IRWINDALE, California — Aerial and on-track fireworks took place Saturday night during the “Independence Day Celebration – Fireworks Show – King Taco 200” for the touring NASCAR Camping World West Series. A near capacity crowd of 6,400 attended on a balmy evening following a hot, mid-90s day. When checkered flags waved after three races on the banked half-mile, Luis Martinez, Jr., 19, had won the first-ever Langer's Juices S-2 race that began racing action at 7:00 pm. Seven brand new Sportsman S-2 cars built by Racecar Factory competed. Then a 75-lap Auto Club Late Model main event went to Tim Huddleston in a 52-minute contest with 26 starters. The featured 200-lap race for 21 Camping World West teams was round eight of 13 this season and the only TS@I race for the series this year. The King Taco 200 carried a total purse of $105,630. Jason Bowles won the 200-lap event after leading the first 19 laps and laps l87-200. He earned $8,000.
Bowles overcame a 16-point deficit and moved from second in points to first by 24 points (1,364 to 1,340) over former series leader and sixth place finisher Eric Holmes, the 2008 champion. It was Bowles' third victory in eight CW West races this season, and his ninth career victory in the series. It also was his third consecutive TS@I triumph, including both CW West races last year. As he did last season, Bowles, 26, started up front and drove Bob Bruncati's Sunrise Ford-backed Fusion to victory at the race following his drive to victory lane at the Infineon Raceway road course in Sonoma two weeks ago. That double victory in 2008 launched Bowles to a close second place in final 2008 CW West point standings.
S-2 DEBUT: The new S-2 car from RCF in cooperation with High Point Racing had seven cars on track for the debut of the all-new division that will compete for track points starting Saturday, July 11. Sportsman stock, with a NASCAR Sprint Cup style body that includes a front end splitter and rear wing on the back deck, has a fully-fabricated chassis from RCF in Irwindale and a “spec body” from Five Star Racecar Bodies of Twin Lakes, Wisconsin. The car comes complete with a Chevrolet 350 sealed iron-head “crate engine” (350 cu. in. small block) with a stock Holley four-barrel carburetor, three-speed transmission and nine inch Ford rear end. With an estimated $25,000 per car cost, the new series will serve as a stepping stone for competitors graduating from legend cars, super stocks and classic stocks. The seven-race inaugural schedule has sponsorship from Langers Juices, located in the nearby City of Industry. Six point races are on tap—July 11, August 1, 15 and 29, September 12 and 26, plus October 11. Chassis builder Jeff Schrader completed the seventh S-2 in eight days and is ready to roll out a new S-2 car for every race. King Taco Super Truck four-time 2009 feature winner Rod Johnson, Jr, 19, set the first fastest qualifying time during 3:00 pm time trials at 20.527 (87.689 mph). The race lineup inversion was four so Johnson started fourth.
With a new red Toyota Camry Hybrid serving as the TS@I pace car for the first time, the 12-lap S-2 exhibition race ran under the green flag all 12 laps and took 4:12.796. There were two leaders and four lead changes. Teenager Kyle Longmore, from outside front row, paced the first five laps and laps 7-8. NASCAR Super Late Model driver Luis Martinez, Jr. came from third starting slot and led lap 6 and laps 9-12. He won by 15-yards (0-.528) over Longmore. Fastest qualifier Johnson was third on the final laps when his No. 56 got loose and spun exiting turn four with the checkered flag waving. His car stopped just short of the finish line and the temporary K-rail concrete barriers in place on the inside of the front straight to protect CW West pit stalls at the inside of the third-mile. Bandolero graduate/super stock rookie Andrew Anderson, 16, placed third. Super stock point leader/five-time 2009 winner Larry Cerquettini finished fourth and Kendall Lopez, 18, was fifth after starting her first TS@I race from the pole. Johnson restarted and completed the full 12 laps in sixth position. Robert Tallini dropped out on lap 10. Winner Martinez said his King Taco No. 77 S-2 is available for rent and for young drivers to try the new series.
