Orlando Speedworld July 26th 2008

Orlando Speedworld, has it’s own special cloud. Just ask Rusty Marcus, OSW’s manager. Rain again visited Saturday, turning a fine afternoon into a guessing game. “Are we going to be washed out?”

Well the quarter landed on it’s edge. We were, but we weren’t.

The first heat, took the track, to find the “weepers” in turn 3 were really torrents. The heat was stopped, and all further racing, in any class, was on the Bandalero track, inside the 12 degree, 3/8s mile oval. Yes, folks, we ran the kiddie track. 25 laps worth.

Do not worry, it was not a junior grade race. 19 year old Jon Guy made sure of that. He marched through the field twice. The first time, he touched wheels with Billy Gise, who was driving Jason Stout’s Jaxport. Gise spun and both went to the back. The second time, Jon got by everyone cleanly….Well almost everyone. Jeff Ripley had other ideas. Jon was everywhere, except in first place. Restart after restart, corner after corner, Ripley kept Guy in back. Guy got so focused on jumping Ripley, Sonny O’Sullivan almost jumped Guy on one restart. O’Sullivan got side by side, and stayed there until Guy regained composure, and put the power down.

Meanwhile, Billy Gise took his loaner up to fifth, after his trip to the back. Also noteworthy was newcomer Levi Parsons. He is Jon Guy’s new stablemate. He took our rolling history lesson, A. Carter’s roundback Davis, up to 6th place. This car has a Suzuki RF900, circa 1992.

1) Jeff Ripley Raptor Mod/ZX12
2) Jon Guy Alcar panel truck/ZX-12
3) Sonny O’Sullivan Buxport Mod/GSXR 1000
4) Phil Krauthoff Leader Mod/1043 GSXR 1000
5) Billy Gise Jaxport coupe/GSXR 1000
6) Levi Parsons Alcar-Davis roundback/ Suzuki RF900R
7) Jason Kellogg Davis sedan/Blackbird
8) Ray Gonzales Jr. Pro coupe/GSXR 1000
9) Ray Gonzales Pro-Comp Mod/GSXR 1000 -dnf/ motor
10) Dave Kellogg Daytona sedan/GSXR 1000 -dnf
Phil Krauthoff

Auburndale Speedway June 28th, 2008

After the track took a little shower, the Auburndale Speedway show went on without a hitch. Sixteen drivers were ready to give the crowd a show they would remember. Two new drivers were welcomed to the Florida Open Wheel Lites as John Godwin returned to dwarfs and Terry Kuhn recently came to Florida to enjoy the weather and race full time. After about an hour delay to dry the track, the show went off without any more problems from Mother Nature.

First Heat saw the ever competitive front runner #1 of Billy Gise taking the checkers with an ever improving #7 of Ray Gonzales taking the second spot and Jeff Wolfe's #83 in third.

Second Heat was the #45 of John Bailey leading the way in front of #42 Jon Guy who drove into second place on the white flag lap in front of #33 Roger Richmond.

Feature started with #1 of Billy Gise and the #45 of John Bailey leading to the green. A caution on lap 20 of the 30 lap event saw the #1 Gise and the #45 Bailey in the infield while negotiating lap traffic on the front stretch. Both cars were out for the evening. With #42 of Jon Guy, #2 of Phil Krauthoff and the #14 of Jeff Ripley looking for the checkers, a final caution brought out a two lap shoot-out. #14 Ripley made his final move on the #42 of Guy on the white flag lap, but couldn't quite close the deal. #2 Krauthoff took the third position.

Feature Results:
1. #42 Jon Guy
2. #14 Jeff Ripley
3. #2 Phil Krauthoff
4. #33 Roger Richmond
5. #0 Sonny O'Sullivan
6. #83 Jeff Wolfe
7. #00 John Godwin
8. #88 Jason Kellogg
9. #85 Roger Wolfe
10. #7 Ray Gonzales
11. #28 Dave Kellogg
12. #32 Alvia Carter
13. #7Jr Ray Gonzales, Jr
14. #1 Billy Gise
15. #45 John Bailey
#10 Terry Kuhn DNS (Mechanical)

Citrus County Speedway June 7th, 2008

The Florida Open Wheel Lites raced at Citrus County Speedway Saturday June 7th. There was some good hard racing for the folks at Inverness to watch. Billy Gise drew the pole for the first heat, and never looked back.

