The Dade City Native Wins A Barn Burner at Germfree Southern Sprint Car Shootout
For the first 19 of the 20 laps from Friday night’s Germfree Southern Sprint Car Shootout Street Stock Feature, it looked to be business as usual for the #17W of Jimmy Wagner. By the checkered flag falling, he was praying that he had crossed the Start/Finish Line as the winner.
After a thorough review of the finish, it was Wagner who barely won over newcomer Andrew Stone.
Wagner started the night with a win in the Heat race by over five seconds on eventual second-place finisher, Andrew Stone. He started fourth in the Feature due to a redraw, but the Lakeland Discount Grocery, All-Florida Manufactured Home Service Street Stock quickly made his way to the lead by lap two.
“I’ve been fast here for the last six to eight months, (but) I just can’t seem to transfer the speed from the Heat to the Feature.” Wagner said. “This time, I kept it a little faster, but it was a heck of a race.”
Wagner, from Dade City, FL, wasn’t even sure if he had won after he had crossed the finish line until he saw the scoreboard had answered his questions. Regardless, Wagner is glad that the race to the finish was a clean one.
“(Stone) had some chances to move me or put me in the wall coming to the line. You love to see good, clean racing like that.” Wagner said.
On the losing end of the photo-finish was Andrew Stone, a 16 year-old that made the trip from Savannah, GA to achieve a dream. A second-place has him hungry for more.
“Honestly, I was just hoping to at least finish in the top ten,” Stone said. “Man, battling for the lead, I did not expect that! But hey, sometimes you’re the bug, sometime, you’re the windshield. We’ll definitely try to be back for more.”
Rounding out the field of drivers to race tonight was Patrick Thomas, Chris Mathis, Bruce Griffin, Alan Peacock, Rick O’Steen, and Michigan’s Rob Brillhart.
Tomorrow, the Thunder Stocks will join the USCS Sprint Cars at the Inaugural Germfree Southern Sprint Car Shootout for a $1,000-to-win finale.
If you can’t make it, DIRTVision will have you covered with all the action live. Visit DIRTVision.com for more info.