This weekend’s Street Stock event is the Gary Gay Memorial. Street Stocks may compete in this event without a roof. The 25-lap feature will pay $500 to win.
Additional classes for the Sept. 4 event will be 604 Late Models, Gagel’s Modifieds, Q Auto & Injury Medical Malpractice Attorneys Mini Sprints, Mod Lites and Gladiators.
Rain from the night before and wet conditions have forced the cancellation of the August 28 event,
It is with very heavy hearts that we announce the passing of one of East Bay Raceway’s owners, Mike Dezarn. Mike passed away Wednesday, August 25.
We are asking that you please keep his wife Becky and son Zack in your prayers along with the rest of his family, friends and all of us here at East Bay.
Mike became a partner in East Bay Raceway in September of 2004. You would usually find Mike in the front gate area every Saturday night taking care of any issues that came up in the stands or food areas. Mike loved racing and has been involved in the sport for years. He will be greatly missed by us here at East Bay from his business knowledge to his witty, sarcastic and funny personality.
We will post the funeral arrangements as soon as they are available to us. Again, please keep his family and us in your prayers during this very difficult time.
Effective immediately, due to the ongoing tire shortage, grooving and siping of all tires will be permitted until further notice. This is effective for all classes.
A return to racing came on a Saturday night where temperatures approached seasonal records, but diehard race fans turned out to watch the seven divisions in action Saturday night.
The Mod Lites opened the program with the strongest field of cars offered for the 2021 season as 21 cars filled the pit area. Defending track champion Austin Martin joined with Brian Teeters and Mitch Gilbert to start the evening with heat race wins. A field of 20 cars came through the gate to line up for the 15-lap main. After a lap one incident forced a complete restart, Kevin McKenzie assumed command of the field. Martin snatched the top spot away on the second lap, but that only motivated McKenzie to regain the lead. McKenzie would stay out front until lap six. As a caution came out for a car stopped at the edge of the track, McKenzie made contact and rolled in turn three. The incident handed the lead to Teeters for the restart, making him the third driver to hold the top spot in six laps. His time at the front was short-lived as Martin swept back in front at the halfway mar. The job of catching Martin fell to the rest of the field, but no one was able to deny the two-time track champion his fifth feature win of the year.
The Q Auto & Injury Medical Malpractice Mini Sprints would welcome a new member to the club of feature winners and her name is Bailee Spitulski. After winning her heat race, Spitulski lined up inside the second row to start the 15-lap feature. Polesitter Kenny Brewer grabbed the early lead as Bruce Comer settled second. On Lap five, Spitulski went around Comer and began to hunt down Brewer. With two laps to go, Spitulski made what proved to be the winning pass, running a steady race that resulted in victory. To get her first East Bay win, Spitulski had to pass a four-time feature winner (Comer) and a driver who won in his other previous start (Brewer). Comer claimed a heat race win on a late restart, brought on by a Charles Landis flip in the preliminary.
Eric Knight took the lead on the second lap of the 15-lap Outlaw 4 main and moved on to his second victory of the season. Knight faced plenty of challenges in the race from Brian Barse, who retired just past the halfway point. Mark Moniz gave chase and closed but could not make a winning move. Defending class champion Stephen Hohlbaugh took the heat race win.
It was a departure from normal in the Gagel’s Modified main as Austin Sanders found himself running at the bottom of the race track, taking the low line to victory. Sanders too the lead from the start, often building up a big advantage that was erased by caution flags. Despite the stoppages, Sanders was able to get the job done to claim his second feature of 2021. L.J. Grimm and Travis Varnadore were in the spotlight for heat race wins.
A repeat win for Jason Burnside gave him enough to take over the point lead in the V-8 Warrior class. The win, combined with misfortune for Nick Brown, allowed the move to to the top with plenty of racing remaining in the 2021 season. Mike Wilson and Juston Meeks were winners in the six-lap heats.
The 604 Late Models saw another wire-to-wire winner who had to endure countless cautions. In this case, Shan Smith also faced the peril of lapped traffic, but masterfully bypassed the backmarkers en route to his second win this season. Smith commented in Victory Lane that this car seems to like East Bay, but not other places. Doug Horton, who charged to second in the late stages in the main, and Josh Peacock topped the heat races.