While the view from the stands was entertaining, the days view in the pits was intriguing. Three drivers made their FOWL debuts. Ray Gonzales Jr showed up in his 7jr, the old 18 of Dennis Diehl (and Rick Brayton). Alvia Carter showed up with an early Davis roundback sedan and ALCAR panel truck for Jon Guy. For those of you scratching your heads, Carter is the builder of said Alcar. For anyone counting, that makes two Florida built Classics (aka Open Wheel Lites) that have made their debuts this season. The Alcar looks every bit as fast as the Wolfecar, and that is fast. VINO ROSSO. There was also some delicious talk of 2009. Call your friends.

The afternoon was hot and a bit dusty. The pit road is starting to return to its natural state, one hopes the track will oil it again. On a happier note, the track's 2008 repair of turns 3 and 4 is holding up much better than the 2007 repair did. Bill Gise won the first heat from the pole, go figure. The second heat was won from the 4 spot by Rick Lundeen. The eye opener was the "rookie" Jon Guy in Al Carter's Panel Truck. Jon started at the back and almost won!

FOWL was the third feature and we took the track with the sun still in the sky. Gise took off and was never headed, but that did not mean those following quit trying. Cars scratched for position throughout the 20 laps, with the top five or six on the same straight throughout. Lundeen worried "rookie" Guy for second. Krauthoff stuffed it under Richmond on lap 8 and Bailey got by Richmond and Krauthoff. Richmond then kept O'Sullivan at bay. Meanwhile, Dave and Jason Kellogg dealt with difficult handling cars. We miss Dan Nyhan in many ways, but a very practical consequence of his passing is his setup help for some of our cars.

1) Bill Gise #1 Pro- Comp Mod/ ZX-12
2) Jon Guy #42 Alcar Panel Truck/ ZX-12
3) Rick Lundeen #04 Daytona Sedan/ Hayabusa
4) Jeff Ripley #14 Raptor Mod/ ZX-12
5) John Bailey #45 Pro Sedan/ ZX-12
6) Phil Krauthoff #2 Leader Mod/ 1043 GSXR 1000
7) Roger Richmond #33 Jaxport Coupe/ ZX-12
8) Sonny O'Sullivan #0 Buxport Mod/ GSXR 1000
9) Dave Kellogg #28 Daytona Sedan/ GSXR 1000
10) Jason Kellogg #88 Davis Sedan/ Backbird
11) Ray Gonzales Jr. #7jr Pro Coupe/ GSXR 1000
12) Alvia Carter #32 Alcar-Davis/ Suzuki RF900R (circa '92!)
Dns Ray Gonzales #7 Pro-Comp Mod/ GSXR 1000
See you at Auburdale June 28th.

Phil Krauthoff

FOWL at Auburndale Speedway, 4-26-08

Gunfight at an OK Corral

Florida Open Wheel Lites returned to Auburndale Speedway last night. It has been three or four years since their last appearance. Auburndale is tight, a small paperclip, not much bigger than a corral. With fourteen cars on hand, action was guaranteed.

The first heat hinted at the fireworks to follow. Front row starter, Jeff Ripley, flew to the front and stayed there. John Bailey was in hot pursuit looking, but not finding, for a way to get around Ripley. No one else was close.

The second heat set the stage. Bill Gise, starting at the back, went THREE wide in turn two and was leading after the first lap. He stayed there. Roger Wolfe took second his new Wolfe built pickup.

So three gunslingers took the track, with Roger Wolfe co starring. At Auburndale, you fly down the straight and then, somehow, have to slow down enough to do a U-turn. It took three tries before someone up front did not tap, and loop, someone else. When the field did take off, Ripley clung the front with Bailey and Gise in hot pursuit. Bailey stuck to Ripley. Gise, did not like the prospect of third place, so he, incredibly, worked the outside. Eventually, Bailey and Gise touched hard enough to send both spinning across much of turn four. They collected themselves and took the restart from the back, a shame for them, but a treat for the folks in the stands. They got to watch Gise, Max Howe, and Bailey claw their way through most of the field.

