SAN BERNARDINO, California — His father was in the pits overseeing the preparation of his race car and his mother and a half-dozen family and friends drove down from Palmdale to be on hand in case Logan Mainella did anything noteworthy on the eve of his 18th birthday.
Mainella made all those efforts worthwhile with something extremely notable – his first win in a Late Model main event before approximately 2,000 spectators at ASA-sanctioned Orange Show Speedway.
Starting fifth in a Chevrolet-powered Dodge that still carries the name of his late mentor, Richard Hooper, Mainella had moved up to third by lap 10 on the quarter-mile paved speedway. He nudged Toni McCray out of the way to take second on lap 18 and got the inside line through Turn 1 on lap 22 to take the lead from pole-sitter Ryan Daniel.
McCray took second from Daniel on lap 28, but it was obvious that she would need a yellow caution flag to have any chance of overtaking Mainella in the 50-lap event. She got that on lap 39, when Daniel, Jim Conklin, Ron Daniel and Brian Malone got together heading into Turn 4. But a brief bobble by McCray just after the restart on lap 40 let Mainella pull away again and he took the checkered flag 1.044 seconds in front of McCray with Kevin James third.
Rod Proctor, of Riverside, won the 25-lap Outlaw Figure 8 main over Rusty Stewart, of Long Beach, but the race was stopped twice after accidents involving Harry Kuenniger and Billy Ziemann. The second mishap left both cars unable to continue.
The new SouthWest Tour Truck Series made its debut at the speedway with a 40-lap main event that was won by Dalton Kuhn, the son of Modified star Dean Kuhn. The younger Kuhn put his Chevrolet in the lead on lap 6 and never was threatened in winning by 0.961 seconds over Christian Copley of Santa Ynez.
Benjamin Mahan, the talented 13-year-old from Oak Hills, led from start to finish to win the 30-lap Factory Fours main event in his BMW. He beat Bloomington’s Andrew Reed by 1.9 seconds, with Kim Marzullo of San Bernardino third. Mahan’s task was made easier when a lap 2 incident sent two-time winner Dwayne Blay to the pits for repairs that cost him 9 laps. Blay finished eighth and dropped from first to third in the standings, 8 points behind Mahan and 2 behind Marzullo.
Jimmy Rouse Jr., 16, of Fontana, got the evening started with a 1.3-second win over dad Jimmy Rouse in the 25-lap Stock Cars USA main.
| LATE MODELS (50 laps) |
|---|
| 1. Logan Mainella, Palmdale, Dodge Intrepid/Chevrolet; 2. Toni McCray, Highland, Chevrolet Monte Carlo; 3. Kevin James, Yucaipa, Pontiac Grand Prix/Chevrolet; 4. Matt Goodwin, Wildomar, Chevrolet Monte Carlo; 5. Doug Foos, Tehachapi, Dodge Interpid/Chevrolet; 6. John Mattie, Highland, Chevrolet Monte Carlo; 7. Jim Conklin, Big Bear City, Pontiac Grand Prix/Chevrolet; 8. Brian Malone, Redlands, Chevrolet Monte Carlo; 9. Sam Newcomer, Apple Valley, Dodge Charger/Chevrolet; 10. Ryan Daniel, Mentone, Chevrolet Monte Carlo; 11. Mike Rinehart, Mentone, Toyota Camry/Chevrolet; 12. Ron Daniel, Mentone, Chevrolet Monte Carlo; 13. Gene Fife, Tehachapi, Chevrolet Monte Carlo; 14. Linny White, Colton, Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Margin of Victory – 1.044 seconds. Fast qualifier – Ron Daniel, 13.664 seconds. Trophy Dash winner – Conklin. |
| SOUTHWEST TOUR TRUCKS (40 laps) |
| 1. Dalton Kuhn, Vista, Chevrolet; 2. Christian Copley, Santa Ynez, Chevrolet; 3. Jeff Williams, Newbury Park, Ford; 4. David Timewell, Santa Barbara, Ford; 5. Gus Nanos, Alta Loma, Chevrolet; 6. Michael Zimmerman, Hemet, Ford; 7. Clark Farrar, Oak Park, Ford; 8. Cecil Phelps, Pomona, Ford; 9. Dan Coburn, Manhattan Beach, Chevrolet; 10. Jim Satterfield, Mira Loma, Ford; 11. Chris Roland, Pinon Hills, Chevrolet; 12. Ed Cutler, Ventura, Ford. Margin of Victory – 0.961 seconds. Fast qualifier – Kuhn, 14.054 seconds. Trophy Dash winner –Williams. |
| FACTORY FOURS (30 laps) |
| 1. Benjamin Mahan, Oak Hills, BMW 318i; 2. Andy Reed, Bloomington, Toyota truck; 3. Kim Marzullo, San Bernardino, Toyota truck; 4. Kyle McGrady, Hesperia, BMW 318i; 5. Victor Garcia, San Bernardino, Toyota truck; 6. Gil Everhart, Bloomington, Toyota truck; 7. Greg Barnett, Hemet, Nissan 200SX; 8. Dwayne Blay, Riverside, Toyota truck; 9. Ed Hill, Santa Ana, Mercedes-Benz; 10. Stan Chatwood, Bloomington, Honda Prelude. Margin of Victory – 1.911 seconds. Fast qualifier – Blay, 16.132 seconds. Trophy Dash winner – Mahan. |
| STOCK CARS USA (25 laps) |
| 1. Jimmy Rouse Jr., Fontana, Chevrolet Nova; 2. Jimmy Rouse, San Bernardino, Chevrolet Chevelle; 3. Dave Foster, Riverside, Chevrolet Monte Carlo; 4. Tom Whitson, Lake Elsinore, Chevrolet Nova; 5. Blake Usilton, Corona, Chevrolet Chevelle; 6. Bill Bartleson, Riverside, Chevrolet Chevelle; 7. Don Rudd, Riverside, Chevrolet Monte Carlo; 8. Clint Knight, Whitewater, Chevrolet Nova; 9. Leon Schrader, Mentone Beach, Chevrolet; 10. Joel Crawford, Oak Hills, Chevrolet; 11. Matt Lauer, Riverside, Ford Thunderbird. Margin of Victory – 1.313 seconds. Fast qualifier – Whitson, 15.384 seconds. Trophy Dash winner – Rouse Jr. |
| OUTLAW FIGURE 8 (25 laps) |
| 1. Rod Proctor, Riverside; 2. Rusty Stewart, Long Beach; 3. Willy Voesten, Lytle Creek; 4. Bobby Erwin; 5. Harry Kuenniger, San Bernardino; 6. Billy Ziemnann, Bloomington. Fast qualifier – Stewart, 18.72 seconds. Trophy Dash winner -- Ziemann. |