Dan Darnell pulled the clean sweep in the Florida Old Time Modifieds, winning the heat and feature. The division saw one of the high car counts of the year with spirited action throughout the events.
Racing returns on Saturday, August 28 with the make-up date of the Top Gun Sprints non-wing event, joined by the Florida Late Model Series making its second and final appearance of the year. Street Stocks, Q Micro Sprints and Gladiators round out the card. Special event pricing is in effect.
MOD LITES
Feature: Austin Martin (97), Brian Teeters (44), Cody Benoit (5x), Andrew Smith (71), Jeff Bonnema (5B), Dylan Dunn (22), Terry Joiner (6), Jeff Wolfe (83), Anthony Stewart (33), Kyle Nornberg (14), Brent Lavy (x8), Eric Purcell (7X), Rocky Scott (4), Brodrick Kennedy (24), Mitch Gilbert (31G), Kevin McKenzie (41B), Tyler Gilbert (16G), Frank Winewski (16), Denise Gilbert (192), J.T. Joiner (6J). DNS – Chase Nornberg (78)
Q MINI SPRINTS
Feature: Bailee Spitulski (29P), Kenny Brewer (45), Austin Lewis (9L), David Hall (67), Josh Davis (7s), Charles Landis (12), Bryce Comer (9), Brian Baxter (98), Bruce Comer (21), Jesse Hall (8), Doug Dyal (97D), Jo Jo Davis (21W)
OUTLAW 4s
Feature: Eric Knight (7), Mark Moniz(41E), Brad Button (25), Rachelle Rudolph (77), Terry Burke (73), Stephen Hohlbaugh (23s), Brian Barse (82), Vernon Hart Jr. (D4R), Dalton Ellis (63). DNS – Bobby Peterson (112)
GAGEL’S OPEN WHEEL MODIFIEDS
Feature: Austin Sanders (64), L.J. Grimm (25), Bryan Bernhardt (B69), Buzzie Reutimann (00), Garret Stewart (67), Travis Varnadore (205), Paul Rivall (15R), Patrick Passanise (333), Tim McLeod (192), Scott Bane (23B), Devin McCloud (21)
V-8 WARRIORS
Feature: Jason Burnside (12J), Michael Hart (99), Gary Lucas (106), George Handy (105), Juston Meeks (10), Cody Mezyk (40), Randy Shields (49), Daniel Bowman (46), Shane Koperda (124), Mike Wilson (189), Nick Brown (12), Wayne Kissam (107)
604 LATE MODELS
Feature: Shan Smith (32), Doug Horton (46), Josh Peacock (2), Brenden Smith (17ss), Travis Varnadore (95), Matt Herlong (131), John Norris (87), Cole Crawford (4), Daniel Woody (29), Scotty Williams (7JR), Jimmy Waldrop (9), Jason Pope (102), Philip Cobb (03), Thomas Burnside (13)
Late afternoon rain forced the cancellation of the scheduled August 14 event. The next event is Saturday, August 21.
The non-wing Top Gun Sprint event has been re-scheduled to August 28.
After seven weeks of inactivity, racers and fans were ready to get back to the business of racing as more than 100 cars pulled through the pit gate Saturday night. The six-division program saw a number of new competitors in each division with two divisions experiencing their highest car counts of the year.
The action started with the Q Auto & Injury Medical Malpractice Attorneys Mini Sprints and their 15-lap main. After Brad Sutton held the early lead, heat winner Ty Nevins moved to the top spot and began to pull away from the field. It was Nevins’ first appearance at the track as the young racer made the tow from his home on the east coast of Florida. Easton Lebo captured a heat win in just his second appearance at the track this season.
Austin Martin made his fourth stop in victory lane in as many appearances, winning the 15-lap Mod Lite feature. Martin was shadowed by heat winner Alex Cline, but kept Cline at bay from start to finish. Jeff Wolfe and Bo Bass claimed the additional preliminaries.
