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Eric Anderson is MTR's Top Dog
"First Ever "Dog Day" Race becomes a success"     by Kevin Fox

Bradenton, FL (08-05-07) The Dog Day of Summer money race was the brainchild of several local key individuals. In the early stages, the race was to get all of the local racers to run the same motor in one class and do it all in the name of cash money. Those ideas started to raise eyebrows which thus brought forward sponsors from near and far wanting to get their name in on the action. The winning pot soon went from a nice chunk of two hundred smackaroos to a hefty chunk of change as high as five hundred bucks to win if fifty entries showed up. Fifty-seven racers had pre-entered via telephone, email or the Thunder chat room. Thanks to Dom Mauro and Windemere Homes, Dennis and Troy Meridith with The Meridith Group, and Jerry Parrott of Parrott's Custom Cabinets all for being cash sponsors. Also a special thanks to Finish Line Racing Products for donating two pair of silver racing brushes per entry, as well as Jody Miller of Killer Concepts for donating a custom painted body to the A-main winner.

Mike Boylan opened the gates earlier than usual and the early bird racer flooded in, filling up the covered pavilion and the newly acquired climate controlled YMCA building next to the track as well as setting up trackside under portable canopies. Just like the sponsors, the die hard racers came from near and far. The stock motor handouts began with the first racer to sign-up. Kenny Holmes would be back in town to handle the announcing, timing and scoring duties and doing it professionally as he does every time. Thank you Scarecrow!

The first event on the schedule would be qualifying. Five laps per car with the fastest lap going towards the heat line ups. A fifty dollar bonus was up for grabs for the fastest lap of all fifty drivers. Between St. Pete's Chris Lawson and Orange Park's Dave Puliafico it was all but a tie, with the bonus cash going to Lawson. Congratulations Chris. The fastest seven cars consisted of Lawson, Puliafico, Eric Anderson, Gene Connell, Scott Fillingham, Kip Ellerbusch, and Lake Park, Georgia's Jerry Parrott. That would make up the last and fastest heat of the afternoon. Two qualifying rounds would determine where every racer would battle it out for the cash and bragging rights. After the qualifying rounds were finished, a new resident of Tampa - Eric Anderson - would become the Top Qualifier of the afternoon and pick up a quick $50.

The first main to the grid would be the G-Main. Naples resident Ross Bartuccio, a Nextel Cup regular, would lead the first four laps before being lapped and passed for the lead by Tifton, Georgia's Scotty Zirk. New Port Richey's Rick Smith would have problems on lap seven and retire for the afternoon. Bartuccio would follow soon after with troubles on lap fifteen and pull off early. The gremlins would then find St. Pete's Darrell Taylor on lap 25 and end his day early. That would leave the track to Zirk, John Chesley, Nick Schaeperklaus and Tadpole. Zirk and Chesley would fight it out for the top spot, but Zirk would hold the lead all the way to the checkered flag. Scotty Zirk would pick up a cool thirty bucks and with Chesley both would transfer up to the next main. At the finish of the G-Main Mike Boylan presented the "Black Cloud"� Award, worth $50, to weekly Stock racer young Tadpole Connell of Arcadia.

After a ten minute break to allow the transfer drivers to prepare, the F-Main would make its way to the grid. Bradenton's Brandon Haney would lead the field for the first lap before being overtaken by Naples' Jeff Maturo. Haney, running in the top three in the early stages, would drop out on lap 30 with a post-crash mechanical issue. With Maturo out front He would see challenges from several drivers but never give up the lead. G-Main transfer driver John Chesley, of Bradenton, would find his way to the runner-up spot yet again, just shy of the cash. Maturo would bring his blue #24 ride to the stripe, to pick up $30, with Chesley in tow. Both Jeff Maturo and John Chesley would transfer up to the next main.

Another break would allow the two transfer drivers to get ready for the E-Main. That was the next Main ready to battle door to door for thirty bucks and two transfer spots. Douglas Dobbs would lead the E-Main field for the first eleven laps before Palm Harbor's Mike Dispenza would take the top spot. A very close battle would arise between leader Dispenza, second place Dobbs, and third place Jeff Maturo. Mike Dispenza held the lead with his red racer #75 hooked to the concrete and never looked back. He would finish the race on his own lap to pick a cool $30 and a transfer spot to the D-Main. F-main transfer driver Jeff Maturo would again transfer, this time without cash, to the D-Main with Dispenza.

