INVERNESS — Citrus County Speedway’s Harley Wilson Sr. Memorial 85 brought 30 of the best Pure Stock drivers in the state to honor the former competitor Saturday night. In the end, it was a local driver, former Street Stock champion Travis Blotz, with the checkered flag.
“Harley was a special fella,” Blotz said from victory lane. “It’s kind of hard to explain. I don’t know what to say.”
Blotz, in just his second Pure Stock race, started ninth of 26 cars and broke into the top five within the first 10 laps.
By lap 27 he was fourth and pressing his way towards the two race leaders, Zach Briggs and Caleb Grossenbacher.
Briggs had led from the start with Cody Struble in tow for the first 24 laps before he lost the position to Grossenbacher. Blotz joined the hunt and made a quick pass on Briggs for second. Once clear, Blotz set his sights on the new race leader.
Despite constant pressure, Grossenbacher showed strength on the track and continued to lead the way through 17 laps when a race incident between Raymond Catterton and Jayden Mowery opened the door for Blotz to be in a position to take the lead.
With 47 laps complete and the field back to green-flag racing, Blotz rocketed to the lead and drove his way to an eventual 0.804 second advantage over Grossenbacher 38 laps later.
Jason Waller and Bobby Mobley battled in the closing laps with Mobley pushing Waller down the front stretch before taking the spot to finish third. Waller followed in fourth, Sport Wilson fifth, Cody Struble sixth, Kyle Courtney seventh, Preston Davis eighth, Karlin Ray ninth and Catterton 10th.
Bryson Calbert took the four-car Bandolero field wire-to-wire to win the event over Trey White, Chase France and Jacob Hunter. The four ranged in age from six to 10 years old.
Keith Zavrel was the overall winner of the Nature Coast Towing Ford Outlaw Twin 20’s after posting a first and second place finish in the two 20-lap events. Rounding out the top five were Wyatt Lowery, Eric Sharrone, Shawn Senokossoff and Gary Holliman Jr., respectively.
In the first 20-lap event, Roger Sargent took the early lead but lost it after a four lap side-by-side battle with Shawn Senokossoff. Eric Sharrone joined the hunt for the lead and made his effort a three-wide attempt before caution fell due to excessive fluid on the track.
On the restart, Sharrone powered to the point and led the next 22 laps to the checkered flag. Zavrel followed Sharrone’s lead and finished second, Wyatt Lowery was third.
Zavrel rebounded from his runner-up finish to the win in the second 20-lap event. Lowery made a strong attempt to chase the leader down but fell short at the line for second. Early race leader Senokossoff finished third.
Steve Poulton came off the front row to win the Mini Stock 25. Poulton had pulled to a comfortable lead over Jason Simons who struggled to hold off a hard charge by Steven Wyatt.
In the end, Wyatt was able to clear Simons on the inside and reel in the race leader only to fall short at the line by 0.303 seconds. Simons followed for third. Rylan Mowery finished fourth, Justin Pittman fifth.
Stock car racing will take a back seat to the 23rd Annual Tractor and Truck Pull at the Citrus County Fairgrounds this Saturday and the 2023 Legend Cars Winter Nationals the following week.
When they return on Saturday, Feb. 18, the Sunoco Race Fuel Open Wheel Modifieds will heat up the night with a 50-lap event along with the 25-lap Nature Coast Towing Ford Outlaws, the 25-lap Pure Stocks, the 25-lap Outlaw Street Stocks and the Nature Coast Towing Ford Figure 8.
