Irwindale, Calfiornia – Andrew Myers started third in a 25-car Toyota Speedway at Irwindale field Saturday and led every lap in a scheduled 100-lap NASCAR Auto Club Late Model feature. The planned final race of the night was moved to the first main event time slot to beat a predicted 40% chance of rain, but light rain ended the event early. Myers had his second consecutive ACLM feature triumph and the seventh of 2008 for the No. 15 Eugene Dewberry Chevy Monte Carlo team. Tim Huddleston won his third ACLM driving championship in four years (2005, 07 and 08).when steady light rain ended the race after 51 laps. Four other main events--Legend Cars, Vista Paint Super Stocks, Justice Brothers Mini Stocks and the visiting Drive Tech Late Models--were canceled. Point seasons for those three in-house divisions were concluded with no rain date available.

There were about 1,000 persons in the stands Saturday on the threatening night, plus 93 race cars in the pits. There were 25 cars in both the ACLM and Legends series, 17 JBMS, 16 VPSS and 10 DTLM. Rich Garver won the first JBMS championship of his career with his 1980 Toyota Celica. Two other champions had won repeat track driving championships at the last race in their series. Bryan Harrell won his second VPSS title that he won initially in 2006. He drove his own No. 55 1977 Chevy Camaro. Tom Landreth won his sixth Legends championship in eight years. He drives his family-owned No. 30 replica 1934 Ford coupe. Track photographer Marv Keller took photos of all champions with their cars and crews at the victory lane backdrop in the pits outside the first turn.

Only two TS@I track championships remain to be decided at the next oval track event on October 25. The pure stock and Outlaw Figure 8 champions will be determined then. Touring ASA Speed Trucks, a train race and auto soccer will round out the final oval track night at TS@I until the annual USAC midget and sprint car Thanksgiving Night Grand Prix on November 27. Management announced that spectators who purchased tickets for the October 4 event may reuse those tickets to attend the October 25 event. Persons who bought pit passes Saturday may use them at a regular track series event this year or next year.

DRIVE TECH: The five division event Saturday began on track activities at 1:00 with two 15-minute practice sessions for all five series until about 3:15. With weather moving in, qualifying for in-house divisions was canceled. Starting lineups were set by point standings, with all four in-house divisions starting straight-up (point leaders in front). Only the Drive Tech Late Models qualified at 4:45, on the half-mile. The DTLM cars are identical 1999 Chevy Monte Carlo driving school cars. Drive Tech students pay about $2,000 for on track race training Friday, use of safety equipment, race cars and Saturday racing (heat races and main event). Steve Jones set a new one lap DTLM track record of 19.846 (90.698 mph) as the only driver under 20.354. It was the second-ever DTLM appearance at Irwindale, following the debut on August 30. DTLM drivers raced a pair of 6-lap heats shortly before 7:00 pm. Legends driver Mark Borchetta started second and led all the way in the first heat. Dennis Tarlton started fourth, became the third different leader on lap 3, and won the second five car heat.

ACLM championship chasers started their 18th event of the season 1-2-3 in point order; they finished 3-1-2. Huddleston (at 722 points) entered the race six points in front of Nick Joanides (716). Myers (682) was 40-points in back of Huddleston with 50-points available for the winner and two-points per position drop-off to the final finishing position. Myers, who had six ACLM feature victories compared to five for Huddleston and three for Joanides, needed a victory. If Myers won (as he did impressively) Huddleston needed a 20th place or better finish because Myers held the tie-breaker advantage (number of 2008 ACLM feature triumphs). Joanides, the 2008 AC Delco Super Late Model champion, needed a 17th or better finish to win his second TS@I championship in the same year, a feat never accomplished at the track that opened in 1999. Of course, Joanides had to finish better than three positions in front of Huddleston. Joanides was optimistic because he had won the last two ACLM 100-lap features at Irwindale on July 4 this year and the final point race last year.

ACLM MAIN: The 25-car ACLM field took the green flag at 7:14 pm. Third starter Myers asserted himself immediately on the first lap. He shot to the inside of front row starters Huddleston and Joanides entering the first turn and emerged from the second turn with the lead over Huddleston and Joanides. Fifth starter Colin Fleming, a series rookie, jumped past Mike Johnson into fourth position on the first lap. A three-car spin-out in turn two on lap 4 involved cars in 16th and lower positions and ate five laps under caution. The green flag flew on lap 9 and the top four drivers pulled away again. The first four cars ran nose-to-tail in a tight pack by lap 10, with Johnson 20-yards back in fifth place. With Myers on the outside and Huddleston on the inside, the leaders lapped the first back-marker on lap 24. Huddleston almost passed Myers on lap 29 exiting turn four, but Myers held the advantage by half a length at the starting line. On lap 38 with the top four runners still in close proximity, the predicted light rain had arrived and caused the yellow flag. The first four drivers all ran the fastest laps of the race at 19.1. Huddleston led with 19.128, followed by Myers' 19.153, Joanides' 19.195 and Fleming's 19.197.

