IRWINDALE, California — Toyota Speedway at Irwindale NASCAR AC Delco Super Late Model point leader Nick Joanides, 39, took advantage of his second starting position twice in a 24-car field Saturday to win both twin-40 lap features on the banked half-mile. Starting position inversions were five and six based on afternoon qualifying laps. Approximately 4,000 spectators attended on “Law Enforcement Appreciation Night” in 90+-degree heat. Constant smoke and at times flames from the “Station Fire” were visible to the northwest beyond Pasadena and the San Gabriel Mountains. Six California Highway Patrol black and white patrol cars staged a five-minute demonstration of precision driving on the half-mile track and infield after the second of six main events. A CHP helicopter also flew into the infield during the 5:45 to 6:30 autograph session for fans on the front straight.
Joanides, from Woodland Hills, earned $1,250 for each victory and 100-points towards the 2009 track championship. He won his 12th and 13th SLM feature victories this season. His point total (936) leads second place Rip Michels by 82 points with only twin-features remaining on September 12. Joanides, the 2008 AC Delco SLM track champion, is chasing the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national championship, which counts only a driver's top 18 finishes in a track's top series. He was 19 points in front of All-American Speedway (Roseville, CA) late model driver Jason Romero as they chase the California state championship. “Tonight won the California championship for us,” the double winner told the media. “Mathematically we are still in line for the national title. Tonight's results keep us in it and we'll be going for it,” the sixth ranked national driver said. Greg Pursley, Irwindale's 2004 SLM track champion, also won the state and national championship that year. Joanides won his 13th SLM feature victory in 19 races this season (one short of Pursley's track record). He has five second place finishes and a third as his lowest result. Joanides also has two Auto Club Late Model triumphs that make his career total 32 TS@I main event victories, all won since 2006. He is now tied with Travis Thirkettle for fifth place on the list of TS@I feature winners.
Fastest qualifier Rip Michels, a three-time SLM champion at Irwindale and winner of a record 59 features in three divisions, started fifth in the first 40 and sixth in the second 40. He broke his transmission during time trials. His team returned to their San Fernando Valley shop for a replacement and installed it in the pits during the autograph session. Michels pulled to the grid just before parade laps for the first 40. Michels finished a close second to Joanides in both features. His No. 12 Chevy trailed Joanides No. 71 Loyd McGhee-owned Mr. Crane Chevy by 0.284 in the first race and by 0.213 in the second 40. The 19-minute initial 40 had two cautions and 18 finishers. The second all-green flag race took 12:45.370 and had 17 finishers.
Other winners on the half-mile were: Rich DeLong III in a 30-lap Vista Paint Super Stock 11-car field, and Randel King, 18, in a Langers Juice S2 25-lap race with a season-high eight cars in the new division that debuted July 4. The victories were DeLong's second and King's third this season. Winners on the third-mile were: point leader Daryl Scoggins in a 12-car Justice Brothers Mini Stock field in a 35-lap event. It was his fifth victory this year. The Jan's Towing Bandolero series had a track-record 18 cars for youngsters age 8 to 14. The old series record was 17 cars. Rookie Ryan Cansdale, 10, won his ninth feature this year. On Friday night during the all division practice session from 4:30 to 9:00 pm, Blake Dunkleberger, 13, won his first Bando main in a 15-car field.
The final event during the busy night was a “train race” with five teams of three cars hooked together to form a “train”. Each team had a driver in the first car and a brakeman in the third car, with an unoccupied middle car. The 12-lap, eight-minute race used the Figure 8 course on the infield and third mile. Driver Richard “Flipper Walker and brakeman Dave Baer earned $1,000 from the $2,000 purse. The Randy Bylsma/Mark Miller team led the first nine laps and had already lapped all competitors when a lapped train got into the right side of their “train” and slammed it hard on the left side into the third turn wall. The disabled “train” remained there for the balance of the race.
SLM 1st 40: Joanides led the first 30 laps in a close, three-way duel with Thirkettle and Michels, who passed Thirkettle for second place on the inside through the third and fourth turns on lap 30. Four laps later Thirkettle slowed and lost many positions with a deflating LR tire. “It only had seven pounds in it at the finish,” a pit crewman stated. Thirkettle placed 12th. With Joanides on the outside and Michels on the inside during the closing laps, they finished a few lengths apart. Danny Gay took third, with 19-year old Luis Martinez, Jr. fourth. Pole starter/Las Vegas resident Alex Haase, 19, took fifth. Bear Rzesnowiecky, 17, Andrew Phipps (in one of three Vision Airlines team cars), Justin Johnson, David Beat and rookie Mackena Bell, 19, completed the top ten as 17 of 18 finishers completed all 40 laps.
