Florida speed Park June 10 Preview and Point Standings

June 9th, St. Augustine, FL â€" With the summer heat bearing down upon residents of Florida’s First Coast, the heat between division rivals is adding to the temperature at Florida Speed Park.

Things could not be closer in the Late Model division, as the top three are separated by less than three hundredths of a point. Donnie Oden continues to pace the field, but strong performances by Jeremy Fitch and Larry Osteen over the past several races have closed the gap significantly. Jody Turner and Dave Hussey round out the top five in points, still within easy striking distance of the lead.

Ron Thomas, on the heels of a strong charger effort and second place finish, overtook Wade Lynn for the Thunder Truck points lead last weekend. Les Burl maintained his solid third place standing, while Ricky Cooper and Alan Moore have taken positions four and five.

Troy Kruse continues to keep pace with leader Jay Farris in the Tattoo Dee’s Old Rooster Mini Stocks. Mickey Leth, following three consecutive victories and accumulating significant charger points, has moved into third place ahead of Peedie Allison and Kevin Burkett. Burkett, last year’s division champion, suffered a broken collarbone Saturday night while working on his vehicle and is expected to miss several weeks of racing. Leth carries a $100 bounty into this weekend’s event.

The Alpha Communications Hobby Stock points race is going decidedly in Brad Pilinko’s favor. Pilinko, who has looked impressive in earning six victories in nine starts, holds nearly a 20 point lead over Chris Manucy. Jody Stratton, Rodney Norman and Randy Wilkes complete the top five.

Pilinko’s run in the Hobby Stocks has been cause for grumbling amongst division competitors. Pilinko’s motor was protested last week following his victory and ultimately found legal. One item was found borderline, though was passed through by the protesting team.

“Anytime there’s a protest, you can bet on someone ending the night unhappy,” says speedway manager Louis Smith. “Pilinko’s streak, and the convincing way he has won races, is going to cause concern. What it has boiled down to, though, is this is a new car that has never been wrecked, is set up and built well, and is driven by someone who knows how to get around this speedway quickly. He is out here every single Thursday night for practice sessions, and that usually translates into success.”

Robert Deal continues his hunt for the American Racing Association National Championship, competing out of the Rick’s Muffler Modified division. Deal, who holds a commanding 25 point lead over Chuck Cumby heading into Saturday night’s feature, is within four points of the lead in the ARA championship. The ARA includes all local divisions at seven speedways throughout the southeastern United States, all whom are eligible to compete for the title. Jimmy Britts, Marc Kinley and David Linquist occupy the remaining top five positions in the division.

The Sportsman division are idle this week.

The Daytona Antique Racing Association is back this weekend for another round of stock car and sprint features.

Gates open at 5:00 pm, with racing beginning at 6:45 pm. Features will begin at approximately 8:00 pm. General Admission is $10, $8 for Students and Seniors, and only $2 for children ages 7-12. Under 7 is admitted free. A $25 Family Pack allows two adults and all chidren ages 18 and under in one ticket.

<pre> FSP Division Point Standings

LATE MODELS (Points) 1 - Donnie Oden (36.369) 2 - Jeremy Fitch (36.315) 3 - Larry Osteen (36.079) 4 - Jody Turner (24.718) 5 - Dave Hussey (21.014) 6 - Tim Laurent (18.897) 7 - Harold Rankin, Jr. (16.730) 8 - Tommy Denton (14.119) 9 - Jared Allison (11.776) 10- Dustin Chambers (11.775) 11 - Lee McCullough (10.540) 12 - Scott Lagasse, Jr. (10.278) 13 - Rick Rogero (10.092) 14 - Chip Shell (5.072) 15 - Matt Weaver (4.630) 16 - Scott Stevens (4.510) 17 - Bo Allen (3.902) 18 - Hal Bodway (3.273) 19 - Chuck Hiers (2.536) 20 - Joey Haslauer (2.000) 21 - Paul Peterson (1.852) 22 - Chris Fontaine (1.268) 23 - Leo McCullough (1.130)

