GRIDLEY, California — Jonathan Mawhinney of Sacramento, Calif. maintained his points lead in the Westcar Late Model Series, while Jason Romero and Gary Glenn pulled in victories in Saturday’s Twin .44 Magnum events at All American Speedway in Roseville, Calif.
Racers on Saturday were also competing for a share of NASCAR and track points, and the event attracted 21 sparkling Western Late Models to the one-third mile asphalt oval. 16 of the 21 entries also carried Westcar licenses as they chase the $14,000 points fund up for grabs in that series.
Ron Chunn of Roseville, Calif. was the winner of the tire raffle in the driver’s meeting. One tire will be given away each week this season at Roseville in addition to the lucrative purse payouts up for grabs.
Zane Lovelace, Jr. of Roseville, Calif. led the opening laps in the first 44 lap feature, with Romero leap-frogging from fourth to second on the opening lap.
Romero challenged Lovelace on the inside but spin coming off of turn two on lap 21 to bring out the caution. The spin relegated Romero back to 14th position.
On the double-file restart Glenn charged past Lovelace. Lovelace was also passed by John Moore of Granite Bay, Calif. on lap 27, and Juan Pitta of Galt, Calif. on lap 30. Glenn was able to hold off Moore and Pitta in a close finish, with Lovelace and Sacramento’s Bobby Butler rounding out the top-five. Romero was able to battle all the way back to seventh at the finish.
The second feature’s starting grid was set with a nine car invert of the first feature results, placing Romero third on the grid behind David Hulsey of Manteca, Calif. and Greg Hock of Ione, Calif.
An opening lap skirmish saw Moore loose his nose and have to report to the pits for repairs. He returned in 16th position.
Romero took the lead from Hock on lap two of the event, with Glenn coming from ninth to fourth by lap three.
An accident on lap seven saw Butler and Hock suffer minor damage, and Glenn having to restart near the rear.
Pitta took over second from Hock on the restart. Glenn and Moore were mired in heavy traffic working their way through the field.
The caution was in the air once again on lap 14 when Hock spun off of turn two. Butler’s night ended when he went the pits during the yellow.
Pitta challenged Romero hard at the halfway point in the event, with a drag race down the front stretch on lap 22. A quick caution came out, and on the restart Pitta appeared to have lost his momentum with Romero.
With seven laps to go the caution flew again. On the restart, Romero powered away from Pitta and Moore to win his third feature of the season.
Moore finished his dramatic drive to the front to finish fourth, with Mawhinney coming home fifth.
Pitta’s strong performance on the evening puts him just four points behind Mawhinney as they prepare for Westcar’s next event on May 2nd. 16 year-old Matt Scott, Glenn, and Hock round out the top-five in the Westcar Late Model Series points.
Race fans can learn more about the All American Speedway at www.allamericanspeedway.com
More information on the Westcar Late Model Series can be viewed at www.westcarseries.com
| Westcar Late Model Series |
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| Bolded entries earned Westcar points. Feature #1 1. 50 Gary Glenn Orangevale, CA 2. 27 John Moore Granite Bay, CA 3. 16 Juan Pitta Galt, CA 4. 46 Zane Lovelace, Jr. Roseville, CA 5. 3 Bobby Butler 6. 44 Ron Chunn Roseville, CA 7. 8 Jason Romero 8. 57 David Hulsey Manteca, CA 9. 777 Greg Hock Ione, CA 10. 17 Johnathan Mawhinney Sacramento, CA 11. 35 Matt Scott Pine Grove, CA 12. 84 Mike Self Salt Lake City, UT 13. 5 Brian Koski Pleasanton, CA 14. 51 Chris Scribner Loomis, CA 15. 96 Mikey Lehman 16. 24 Tyler Thomas Penryn, CA 17. 6k Charlie Kramm Redding, CA 18. 11 Ryan Thomasen Castro Valley, CA 19. 65 Roger Davison Suisun City, CA 20. 50x Jarred Beddow 21. 27x Shannon Mansch Roseville, CA Feature #2 1. 8 Jason Romero 2. 16 Juan Pitta Galt, CA 3. 50 Gary Glenn Orangevale, CA 4. 27 John Moore Granite Bay, CA 5. 17 Johnathan Mawhinney Sacramento, CA 6. 35 Matt Scott Pine Grove, CA 7. 84 Mike Self Salt Lake City, UT 8. 44 Ron Chunn Roseville, CA 9. 24 Tyler Thomas Penryn, CA 10. 46 Zane Lovelace, Jr. Roseville, CA 11. 51 Chris Scribner Loomis, CA 12. 57 David Hulsey Manteca, CA 13. 5 Brian Koski Pleasanton, CA 14. 6k Charlie Kramm Redding, CA 15. 96 Mikey Lehman 16. 777 Greg Hock Ione, CA 17. 11 Ryan Thomasen Castro Valley, CA 18. 3 Bobby Butler 19. 65 Roger Davison Suisun City, CA 20. 27x Shannon Mansch Roseville, CA 21. 50x Jarred Beddow |
