The race is on for Sunshine's season titles

By BOB BOYLE

© St. Petersburg Times, published September 19, 2000

I'm as much an environmentalist as the next cigarette-smoking, beer-guzzling couch potato.

But I'm beginning to think Mother Nature is a real witch with a spell against local short-track auto racing.

This past weekend she puffed up Hurricane Gordon.

It was a weakling but had enough clout to stamp out any chance of running one of Sunshine Speedway's best races of the year -- the 100-lap Bud Light Late Model Championship.

Promoters Bonnie and Frank Hill rescheduled the event for Saturday after checking to make sure there were no other big Late Model races elsewhere in the state.

The week after is another big race -- the SARA 100-lap Late Model Series.

Meanwhile, Sunshine Speedway season championships in several classes remain up for grabs.

Starting at the top, Sammy Coghill of Largo is leading the points standings in Late Models for the fourth year in a row.

Coghill has captured the honor of champion the past three seasons, and he may do it again if he shows up and doesn't slip up.

A few months ago, he had a gigantic lead until he decided to take a night off and try DeSoto Speedway in Manatee for one of its big events.

That race didn't work out, and Coghill nearly lost his points lead at Sunshine to Brian Leverock of Seminole.

Since returning to the speedway, Coghill has built his lead again by winning a few and finishing high, but his advantage over Leverock is only 26 points.

That lead could evaporate if Leverock finished 13 positions ahead of Coghill in one race. A wreck or breakdown by Coghill could cost him the title.

But Leverock, who never has earned the nickname Lucky, can't feel that comfortable.

Just 25 points behind him is Den Neighbor Jr. of Clearwater. Neighbor would be challenging Coghill if his luck wasn't worse than Leverock's. Plus, St. Petersburg's Andy Werden is looking over Neighbor's shoulder seven points back.

The closest points battle for any class is Figure 8s, in which little is certain.

Art "The Master" Calkins of St. Petersburg, who has won more championships than there are cars on blocks in Mississippi, took the lead two weeks ago from Ron "Hollywood" Davis of Pinellas Park.

Davis had been the point leader for most of year, but a few bad breaks during the past month cost him dearly.

Still, he trails only Calkins by a mere eight points, which is just four positions in one race.

Right behind Davis by only another eight points are two other hard chargers from Pinellas Park -- Shane Grigsby and Joey Catarelli.

Likewise, Wayne Calkins of St. Petersburg is 18 points behind them. Bobby Moctezuma of Largo trails them by 18.

The normal strategy for points leaders is to make sure you don't take any chances and stay on the back bumper of the guy just behind you in the standings.

Considering how close the top runners are in the class, Art Calkins, Davis, Grigsby, Catarelli, Wayne Calkins and Moctezuma will have to push to win.

Figure 8s arguably are the most exciting class to watch, and the points situation will make it even more so. There will be no slowing down.

In Street Stocks, John Makula of New Port Richey and Robert Crisp of Pinellas Park offer an interesting contrast in racing personalities, styles and strategies.

The only thing they have in common is that they're fast.

Makula, who has won the championship in the past, tends to be more conservative.

His goal week after week is to finish in the top five and take the car home in one piece. He doesn't lose his cool and sticks with his game plan.

On the other hand, Crisp is like a volcano with a thin crust.

Like Makula, Crisp has talent and speed and knows what he has to do to win. But he constantly is fighting to keep the wild man inside.

Crisp knows that, and he fights it. But sometimes, even if he's leading the race and someone does him dirty, the volcano erupts, the wild man escapes and revenge becomes more important than everything he's worked for and dreamed about.

The same intensity that threatens Crisp is what drives him to go faster and win more features than anyone in the class this season.

Crisp trails Makula by 21 points, but don't look for Crisp to adopt a new personality.

He can't. Crisp won't quit charging until the season's last checkered flag waves.

It's the only way he can catch Makula at this point. However, that could mean Crisp will drop to fourth or worse.

Jason Graham and Ed Kidd, both of Pinellas Park, are 19 and 21 points behind him, respectively.

In Open Wheel Modifieds, St. Petersburg's Roger Stull has a comfortable 55-point lead over Allyn Summers of Odessa.

However, Stull's lead has been fading and he will need consistently high finishes to claim the crown.

Chris Robbins of Indian Rocks Beach, Chet Senokossoff of Clearwater and Ron Campbell of St. Petersburg are only nine, 18 and 20 points behind Summers, respectively.

In Mini Stocks, Jay Zolciak of Pinellas Park easily could take a two-week vacation and have a healthy points lead over his closest competitor -- Marty Neikens of St. Petersburg. He trails by 104 points.

Actually, that wouldn't be a good idea.

Three years ago, Zolciak owned a similar advantage with a month to go, sold his car, picked up another but slower one, and lost the championship to Macky Mongold of Largo by two points on the final night.

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