IRWINDALE, California — Crashing and bashing was common Saturday during a six main event Toyota Speedway at Irwindale program for five series, plus an auto soccer match. When the final checkered flag flew after three hours of motorized mayhem in front of about 2,800 fans, the track crowned the first two 2008 track champions at the ten-year speedway. In the ninth and final Bandolero race, fastest qualifier Aaron Anderson, 12, won the 20-lap Bandolero 11-car main on the third-mile and became the new champion. The Briggs & Stratton-powered cars are the smallest cars that compete at Irwindale. Nick Joanides, the dominant driver in the track's premier and fastest division, won his first TS@I track championship. He won one of the twin NASCAR AC Delco Super Late Model features. Joanides has a 70-point lead with a maximum of 50 points available to the winner of the final SLM race next Saturday.
Second-ranked Travis Thirkettle won the first SLM 40-lap main by 0.153 over Joanides. Thirkettle became involved in a multi-car crash on the backstretch during the first lap of the second main. His Chevy Monte Carlo received serious front end damage. He returned without front fenders and hood, but down nine laps, and finished 19th in the 24-car field. Joanides, 37, has 862 points to 792 for Thirkettle, who has secured second place with his 52-point lead over third place Dan Moore. Thirkettle's third victory in a row in race one was his fourth SLM victory this season and his 31st at the track in three series. He now is tied with two-time speed truck champion Ron Peterson for fifth place on the list of all-time feature winners at the track. New champion Joanides and his No. 71 J & M Construction/Mr. Crane Chevy have won 10 of the 19 SLM features this year, including five in a row earlier this season. His six seconds and one third place have found him on the podium at an amazing 89% of the races this season. His two sub-par SLM races came in the first two races this year.
Other main event winners Saturday were King Taco Super Truck Series point leader Pat Mintey, Jr. on the half-mile, plus 14-year old Ryan Reed, of Bakersfield, in the Legend Cars, and Daryl Scoggins in the Justice Brothers Mini Stocks on the third-mile track. The seventh and final event of the action-packed three hours program was the second auto soccer event this year. A three-car Pick Your Part team of orange cars beat a three-car Jan's Towing team of white cars by a score of 2 to 1. The cars used an empty 450-pound metal propane tank painted to resemble a soccer ball put into play in the infield by a "referee car"/station wagon. The 12-minute match saw Jan's Towing score first on a break-away. The PYP team scored on a dribbler past the goalie car to tie the score. With the announcement that the next score would end the game, PYP scored again on a slow roller past the empty goal that was marked on each end of the infield by large truck tires instead of concrete K-rails used at the April 12 match. PYP won that contest over Jan's Towing 1-0. The first ever auto soccer match at Irwindale last November had the same winner.
1ST SLM 40: Fourth fastest qualifier Thirkettle had the pole position in the 24-car field, with fastest qualifier Joanides fourth in the inverted start. Joanides took second from Stephen Peace on lap 7 and dueled Thirkettle closely to the finish. Joanides ran inside and Thirkettle outside. The duo completed the 23-minute race, slowed by three cautions, virtually nose to tail. Peace took third, 15-yards in back of Joanides. Matt Hicks came from seventh to fourth in the oldest car in the race. Ron Hornaday, Jr. built the frame in the mid-1980s. Jason Bowles, the winner of both NASCAR Camping World Grand National West 200-lap races at Irwindale this year, drove one of three Speed Wong Racing Chevrolets from eighth to fifth. Andy Allen, David Ross, Toni McCray, Dan Moore and leading rookie Randel King,16, completed the top ten. Twenty cars reached the finish line with 17 drivers on the lead lap.
2ND SLM MAIN: Twenty-four cars appeared on the grid with the starting grid set by the second of two mid-afternoon qualifying laps. On the initial lap pole starter Moore was in front when his car got tapped from behind on the backstretch and spun in front of the field. Fourth starter/SLM title contender Thirkettle, Hicks and Allen became involved and and stopped on the backstretch with car damage. The cars of Thirkettle and Hicks were towed to the pits. A complete restart had Moore and Mark Perry back in row one. Moore led the first lap. Joanides took charge for good on lap two and opened a 20-yard lead over Peace, who took second on the third lap. Ross came from eighth on the grid to third on lap 4 and tied his best finish this year. A red flag flew on lap 10 when seventh place David Beat and Jason Fensler got together leaving turn two and ninth place Brian Wong clipped Beat's car, which had body damage from the first main. Beat's car contacted and climbed over Fensler's Speed Wong No. 21 and launched over it. Beat's car landed on its roof and slid down the backstretch, flipped back on four wheels and stopped midway down the backstretch. Wong's car veered up into the backstretch wall and dropped out. Fensler stopped on the track; he continued to 11th position. Bowles, in the Speed Wong Racing No. 20, started third and finished fourth, with Randel King fifth and Perry sixth. Toni McCray continued her rapid improvement by starting tenth and finishing a career-best seventh. She climbed from tenth to eighth in point standings. First-time Irwindale starter John Manke, Chazz Anderson and Jeff Eshleman completed the top ten. Nineteen drivers were racing at the finish and 14 drivers ran all 30 laps. Because of the red flag and busy night, officials notified all competitors by radio at lap 20 that the race would go for 30 laps instead of the scheduled 40 laps.