Citrus County Speedway
Official results
Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023
BANDOLERO 15
1. 11 Bryson Calbert. 2. 38w Trey White III. 3. 38 Chase France. 4. 1 Jacob Huber. DIVISION STATS: 4 of 4 cars. 15 of 15 laps. Lead Changes: none. Lap Leaders: 11 Bryson Calbert (1-15). Margin of Victory: 0.727. Best Lap by 38w Trey White, 16.728 sec. 53.629 mph, Lap No. 11 ". DISQUALIFICATIONS: none. HEAT: 1. 11. Bryson Calbert. 2. 1. Jacob Huber. 3. 38. Chase France. DIVISION STATS: 3 of 3 cars. 5 of 5 laps. Lead Changes: none. Lap Leaders: 11 Bryson Calbert (1-5). Margin of Victory: 7.977 sec. Best Lap by 11 Bryson Calbert, 17.403 sec. 51.715 mpg, Lap No. 5. DISQUALIFICATIONS: none.
NATURE COAST TOWING FORD OUTLAW TWIN 20 OVERALL FINISH
1. 15 Keith Zavrel. 2. 66 Wyatt Lowry. 3. 95 Eric Sharron. 4. 8 Shawn Senokossoff. 5. 80 Gary Holliman Jr. 6. 1 Clint Hicks. 7. 59 Nicholas Jenney.8. x3 Scott Hendrickson. 9. 98 Jaymz (Kenneth) Mullins. 10. 33 Chris Allen. 11. 22 Sean Osteen. 12. 34 Zachary Perry. 13. 69 Austin Johnson. 14. 32 Mike Autenrieth. 15. 762 Guy Rautenkranz. 16. 112 Clayton Coe 17. 17 Zachary Lake. 18. 21 Thomas Peet. 19. 70 Roger Sargent. 20. 7up Corey Zavrel. 21. 77 Ty Ottinger. 22. 0 Rocky Samson. 23. A10 Kenny Watts. 24. 2 Chip Kelley. 25. 44. Chuck Kanehl. 26. 13 Corey Butler. 27. 55x Rick Kelley. 28. 00b Kent Brooks.
RACE NO. 1
1. 95 Eric Sharrone. 2. 15 Keith Zavrel. 3. 66 Wyatt Lowry. 4. 8 Shawn Senokossoff. 5. 59 Nicholas Jenney. 6. 70 Roger Sargent. 7. 80 Gary Holliman Jr. 8. 33 Chris Allen. 9. 34 Zachary Perry. 10. 1 Clint Hicks. 11. 98 Jaymz (Kenneth) Mullins. 12. x3 Scott Hendrickson. 13. 32 Mike Autenrieth. 14. 7up Corey Zavrel. 15. 17 Zachary Lake. 16. 69 Austin Johnson. 17. 762 Guy Rautenkranz. 18. 22 Sean Osteen. 19. 0 Rocky Samson. 20. 112 Clayton Coe. 21. A10 Kenny Watts. 22. 44 Chuck Kanehl. 23. 2 Chip Kelley. 24. 77 Ty Ottinger. 25. 21 Thomas Peet. 26. 55x Rick Kelley. 27. 00b Kent Brooks. 28. 13 Corey Butler. DIVISION STATS: 28 of 28 cars. 20 of 20 laps. Lead Changes: 2. Lap Leaders: 70 Roger Sargent (1-2). 8 Shawn Senokossoff (3-8). 95 Eric Sharrone (9-20). Margin of Victory: 1.151 sec. Best Lap by 95 Eric Sharron, 17.068 sec., 52.73 mph., Lap No. 18. DISQUALIFICATIONS: none. 20
RACE NO. 2
1. 15 Keith Zavrel. 2. 66 Wyatt Lowry. 3. 8 Shawn Senokossoff. 4. 1 Clint Hicks. 5. 95 Eric Sharrone. 6. 80 Gary Holliman Jr. 7. x3 Scott Hendrickson. 8. 21 Thomas Peet. 9. 22 Sean Osteen. 10. 59 Nicholas Jenney. 11. 98 Jaymz (Kenneth) Mullins. 12. 112 Clayton Coe. 13. 69 Austin Johnson. 14. 762 Guy Rautenkranz. 15. 77 Ty Ottinger. 16. 32 Mike Autenrieth. 17. 17 Zachary Lake. 18. 33 Chris Allen. 19. 34 Zachary Perry. 20. A10 Kenny Watts. 21. 0 Rocky Samson. 22. 7up Corey Zavrel. 23. 13 Corey Butler. 24. 2 Chip Kelley. 25. 44 Chuck Kanehl. 26. 55x Rick Kelley. 27. 00b Kent Brooks. 28. 70 Roger Sargent. DIVISION STATS: 27 of 28 cars. 20 of 20 laps. Lead Changes: 1. Lap Leaders: 8 Shawn Senokossoff (1-3). 15 Keith Zavrel (4-20). Margin of Victory: 0.8 sec. Best Lap by 1 Clint Hicks, 17.333 sec., 51.924 mph., Lap No. 19. DISQUALIFICATIONS: none.