From then on, Ripley had clear sailing. The question then being, who could coax their car around fast enough to keep Gise & Co. behind them at the checker. A happily surprised Phil Krauthoff, took second, and the ever smiling Roger Richmond took third.

1- Jeff Ripley Raptor Mod/ ZX-12
2- Phil Krauthoff Leader Mod/ 1043 GSXR 1000
3- Roger Richmond Jaxport Coupe/ ZX-12
4- Bill Gise Comp-Pro Mod/ ZX-12
5- Max Howe Pro clipped Davis pickup/ mondo 12
6- John Bailey Pro Sedan/ ZX-12
7- Roger Wolfe Wolfe Pickup/ '06 R1
8- Rick Lundeen Daytona Coupe/ 1250 Hayabusa
9- Jason Stout Jaxport Coupe/ GSXR 1000
10- Jeff Wolfe Wolfe-Pro Sedan/ GSXR 1000
11- Ray Gonzalez Comp-Pro Mod/ GSXR 1000
12- Jason Kellogg Davis Sedan/ GSXR 1000
13- Dave Kellogg Daytona Sedan/ GSXR 1000
14- Sonny O'Sullivan Buxport Mod/ ZX-10

Phil Krauthoff

APRIL 5th. Citrus County Speedway

Rainy night in Georgia

As a matter of a fact, it was a rainy night in Central Florida, too. Citrus County
Speedway got in only three features before they were washed out. Never fear,
the Open Wheel Lites were the third and final race run.

Bill Gise ran away with the first heat, and Phil Krauthoff took the second.

Big wind gusts buffeted the OWLs as they were lined up for the feature. Grandstand lights flickered, but never mind. As soon as everyone was on the track the weather was forgotten.

The green waved and Bill Gise made it look easy. John bailey slotted in behind with outside pole sitter Krauthoff happy to find a place behind Bailey. In fourth was Larry Hubbard Jr. Hubbard Jr. and his son have recently seriously upgraded their equipment, and it shows in how well they are running. Let me add, this means they have retired their early 90s home builts in favor of late 90s Pro sedans!!!

The pack snarled around the Citrus bull ring. Sonny O'Sullivan dropped back with some problems and folks moved up around him. Then Dave Kellogg spun on the third lap, and everyone lined up for the restart.

The pace car pulled off, the lights went out, we got to the firing line and the starter waved a flag. The pack jumped into life and flew for the start finish line, only to find the starter furiously waving a yellow…… Gise eased, Bailey eased, Krauthoff missed Bailey, but like an accordian in a Paris bar, the rest of the field stacked up. Cars were everywhere. There was rain and the officials sent everyone off the track. Once in the pits, the track called everyone back. Five cars were out.

Gise led the restart, then Bailey, Ripley, Lundeen, Jeff Wolfe, Jason Stout, Jason Kellogg, Dave Kellogg, and new comer, Ray Gonzales Jr. Jason Kellogg spun on lap eight and went to the back.

Jeff Ripley, kept after Bailey until he saw the oil light flicker. He pulled off on lap thirteen.

The rain started in earnest after seventeen laps and Gise was declared the winner, with Bailey keeping him in sight, but not challenging.

Citrus County Speedway- April 5, 2008

1 Bill Gise Comp-Pro Mod/ ZX-12

2 John Bailey Pro Sedan/ ZX-12
3 Rick Lundeen Daytona Sedan/ 1250 'Busa
4 Jeff Wolfe Wolfe-Pro Sedan/ GSXR 1000
5 Jason Stout Jaxport Coupe/ GSXR 1000
6 Dave Kellogg Daytona Sedan/ Gsxr 1000
7 Larry Hubbard III Pro Sedan/ GSXR 1000
8 Jason Kellogg Davis Sedan/ GSXR 1000
9 Ray Garcia Jr. Comp-Pro Mod/ GSXR 1000
10 Jeff Ripley Raptor Mod/ ZX-12
11 Phil Krauthoff Leader Mod/ 1043 GSXR 1000
12 Larry Hubbard Jr. Pro Sedan/ GSXR 1000
13 Roger Richmond Jaxport Coupe/ ZX-12
14 Roger Wolfe Wolfe Pickup/ GSXR 1000
15 Sonny O'Sullivan Buxport Mod/ ZX-10

Phil Krauthoff