SUPER TRUCKS: A dramatic turn of events with championship implications occurred in the King Taco Super Trucks 40-lap race with 20 trucks. Mason Britton led the first 28 laps before point leader Mintey passed him on the inside leaving the second turn. Mintey, the series 2007 track champion, entered the race with a 12-point lead over 17-year old high school senior Connor Cantrell. Fastest qualifier Cantrell, a six-time winner in 11 races this year, started sixth and was third on lap 8 when he spun in turn one after contract with Todd Cameron. Race control sent both drivers to the back. Cantrell put on a show and raced past 14 trucks on the half-mile. Without benefit of another yellow flag, Cantrell was going for fifth place when his truck and that of Scott Dodd got together on the backstretch on the white flag lap. Cantrell's truck nosed into the mid-backstretch wall ending his night in 20th (last) position. Dodd dropped out and finished 19th. Britton, the last KTST feature winner, was fourth and went to the pits because he thought the race had finished and he was not in the top three. The field had received the yellow flag and not a checkered flag. The field ran two more laps and Britton returned from the pits to finish 14th. After a green, white, checkered finish, Mintey won by 0.240. Second generation teenage drivers and KTST series rookies Rod Johnson, Jr. (from fourth) and Jeff Peterson (from 10th) finished a closing second and third as they continue their rookie of the year battle. Johnson ranks fourth with 426 points and Peterson tenth with 370 points. Jimmy Rickart had his career-best fourth place after starting seventh. Dennis Arena was fifth with 18 trucks finishing the 41-lap, 20- minute race that had two caution flags.
LEGENDS: A 23-car field of Legend Cars did not play nice this week. The scheduled 35-lap race ran only 33 laps officially because of five yellow flags and numerous incidents. Seventeen cars finished. Pole starter Brandon Toy led the first eight laps and 14-year old Ryan Reed, son of NASCAR touring series veteran Mark Reed, came from third starting spot to lead laps 8-33 and received the early checkered flag first. Fastest qualifier Eric Gunderson, also 14, started second, fell to fifth by lap 5 and came back to earn second. Tom Landreth, the five-time track champion and most recent feature winner, came from sixth grid slot to finish third. Darren Amidon, the 2007 Legends track champion, came from ninth to fourth. Matt Hart was fifth. Multiple car incidents on the white flag lap and a yellow/checker finish caused scorers to revert to the last completed green flag (33rd) for the finish of the 16-minute event.
MINI STOCKS: The Justice Brothers Mini Stock Series did run all 35 laps in a 12-minute race with a solitary caution flag. Ford Pinto driver Dennis Croasmun, from the pole, led the first nine laps and finished third with fellow front row starter Tyler Rogers second. Daryl Scoggins came from fifth to lead laps 10-35. Jacob Rogers and his dads Steve crossed the finish line fourth and fifth to give the Rogers clan from Riverside three of the top five positions in the 15-car field. All five front runners were 1970s Ford Pintos. Point leader Rich Garver's 1980 Toyota Celica finished sixth. Ten of 14 finishers ran every lap.
A KTST six-lap trophy dash for the six slowest qualifiers started racing at 7:00 pm. Versatile Ryan Partridge subbed for Steve Latina and came from last to pass race-long leader/California lottery winner Kenny Smith in the final turn to win by 0.030. Partridge relinquished the truck to Latina for the feature. Hard charger $100 award winners were Jeff Eshleman in both SLM main events. Jordan Hyland (Legends). Steve Rogers (JBMS) and Dana Higgins (KTST) were the other hard charger awards winners. Fastest qualifiers were: (on the half-mile) – A C Delco SLM – Joanides @ 18.248 -98.641 mph) on L 1 and 18.303 on L 2; KTST – Cantrell @ 19.866 (90.607 mph); (on the third mile) – Legends – Gunderson @ 71.015 mph; JBMS – Reed @ 69.885 mph, and Bandoleros – Anderson @ 63.824 mph.
