonville found himself gazing into the St. Augustine night as he launched himself skyward off the right front tire of second row starter Mickey Leth and then made nose first contact with the St. Augustine concrete.
Although Hartley's No. 13 was done for the night, Leth was able to drive through the incident and went on to post his fourth win of the season and his third in a row. At race end it was Leth, followed by Kevin Burkett of Jacksonville who was able to slip past John Thigpen of St. Augustine and open a hole for Jacksonville's Steve Thompson to also slip by on the last lap for the second and third spots. Thigpen and Jason Miller of Middleburg rounded out the top five. Leth and Jay Farris were the Heat Winners.
With the first round events in the books, point calculations are being tabulated to determine the standings in the first ever St. Augustine Speedway Top Gun Challenge. Those that did well in Saturday's competition are looking forward to next week's opportunities to increase their standings. Those that did not, well, they're are also looking forward to next Saturday to try and close the gap.
The best three out of four events for the four-week competition will determine the two top contenders for the title of the 1999 St. Augustine Speedway Top Gun. Final determination of the Top Gun Champion will be decided on Nov. 19 when those two combatants take to the skies in WW II fighter trainers for an unprecedented aerial dogfight over the city of St. Augustine.
Editors Note: For hundreds of hot racing photos and racing art, be sure to visit The Racing ImageGalleries and the Visions of Speed Art Gallery.