IRWINDALE, California -- Mark Perry and Andrew Phipps shared NASCAR AC Delco Super Late Model 50-lap main event victories in front of about 2,000 fans Saturday at the banked, half-mile Irwindale Speedway during Whelen All-American Series action. Both races resembled demolition derbies at times and 14 of the 25 cars that started race one were damaged seriously. Multi-car crashes caused four yellow and three red flags that consumed 35, 13 and 16-minutes for driver extraction and track clean-up work. The first SLM main event had two reds that reduced to 25-car field to 17 cars at the conclusion of 50-laps. Several cars that finished were missing damaged front fenders and hoods and resembled Grand American Modifieds.
Perry, from Lancaster, was racing in only his fourth race of the season. He started seventh in his 2007 Chevy Monte Carlo and became the third race leader on lap 10. Perry led the final 41 laps for his first SLM victory. Justin Johnson, one of three first-time Irwindale visitors in the race from Las Vegas, started fourth in the nearly fully inverted lineup. He trailed Perry by 0.232 at the finish. Scott Conaway, David Beat and Stephen Peace, from Phoenix, completed the top five finishers. David Ross and Mike Price traded the lead three-times during the first four laps before Perry made his inside pass of Price for the lead in the fourth turn on lap 10 and held the point to the checkers.
The first red flag flew on lap two after a four-car crash in turn two that started with two cars making contact, spinning Gary Jenkins car around at the second turn exit at the top of the track. Kevin Wong's car climbed another car and his left front tire got into Jenkins' cockpit with the tire reportedly resting on Jenkins' helmet. Jenkins, from El Cajon, lost consciousness briefly according to a radio report from the scene. He soon spoke to track rescue workers as they cut the roof off his car to remove him cautiously. Jenkins was taken by ambulance to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center in Los Angeles for observation and tests. He was released Sunday morning. Only 21 cars restarted following the 35-minute red flag for Jenkins rescue operation and track clean-up work.
The second red flag in the first SLM main required 13-minutes following a three-car crash on lap 13 as leaders exited turn four. Third place Price, after contact, turned sideways and rode over the right front fender of Ron Esau's fifth place car. Both cars spun to the infield near the starting line. Eight cars spun out or received damage. Dan Moore and fastest qualifier Rip Michels, who started 19th and was still outside the top ten, veered to the first turn of the third-mile track to avoid slowing cars. Michels had to stop abruptly near turn two to avoid contact with an emergency truck that was starting to roll to the accident site from its station at the top of the shorter track second turn.
On lap 48 Peace and Michels simultaneously dropped Beat from fourth to sixth place with low-side second turn passes. At the fourth turn Michels tried to pass Peace for fourth and brought out the final caution by spinning out low as he exited the turn. Moore, in eighth spot, also spun low to avoid Michels, and their cars backed into each other in the infield as they looped. Both drivers finished, Moore 12th and Michels 13th. Michels radioed to his crew and said, "It was my fault. It just spun out from under me. I just tried to pull off one more move. Sorry, it was my fault." SLM point leader Travis Thirkettle, as second fastest qualifier, started 18th. He had major front-end damage and pitted after the lap 13 crash. He returned for the restart without any body-work from the firewall forward and finished 11th. The crash eliminated the cars of Price, Esau, Dan O'Donnell and Linny White. Nick Joanides was only able to run a few laps before front-end damage also eliminated his Speed Wong No. 21 for the night. O'Donnell returned after 17 laps with help from many other crews, including those from super stock teams. Seventeen drivers were running at the end of the race and 13 ran all 50 laps.
SECOND SLM MAIN: The second SLM feature followed a five-minute break in which refueling took place at the staging area beyond the backstretch. Only 21 cars restarted with fastest qualifier Michels lined up ninth on the grid. Beat, from outside row one, led the first nine laps. Phipps started fourth and led lap 10 to the checkered flag. The race started at 9:58 p.m and concluded at 10:31 after three yellow flags and one red flag. On lap 12 first race winner Perry, who had raced from 11th starting position to fourth place, got pinched in traffic. His Chevy hit the first turn pit entrance protective attenuator, knocking it askew and littering the track with debris from the attenuator. His car No. 10 stopped against the turn one outer wall with extensive right front damage. Perry was uninjured, but his car had to be towed to the pits and he placed 19th. Perry climbed from deep in the 53-driver point standings to 18th despite racing in only five of 12 SLM races this year.
On lap 13 in the second turn fourth place Scott Dodd, on the outside of a three-wide battle for fourth, got bumped into the second turn wall. He slowed with suspension damage and trailed sparks from the right front to the pits, sidelined for the night. After consulting by radio with officials in the corner, race director Lester Boyer sent the middle car (Conaway) and inside car (Michels) to the back of the field for their roles in Dodd's wall contact. During lap 25, Boyer notified all drivers by radio that the race would conclude after 35 laps because of time constraints. Phipps, a 31-year old second-generation driver from Simi Valley and son of Saugus Speedway star Dave Phipps, won by 25-yards (1.073 seconds) over Beat. It was his second triumph this year in the Jackson Race Cars-built No. 7 Monte Carlo owned by Greg Lobosky, of Walnut, and formerly raced by Todd Southwell. Phipps is a three-time champion at IS with GAM titles in 2003-04 and the SLM championship as a rookie in 2005 when he raced for Bob Bruncati, who now employs Michels as his driver. Phipps logged his 30th feature victory, tying T. K. Karvasek (super stocks, Figure 8) as sixth most prolific feature winner at IS.