The D-Main would be ready to race and take a turn at the track named "too tough to tame."� Ocala's Kip Ellerbusch would take the lead from the start and lead the first twenty-two circuits. Jeff Maturo still had the car hooked up from the F-Main and would take the lead from Ellerbusch on lap 23. Ellerbusch would find the gremlins and fall back, eventually dropping out of the race on lap 39. That would allow Wesley Chapel's Troy Robinson to move up to Maturo's back door as they would battle all the way to the end. Maturo would pick up the victory and yet another $30 cash prize and transfer to the C-Main with Robinson.

At this point the Mains begin to get faster and faster. Now, the C-Main checks in transponders and takes the grid. Tampa's Scott LaFoe would put his orange #20 out front for the first fourteen laps before Spring Hill's Bill Spicer would pick up the lead and run with it. Spicer would see a challenge from Seffner's Troy Pirez Jr, LaFoe, and D-Main runner-up Troy Robinson all the way to the finish. Spicer would pick up the $40 prize money and transfer up with Troy Pirez Jr to B-Main.

The money pot would grow as $50 would now be on the line for the B-Main victory, as well as another two transfer spots up to the all important A-Main. The start of the B-Main wouldn't be a clean one but Clearwater's Paul Schaub would put himself out front in a hurry. Schaub and St.Petes David Preston would race for the top two spots, with Schaub leading the first 44 laps. Schaub would see contact with a lap car allowing Preston to sneak by for the lead on lap 45. Sarasota's Richard Baron would hold steady in third place as Preston never looked back and charged to the victory to pick up that $50 first prize and a spot at the back of the A-Main. Paul Schaub would maintain the runner-up position and also earn a spot at the back of the A-Main and a chance at $500.

A slight break in the action would allow Preston and Schaub to regroup for the big dog race. An official temperature check would reveal the A-Main would go 95 laps, the same as the ambient air temperature. The A-Main drivers would check in and grid their cars. Pre-race photos would be taken as well as a pre-race speech by Promoter Mike Boylan telling the drivers to race clean and leave the tempers outside of the facility. The final buzzer of the afternoon would be heard and Eric Anderson would jump out to the lead from the pole position. Gene Connell found troubles early after being clipped and spun by Dave Puliafico. Anderson continued to hold the top spot over Chris Lawson before Lawson and Wesley Chapel's Scott Fillingham would get together coming off turn four. That would allow Sarasota's Doug Miller to slide into second and Clearwater's Tin Man would round out the top three. The nine drivers would then settle in and good clean racing would be seen. Anderson would then lap second place Miller on lap 53. Connell and Miller would then get together on lap 55. Lawson soon found himself back in the hunt in second place. Problems would arise for Miller as he would fade quickly and eventually pull off on lap 82 and Connell would make his way up to third place. Eric Anderson driving smart in the latter stages of the race, allowing lapped cars to pass and not get himself into trouble, would go on to lead all 95 laps and become the "Top Dog."

Anderson would earn $500 for the victory, bringing his total for the afternoon to $550. St. Pete racer Chris Lawson would come home second to pick up $150. Arcadia's Gene Connell rounded out the Top Three picking up $70. Orange Park's Dave Puliafico picked up Fourth place and $50, and St. Pete's David Preston finalized the Top Five with $30 in prize money.

All in all, it was a unanimous vote that a great time was had by everyone. Even if you had a bad day on the track, you had a good day with great fellow racers. As Nick Schaeperklaus of Pinellas Park stated, "Well, aside from nearly blacking out from the heat, my car falling apart and everything going wrong that could possibly go wrong with it and being runner up in the black plague award. I still managed to have a great day with one of the best group of guys around."

This wonderful afternoon of racing and good times was due in part to Mike Boylan, Kenny Holmes, Thunder Racing, Manatee County, Dom Mauro, Windemere Homes, Meridith Group, Dennis and Troy Meridith, Parrott's Custom Cabinets, Jerry Parrott, Finish Line Racing Products, Jody Miller and Killer Concepts, Jeff Maturo, Mike Haney and Bad Dog Racing. If I failed to mention anyone else responsible for the Dog Day of Summer please let me know and I will correct myself. The Dog Day of Summer race results can be found at thunder.rcresults.com/MTRDogDay1/.

Stay tuned to www.rcthunder.net for race results, race videos, race updates, live webcam viewing, and continuous chats. As well as the MySpace page for "SMR" www.myspace.com/foxco_smr for personal photos from the Dog Day and further racing recaps and updates.

Remember, Get out and Support you local racetrack!