Thrills, chills and spills kick off Desoto's season

2/14/2016

Freedom Factory

Thrills, chills and spills kick off Desoto's season

Thrills, chills and spills kick off Desoto's season
By SCOTT LOCKWOOD
Desoto Speedway

Just prior to the start of Desoto Speedway's St. Valentine's Day Massacre
event that kicked off the track's 2016 season, a group of fans from Germany
and central Florida wasn't sure exactly what they'd be seeing in a “crash
and bash” event.

Those new fans – and the rest of the big crowd that came out on a cold
night – went home with smiles on their faces after seeing a series of
crashes and other wild events that included a school bus flipping several
times, a near-sweep in a difficult series of enduro-style races and a
demolition derby featuring some of the nation's best drivers and cars.

Mike Gamache has been the king of School Bus Figure 8 racing over the last
several seasons around the state of Florida and was looking to kick off the
2016 season with another win at Desoto. He started Saturday night's main
event in eighth place and quickly worked his way up to third behind Shawn
Senokoskoff and Wally Smith in just a handful of laps.

As Gamache ran down the leaders, he was clipped by another bus in the “X”.
Gamache went into a wild series of end-over-end and rollover flips before
coming to a rest on his wheels. After a short delay, Gamache caught his
breath, fired his bus back up and miraculously was able to continue.

Senekoskoff took from the rest of the field on the restart. As Smith and
James Volk battled for the runner-up spot, Gamache passed five buses in one
lap to get back to fourth place. Just before the halfway point of the race
Jeremy Bates and Gamache got together coming back into the infield, ending
both of their nights.

The best fight on the track over the final 10 laps was between Smith and
Volk, who swapped the second spot several times. With three laps to go the
pair nearly collided with Doug Weaver – and Weaver steered his bus away
from the intersection to avoid another major collision. Volk and Weaver got
together as they came out of the infield, allowing Smith to pull away.

Smith couldn't reel in Senekoskoff in the final laps as the Clearwater
driver drove on to the easy win. Volk, the only other bus to finish on the
lead lap, finished third.

The 15-lap Reverse race was a two-car battle between Billy Benoit and
Bradenton's Anne Osborne. The pair drove their cars backward around the
3/8-mile oval and avoided traffic until two laps to go, when a lapped car
got in Benoit's way and sent both leaders into a spin. Benoit tagged the
wall and was hit by another car before coming to a stop in the middle of
turn three.

Since caution flags aren't used in enduro-style races, the action continued
on the track. Osborne was able to get her car moving before third place
running Randy Kile could catch the stranded lead pack. Osborne, who drove
most of the race with the trunk up in the rear of the car and blocking her
view, went on to the win.

In other action Saturday night, Richard Campbell was looking to sweep all
three enduro-style races he entered for the evening. He survived several
near-misses to win the 35-lap Enduro feature, and would lead all 15 laps of
the Road Course race.

Campbell landed just short of the trifecta after finishing second to
Darrell Taylor after an epic battle in the Flag Pole race – a race that
featured two “poles” for the cars to go around instead of the usual one
pole.
The night closed with a pair of demolition derbies. Sarasota's Joe Lombardi
survived a duel with Duane Campbell's “Megladon Crunch” car to win the
Front-Wheel Drive derby. The Big Car derby came down to a three-way fight
between Lombardi and Steve and Todd Cioppa, who made the trek from
Pittsburgh, PA for the event.

Todd Cioppa's car was the first to give out after an oil fire. Steve Cioppa
and Lombardi would battle it out for nearly 30 minutes, spewing oil, mud
and parts all over the track. In the end, it was Cioppa who would win the
ultimate battle of man vs. machine.

Regular racing returns to Desoto Speedway on February 27. The Florida State
Modified Invitational, DART King of the Blacktop for Pro Trucks, Take Aim
Gun Range Street Stocks, Pep Boys Speed Shop Modified Mini Stocks, Mini
Stocks, LKQ Pick-Your-Part Pure Stocks and Bombers will also be in action.

DESOTO SPEEDWAY RACE RESULTS
2-13-2016

Road Coarse