IRWINDALE, California -- Six series staged main events at Irwindale Speedway Saturday night despite rain showers in the area and at the track as late as 4:30 p.m. A downpour shortly after 4:00 was so hard that some racing teams loaded up and returned home, believing racing would not be held that evening at the paved speedway. However, sun reappeared and track drying occurred. Rain did not return and a full night of racing took place on a chilly, 60-degree evening in front of about 1,000 hearty fans. Track management rewarded fans present for their perseverance. Bob DeFazio, GM/COO, thanked fans for attending and said everyone present would receive a free ticket to the Friday, October 19 Super Late Model portion of the annual Toyota All-Star Showdown.
SLM: On track action on the progressively-banked half-mile produced victories for Chris Johnson, 24, in the featured AC Delco Super Late Model 50-lap feature. It was his second start in the series this year and his first victory. The four-time winner last year drove the No. 21 Speed Wong Racing Chevrolet Monte Carlo from pole position with a ten-car inverted start. He led all the way in a 17-car field. Three of the 20-cars present earlier in the day did not compete. Greg Pursley and Kevin Thompson left the track following the late afternoon rainfall. Johnson, a truck and car racing veteran, had seven starts in the IS Auto Club Late Model series at the start of the season. He had a third place on opening night March 24 in the ACLM series aboard his No. 20 Chevy. His second SLM start flag-to-flag triumph Saturday topped his fourth place finish in the series two weeks ago.
The only caution flag during the SLM feature flew on the second lap. Second place Gary Jenkins was tapped and spun 360-degrees in mid-track entering the third turn. Following cars avoided contact. Jenkins restarted, but a misfiring engine caused him to retire his car to the infield on lap 27. Johnson, from Claremont, opened a 30-yard lead by lap 10 over fourth starter Travis Thirkettle. The 2007 SLM rookie and 2006 ACLM track champion whittled the lead to 10-yards by lap 40 of 50. He cut the leader's advantage to five yards by lap 45. However, Johnson held that margin steady during the final five laps and became the seventh different SLM winner at IS after 18 of 19 point races. "I was worried about Travis at the end," Johnson told the media.
Nick Joanides came from seventh on the grid to finish third in the No. 20 Speed Wong Racing Monte Carlo, as a teammate to the winner. Rip Michels, the point leader/11-time SLM main event winner this year, set third fastest qualifying time. He started Bob Bruncati's Ford Fusion eighth and reached fourth place before having his climb stall. With his car "too tight", Michels finished fourth, 4.386-seconds behind the winner. "Running fourth was a little different. We were glad to bring it home," Michels, 42, said. He clinched the AC Delco SLM championship and became the first IS track champion of 2007. It was his third SLM championship for the 2002-03 series champion and his fourth at IS. He also won the 2000 Grand American Modified title. Only one point race remains on September 29. Michels leads second place Thirkettle by 58-points (778-720) with a maximum of 50 points available for first place. David Beat, fastest qualifier David Ross, 18, Andrew Phipps, ASA Speed Truck race winner Andrew Allen, Scott Conaway and Stephen Peace completed the top ten. Fifteen drivers finished and 13 ran all 50 laps.
SUPER TRUCKS: Fastest qualifier Matthew Hicks, the Santee, CA Legend Cars graduate who turned 20 during June, started his family-owned Chevy S-10 second. He led all 40-laps of the King Taco Super Truck main. It was his sixth series victory in 13-main events and his sixth win in the last seven races. The winner used the outside groove and had to hold back a determined challenge by inside-running point leader Pat Mintey, Jr. from lap two to the finish. Mintey trailed by half a length at the finish line after the two leading trucks rubbed and got a bit out of shape exiting turn four on the final lap. Mintey trailed by 0.084 officially in the closest race of the night. Ryan Reed came from tenth to his season-best third place finish, 0.658 behind the winner.
SUPER STOCKS: Bryan Harrell was the quickest qualifier in 6:30 group qualifying. He started his 1977 Camaro seventh in a 15-car Vista Paint Super Stock main. Harrell, a racing car fabricator foreman at Racecar Factory in Irwindale, passed race-long leader Larry Sampson, the pole starter, with an inside move on lap 15 through the third and fourth turns. He had taken second place on lap seven and engaged in an exciting three-way battle from lap 7-12 with Sampson and Eric Sunness high and Harrell low in close formation all around the half-mile. Once he took command, Harrell opened a 20-yard lead and won by 1.010 for his seventh main event in 13 races this season. The only caution of the race came on lap 27. On the restart, point leader/four-time 2007 feature winner Darren Cheek shot from fourth to second with an inside move in turn four. Sampson settled for third, Rich DeLong III fourth and Sunness fifth in a 14-minute race. The first five finishers drove Camaros, the gold standard for the series. Third ranked driver Greg Crutcher started fifth and was a pressing second on lap seven when his throttle rod broke and he pulled into the infield as the only retiree.
