One week after helping open the season with a convincing Figure 8 division victory, Charlie Meyer was approached by a man in the pits with something on his mind.
"I was told last week," said Meyer, smiling broadly, "that I was too old and my car too antique to compete."
Meyer, the driver of the green and white No.94 machine, gave a 20-lap retort Saturday in his feature race and chuckled all the way to the Winner's Circle at Sunshine Speedway.
The performance put Meyer in position for a strike at the points championship in the hotly competitive class. He has garnered several crowns since his racing start in the early 1960s.
"I've won three or four," Meyer said, "but if I win one more, I'll have won in each of the last four decades."
Few, if any, of the track's active drivers can claim that distinction.
"I've forgotten more races than most of these guys ever raced," Meyer said.
Meyer began the competition on the second row, finding daylight in Lap 1 thanks to a skirmish involving the two pole cars.
"I started in fourth place, on the outside," he said. "When the No.69 and No.59 (Ronnie Powell and Jack Boswell, respectively) got together there, it left the bottom open and I got through."
Darryl Hage, operator of the Web Offset Printing No.8, got through as well and provided Meyer with his only constant pressure. By Lap 7, the leaders pushed far ahead of the pack, sinking into an intense one-on-one fight for position that was interrupted by a Lap-13 red flag.
The restart formed a tight six-car lineup of some of the division's finest drivers. They steam-rolled from turn to turn, roaring through the intersection like a single car, each part inflexibly glued to the auto before it.
The finish mirrored that of the season opener. Hage trailed Meyer across the line in that race as well.
"I wasn't sure, but I thought it was Darryl behind me," Meyer said.
"I kept feeling some little taps in the corners. The last couple of laps I got in bad in the turns, but he gave me some good knocks and straightened me right out," Meyer said.
Hage is no stranger to the limelight.
He was a points contender most of last season and currently is second. In addition to Figure 8s, Hage is trying his hand at Street Stocks, in which he leads the standings.
"Not too many people pull double duty," Hage said, "but I'll try for points in both classes. It's keeping me busy."
J.R. Meyer (No.21) finished third in the Figure 8 event.
NOTES: Barry Bartlett (No.9) took the top prize in the Street Stock class.
Harold Ashley claimed the runner-up spot in his No.27 car, and James Ellershaw rolled into third place in No.50.
The driver of the No.69 Mini Stock, Jay Zolciak, outlasted Rick Litka (No.82) for the win. Joe Irwin (No.45) finished third.
Pat Hunt (No.54) grabbed the Outlaw Late Model victory.
Points leader Robert Crisp (No.2) and Scott Holly (No.1) took second and third, respectively.
Tony Johnson captured his first feature victory in the Enduro division in his No.51 machine.
John Stewart (No.02) placed second, and Jacob Scott (No.91) was third.
Two feature races were scheduled to accommodate the mass of entries in the Wet & Wild event.
In the A-main race, Jim Hernan crossed the line first in his No.2 car. The B-Main, consisting of all Wet & Wild machines failing to make the feature, was won by Ron Sorensen Sr. (No.84).
The Open Wheel Modifieds did not race.
Past Sunshine driver Jason Overstreet, son of Outlaw competitor Wendell Overstreet, has made a name for himself since leaving the area.
Jason is crew chief for Darrell Waltrip's No.17 Craftsman Truck, driven by David Reutimann. The team leads the series in rookie points, and is running fourth in driver points.