The 30-lap 604 Late Model main saw plenty of excitement throughout as early leader Jimmy Waldrop saw his advantage disappear at the hands of Daniel Woody. Spirited racing throughout the top five kept things interesting as cautions appeared with fewer than 10 laps remaining. On lap 24, Jeff Mathews found a rough spot in turn four that sent his car careening into Woody, but a caution flag put Woody back up front. It would not last as Mathews moved by to claim the win. Doug Horton and Jesse Brown were best in the heat races.
A resurgence in V-8 Warriors saw one of the highest car counts of the season with Michael Hart and Jason Burnside opening the night’s action by capturing the heats. Raymond Vann had the early lead, but Michael Hart was on a mission in pursuit of his first win of the year. Hart was able to get the job done and claim the victory.
Gladiators topped the night’s car count sweepstakes with 25 cars. Three heat races were needed with Charles Paris Jr., Rodney Martin and D.J. Taylor coming out as winners. Paris would double down, taking his fifth feature win of the year.
The final feature event saw the action of the Gagel’s Open Wheel Modifieds. Bryan Bernhardt vaulted into the lead on a lap 7 restart and kept Jeff Mathews and the rest of the field in hot pursuit. The win marked Bernhardt’s second feature of the year. Bernhardt and Mathews were heat winners.
Racing continues on August 14 with the non-wing action in the Top Gun Sprint series, along with 602 Late Models, Q Micro Sprints, Street Stocks and Gladiators.
Q AUTO & INJURY ATTORNEYS MINI SPRINTS
Feature: Ty Nevins (33), Brad Sutton (9), Doug Dyal (97D), Easton Lebo (101E), Bryce Comer (21), Cody Bryson (41), David Hall (67), Jo Jo Davis (21W), Charles Landis (12), Cale Rives (18R), Bailee Spitulski (29P), Brice Comer (9c), Josh Davis (7s), Jesse Hall (98). DNS – Dennis Sanchez (11).
MOD LITES
Feature: Austin Martin (97), Alex Cline (07c), Jeff Bonnema (5B), Frank Winewski (16), Jeff Wolfe (83), Anthony Stewart (33), Dylan Dunn (22), Terry Joiner (6), Rocky Scott (4), Brodrick Kennedy (24), Will Breland (48), Billy Breland (23A), Bill Pennington (28P), J.T. Joiner (6J), Cody Benoit (5x), Bo Bass (41B), David Rodriguez (69). DNS – Steve Diamond (7X)
604 Late Models
Feature: Jeff Mathews (33), Daniel Woody (29), Philip Cobb (03), John Norris (87), Brenden Smith (17ss), Doug Horton (46), Shan Smith (32), Cole Crawford (4), Jon Basquin (16), Mark Fleischer (18B), Jimmy Waldrop (9), Jesse Brown (7JR), Thomas Burnside (13), Jimmy Wagner (17W), Matt Herlong (131)
V-8 WARRIORS
Feature: Michael Hart (99), Raymond Vann (1), George Handy (105), Jason Burnside (12J), Nick Brown (12), Miguel Powell (14P), James Hall (87), Randy Shields (49), William Morgan (24), Cody Mezyk (40), Daniel Bowman (46), Macy Bozeman (58), Jimmie Guidry (49), Jeremy Simpson (X), Dave White (3). DQ – Gary Lucas (106)
GLADIATORS
Feature: Charles Paris Jr. (03T), Rodney Martin (21), Daniel Bowman (46), Robert Kissam (911), Brittany Hart (99), Wayne Kissam (07), Derrick Edwards (17), Thomas Adams (T2), Patrick Fiore (88), Davey Martin (55), Joshua Gennarie (93P), Rick Rutledge (4), Daniel Casey (3D), Callie Gubich (513), David Wood (31), James Prochaska (3), Trevor Appling (07A), Shan Harden Brook (727), Patrick Tabb (03), Timmy Simmons (111), Ricky Rutledge Jr. (124), D.J. Taylor (00), Hunter Lovelady (68). DNS – Kyle Kruse (1K), Jerry Moore (70)
GAGEL’S MODIFIEDS
Feature: Bryan Bernhardt (B69), Jeff Mathews (33), Garret Stewart (67), Tim McLeod (192), Roger Crouse (15), Scott Bane (23B), Rick Fenical (74), Pat Passanise (333), Austin Sanders (64), Cam Canova (6), Chris Bailey (77B)