IRWINDALE, California — Toyota Speedway at Irwindale presented point main events for five divisions and a first-time skid plate car exhibition race Saturday and the results had major impacts on title chases in several divisions. Miller Lite Night attracted about 4,000 spectators with $2.00 beers being sold all night at concession stands. Controversy that began in a divisional race last week continued this week in two series—the super trucks and the late models. Winners of the point-paying features on the banked half-mile were Mike Johnson, who won his third consecutive Auto Club Late Model 50-lap main and his fourth point race of the season, and Rod Johnson, Jr.,19, a five-time King Taco Super Truck 40-lap feature winner. Winners on the third-mile track were usual Classic Stocks front-runner Ken Michaelian, 20, from the back of a 12 car field, and rookie Dallas Montes,16, in the Legends main. It was the longest Legends race at the track at 50-laps, 15 laps longer than the usual 35 lap distance. The Bakersfield teen scored his second straight Legends victory. The final main of the night was a 20-lap Pick Your Part Outlaw Figure 8 race won by fastest qualifier Rod Proctor with ten cars racing on the infield Figure 8 course. It was his third victory in the eight F-8 races run this season.
ACLM: A 21-car field took the green flag with a two-car inversion based on a 7:00 pm time trial session. Fastest qualifier Mike Johnson, who vowed on July 25 to win every remaining ACLM feature this year because his car is so great, made good on that promise for the second time since July 25. He started second in his own Chevy Monte Carlo, “the last Racecar Factory leaf spring car”, and led all the way. He not only led, but the 52-year old Covina resident ran away from pursuers. He opened a 50-yard lead by lap 21 when the only yellow flag of the race occurred. He again opened half a straightaway lead from lap 30 through the lap 50 checkers. Johnson praised his crew chief Tony and chassis expert Dean Kuhn. He said he missed his mother's 80th birthday party when he raced on August 8, but he celebrated with her the next day. He also thanked his sponsors—Hot Wire Electrical, Cash Grading Contracting and Pegasus Hobbies—and remarked that the race was the 38th on his GM spec engine. He repeated his promise to win every ACLM main for the rest of 2009.
Two incidents marred the ACLM feature. At the completion of lap 21, rookie Beau DeBard, who started fourth, passed pole starter Travis Irving on the outside at the starting line. They pair had battled closely from the opening lap. As the second and third place drivers entered the first turn they touched and DeBard spun to the high groove. Following cars scattered to the inside. Point leader Tim Huddleston, running fifth, braked but slid into his HPR teammate. DeBard's car was eliminated with a broken radiator; Huddleston continued at the back of the field with a torn-up left front fender and hood damage. Irving, Nick Joanides, Dallas Colodny and Chris Johnson trailed M. Johnson at the lap 21 green flag. C. Johnson and Colodny traded fourth place twice before lap 30. Connor Cantrell, the 18-year old legends and super truck winner, took fifth spot on lap 36. Cantrell set the third fastest qualifying time in his first start this year and second ever race in a late model. The leader lapped three-time ACLM track champion Huddleston on lap 40. Joanides made an inside pass in turn four to take second from Irving on lap 43.
On the white flag lap, second through fourth place drivers were about to lap Huddleston's damaged car leaving the second turn. They took evasive action on the backstretch after Huddleston's car appeared to slow. Irving shot into second place on the outside and finished as runner-up, 2.640 seconds back. Angry Joanides crossed the finish line third. On the backstretch Joanides pulled next to Huddleston's Chevy on the cool-off lap to vent his ire to his ACLM championship rival. Joanides also voiced angry words on his radio to his spotter about Huddleston's slowing, and on the track PA system to fans during post-race interviews. He repeated his complaints again to the media and Irving concurred. Joanides entered the race in second position, 14 points in back of Huddleston. With his third place and Huddleston's 18th place finish, Joanides is now the ACLM point leader by 16-points (570-554) with five races remaining. Joanides also leads the 2009 AC Delco Super Late Model TS@I point standings and is trying to win championships in the two top divisions at the track. No driver has done so in ten prior seasons at the track, and to win both titles in the same season would be amazing. He drives Loyd McGhee-owned Monte Carlos in both divisions. Rounding our the top ten were: Colodny, the series leading rookie from Reno, Travis Motley, Cantrell, Miles Copenhaver, Derek Thorn, a Lakeport resident in his ACLM debut, and ACLM rookies/brothers Kenny and Tim Smith, from Bakersfield. The race took 24 minutes. Winner Johnson ran the fastest lap of the race at 19.190 (93.799 mph) on lap 2. DeBard's 19.380, also on lap 2, was the next fastest lap in the 21-car field. Eighteen drivers finished and 16 drivers ran all 50 laps.
KTST: Fastest qualifier Rod Johnson, Jr, took second on lap 10. He made an inside pass in the fourth turn on lap 16 and dropped pole starter/race-long leader Grant Hebner to second, where he finished, 40-yards (-1.730) behind Johnson. The 13-minute race had one caution flag on lap 40 when fifth place Pat Mintey, Jr., the point leader, got hit from behind by the No. 51 truck and spun out. Todd Cameron, in 11th position, also spun in the turn two incident. Mintey was livid on his radio and drove back top fifth place under caution. Officials conferred and displayed the checkered flag along with the yellow flag, so the race finish reverted to the lap 39 running order. Son Jeff Peterson, last KTST winner Ryan Partridge, Mintey, dad Ron Peterson, ASA Speed Truck drivers Taylor Cuzick and Chris Snyder, Mason Britton, and rookie Matt Kimball completed the top ten. Cameron received 11th. Seventeen trucks, including three ASA trucks, started; 15 were running at the end, with 13 on the lead serial.
