KARR BENEFITS FROM RIVALS’ MISHAPS TO CLAIM VICTORY IN SUPER LATE MODEL MAIN AT ORANGE SHOW SPEEDWAY

SAN BERNARDINO, California — Barry Karr demonstrated the benefit of being in the right place at the right time Saturday night.

Karr, of Redlands, ran just off the pace of the leaders for most of the 50-lap Super Late Model main event at Orange Show Speedway and wound up with the lead, and the win, after most of his rivals saw their chances for victory destroyed by accidents and spins.

Rob Kiemele, of Riverside, started on the pole and led the first 40 laps over the ASA-sanctioned quarter-mile oval, until he and fast qualifier Linny White got together in Turn 4 and were sent to the rear of the 10-car field. White, of Fontana, had fought back to second after him and Glen Cummings, of Highland, touched and spun on lap 10 while battling for second.

That incident left Karr second until opening night winner Mark Shackleford, of Riverside, took the position on lap 30. Shackleford made a bid for the lead by getting inside of Kiemele in Turn 2 on lap 38, but couldn’t hold his line and spun. That put White into second, with Karr and two-time champion John Manke in pursuit.

Then White and Kiemele spun in Turn 4, giving Karr the lead, and he took the checkered flag in his Burgeson’s Heating and Air Chevrolet 0.888 of a second ahead of Manke, with Dave Scheidecker third.

The real carnage followed, however, when Outlaw Figure 8 driver Harry Kuenniger, of San Bernardino, won a 10-lap Train Race over three opponents. Kuenniger, of San Bernardino, was the only one who managed to keep his three-car “train” attached and on its wheels throughout the race on the infield Figure 8 course.

Keith Blomgren, of La Quinta, opened the Pro 4 season with his first main event win. Blomgren, a realtor who had taken a pair of Trophy Dash wins and finished third in the standings last season, has added the technical expertise of multi-time champion Eddie Secord to his team and it clearly paid dividends Saturday night.

Blomgren, 34, was the fast qualifier in his Revolution Ride Shop Ford and started fifth in the 9-car field due to the inversion. But he was second when the yellow caution flag waved on lap 12, took the lead from Don Minut, of Moreno Valley, on lap 17 and finished the 35-lap contest 8/10ths of a second ahead of No. 2 qualifier Jeremy Edwards.

The 30-lap Factory Fours main went to Dwayne Blay, of Riverside, in his Toyota pickup. Blay, who said yes to a proposal by girlfriend Michelle Williams after the season-opening race on March 28, started on the outside of the front row, nudged pole-sitter Tony Dumont out of the lead on lap 10 and motored away to a 2.4-second victory.

El Cajon’s Chase Catania, last season’s Rookie of the Year, led all but the first lap of the 30-lap Legends Cars main event and won by 2/10ths of a second over Donny St. Ours, of Upland, who came from the rear of the field after being involved in a mid-race collision 10 laps into the contest.

Aaron Anderson, of Lancaster, won the 20-lap Bandoleros main event.