HEAT 1
1. 22 Sean Osteen. 2. 44 Chuck Kanehl. 3. 7up Corey Zavrel. 4. 66 Wyatt Lowry. 5. 0 Rocky Samson. 6. 32 Mike Autenrieth. 7. 13 Corey Butler. 8. 69 Austin Johnson. 9. 17 Zachary Lake. 10. 55x Rick Kelley. DIVISION STATS: 10 of 10 cars. 8 of 8 laps. Lead Changes: none. Lap Leaders: 22 Sean Osteen (1-8). Margin of Victory: 6.41 sec. Best Lap by 22 Sean Osteen,17.064 sec., 52.743 mph, Lap No. 5. DISQUALIFICATIONS: none.
HEAT 2
1. 15 Keith Zavrel. 2. 21 Thomas Peet. 3. 95 Eric Sharrone. 4. 8 Shawn Senokossoff. 5. 33 Chris Allen. 6. 762 Guy Rautenkranz. 7. 80 Gary Holliman Jr. 8. 34 Zachary Perry. 9. x3 Scott Hendrickson. DIVISION STATS: 9 of 9 cars. 8 of 8 laps. Lead Changes: none. Lap Leaders: 15 Keith Zavrel (1-8). Margin of Victory: 0.353 sec. Best Lap by 95 Eric Sharrone,17.083 sec., 52.684 mph. DISQUALIFICATIONS: none.
HEAT 3
1. A10. Kenny Watts. 2. 112 Clayton Coe. 3. 59 Nicholas Jenney. 4. 70 Roger Sargent. 5. 98 Jaymz (Kenneth) Mullins. 6. 77 Ty Ottinger. 7. 1 Clint Hicks. 8. 2 Chip Kelley. 9. 00b Kent Brooks. DIVISION STATS: 9 of 9 cars. 8 of 8 laps. Lead Changes: none. Lap Leaders: A10 Kenny Watts (1-8). Margin of Victory: 1.484 sec. Best Lap by 77 Ty Ottinger, 17.637 sec., 51.029 mph, Lap No. 8. DISQUALIFICATIONS: none.