LATE MODELS: Fastest qualifier Tim Huddleston, 39, led the first five laps from the pole in a straight-up start based upon qualifying times run by the 26 ACLM competitors in mid-afternoon heat at 3:20. His time of 19.101 was 94.236 mph. Fellow front row starter Mike Johnson made an inside pass entering the first turn on lap 6 and opened a 15-yard lead over Huddleston by lap 18. Johnson held a steady 30-yard lead by lap 50 over Huddleston. series rookie Dallas Colodny, from Reno, point leader Nick Joanides, and Travis Irving. Rookie Beau DeBard, Travis Motley, rookie Kyle McGrady, 16, Brandon Loverock and rookie Tim Smith rounded out the top ten. On lap 54, 14th place Kevin Vernon blew his engine at the starting line and spun to the infield grass in the first turn. The top ten ran as they were until a lap 59 caution to check for debris after a car bounced off the crash-wall in turn two. Johnson led the restarted 59th lap and Huddleston made an inside pass in turn four to take command for good on lap 60. The battle for third place was intense with Joanides, Colodny and DeBard racing in a tight pack. Joanides took third on lap 62. The running order changed significantly on lap 72 when the cars of Colodny, McGrady, Tim Smith and his brother Kenny Smith tangled in the fourth turn. They all restarted at the back of the now 20-car field. Under the caution flag for track clean-up, second place M. Johnson slowed suddenly and stalled low in turn two—out of gas. A truck pushed his car to the infield. The final four laps ran with Huddleston, Joanides, DeBard, Loverock, Motley, Miles Copenhaver, Richie Altman, Irving, KTST truck racer Jeff Peterson and Mike Varela completing the top ten in that order. The race had six caution flags and 18 finishers, with 16 drivers on the lead lap. After 10 of 18 scheduled races this year, Huddleston and Joanides are now tied for the point lead at 454 points. In the tie-breaker, Huddleston has five main event wins to two wins for season-long point leader Joanides.
CAMPING WORLD WEST 200: The featured 200-lap CWW event was a race-long duel between the two front-row starters—Bowles, from nearby Ontario, and Jeff Barkshire, of Auburn, WA, in a Centennial Batteries Dodge Charger that he has raced only three times this season. He has had two wrecks, at Irwindale's Toyota All-Star Showdown in January and at the Phoenix mile during April. Those crashes caused the team to retrench and rebuild the their cars. A mid-race 10-minute, mandatory full-field pit stop after 101 laps allowed teams to change two tires and do normal pit work. The top ten at the pit break were: Bowles, Barkshire, Greg Pursley, rookie Paulie Harraka, point leader Eric Holmes, David Mayhew, Porsche factory sports car road racer/American LeMans Series veteran Patrick Long, in a Sunrise Ford team car to Bowles, Chris Johnson, rookie Blake Koch and Moses Smith. Eighteen of 21 starters returned to competition. Bowles, Barkshire and Pursley ran in a tight pack for 25 laps. One of the most impressive passes of the night was Long's move past Holmes on the inside at the third turn on lap 135 for fifth place after using the No. 3 car as a pick. Holmes re-passed Long a lap later. Long used his now perfected pick maneuver by driving under Holmes for fifth on lap 154 with the No. 34 Chevy the pick car this time.
Harraka, racing for the first time in Irwindale, took third position from Pursley on lap 137. The race had four yellow flags with CWW double-file restarts standard after each caution flag, including the lap 181-188 final caution. Bowles pulled away to a ten-yard advantage at the checkers. Harraka took second from Barkshire on lap 189, but he re-passed Harraka's Toyota Camry and reclaimed second on lap 190. Barkshire, 27, remained second despite pressure from Harrraka to the end. Bowles won the 1:17.41.954 race by 0.450 over Barkshire, with Harraka 0.842 behind the winner. Long took an impressive fourth place after passing Pursley's Chevy during the final five laps and was 2.487 seconds behind Bowles. Long's only prior races at the track came on May 2 when he raced a Speed Wong Racing Chevy in twin-35 lap super late model features with 22-cars competing. Long finished 11th and a closing fourth as a stock car rookie that night. Pursley, the 2004 Irwindale SLM track champion, NASCAR Weekly Racing Series West Regional and National Champion, finished fifth, 3.877 seconds back. Holmes, Mayhew, rookie Koch, M. Smith and C. Johnson rounded out the top ten, with eight drivers on the lead lap and 17 of 21 starters racing at the finish. Bowles ran the fastest lap of the race at 19.065, with Barkshire the next quickest at 19.074. Bowles' 18.714 (96.185 mph) was fast time in 4:45 to 5:23 pm qualifying. Harraka and Koch ended the evening tied at 74 points for series rookie of the year honors.
Bowles said his winning car was the same No. 6 Ford Fusion that was wrecked on the front straight on the final lap in the Joey Logano and Peyton Sellers crash on the final lap of the TS@I Toyota All-Star Showdown in January. He slid across the finish line third in that event. He said his Sunrise Ford team rebuilt the car so well it was like new. Bowles thanked car owner Bob Bruncati, crew chief/veteran driver Bill Sedgwick and his team. He said he rode around the first half of the race to save his car for the second half. He added that his crew made suspension changes to improve handling during the break and Sedgwick's changes worked. Barkshire stated half-time changes on his No. 46 Dodge did not help him. Harraka said his Toyota was “a little too tight.” A 15-minute aerial fireworks show followed the CWW 200. Professional pyro-technicians shot off colorful and loud fireworks from beyond the backstretch from 10:30 to 10:45 pm.