Peace finished third, with Las Vegas resident Johnson fourth. Price took fifth in his undamaged back-up car. Sixteen of 21 starters finished the second SLM race and all completed the 35-lap run. Conaway came from the back to finish eighth and Michels restarted at the back and came home 11th. Michels, who saw his SLM main event winning streak end at seven in the first race, took over the series point lead by six points (488-482) over former leader Thirkettle, who led most of the season. After starting the second race with his battered Monte Carlo from race one, Thirkettle pitted several times with an overheating problem. He finally parked the car after 12 laps and finished 18th. The three visitors from Nevada avoided the carnage. Johnson, with second and fourth place finishes in the two mains in his Sunworld-sponsored car, compiled the most points (92) in the two races. During post-race ceremonies, Johnson said he enjoyed racing at the wider Irwindale track for the first time and plans to return. The multi-feature winner at the three-eighths mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway "Bullring" oval said he still had his three-eighths mile engine in the car for his Irwindale debut.
SUPER STOCKS: The other series in action on the half-mile was the Vista Paint Super Stock 30-lap main with a fully inverted start for the first time this year. The two fastest qualifiers and winners of every VPSS feature this season started at the back of the 15-car lineup. It didn't take both drivers long to race to the front of the Camaro-dominated field. Pole starter Jeff Grill led the first two laps. Second fastest qualifier Darren Cheek led lap 3-15. Fastest qualifier/point leader Bryan Harrell, in his No. 55 orange Camaro, led lap 16-19 before a lapped car got in his way and allowed Cheek's No. 62 orange Camaro to pass him on the inside in turn two. Cheek won his third consecutive main by 2.383 seconds over Harrell, giving both drivers four victories each in the eight races this year. Dan Fitzgerald, Eric Sunness and Greg Crutcher completed the top five in their Camaros.
All 15 starters finished and 13 drivers completed every lap in the most exciting VPSS race of 2007. Harrell now has a two-point lead (392-390) over Cheek with six races remaining in a 14-race schedule. The 13-minute VPSS race had one caution flag for a solo spin on the ninth lap. The early laps featured four and five-car wide racing around the track as faster cars passed slower cars that were simultaneously passing slower qualifiers. On the third lap Harrell's spotter--his wife--said on the radio to her driver, "This is crazy." Fans loved the action. Winner Cheek told the crowd he wasn't in favor of the full inversion implemented by track GM/COO Bob DeFazio because "if you wreck all the work you do all week is wasted. But it worked out. We won, so it was great."
PURE STOCKS: In third-mile racing action, Mark Whitson, in his 1973 Chevy Malibu, started seventh and led lap 6-30 in the BG Products Pure Stock Series race, the initial feature of the night. Race six of the year for the entry class was his first race at IS this season. The former winner at IS became the sixth different winner in eight races, including two pure stock Figure 8 races. Whitson defeated his younger brother Tom Whitson by 3.840-seconds. The younger brother was making his IS debut in an unpainted car being raced for the first time. He started eighth as the fastest qualifier. Peter Bryk, substituting for his daughter Ginger, started fourth and finished third. Fourteen of 15 starters finished and nine drivers ran all 30 laps. The all-green flag race took only 8:59.605.
MINI STOCKS: Kevin Bernhardt, the seventh quickest qualifier in his 1975 Ford Pinto, started and finished first in a 35-lap Justice Brothers Mini Stock main. The 2005 series champion led all the way in capturing his second victory this season. He edged Toyota Celica driver and last race winner Rich Garver by 0.476. Point leader/2006 series champion Tyler Rogers came from eighth to finish third in a 19-car field of mini-mites. Seventeen drivers finished and 12 ran all 35 laps in a 14-minute event with one caution flag. A fully inverted mini stock trophy dash for the six slowest qualifiers went to Daryl Scoggins from sixth position. He led all but the first lap.
HARD CHARGER/FASTEST QUALIFIERS: The $100 hard charger award winners by
division were: (PS)-Mike Colato, Jr; P5-4; (MS)-Steve Rogers, P10-6; (SS)-Sunness,
P11-4 (interestingly, he won the C-note he put up for his series); (SLM)-race
1-series rookie Dodd, P15-6, and race 2-Price, P10-5. Fastest qualifiers were
(PS)-newcomer Tom Whitson - 17.536 (68.362 mph) -- a new track record that
beat Colato's old record of 17.543 on 5/12/07. (MS)-Brian Johnson - 17.190 for
his second quick time this year and the second in a row for his car 24. His late
model driver father Mike set fast time in the car at the last series event.
(SS)- Harrell - 21.062 - it was his third consecutive quick time. (SLM)-
Michels - His 18.207 was his eighth fastest qualifying time in a row.