LEGEND CARS: Gary Scheuerell, who has been racing Legends at IS since day one, drove his No. 13 replica 1934 Ford sedan to his third IS triumph and his first since 2000. The second fastest qualifier started second and became the third race leader on lap 10 of a 30-lap race on the third-mile. He pulled away to a 10-yard lead and won by 0.841 over point leader Darren Amidon. To preserve his point lead as he tries to win his first championship, Amidon borrowed the No. 02 car for qualifying. Regular driver Albert Flores, 16, had recorded fourth fastest time in the 1:00 p.m practice session before rain arrived. Amidon, 22, also set fourth fastest time in the car in post-rain time trials and started the feature fourth. With two races remaining, Amidon entered the race 20-points in front of five-time series champion Tom Landreth, who set fastest qualifying time and started third in his replica 1934 Ford coupe.
The championship outcome remained close until lap 18. Landreth was second and Amidon fifth in the tight, five-car lead pack. Bandoleros graduate Donny St. Ours, 14-year old winner of the last Legends main event, started first and led the first three laps. Then Landreth passed him high in turn four and led the fourth lap. St. Ours fought back and led lap 5-9 and lost the lead on lap 10 when Scheuerell made his inside turn four winning pass. Landreth took second from St. Ours on lap 17. A lap later the RF fender of the youngster got into the LR fender of Landreth entering the third turn, spinning Landreth, the winner of five of the first six IS Legend championships. Officials penalized St. Ours for spinning Landreth and both drivers started at the back of the field. Landreth pulled up next to St. Ours to show his displeasure. During the final 13 laps the duo raced forward together. Landreth finished 12th and St. Ours 14th with all 20 starters still racing at the end and 18 drivers on the lead lap. Mark Borchetta came from ninth to third in his 5/8-scale 1937 Dodge coupe. Amidon's second place awarded him 48 points and Landreth's 12th position was worth 28 points. Amidon now leads Landreth by 40-points (596-556) with only one race remaining on September 29.
MINI STOCKS: Tom Dye, a Justice Brothers Mini Stock veteran, set second quickest qualifying time in group qualifying about 6:30. He started the 17-car 30-lap main event on the third-mile third in his 1979 Toyota Celica. The Orange County-based, age 50+ driver shot from third to first on lap four via an inside pass entering the first turn. He dropped Eric Reed (the first three laps leader) to second as Kevin Bernhardt moved up to third. On lap 7 second-place Bernhardt had a flat LR tire and pitted. The 8:43.116-timed, all-green flag race was Dye's first triumph this season. He moved from seventh to sixth in points with one race remaining. Steve Rogers came from eighth to second and edged Reed and his 22-year old son, Tyler Rogers, the point leader. Rich Garver was fifth as the second through fifth place drivers ran nose to tail for the last half of the race. All 13 starters finished.
FIGURE 8: The Pick Your Part Outlaw Figure 8 concluded action at 9:50 p.m with an eight-car field. Tom Smith, the 2006 IS F8 series champion, made his second start at IS this year and scored his second consecutive 25-lap victory. He started seventh and was in third spot for the first three laps in a nose to tail battle with early leader Billy Ziemann and point leader Steve Stewart. Smith took second on lap four and made an inside pass in the second turn on lap 11 for the lead. He then pulled away to a half-lap victory over Ziemann and Stewart. Seven drivers finished, with four on the lead lap. Stewart now leads track point standings by eight points (326-318) with two races remaining before a champion is crowned.
All five oval track series ran four-lap trophy dashes for the four fastest
qualifiers, with the fastest qualifiers starting inverted at the back. Winners
on the half-mile were Phipps (SLM), Crutcher (SS) and 17-year old rookie Connor
Cantrell (Super Trucks). Third-mile dash-winners were Landreth (Legends) and
Garver (Mini Stocks). Hard charger $100 award winners were (SLM)-Conaway (P.
14-9); (SS)-Tim Conley (P 15-10); (ST)-rookie Miles Copenhaver (P 13-7);
(LC)-rookie Andrew Anderson, 14, (P 15-9) and (MS)-Thomas Porter (P. 12-9). Fastest
qualifiers were (SLM)-Ross at 18.131 (99.277 mph); (SS)-Harrell - 20.750
(86,747 mph) - a NTR that eclipsed his own June 23 time of 20.955 (85.898 mph);
(ST)-Hicks - 19.746 (91.158 mph); (LC)-Landreth - 16.731 (71.651 mph), and
(MS)-T. Rogers - 16.983 (70.588 mph).
