Twenty-five of the top Super Late Model drivers in and around Florida have committed to Saturday’s annual Full Throttle 100 at Citrus County Speedway.
“It’s going to be a great race,” said Camron Ray, general manager of CCS.
Originally scheduled for September 17, the event was postponed due to weather.
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“We lost a couple of drivers with the date change, but we gained a couple more than we had,” Ray said.
Driver entries include an impressive mix of local and high-profile competitors.
Anthony Cataldi started out in the Legends Car series and now sports his No. 00 in the Super Late Model division. Cataldi, always a top contender, was the 2020 SLM track champion.
Ryan Walters (0x) was the 2015 Pro Hornet Champion and Mini Stock rider who moved up to the Open Wheel Modified division several years ago. This is his first year behind the wheel of an SLM.
There are two brothers in the mix. Randy Anderson (01) and Ricky Anderson (84) come from a strong family of running backs. His father, Wayne Anderson, won the Full Throttle 100 in 2018, raced in the NASCAR Cup and Truck Series, and has a career record that includes two NASCAR All Pro Championships. His grandfather, Dick Anderson, is known as the King of Florida Short Tracks. Randy, the oldest of the brothers, has two SLM track championships (2014, 2016). Ricky won an SLM championship in 2015 and recently finished 10th in the Southern Super Series at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Mike Bresnahan (5) came up in the SLM camp of the Street Stock division. He has three SLM championships (2000, 2003, 2007) and always has a strong car when he races.
Philip Kessler is a third-generation driver who came up from the OWM division and is now behind the wheel of the No. 7 SLM. Tony Elrod (08) has history in the Mod Mini division and is new to the SLM division. Scott Grossenbacher (09) has two SLM championships (2006, 2012) and is currently second in SLM points in CCS.
In 2020, George Gorham Jr. killed Bubba Pollard. This season he won race No. 1 in the SLM Twin 50s. He has won two consecutive SLM championships at Auburndale Speedway (2020, 2021). Also from the Gorham arena is Ross Fransisco, who will wear Gorham’s second No. 10 entry.
Wes Burton (13) comes to CCS with 12 career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts. Nick Neri (17) won his first CCS stock car race in the Mod Mini division driving a Don Faunce car. In 2019, he won the Fall Jackpot 100 at Auburndale Speedway.
Another Auburndale Speedway driver is Brandon Anderson (21) who has spent most of his time racing in the SLM division.
Rocky Samson has competed in the Florida Outlaws for several years and will wear SLM No. 23 at the Full Throttle 100 on Saturday.
Bubba Pollard (26) is the defending Full Throttle (2020) champion. Pollard has championships across the country, including the 2014 Southern Super Series Champion, and recently finished third in the Southern Super Series at North Wilksboro.
Jared Irvan finished 9th in the same Southern Super Series race and is the defending CCS SLM track champion (2021). He has two wins this season, No. 28. Jesse Dutilly (30) won the Full Throttle 100 in 2019 and is a two-time Sunshine State Challenge series champion.
Daniel Webster (33), the 2013 Florida United Promoter Series Super Late Model Champion, has a long history of competing in CCS. Michael Goddard (37) won the first SLM Triple Crown race at Showtime Speedway and is always fast on the Citrus quarter-mile oval.
Keith Zavrel (47x) has a long history with CCS. In 2018, Zavrel finished second to Keith Roggen and is currently seventh in this year’s standings. Michael Atwell won the second race in this year’s Twin 50 driving his No. 51. He also has the 2021 Bill Bigley Sr. Memorial race win under his belt.
Richard Elkins (55) was the 1998 Auburndale Speedway Limited Late Model Champion. Patrick Staropoli (64) was the winner of the PEAK Stock Car Dream Challenge in 2013 and is always a contender at the big Citrus races.
Michael Hinde drove his No. 69 race car to the 2022 Pro Asphalt World Series Late Model Championship title and has been competitive on a number of different race tracks this season. He finished fifth in the Southern Super Series, two places behind Pollard. Hinde was Citrus County Speedway’s Modified Mini-Champion and Rookie of the Year in 2020.
Keith Roggen (94) brings a strong racing history that includes seven years in the NASCAR Dash Series (Goody’s Dash, 1997-2003) where he posted one win, six top-five finishes and 23 top-10 finishes.
Daniel Keene and Wayne Anderson are the only previous winners who did not participate in this year’s event. Keene won the inaugural event in 2017. Anderson won race #2 in 2018. Last year’s event was canceled due to a nationwide tire shortage.
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