MINI STOCKS (Points) 1 - Jay Farris (43.639) 2 - Troy Kruse (33.736) 3 - Mickey Leth (23.933) 4 - Peedie Allison (23.891) 5 - Kevin Burkett (23.218) 6 - Jake Hartley (20.408) 7 - Mike Ponce (18.655) 8 - Curt Messina (16.557) 9 - Tim Riviere (16.102) 10 - Vern Rozier (12.842) 11 - Jody Miller (12.732) 12 - Matt Hartley (11.582) 13 - Jason Miller (10.253) 14 - Frank Andrews (9.262) 15 - Mark Smith (8.421) 16 - Jared Cooper (6.083) 17 - John Hopke (5.594) 18 - Steve Thompson (5.250) 19 - Melony Bold (4.056) 20 - Perry Shuemaker (3.675) 21 - Mike Gibbs (3.371) 22 - John Thigpen (3.000) 23 - Josh Leth (2.889) 24 - Allan James (2.840) 25 - AJ Weathers (2.323) 26 - Geoff Williams (1.490) 27 - Jimmy Peele (0.963)

SPORTSMAN (Points) 1 - Todd Ponce (59.302) 2 - Jason Garver (31.694) 3 - Joey Haslauer (22.360) 4 - Bo Allen (19.255) 5 - Shaw Hallman (17.146) 6 - Scott Hezel (12.914) 7 - Kenny Hall (11.674) 8 - Ronnie Tillman (8.554) 9 - Jeff McClary (7.837) 10 - Davey Cline (7.144) 11 - Jimmie Bunn (7.111) 12 - Joey Parks (6.888) 13 - Tommy Rupp (4.222) 14 - Charles Seroki (3.333) 15 - Nick Pilinko (2.000) 15 - Mike Barr (2.000) 17 - Leo McCullough (1.894)

HOBBY STOCKS (Points) 1 - Brad Pilinko (68.362) 2 - Chris Manucy (49.908) 3 - Jody Stratton (40.493) 4 - Rodney Norman (31.949) 5 - Randy Wilkes (30.803) 6 - L.H. Davis (30.670) 7 - Bucky York (25.194) 8 - Shae Clay (21.791) 9 - Bart Heck (20.346) 10 - Brad Paulsen (14.384) 11 - Jon Torba (13.572) 12 - Glenn Nedrow (13.202) 13 - Brenda Little (10.958) 14 - Scooter Hicks (10.021) 15 - Grady Lundquist (7.244) 16 - Randy Moody (6.354) 17 - Bobby Thornton (5.868) 18 - Jim Reynolds (5.820) 19 - Terry Pilinko (5.068) 20 - Car # 72 (4.576) 21 - Danny Thomas (3.989) 22 - Randy Strehle (3.801) 23 - Jeff Dudley (2.931) 24 - Walter Hurlbert (1.901) 25 - Randy Rosenfeld (1.267) 26 - Charles Danko (0.875) 27 - Kyle Livingwood (0.438)

MODIFIEDS (Points) 1 - Robert Deal (75.436) 2 - Chuck Cumby (50.815) 3 - Jimmy Britts (50.121) 4 - Marc Kinley (38.824) 5 - David Linquist (34.151) 6 - Jason Lowe (28.226) 7 - George Thrift (19.386) 8 - John Galbraith (16.872) 9 - Russ Miscally (16.153) 10 - Josh Byrd (15.044) 11 - Justin Moore (13.856) 12 - Gary Fultz (13.831) 13 - Mark Wortman (10.982) 14 - Mark Bergman (9.469) 15 - Geroge Michaels (9.455) 16 - Jared Allison (9.018) 17 - Jon Campagnone (8.400) 18 - Mike Batten (8.235) 19 - Kevin Nolan (8.113) 20 - Bobby Sheffield (8.080) 21 - Chester Mayes (6.355) 22 - Wesley Moore (6.341) 23 - Jeff Girard (6.000) 24 - David Browning (3.760) 25 - Craig Watson (3.255) 26 - DJ Braddock (2.062) 27 - Larry Osteen (1.863) 28 - Jeremy Fitch (1.280) 29 - Lewis Lindsey (1.031) 30 - Robby Barris (1.000)

THUNDER TRUCKS (Points) 1 - Ron Thomas (48.931) 2 - Wade Lynn (46.867) 3 - Les Burl (37.834) 4 - Ricky Cooper (25.498) 5 - Alan Moore (14.718) 6 - Jody Turner (14.363) 7 - Mike Ponce (9.874) 8 - Brent Hobbs (9.744) 9 - Mike Lowe (6.434) 10 - Mike McGauley (5.192) 11 - Robert Gorman, Jr. (5.100) 12 - Scott Lagasse, Jr. (5.000) 13 - Mark Lento (4.434) 14 - Johnny Cooper (3.999) 15 - Toby Sims (2.000)