ASC COMPETITORS ENJOY GREAT WEATHER AND GREAT RACING RETURNING TO THUNDERHILL RACEWAY

NASA, the sanctioning body, arranged for a test day on Friday for all competitors and many of the ASC drivers and crew opted to take the opportunity to fine tune their cars for the track and the conditions. Speeds were high on Friday so it appeared that the previous track records were going to fall during the weekend’s races. Series points leader Scott Ivie was the fastest of the day, with Carvajal, Stinnett, Mike Arnheiter, Mike Speakman and Belinda Endress turning fast times as well.

Saturday morning had thirteen ASC cars on the grid for practice and also for qualifying. Steve Carvajal and Chris Evans swapped cars for the day with Carvajal driving the # 87 EMF Chevy Monte Carlo and Chris Evans piloting the # 90 CMI Chevy Monte Carlo. Scott Ivie, driving his # 47 America Wholesale Mortgage Dodge Charger, stayed true to his promises and delivered a blistering fast qualifying lap of 1:51.120, followed by Ken Stinnett in the # 96 Evans Metal Fabrication Dodge Charger that was two tenths behind. Mike Arnheiter, in the # 25 M & R Racing Pontiac Grand Prix, was just a bit behind Stinnett. Jeff Glowniak and Belinda Endress rounded out the Top Five qualifiers.

Ivie brought the group up for the green flag and the start was clean. Thunderhill is a wide track that encourages close, hard racing; however, there is not enough room to go three wide into turn two with the stock cars. Ed Ochylski, Glowniak and Endress found this out the hard way, resulting in damage to the right side of the # 99 Carvajal Motorsports Grand Prix, Ochylski’s # 55 Grand Prix, and Glowniak’s # 34 Gearhead Motorsports Monte Carlo. All were able to continue despite Ochylski being lifted into the air and turned sideways. Save that incident, the race was more or less a clean race. Ivie lead most of the way, dogged all the time by Stinnett and Mike Arnheiter. Arnheiter was slowed by a leak in his right rear tire. Ivie and Stinnett had a Kodak moment at turn six in lap 8 when Ivie’s Watts link broke and he went wide and sideways at the turns exit. Stinnett took advantage of the moment and pushed through the gap. Ivie gathered up his car and was able to regain control, but he and Stinnett banged the cars together. Stinnett held the lead for the final laps and was followed by Winston West hot shot Kevin Culver, Belinda Endress, Mike Arnheiter (nursing the low tire…) and Steve R. Carvajal (struggling against the loss of the steering rack). The rest of the field followed close behind.

Top Five
Ken Stinnett
Kevin Culver
Belinda Endress
Mike Arheiter
Steve R. Carvajal

Sunday began with an early morning practice. Carvajal was back in the CMI # 90 Monte Carlo. Culver and Evans both elected to withdraw with mechanical problems on the # 96 and # 10 cars of Evans Metal Fabrication, therefore putting Stinnett into the # 4 EMF Monte Carlo. Scott Ivie’s crew had repaired his # 47 Dodge and he was determined to make the day his own. He posted the fasted lap ever run in an ASC car that cool morning – a 1:50.755. Mike Speakman also elected to withdraw after Saturday’s events with mechanical difficulties on the # 67 Taleo Chevy Monte Carlo.

On Sunday, ASC runs a qualifying race in lieu of qualifying laps, inverting the finish from the race on Saturday. Since Ivie was the last person to cross the start/finish line on Saturday. He had the pole in the qualifying race and checked out on the pack. Carvajal, back in his own car, quickly threaded through the field and took control of second place. Dan Ryan raced hard to take third place in the heat race, followed by Ken Stinnett, who started next to last and Mike Arnheiter. Endress and Ochylski once again found each other on the track, in turn 6, when Endress passed Ochylski. Both cars suffered minor body damage, which their respective crews repaired by race time. Jeff Glowniak was forced to start the race dead last, having not finished the Saturday race with a broken brake rotor. He finished the qualifying race in 8th place.

When the final race of the weekend began, the pack came up to take the green in a slick, tight, formation. The tightness proved to be a problem for several competitors when Carvajal, on the outside front row, missed a shift at the green flag’s drop. Stinnett, Dave Arnheiter, Endress and Ochylski were all involved in a huge pile up under the flag tower. Stinnett, Arnheiter, Endress, and Ochylski all had body damage. Belinda Endress got the worst of it, getting rammed by Ochylski hard enough to turn the # 99 completely around on the front straight, removing the front body off the car. She was forced to retire after safety crews and the CMI crew was unable to cool the car down. Stinnett had a crumpled front hood that made vision difficult and Arnheiter suffered a broken watts link.

The rest were able to slide past the carnage and get to the business of racing. Carvajal, Stinnett and Arnheiter were able to maintain contact with the pack and stayed in the race. Dan Ryan was in second place when he spun in turn 6 collecting Carvajal who was attempting to slide by. Both were spun off track. Carvajal regained the track in last place and once again had to work his way through the pack. Ivie continued to lead, followed now by Glowniak and Mike Arnheiter. On lap three, Mike Arnheiter attempted to pass both Glowniak and Ivie for the lead going into turn 14 unsuccessfully. Arnheiter then crashed into Ivie, ending Ivie’s weekend by breaking his steering rack. Arnheiter was disqualified for reckless driving for the ill-advised attempted pass. Glowniak assumed the lead and was able to hold that position to the end of the race, earning him his first ever ASC win. Carvajal was able to race all the way back up to second and Stinnett was able to hold onto third for the finish.

Top five
Jeff Glowniak
Steve R. Carvajal
Ken Stinnett
Ed Ochylski
Brain Colodny

The next American Stock Car Challenge event will be at Infineon Raceway, in Sonoma, CA on October 8-9, 2005. Be sure to come watch the best in stock car road racing with the fastest growing stock car racing in the West!

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