BRYAN WARF SCORES BREAKOUT WIN AT MADERA

The Supermodified Racing Association brought their offset winged roadsters into Madera Speedway Saturday for the fifth of six scheduled shows at the Central California Speed Plant. When all the smoke cleared, Super Sophomore Bryan Warf had scored his first ever Supermodified Victory during the exciting fifty lap feature. David Tuey was the top finishing 360 Supermodified in the combined event with a sixth place overall.

The competition started with time trials and Troy Regier was fastest of the fast with a lap of 12.420 seconds on the 1/3 mile banking. Jim Birges set second fast time with a sputtering engine at 12.653. Rounding out the top five qualifiers were Bryan Warf at 12.655, Jeff Russell at 12.666, and Bobby Dalton at 12.681. One new tem with veteran Sprint Car pilot Tony Thomas at the wheel managed to qualify eighth in their first ever Supermodified outing.

The Madera 360 Supermodifieds which compete in combined events with SMRA at Madera Speedway showed off their skills with David Tuey taking fast time at 13.487 followed by Kenny Kinchen at 13.528, Lance Jackson at 13.615, Donnie Large at 13.627, and Larry Hinz at 14.319. Lance Tatro scratched with mechanical gremlins prior to time trials.

The 360 Trophy Dash was the first multi-lap competition of the evening and lined up with Donnie Large on the pole followed by Lance Jackson, Kenny Kinchen, and David Tuey. Large led from the outset with Kinchen grabbing second followed by Jackson and Tuey. Kinchen got under Large on lap three while Tuey passed Jackson on the same circuit. And that was the finish. Kinchen won the four lapper over Large, Tuey, and Jackson.

The SMRA Trophy Dash started with Bryan Warf and Jim Birges on the front row and Troy Regier and Jeff Russell in row two. Birges went side by side with Warf into turn one at the green and led lap one from his outside starting position followed by Warf Russell and Regier. Birges was still having some engine issues but managed to hold the lead for the entire four laps to take the victory over Warf, Russell, and Regier.

The 360 Supers and the SMRA Supers ran separate eight lap heat races. The 360’s lined up with Donnie Large on the pole followed by Lance Jackson, Kenny Kinchen, David Tuey, and Larry Hinz. Large led the first lap over Jackson, Tuey, Hinz, and Kinchen. Kinchen then rolled to a stop in turn three with tire problems to force a yellow flag on lap two. Kinchen was pushed into the pits. On the restart, Tuey snookered Jackson to take second place and then set out after Large. Tuey made several attempts during the next six laps but was unable to displace Large from the lead. Donnie took the checkers over Tuey, Jackson, and Hinz.

The SMRA Supers took to the track for their eight lap heat with Tony Thomas and Whitey Janssen occupying the front row. They were pursued by Martin McKeefery, Bobby Dalton, Jeff Russell, Bryan Warf, Jim Birges, and Troy Regier. Janssen and Dalton both squeezed by Thomas on lap one leaving Tony in third, Warf in fourth, and McKeefery in fifth. Warf found the way around Thomas on lap three and Regier jumped to fourth on the same circuit with McKeefery maintaining fifth. Dalton took the point on the fourth go around while Regier moved to third. And that was pretty much the race. Dalton won over Janssen, Regier, Warf, and McKeefery.

The SMRA and 360 cars combined for the fifty lap feature event and started in a full invert. Donnie Large, Lance Jackson, Kenny Kinchen, and David Tuey made up the first two rows. The middle of the pack consisted of Tony Thomas, Whitey Janssen, Martin McKeefery, and Bobby Dalton. Rounding out the field were Jeff Russell, Bryan Warf, Jim Birges, Troy Regier, and Larry Hinz. Large and Kinchen took off with the green with Jackson, Thomas, and Tuey completing the top five at the end of lap one. Lap two saw Kinchen take the lead over Large, Thomas, McKeefery, and Jackson. On lap three, Thomas took second from Large and Jeff Russell moved into fifth. The yellow flew on lap four when Janssen and Russell had contact sending Janssen into a turn two spin with Russell heading across the infield grass. With Russell and Janssen relegated to the rear on the restart, Thomas took the lap four lead followed by Kinchen, McKeefery, Birges, and Dalton. McKeefery took second on lap five, Birges moved to third on lap six, Dalton took fourth on lap seven and Warf moved into the top five on lap nine.

Birges moved to second on the tenth circuit and Regier snagged fifth a lap later. Thomas led until lap twelve when Birges assumed the lead. McKeefery and Dalton got around Thomas on lap thirteen with Regier accomplishing that feat a lap later. The yellow and then red flags flew on lap fifteen when the throttle stuck on Janssen’s Hyder sending him into the turn three wall resulting in a hard impact and flip. Whitey was helped from the car by track officials with the wind knocked out of him and a bruised knee. On the restart, McKeefery got around Birges when the engine stumbled and Birges pulled into the infield with continuing power plant problems. The yellow flag flew a lap later when Regier stalled on the backstretch with no fire in the boiler. An attempt to restart Regiers was unsuccessful and the multi time champion pulled to the infield with a failed accessory drive. When lap sixteen was finally completed, McKeefery led over Dalton, Warf, Thomas, and Russell.

Warf took second place on lap seventeen and Russell moved to fourth on lap eighteen. Warf took the point on lap nineteen and Dalton passed McKeefery for second on lap twenty three. For the next twenty laps, the twenty-something trio of Warf, Dalton and McKeefery darted and weaved their way through lapped traffic with some very exciting moves and hammering on one another for every inch of advantage. Warf maintained the lead throughout with Dalton second, McKeefery third, Russell fourth and Thomas fifth. The yellow flew on lap the leader’s forty-eighth lap when Kinchen stalled coming off turn two. With a green, white, checkers finish, McKeefery was able to displace Dalton on the restart and make a hard challenge to Warf, coming up just short at the checkers. Bryan took win with McKeefery, Dalton, Russell, and Thomas rounding out the top five. The top finishing 360 Supers were Tuey, Jackson, Kinchen, Large and Hinz in sixth through tenth positions overall.

Bryan Warf’s win came just three weeks after he dominated the July Super Saturday event only to suffer an engine failure within sight of the checkered flag. Although he didn’t run away from the pack and was challenged throughout by Dalton and McKeefery, It was an exciting and impressive first Supermod victory for the young Idahoan. With the exception of Whitey Janssen’s very scary encounter with the wall, it was a safe and competitive round of racing and probably the best Supermodified feature of the year thus far. Tony Thomas was impressive in his first outing in the Al Lytle owned Malloy and just kept getting faster and smoother with each lap. He led several laps and finished in fifth place on the lead lap for a great result for the night. From the agricultural capitol of the world, I am the Racing Widow’s Husband reminding you that the SMRA Supermodifieds return to the track at Madera on September 20th.