IRWINDALE, California — NASCAR Auto Club Late Model owner/driver Mike Johnson made amends Saturday for his own error July 4 when he ran out of fuel on lap 72 of 75 while in second position. His miscalculation during his last Whelen All-American Weekly Racing Series race dropped him from second to 19th that night. The resident of nearby Covina started his Racecar Factory-built No. 17 Chevy Monte Carlo fourth at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale in front of about 6,000 spectators. As second fastest qualifier, Johnson took the lead on lap 11 with an inside pass leaving turn four. He ran away to half a straightaway lead by lap 22. A lap 28 caution flag for debris brought the battling second through sixth place cars to his back bumper. The confident leader pulled away to a 30-yard lead in the closing laps of the 40-lap feature and won by1.209 seconds over ACLM rookie Dallas Colodny, from Reno. Rookie Beau DeBard, also from Reno, was third, 0.165 in back of Colodny, his HPR “blue crew” teammate.
LATE MODELS: Johnson, 52, won his second ACLM point feature this year and the seventh of his career at Irwindale. He also won the 55-lap late model race during the Toyota All-Star Showdown in January. The long-haired driver now ranks third in 2009 ACLM points, 64 behind the leader. Later Johnson told the media. “No one is going to beat me the rest of the season, I promise.” He thanked his sponsors—Hot Wire Electrical of Covina, Cash Grading Contracting of Ontario, and Pegasus Hobbies of Montclair—for financially keeping his car on the track all year. Johnson also praised front row starters Colodny and DeBard for racing him cleanly and for impressive podium finishes. It was the best finish in the ACLM series for former speed truck racer Colodny who had a a pair of fourth place finishes earlier this season. It was DeBard's fourth top three finish, including a second, in 11 races. They rank fifth and sixth respectively on the list of 42 drivers with 2009 ACLM points.
Travis Irving, in the CHP-sponsored Toyota Camry, finished fourth, 2.618-seconds behind winner Johnson. Irving's No. 85 Camry carried “In Loving memory—Lindsay Nava 2/28/85 – 7/19/09” on the LR window and on the RR quarter panel. The markings were in memory of the daughter of NASCAR Camping World West car owner Joe Nava. She worked as a bartender for the TS@I suites last Saturday and lost her life early Sunday morning in a 210 Freeway auto accident en route to her home in Glendora. Fastest qualifier Tim Huddleston started and finished fifth. Seventh starter Nick Joanides finished sixth. They entered race 11 of the 18 race series tied at 454 points. With a two points per position difference, three-time ACLM champion Huddleston now leads Joanides, the 2008 AC Delco Super Late Model track champion and current SLM point leader, by two points (496-494) for the 2009 ACLM championship. Travis Motley, 16-year old rookie Kyle McGrady, Kevin Vernon and rookie Tim Smith completed the top ten. Eighteen of the 19 starters finished and all of them completed 40 laps. The 16:44.096-timed race had only one caution to remove debris at turn three.
SUPER TRUCKS: The King Taco Super Truck 20-truck field also raced 40 laps on the progressively banked half-mile. With an inversion of three, second quickest qualifier/2007-08 series champion/2009 point leader Pat Mintey, Jr. led every lap in his 2008 Chevy S-10. He broke Rod Johnson's three race winning streak. It was Mintey's third triumph in nine features this season. The 20-minute event had one late caution flag on lap 37 after three trucks battling for ninth position tangled and spun together to the infield at the starting line. Mintey, 42, held a five-yard lead at the caution flag. On the green flag Mintey had to withstand a determined passing attempt by 19-year old Jeff Peterson, with his dad Ron Peterson, the 2004 and 2006 KTST champion, a close third during the final four laps. Mintey won by 0.199 over Jeff and 0.562 over his dad Ron. Mason Britton brought his rented No. 71 truck home fourth, 1.230 back. Dennis Arena was fifth in a close contest with Todd Cameron sixth. Cameron had to rebuild the front of his No. 99 truck after hitting the third turn wall almost head-on during the last race. Sixteen trucks finished with 15 trucks on the lead lap. Mintey did a “Polish victory lap” on the front straight from turn one to turn four waving to fans.
LEGEND CARS: Brandon Toy, 17, won the 35-lap feature and regained the Legends point lead that he lost recently. The second fastest qualifier on the third-mile track started third and chased the new point leader Ryan Reed, 15, for the first 29 laps. Toy then made an inside pass for the lead between turn four and the starting line to lead lap 30. Reed fought back for the race victory and point lead and made a bump and run pass in the third turn to lead laps 32-33. Toy returned the bump and pass maneuver on lap 34 at turn two and led lap 34-35. Past series track champions Tom Landreth and Darren Amidon also passed Reed on lap 34. Three-time 2009 winner Donny St. Ours, 16, charged from 21st starting spot in a 28-car field to take fourth place from Reed on the final lap. Toy's second career Legends victory was his second this season. It gave him 50-points and 412 for the season as he tries to win his first track championship. Reed is still seeking his first main event triumph of 2009 after he won three TS@I features last year. Reed's 42 points gave him 410 for the season after ten of 14 scheduled Legends events. He also is attempting to win his first Irwindale track title. Chad Schug, 16-year old Brent Scheidemantle, 18-year old pole starter Ken Maler, Jr., Gary Scheuerell and Mark Borchetta rounded out the top ten. The 25-minute race had four caution flags for spins as 23 of 28 starters finished. Only one driver was lapped.
FIGURE 8: A 20-lap Pick Your Part Outlaw Figure 8 race concluded racing before 9:30 with nine of ten F-8 cars present taking the green flag. Tony Curtis led the first 14 laps. Rod Proctor, the 2004 F-8 track champion, passed him from turn four to the X intersection and led two laps. Then Proctor took evasive action to avoid an approaching car at the intersection and spun entering the first turn. His miscue handed the lead to winner Steve Stewart who led the closing laps. Runner-up Proctor trailed by 3.191 seconds with Billy Ziemann third and Harry Kuenniger fourth as the only other driver on the lead lap. All nine starters finished in the 6:44.239 all green flag race. On the white flag lap, the second and third place cars of Curtis and Ziemann collided hard at the X. Both cars spun and continued. Curtis finished fifth. Robert Rice carefully drove his late model to ninth position, down three laps.
Hard charger $100 merchandise award winners were: (LC) – St. Ours, (KTST) – D. Arena, (ACLM) – Vernon. Fastest qualifiers by series were: (LC) – Amidon at 16.796 (71.374 mph); (F-8) – Stewart at 19.108 (71.028 mph); (KTST) – R. Johnson, Jr. at 20.019 (89.915 mph), and (ACLM) – Huddleston at 18.972 (94.877 mph).
