Thrills abound at Desoto Speedway's Halloween Madness
One of the largest crowds of the season saw a little bit of everything from enduro-racing to school bus racing to a kids demolition derby during Halloween Madness action Saturday night at Desoto Speedway
The night began with a 25-lap enduro-race, featuring 4- and 6-cylinder cars that were on the road not too long ago. Josh Bridges led the early laps before Richard Campbell came from deep in the 16-car field to the lead.
Campbell was soon joined up front by his father, Duane Campbell. The two started running away from the rest of the field, even as stalled cars littered the race track. Enduro rules state that a caution is not thrown unless deemed necessary by officials.
With five laps to go, Molly Lombardi slammed the wall nearly head-on in turn one, forcing track officials to call for a red flag. Cars would restart the race from where they sat on the speedway, and Duane got the jump on his son when the green flag flew.
Richard didn't need long to get back to the top spot. With three to go, he used a slower car as a pick to get back to the lead and went on to the win. Eric Parodo finished third.
Duane would eventually find his way to victory lane later in the evening when he took the 15-lap enduro road race. He also took the top spot in the 10-lap flag pole race.
The Florida School Bus Figure 8 Championship was also decided on Saturday night. James Volk opened up a huge lead in the first four laps of the event, while Mike Gamache was working his way quickly up through the field.
After a yellow flag, Gamache got to second and needed just a couple of laps to erase Volk's lead. Gamache took the top spot on the eighth lap and was joined at the front of the field by Wally Smith and Steve McCuster.
The lead trio spent the last half of the race battling for the top spot while dodging several potential collisions on the 'X' track. McCuster got by Smith with a handful of laps left. McCuster made several attempts to get the lead in the final laps, but Gamache held on for the victory.
In other action Saturday night, Joe Lombardi won the 10-lap reverse race, the 10-lap puck race and completed the trifecta by winning the big $2,000 demolition derby to close out the night.
Desoto Speedway
Saturday's results
Enduro
1. 132 Richard Campbell, Siesta Key
2. 3 Duane, Campbell
3. 2 Eric Parodo, Sarasota
4. 01 Nick Draganov, Sarasota
5. 869 Joe Lombardi, Sarasota
6. 08 Ryan Watrous
7. 1 Brett England, Bradenton
8. 02 Josh Bridges, Sarasota
9. 73 Randy Johnson, Bradenton
10. 6 Eugene Connell, Arcadia
11. 77 Michael Cox, Bradenton
12. 702 Justin Arrrigoni
13. 7 Molly Lombardi, Sarasota
14. 16 Gary Lucas, Brooksville
15. 4t Darrell Taylor, Bradenton
17. 5y Aaron Yahnke, Bradenton, D.N.S.
18. 69 Kyle Case, Venice, D.N.S.
Reverse Race
1. 869 Joe Lombardi, Sarasota
2. 73 Randy Johnson, Bradenton
3. 08 Ryan Watrous
4. 02 Josh Bridges, Sarasota
5. 16 Gary Lucas, Brooksville
6. 702 Justin Arrigoni
7. 5y Aaron Yahnke, Bradenton
8. 01 Nick Draganov, Sarasota
9. 2 Eric Parodo, Sarasota
Puck Race
1. 42/869 Anne Osborne / Justin Arrigoni
Joe Lombardi
2. 16/694 Kyle Case / Darrell Taylor
Gary Lucas
Road Course
1. 3 Duane Campbell
2. 869 Joe Lombardi, Sarasota
3. +4 Darrell Taylor, Bradenton
4. 02 Josh Bridges, Sarasota
5. 08 Ryan Watrous
6. 73 Randy Johnson, Bradenton
7. 702 Justin Arrigoni
8. 16 Gary Lucas, Brooksville
9. 6 Eugene Connell, Arcadia
10. 132 Richard Campbell, Siesta Key
Flag Pole
1. 3 Duane Campbell
2. 08 Ryan Watrous
3. 16 Gary Lucas, Brooksville
4. 869 Joe Lombardi, Sarasota
5. 73 Randy Johnson, Bradenton
6. 102 Justin Aarigoni
7. 02 Josh Bridges, Sarasota
8. +4 Darrell Taylor, Bradenton
School Bus
1. 0 Mike Gamache
2. 96 Steve Mc Custer
3. 6 Wally Smith
4. 25 Jeremy Bates
5. 01 Jay Seykora
6. 16 Amy Jones
7. 31 Sue Boxwell
8. 4 James Volk
9. 16 Amy Jones
10. 69 Kyle Brink
11. 61 Matt Rumsey
Demo Derby
1. 869 Joe Lombardi, Nokomis
2. 21 Josh Decker, New York
3. 5y Aaron Yahnke, Bradenton
4. 96 Jeff Cox Vero, Beach
5. 27 Steve Young, Apopla
6. 16 Eugene Malverty, Spring Hill
7. P13 Brett England, Bradenton
8. 71 Dewayne Haines, Tallahassee
9. 69 Zack Giles, Palmetto
10. 0u1 Michael Cox, Bradenton
11. 702 Carl Arrigoni, Englewood
Kids Power Wheels
1. 555 Carson Suggs, Bradenton
2. Cindy Briggs, Bradenton
3. 415 Brennan Ellis, Port Charlotte
This story was originally published November 1, 2015 at 6:56 PM with the headline "Thrills abound at Desoto Speedway's Halloween Madness ."