MINI STOCK 25
1. 37 Steven Paulton Sr. 2. 85s Steven Wyatt. 3. 88 Jason Simons. 4. 55 Rylan Mowery. 5. 13 Justin Pittman. 6. 85r Ricky Shahid. 7. 36 Caleb Boardman. 8. 48 Ryan Wilson. 9. 9mm Ken Larsh. 10. 15 Roy Healey. 11. 85d Dakota Cushing. 12. 30 Greg Johnson. 13. 85a Amber Peters Longobardo-Wyatt. 14. 69 Danny Fox. DIVISION STATS: 13 of 14 cars. 25 of 25 laps. Lead Changes: none. Lap Leaders: 37 Steven Paulton Sr. (1-25). Margin of Victory: 0.303 sec. Best Lap by 85s Steven Wyatt, 16.911 sec., 53.22 mph, Lap No. 7. DISQUALIFICATIONS: none. HEAT: 1. 85s Steven Wyatt. 2. 55 Rylan Mowery. 3. 85r Ricky Shahid. 4. 37 Steven Paulton Sr. 5. 36 Caleb Boardman. 6. 48 Ryan Wilson. 7. 85d Dakota Cushing. DIVISION STATS: 7 of 7 cars. 8 laps. Lead Changes: 1. Lap Leaders: 85r Ricky Shahid (1). 85s Steven Wyatt (2-8). Margin of Victory: 1.401 sec. Best Lap by 55 Rylan Mowery, 16.775 sec, 53.651 mph, Lap No. 7. DISQUALIFICATIONS: none. HEAT2:1. 13 Justin Pittman. 2. 88 Jason Simons. 3. 9mm Ken Larsh. 4. 15 Roy Healey. 5. 69 Danny Fox. 6. 30 Greg Johnson. 7. 85a Amber Peters Longobardo-Wyatt. DIVISION STATS: 7 of 7 cars. 8 laps. Lead Changes: none. Lap Leaders: 13 Justin Pittman (1-8). Margin of Victory: 3.582 sec. Best Lap by 13 Justin Pittman, 16.949 sec., 53.1 mph, Lap No. 5. DISQUALIFICATIONS: none.
PURE STOCK 85
1. 7b Travis Blotz. 2. 38 Caleb Grossenbacker. 3. 29 Bobby Mobley. 4. 3 Jason Waller. 5. 94 Sport Wilson. 6. 19 Cody Struble. 7. 44 Kyle Courtney. 8. 89p Preston Davis. 9. 51 Karlin Ray. 10. 12 Rymond Catterton. 11. 38Z Zach Briggs. 12. 55 Hayden Mowery. 13. 4 David Kingsbury. 14. 15 Rebecca Catarelli. 15. 89 William Hindman. 16. 21 Sammy Coghill. 17. 66 Dennis Cantara. 18. 98 Bubba Martone. 19. 10 Gregory Dick. 20. 34 Dakota Weiss. 21. 00 Billy Smith. 22. 30 James Peters. 23. 02 Dodge Carlbert. 24. 6 Tim Walters. 25. 73 Keith Zavrel. 26. 69a Jonathan Appleby. DIVISION STATS: 26 of 25 cars. 85 of 85 laps. Lead Changes: 2. Lap Leaders: 38Z Zach Briggs (1-31). 38 Caleb Grossenbacher (32-49). 7 Travis Blotz (50-85). Margin of Victory: 0.804 sec. Best Lap by 7b Travis Blotz, 15.767 sec., 57.081 mph. Hard Charger: 12 Raymond Catterton. DISQUALIFICATIONS: none.
PURE STOCK LAST CHANCE
1. 15 Rebecca Catarelli. 2. 10 Gregory Dick. 3. 73 Keith Zavrel. 4. 12 Raymond Catterton. 5. 00 Billy Smith. 6. 25 Roy Healey. 7. 29h Neil Herne. 8. 59 Nicholas Jenny. 9. 27 John Zuidema III. DIVISION STATS: 9 of 9 cars. 20 of 20 laps. Lead Changes: none. Lap Leaders: 15 Rebecca Catarelli (1-20). Margin of Victory: 0.610. Best Lap by 15 Rebecca Catarelli, 15.792 sec., 56.991 mph. DISQUALIFICATIONS: none.
PURE STOCK LAST CHANCE
1-5 transferred to feature. 6. 25 Roy Healey. 7. 29h Neil Herne. 8. 59 Nicholas Jenny. 9. 27 John Zuidema III. DIVISION STATS: no race. HEAT 1: 1. 69a Jonathan Appleby. 2. 89 William Hindman. 3. 66 Dennis Cantara. 4. 98 Bubba Martone. 5. 38Z Zach Briggs. 6. 02 Dodge Carlbert. 7. 15. Rebecca Catarelli. 8. 89p. Preston Davis. 9. 12 Raymond Catterton. 10. 25 Roy Healey. 11. 59 Nicholas Jenny.
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