Murray’s Mountain Dew Citrus Nationals

Moroso Motorsports Park

Horton, Smith end season too soon

Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. November 29 & 30 –Ancel Horton and Mark Smith finished their first run against each other in a heap at the end of the track Saturday night. The run took a turn for the worse when Ancel, driving the ultra-fast Mississippi Madman jet dragster, shut off his engine before the finish line. Ancel said the car pulled left and he overcorrected to the right. The car flipped over as he headed into Mark’s lane and T-boned the Air-Force One jet dragster.

Ancel suffered bumps and bruises, but Mark was taken to the hospital where he was reportedly treated for a broken toe, broken leg and broken rib. His crew, wife Sheila and sons Jared and Canon, were grateful that Mark was not hurt worse.

“Apparently Mark saw Ancel coming at him, but there was nothing he could do to get out of his way,” said Sheila, adding that she wasn’t sure if they would be back racing next year.

Ancel recapped the crash for the fans from the tower before racing resumed. To everyone’s dismay, he also announced that the race he’d just run would likely be the last of his career.

“I’ve been coming to Moroso for the past eight years, and I love coming here. But, I think I’m gonna quit. I’m 62 years old and I ruined Mark’s car,” said a very disappointed Ancel. “I apologize to the fans. We love you.”

Ancel and his wife Peggy, who flew in to Florida earlier in the week to help him finish his season, watched the first pass on Sunday and then headed back home to Texas. Although he said he’s going to quit the business, his friends at the track said they’ll believe it when they see it.

Mark had planned to finish his 2003 season on Sunday, while Ancel was planning to finish 2003 at the same track he started the season on in March, at Bradenton Motorsports for the Snowbird Outlaw Nationals, Dec. 6 & 7. Another jet dragster will fill his spot.

On with the show

It took almost an hour to clear the track and resume the exhibition. Next up were Mario Carranca and his SuperMario jet funny car racing against Fran Peppler and her Rock N’ Roll Thunder jet funny car. Mario won the fire show competition, but Fran blew his doors off at the finish. She crossed the line with a time of 5:85 at 273 mph. More impressive, however, was her 0.11 reaction time. Mario ran a 6:19 at 245 mph.

Both improved on their runs on their second pass, but there were less people on hand to see them go. The temperature, which had dipped into the low 50s by 10 p.m., and cold wind drove many fans to the exits early. Mario turned a time of 6:14 at 256 mph, while Fran hit a 5:83 going 272 mph.

Bob Motz and his Original Jet Truck really helped snap Moroso race fans out of the

funky aftermath of the crash. Wearing his Three Stooges suspenders under his fire suit,

Bob shook his truck from side to side and proceeded to attempt to put a burn on the tower, which sits

in the middle of the track at Moroso. I asked him how long he holds the flame out, because it seems like nearly 20 seconds.  “Until the track guys start waving their arms like crazy at me to shut it down,” said Bob, grinning ear to ear.

Bob bagged a time of 7:11 at 215 mph on his first run and a 7:07 at 207 on his second pass on Saturday.

He and his Crew Chief, son Scott, also finally managed to get both of his exhaust stacks to flame up Saturday night. The two have been fiddling with the truck since it was rebuilt after a crash in Thompson, Ohio in July. The truck careened off the end of the track’s shut down lane into a field after his chute broke off before catching any wind at all, he said. Nevertheless, the 66-year-old retired iron worker drove his jet truck, which he debuted in 1979, at 32 events this year and plans to make about 40 events in 2004.

Sunday, Sunday

On partly-sunny and much warmer Sunday, fans saw Mario beat Fran on their first pass. According to Fran, she opened her second stage fuel system a little too soon, which turned off her afterburner before she passed the finish line. Mario came across with a 6:218 at 247.52, losing his pilot chute. Fran pulled a 6:419 at 202.83. Crew chief and husband Phil Peppler said his wife sometimes gets “greedy” with her fuel.

On their second pass, she didn’t make the same mistake. Fran blew past Mario with a 5:920 at 269.46 mph. Mario had a 6:190 at 264 to end his 2003 season. Mario’s wife Patty and crewman Aaron Newman helped him pack his car up for the short ride home to Port Charlotte, Fla.

I crewed for Mario on the first run on Sunday, so I missed getting the time for Bob Motz’ first run. But it was awesome to watch him sail into the shut down lane with his chutes flying behind him as we got the SuperMario car tethered to the truck and Mario out of his car. Bob ended the day with another monster flame out, just as it began to get dark at 5:20 p.m. He ran a 7:17 at 210 mph in the last race of 2003.

I asked Bob if he had fun nearly burning the tower down for the fourth time that weekend. He grinned, and said, “I always have fun!”

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