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Woman is driven by battle with the big boysBy LOGAN NEILL
© St. Petersburg Times, Kathy Ray knew she was stepping into a tough arena when she signed up to drive Street Stocks this season at Citrus County Speedway. She was well aware of the division's reputation for hard-fought competition, and that she would be running against wily veterans who don't think much of powder puff derby racing. But then, the petite 36-year-old Inverness mother of two never has been intimidated by racing against the big boys. Strapping herself behind the wheel each week is as much an act of sheer determination as it is anything else. "When women race each other, it's one thing. But when they're racing against men, it's entirely different," said Ray, who pilots the Kidder Orthopedic/Serenity Day Spa-sponsored No. 63 car. "You're not just there to prove something to yourself, you're also having to prove something to the men you're racing against." What Ray has proven in her first full season in nearly three years is that her desire to win never has been stronger. Although she has yet to capture a feature win, her division ranking of seventh points to her optimism. "I've been so close," Ray said. "All the things haven't fallen into place yet, but I'd like to think they will before the season ends. It would be great to finish on a high note." Ray, who drove three seasons in Hobby Stocks during the late 1990s, arrived at the track in February with a car her husband, Robert, had built to run in an enduro event the month prior. Despite the machine's promising performance, it seemed to suffer from an array of glitches. "What was so frustrating was it was mainly little things that haunted us," Ray recalled. "The brakes froze up, the power steering went bad, then the transmission. Once we got one thing fixed, we had something else go out the next week." But on the nights when her car hasn't been assailed by gremlins, Ray has shown remarkable poise and skill. She's managed to work to the front in several features, and even led 18 laps of a race before being overtaken on the next to last lap. "I should have had that race, but I left the door open and I got pushed aside in the turn," Ray said. "But that's how racing is. You learn from your mistakes." As one of only a handful of women drivers at the speedway, Ray has become something of a hero to young girls and other women, many of whom drop by to visit her in the pits. "Getting into racing is tough for women because many lack the resources you need to build a car and work on it," Ray said. "I know a lot of 40- and 50-year-old women who are still waiting for a chance." Ray has assisted several other women drivers at the track. Most recently, she began working with novice Tara Roberts, who races in the entry level Thunder Stock class. Ray thinks the low-cost division will help attract more females to the sport. "It's inexpensive and fun racing and you don't have to be all that mechanically inclined to do it," she said. As for her plans, Ray seems content to stay where she is for the time being. Although her hobby is time-consuming, she would rather spend Saturday nights at the track than do anything else. "It's my social life," Ray said. "My husband, my kids and most of my friends are there every week." Citrus County SpeedwayWHAT: Short-track stock car racing in the Late Model, Sportsman, Street Stock, Hobby Stock, Mini Stock and Thunder Stock classes, as well as the Great American Bicycle races for kids. It also is Country Fox/Citrus 95 night, which will feature bag races between deejays from each station with two co-drivers selected from the grandstands. The program will end with a demolition derby. WHEN: Saturday. Gates open at 4 p.m. The first heat race is at 6:30. WHERE: 2 miles south of Inverness on U.S. 41. ADMISSION: Adult general, $10; seniors and students to age 17, $8; children under 10, $2; under-12 child with paid adult, free; pits, $20. INFORMATION: (352) 726-9339. Points standingsLATE MODEL: 1. Herb Neumann Jr. (647), 2. Dale Sanders (580), 3. Billy Bechtelheimer (571), 4. Danny Johnson (544), 5. John Chance (500). SPORTSMAN: 1. Mike Veltman (794), 2. Rex Struble (698), 3. Chris Hooker (671), 4. Mark Dominique (625), 5. Johnny Sanders (610). STREET STOCK: 1. Travis Nichols (731), 2. Ernie Reed Jr. (705), 3. (tie) Mike Bell, Dean Lawyer (676), 5. Victor Stanley (642). MINI STOCK: 1. Frank Coleman (661), 2. Mark Sowell (636), 3. John Coleman (584), 4. Don Faunce (561), 5. Rob Wheatley (558). HOBBY STOCK: 1. Richie Smith (811), 2. Roy Perkins (709), 3. J.D. Goff (685), 4. Brandon Johnson (660), 5. Art Brueningsen (627). FIGURE 8: 1. Bob Hage (328), 2. Robbie Hage (315), 3. Robert Aaron (305), 4. (tie) Charlie Meyer, Scott Knight (263). THUNDER STOCK: 1. Stuart Madison (694), 2. Allen Turner (572), 3. Rick Badessa (552), 4. John Donahue (548), 5. Gary Johnson (518).
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