David Markham wins your Florida Outlaw Series feature at North Florida Speedway
By
ROB LEE
LAKE
CITY, Fla. (June 25) – The strategy changed.
David
Markham steered the nose of his car a little lower in the racing groove the
last few laps Saturday evening at North Florida Speedway.
That
mentality helped win his first ever Florida Outlaw EMod Series 15-lap feature.
Markham
used speed through turns one and two to try and outrun top challengers Nick
Kirkus, Chase Collins and Jason Garver.
“I
messed up a couple times, but I really didn’t want to lose that race,” Markham
said. “I was going to do whatever it took the last couple laps to hold them
off.”
So
he guided his Shade Timber/NRE Shaw a touch lower to put the burden on his
chasers the last handful of circuits. Next, the Live Oak pilot was in Victory
Lane.
“I
didn’t want to open the bottom up because I knew the bottom was way faster,”
Markham added. “I just tried to kick up that dust where they couldn’t get
around me.”
Collins
was actually the closest until a late race cross up allowed Kirkus by. Kenny
Wells rounded out the top five.
The first of the Summer Twin features for the EMods was drawn out by multiple cautions, including five alone on Lap 7. One race stoppage was a red flag after Kirkus and Allen Tatum connected on the front stretch. Tatum climbed the wall right in front of the fans, the catch fence and wall did their jobs and his car returned to the racing surface on its side.
The
Jacksonville teen climbed from his mount without injury.
Those
yellow and red periods were anxious times for Markham.
“The
car was sputtering on the restarts, it would skip a little bit. I was thinking
‘come on, man, let’s go.’”
The
rest of the top five all climbed back to the top after at least one restart at
the rear.
Collins
came back and won the second 15-lap feature after passing Kirkus in the closing
laps. Brandon Wells, driving his dad Kenny’s car in the second Twin, was next.
Markham and Dylan Crews followed. The second feature did not pay series points.
Collins
replaced a transmission after hot laps. Kirkus had runner up finishes in both
features.
FOES
point leader Dale Graham had issues with his ride and piloted Eric
Baker’s
car to a 12th place finish in the first Twin, so there could be a points
shakeup again with Garver’s good finish.
Rich
Pratt and his team made a wise choice to high tail it to NFS. He came away with
the Open Wheel Modified 15-lap win.
Pratt
was a late arrival and missed hot laps. He credited his crew for tire and setup
choice for the feature and the Anthony, Fla. veteran did the rest.
The
drivers behind him put on a three-wide show for the runner up spot with Shawn
Taylor surviving ahead of heat winners Jason Garver and Jim Passino. Wesley
Duboise completed the top five.
For
a while it looked as if visitor Raymond Vann or Melvin Fockler would be added
to the growing list of different Thunder Stock winners in 2016.
But
defending track champion and June 11 winner Karlin Ray stormed through the
field after starting 19th and parked in Victory La
Fockler,
Vann, Timmy Roach and Bryar Zimmerman were next out of the 21 cars that started
the 15-lap finale.
Seth
Caudill, Jr. did it again in the Box Stocks. The point leader went back to
front for another 12-lap feature win. Caudill started shotgun on the field
after losing a wheel in the heat.
Shanelle
Creech outdrove heat winner Vince Maffo for the runner up spot.
The
first half of the summer break is upon NFS.
Racing
returns in a big way July 29-30 with the annual Summer Slam.
Friday
features free admission to the stands. Those in attendance Friday can purchase
Saturday tickets at a $2 discount.
Saturday
the young fans will benefit with the annual Back Pack Night.
Plenty
of racing fills both nights. Friday will be a full show for EMods, Hobby Stocks
and Box Stocks. Thunder Stocks and Dirts4Racing 3/4 Modifieds showcase heats
and dash for cash.
Saturday
will be B-Mains, if needed, for Thunder Stocks and 3/4 Modifieds and features
for both classes plus full shows for Late Models, Open Wheel Modifieds, EMods
and Box Stocks.
Gates
open at 5pm with racing at 7:30 p.m. both evenings.
After
Summer Slam the track will close for the second half of summer break with the
next scheduled event Sept. 10.
For
updates as Summer Slam draws closer and more information log on to
northfloridaspeedway.com, the track’s Facebook page or call 386-754-8800.
Following
are feature race results from racing Saturday June 25 at North Florida
Speedway, Lake City, Fla.
Florida
Outlaw EMod Series
Summer
Twin Feature 1 (15 laps) – 1. 50 David Markham 2. 20K Nick Kirkus 3. 2X4 Chase
Collins 4. 27 Jason Garver 5. 4 Kenny Wells 6. 5 Dylan Crews 7. 82 Shane Taylor
8. Marvin Hassell 9. 12 Joey Parks 10. 39 Brandon Wells 11. 12T Allen Tatum 12.
98 Dale Graham 13. 1 Dallas Stephens 14. 18R Dalton Rathel (Did Not Start – 98
Eric Baker)
Summer
Twin Feature 2 (15 laps) – 1. Collins 2. Kirkus 3. 4 Brandon Wells 4. Markham
5. Crews 6. Parks 7. Hassell 8. Rathel 9. Taylor 10. Stephens 11. Garver 12.
Baker (Did Not Start – Graham, Tatum, 4 Kenny Wells)
1st
Heat (6 laps) – 1. Kirkus 2. K. Wells 3. Garver 4. Markham
2nd
Heat (6 laps) – 1. Collins 2. Taylor 3. Crews 4. Parks
Thunder
Stocks
Feature
(15 laps) – 1. 72 Karlin Ray 2. 22F Melvin Fockler 3. 32 Raymond Vann 4. 44
Timmy Roach 5. 00Z Bryar Zimmerman 6. 69A Jonathan Appleby 7. 07 Shawn Creech
8. 14 Rance Damron 9. 1 Bubba Clark 10. 15 Trey Spradley 11. G0 Dale Graham 12.
22K Nelda King 13. 30 Kris Salyards 14. 18 Jerry Fortner 15. 66 Dave Dowling
16. 82 Shane Taylor 17. B27 Ethan Butts 18. 58 Justin Wilson 19. 6 Wade
Shrowder, Sr. 20. 16 Kyle Doran 21. 7Y Ty Youmans 22. 5 Wade Shrowder, Jr. (Did
Not Start – 98C Doran Cheney, 2 Jonathan Crain)
1st
Heat (6 laps) – 1. Butts 2. Zimmerman 3. Graham 4. Salyards
2nd
Heat (6 laps) – 1. Vann 2. Fockler 3. Roach 4. Shrowder, Sr.
3rd
Heat (6 laps) – 1. Creech 2. Spradley 3. Fortner 4. Shrowder, Jr.
Open
Wheel Modifieds
Feature
(15 laps) – 1. 78 Rich Pratt 2. 83 Shawn Taylor 3. 27 Jason Garver 4. 34 Jim
Passino 5. X Wesley Duboise 6. 18 J.O. Nobles 7. 10 David Crews 8. 67 Garrett
Stewart
1st
Heat (6 laps) – 1. Passino 2. Taylor 3. Stewart 4. Crews
2nd
Heat (6 laps) – 1. Garver 2. Pratt 3. Duboise 4. Nobles
Box
Stocks
Feature
(12 laps) – 1. C2 Seth Caudill, Jr. 2. 07JR Shanelle Creech 3. 41 Vince Maffo
4. 13 Emmett Mims 5. 8 Jonathan Wilks 6. 7 Damion Brown
1st
Heat (6 laps) – 1. Maffo 2. Creech 3. Mims 4. Wilks
