Ocala.com Bloggers
- Broken News
- Bill Thompson
- Digital Editor
- Eric Barnes
- Frame 37
- Ocala.com Multimedia
- Marion Politics
- Newsroom
- Observations
- Naseem S. Miller
- OcalaDay
- Joe Byrnes
- Read My E-Mail
- Allen Parson
- Running Wide Open
- Joe Vanhoose
- Speaking of Business...
- Dr. Philip R. Geist
- The Bowling Blog
- Debbie Whitten
- The Green Zone
- Dave Rhea
- The Sports Blog
- Gregory Broome
- What is that?
- Newsroom
 |
Search Blogs
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Blog Archives
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The 12 Hours of Ocala: Coffee please
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Location: Blogs Running Wide Open |
 |
| Posted by: Joe VanHoose |
10/18/2007 12:22 PM |
Endurance races today are reserved for the elite in motorsports. Englishmen and Germans wheel their Porsches, Audis and Ferraris around world-famous circuits like Le Mans, Daytona, Sebring and Road America.
These are races against the clock, races where teams of 20 or so plan out every little move and detail to stay competitive.
Then there's the 12 Hours of Ocala, a kind of race that you won't see anywhere else. European sports cars will be replaced by Camaros and Monte Carlos as some of Florida's most dedicated short track drivers take to the 3/8-mile Ocala Speedway for 12 hours of non-stop racing.
Yes, 12 hours of quick left turns on a small egg-shaped oval. Get out the coffee.
The race celebrates its second year Saturday, starting at 9 a.m. and ending at 9 p.m. Upward of 30 cars are expected to compete in the event, which is the brainchild of Ocala Speedway owner Mike Peters.
"We wanted to do something special, something that no one else in the state is doing," Peters said. "This is a race for the drivers, it gives them a new challenge."
It also gives $5,000 to the winner, a purse big enough to draw drivers all the way from Georgia, Tennessee and Maine. The out-of-towners will go door-to-door with some Ocala locals, including last year's winners, the Stalnakers.
"We're bringing the same car that won last year," Jeff Stalnaker said of his familiar No. 8 Camaro. "It's a lot of hard work, but we've got a game plan."
The Stalnakers -- Jeff and his sons, Jeff Jr. and Mike -- entered last year's race on a whim and ended up with the win after racing through the night. After going through 100 gallons of fuel, six tires and replacing many parts on the front end of the car, Stalnaker said he pocketed about $400 of the prize money.
"It's a big expense to fix the car when the race is over, and you have to have people helping you change tires and add fuel," Stalnaker said. "We're probably better organized this year, so we hope we can cut our expenses a bit.
"Last year the boys didn't know we were racing until we got to the track. I told them to get ready to spend the night."
Is Bruton Smith Crazy?
Yes, but the billionaire chairman of Speedway Motorsports and Lowe’s Motor Speedway outside of Charlotte, N.C., is pretty brilliant too.
After city officials voted to prevent Smith from building a drag strip near his track, Smith threatened to move the track -- which hosts three NASCAR races, by the way – to somewhere else in the Charlotte area. Now the same city officials have given the go-ahead for the drag strip, but Smith says he's 90-percent certain he'll still move the track.
C'mon Bruton, really? The Lowe’s facility stands as the home field for all of NASCAR, and it's been that way for almost 50 years. To wipe all that away and start again elsewhere seems a little foolish.
But that doesn't mean Bruton won't do it. And this writer wouldn't be surprised if he did.
|
|
| Permalink |
Trackback |
|
|
|
|