LEGENDS: The competitive 29-car Legends main event had six leaders and five lead changes over the extended 50-lap distance. The outcome had major implications on the see-saw point lead duel between point leader Ryan Reed and prior leader Brandon Toy. The starting field inversion was 12. Toy started fourth and Reed started 15th as 15th FQ. At lap 35 Toy was third and Reed seventh. If the race had ended at that point as usual, Toy would have cut eight points from Reed's 12-point lead with only one race remaining. At lap 48 Toy was running second entering the first turn on the back bumper of race leader Brent Scheidemantle. They made contact and the leader spun out. Officials sent Toy to the back of the field and he finished 18th. The ruling cost Toy 32 points and he now trails Reed by 44 points with only 50 points maximum going to the winner of the final race.
Pole starter Mark Iungerich led the first four laps. A second lap caution flag nullified Cory Miles pass for the lead. Gary Scheuerell, from third, led lap 5. Then Toy paced laps 6-10. Tom Landreth, a six-time Legends track champion and now a part-time racer, came from seventh to lead laps 11-32. Sixth starter Scheidemantle led laps 33-47 and appeared headed for a close victory. He was fifth at lap 35. Landreth lost two positions to Scheidemantle and Toy in turn two on lap 33 and was sixth when he dropped out on lap 40. The finishing order behind Montes was surprised Reed, who gladly accepted his good fortune, Donny St. Ours, from 16th, Tony Green, Chad Schug, Scheuerell, Rick Clark, Josh Geer, Mark Borchetta and 15-year old rookie Austin Reed. Twenty-two cars finished and 16 ran all 50 laps in a 37-minute event that had a season-high nine caution flags.
CLASSIC STOCKS: A 12-car, 30-lap classic stocks race kicked off main event action. It had one yellow flag on lap 11 when the last place car lost the RR wheel and spun in turn one. Tommy Mason, of Low Budget TV, led the first two laps from pole position. Tommy Agosta led laps 3-17. Then series master/last position starter Ken Michaelian, 20, took command in his 1973 Dodge Dart and won for the ninth time in ten 2009 races. With two races to go he has a 50-point lead over Agosta, the May 9 feature winner. Dave Foster finished third in his Monte Carlo (painted to resemble the Darrell Waltrip/Junior Johnson No. 11). Mason and Justin Good followed in their 1970-era Chevrolets in a 14-minute contest.
FIGURE 8: In the final race of the night, Proctor dominated from the pole in his Figure 8 Special. The 2004 Irwindale F-8 track champion missed event four this year and still placed third in points, 54 points behind Saturday's runner-up Steve Stewart. A three-time feature winner this season, Stewart, who won the 2005 and 2007-08 F-8 track championships, trailed Proctor by a straight-away. Billy Ziemann, the 2000 F-8 track champion and a feature winner this year, placed a close third after battling Stewart all 20 laps. He finished second in F-8 points, 22 digits in back of Stewart in Pick Your Part F-8 points. Tony Curtis and Sean Hansen followed with eight of the ten cars running at the finish.
SKID PLATE RACE: The second race of the night followed the classic stocks. The six-car skid plate car exhibition race was a first-time event for the 11-year old speedway and perhaps the first such event in the western United States. It is a popular event at points east. Six front wheel drive sedans started two abreast with no back tires. All cars had rims welded to metal skid plates instead of back tires. The cars ran three laps counter-clockwise and then ran the final three laps in a clockwise direction. Cars trailed sparks and were difficult to turn and keep pointed in the intended direction. Spinouts were frequent. On the final lap, race-long leader Robert Rice spun his Mazda in turn two, handing the lead to John Zimmerman's 1997 Mercury Tracer, who spun in turn four and recovered for second behind Rice. April Shaw's 1993 Chevy Cavalier finished third, with Keith Jones' Mercury fourth and Mike Atkinson fifth. Brian Tully's Honda lost a lap and placed sixth in the exhibition “race”. The five-minute event had fans laughing at times and they seemed to enjoy the unique contest. It was a cross between drifting and ice-racing. Rice, “the king of TS@I zany events”, organized the latest TS@I wild racing event. He also won the track's wild trailer race last Saturday.
HARD CHARGERS: J. Good won the classic stock award (P. 8 to P.5); Chris Snyder (P. 13 to P. 8) took the KTST positions gained award. A. Reed (P 24 to P. 10) won the Legends passing certificate. HPR driver Motley received the ACLM $100 gift certificate award for racing from 11th to fifth place. FAST TIMES, on the half-mile, were: (ACLM) – M. Johnson, 18.930 (95.087 mph; (KTST) – R. Johnson, Jr., 20.035 (89.843 mph); on the third-mile – (Legends) - Kenny Maler, Jr., 16.848 (71.154 mph); (Classic Stocks) – Mike Colato, Jr., 17.371 (69.012 mph). (F-8) – Rod Proctor, 18.988 (71.477 mph).