With Doppler radar on computers showing intermittent and passing rain cells in the area, officials kept cars circulating under yellow on the half-mile. On lap 45 all cars followed the Toyota pace truck around the third-mile track and almost formed a complete circle of cars to the completion of lap 51. Then at 7:36 pm, the red flag flew and all 22 cars followed the pace truck off the track at the first turn pit entrance. They all stopped at the holding area outside the backstretch where DTLMs were waiting to race next. Drivers waited in their race cars while tow trucks towed large tires to dry the half-mile track. Emergency vehicles and the ambulance also circulated in 50-second laps in a futile attempt to dry the track. Light rain continued unabated. Track management at 8:27 pm canceled racing for the night and declared Huddleston the 2008 ACLM champion. He finished the season with 770 points to 762 for Joanides and 732 for Myers. Huddleston then drove his No. 50 2008 Chevy Monte Carlo to the infield and did celebratory donuts on the very wet pavement as light rain continued falling well past 9:00 pm.

Fleming's fourth place in the race secured fifth place in final point standings. The 24-year old former open-wheel formula car driver won the eighth main event of the year on June 21 and also won the 2008 ACLM rookie of the year honor. Mike Johnson finished the 51 lap race fifth. ACLM rookie Ryan Kaplan, a 22-year old USAC Midget and sprint car veteran, charged past seven cars from his 13th grid position to a closing sixth at the premature conclusion. Despite missing nine of the 18 ACLM events, because he was in the Midwest racing USAC midgets and sprint cars, Kaplan climbed from 13th to 12th in final ACLM points. He was the third highest rookie in final points. He had a best finish of second place on July 4 and three top five finishes in his nine ACLM races in Huddleston's No. 51 Ford Fusion. One-time winners Travis Irving and Lindsey King, Sean Bennett, Dan DiGiacomo, Brandon Loverock, rookie Miles Copenhaver, the tenth place driver in final ACLM points, Ray Robinson, Mike Varela and George Atkinson rounded out the top 15 with 22 of 25 starters still on the track at the end.

Hard charger of the race honors went to Connor Cantrell, the 18-year old second place driver (-6 points) and six-feature winner of the 14-race King Taco Super Truck Series. High school senior Cantrell had to start last (25th) because he was making his ACLM debut and had no ACLM points. Cantrell drove the No. 97 2006 Chevy Monte Carlo that his dad bought late last year from Craig Yeaton. Cantrell only had a few Friday night practice runs in the ex-No. 24 Chevy. During Saturday's first practice session at 1:45 Cantrell's 19.610 was 21st fastest of 25 drivers. In the second practice session at 2:45, his 19.241 was sixth fastest of the 16 drivers who practiced. He was only 0.207 slower than quickest runner Joanides' 19.034. Cantrell passed seven cars on the track before the lap 38 yellow for rain and finished 16th. He avoided the lap 4 three-car collision and drove between involved cars. The talented Legends grad and KTST veteran later said he could've finished in the top ten if the race had gone all 100-laps. Following Cantrell were Chis Johnson, Clay Wattenbarger, and rookie Tim Smith, in only his third ACLM race aboard the Smith family No. 98--the ex-No. 57 High-Point Distributing Chevy that Smith's father purchased recently from Huddleston. Paul Ebersbacher, Robert Rice and Chris Holloway completed the top 22 although Holloway dropped out following his lap 31 spin to the third-mile across from the starter's stand. His spin did not cause a caution because he was well off the track. Travis Motley was involved in the lap 4 tangle with Logan Henson and Wattenbarger. Motley pitted and came back, down ten laps at the finish.

Huddleston only had to finish three positions better than his friendly rival Joanides to win the 2008 ACLM crown and a trip for two to Hawaii from the series sponsoring Auto Club. Prior to the race, Huddleston said he was racing for the win and would not points race or be conservative. He followed that pre-race philosophy completely; he raced Myers hard for the lead during all green flag laps. Joanides hung right with his two championship contenders and was ready to pounce for the lead if the two leaders made contact. The fan-pleasing four-car lead pack battle would have been a cliff-hanger if the final 49 laps had been run. Tire wear or abuse would've played a key factor in which driver would've won a full 100-lap run. Joanides and Fleming were right there, saving their tires for a late run to the front. It was the sixth time races at the track were interrupted/canceled by rain in ten years of racing at the eastern Los Angeles County track. The last time rain interfered was on July 12 this year when two of the six features were canceled by rain. Both races were made up during subsequent weeks with twin-main events. Irwindale's opening night on March 11, 2006 was a complete rain-out when no wheels turned because of an all-day rainst