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Division champs include three first-timersBy LOGAN NEILL © St. Petersburg Times, published November 16, 2000 Thirty-six weeks sure makes for a long haul for a racer looking to capture a division championship at Citrus County Speedway. The commitment of time, effort and, of course, money to keep a racing program on track all season is a considerable tax on a team. Six drivers claimed division crowns when the speedway's 45th season came to a close Saturday night. Of the six, three had never won a championship previously, making it appear the speedway's future is in its rising young blood. Here is a recap of each division: LATE MODEL: Though Mike Bresnahan began the season as the odds-on favorite to win his first title, he admitted often that it was never his goal. Nonetheless, his brilliant driving and intense preparation gave the 22-year-old an edge few of his competitors could match week after week. Defending champion Danny Johnson had his share of bad luck early in the season but made a valiant comeback in the latter weeks to take second in the division. Along the way, fans also saw strong performances from four-time winner Herb Neumann Jr., who finished third ahead of Al Lawrence and Brad Atkins. SPORTSMAN: This division got steadily more competitive as time went along, producing fine performances by newcomers such as Jim Smith, Travis Nichols and Alan Struble. But in the end, it was defending champion Mike Veltman who showed the way. Veltman's nine feature wins put him in a three-way tie for most victories this season. Runner-up Johnny Gann gave Veltman a good chase for a while but was unable to match the champion's consistency. Rex Struble finished just three points shy of passing Gann in the points on the final night, finishing well ahead of Smith and David Dollar, who rounded out the top five. MINI STOCK: A dominating season-long performance that produced five victories and nearly two dozen top-five finishes helped George Neumann snare his third division title in six years. Runner-up Mark Sowell came out of a midseason slump to tally eight wins before the season was up. Veteran Frank Coleman, who had car problems the first few weeks, also bounced back, finishing just 28 points behind Sowell. Kevin Harrod and John Coleman finished fourth and fifth, respectively. STREET STOCK: Early weeks saw someone from the Wilson family (Harley Sr, Wes and Sport) making visits to victory circle on a regular basis. However, it was Wes who possessed the magic to claim his first division crown, which he did by a slim 23-point margin over Ernie Reed Jr. To Reed's credit, he made more out of having less. He had just one feature win to Wes Wilson's seven. Sport Wilson also had his share of joy and misery, collecting six feature wins, but also had eight DNFs. He finished fourth in the division behind his father, Harley Sr. Veteran Otis Hamilton took fifth. HOBBY STOCK: This hard-fought division saw its share of controversy, culminating in a final night crash that ended J.D. Goff's hopes for a first division championship in the first lap. Sophomore driver Chris Hooker set the course early in the season, winning week after week and becoming the rabbit that Goff and rookie Richie Smith chased during the final weeks. With his first championship in hand, Hooker has set his sights toward Sportsman next season. Goff, the runner-up, will make another try at the Hobby Stock title next season, as will Smith, who finished third in points ahead of Roy Perkins and Kreg Belcastro. FIGURE 8: This division was won months ago by defending champion Robert Aaron, who now has four Figure 8 titles. No one even came close, save for Gary Swing, who at one point trailed Aaron by less than 25 points. However, three drivers from Pinellas County did make a late-season charge, with Charlie Meyer and Robbie Hage tying with 400 points. Meyer was second by virtue of having one more feature win than Hage. Ken Crews took fourth, and Swing held on to finish fifth.
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