SLM 2nd 40: Joanides, the fifth quickest qualifier on his second qualifying lap, again had second starting slot. He used it to grab the lead from pole starter Rzesnowiecky, from Las Vegas, at the start and remained in front all the way. However, FQ Michels came from sixth grid position to take second from Haase on lap 7 and gave Joanides all he could handle from laps 31-40. Michels made inside passing attempts on Joanides several times exiting turn four, but he trailed by a length at the end. Joanides main concern came on laps 35-37 as he lapped three cars battling for 14th position. Two cars yielded the outside groove, “but one black car stayed high longer than the other two cars” Joanides said. Michels saw his opportunity and closed quickly on Joanides. Third place Haase retired on lap 13 with an overheating engine. Completing the top ten at the conclusion were Rzesnowiecky, Martinez, Thirkettle, Gay, Phipps, David Ross, Beat and rookie Bell. Despite all the wheel-to-wheel racing and passing throughout the field, the green flag flew all 40 laps.
SUPER STOCKS: The 11-car field had a fully-inverted starting lineup with the fastest qualifiers at the back. Fastest qualifier/point leader Larry Cerquettini started 11th and was fourth on lap 10 when he collided with Gary Read. Officials sent him to the back. Eric Sunness led the first five circuits after starting third. Ninth starter Rich DeLong III took command on lap 6. Cerquettini charged back to second place on lap 17. Although he was 60-yards in back of DeLong when he reached second position, Cerquettini steadily cut DeLong's lead to five yards when the checkered flag flew. Sunness, 18-year old Cody Fisher and the last VPSS winner Kenny Brown completed the top five. Eight drivers finished the 17-minute race that had two caution flags.
LANGERS S2: With two new S2 drivers in the season-high eight-car field, drivers raced two and three-wide during early laps. Andrew Anderson, 16, started second and paced the opening stanza. Then FQ/fifth starter Randel King, 18, took charge and opened a half-straightaway advantage. The only caution of the 17-minute race flew on lap 20 when HPR “blue crew” teammates Kyle Longmore, in third, and Ryan Reed, in fourth, collided leaving the second turn. Reed spun hard into the backstretch wall. He escaped injury, but a wrecker towed his No. 56 to the pits. Anderson trailed the winner by 1.702, with Longmore, 19, third. Female driver Kendell Lopez, 18, was fourth and first-time S2 driver Josh Branden fifth. Robert Tallini and first-time S2 starter Jeff Phillips, a past Saugus Speedway driver, also finished on the lead lap after 25 laps. ASA Speed Truck veteran King won his third feature in four S2 outings. His No. 77 King Taco car, owned by Position One Motor-sports, has won four of the five S2 races run in the new series. SLM driver Luis Martinez, Jr. won the July 4”exhibition” 12-lap race.
MINI STOCKS: Jacob Rogers, from pole position, led the first 16 laps and laps 18-19 in his Ford Pinto. Point leader D. Scoggins, started third in his Pinto and used the outside groove to lead lap 17 and laps 20-35. He won his fifth main this year by 50-yards (3.207 seconds). The two leaders raced cleanly after their frayed-tempers incident two weeks ago. “My car was loose,” Rogers told the crowd after he leaned into Scoggins car to congratulate the 36-year old LAPD police officer who is seeking his initial championship. Kevin Bernhardt finished third, with Steve Rogers fourth and Richie Altman fifth. The 12-minute race had one yellow flag on lap 23 for a two-car crash involving quickest qualifier Rod Schmitt and Eric Reed. Damage sidelined both cars.
BANDOLEROS: (Friday) – A 15-car field of Briggs & Stratton-powered cars ran a 25-lap main during the all-division Friday night practice. Blake Dunkleberger, 13, enjoyed a career-night by setting FQ time and winning the feature from pole position. Point leader Ryan Cansdale, a 10-year old rookie, trailed by 0.193. Ricky Schlick,, 12, was third, with Aaron Anderson, 13, and rookie Graydon Smith, 10, completing the top five. Eleven drivers ran every lap in a 14:16.745 event. (Saturday) – An all-time track record 18-car field competed in the Bandoleros event Saturday. Three first-time drivers raced new cars. FQ Schlick started first and led 11 laps as the first five drivers raced in a tight pack and exchanged positions. Cansdale made an inside pass for the lead through the third and fourth turns on lap 12 to move from third to first. A subsequent bump and spin in turn four involved the drivers in the first three positions and allowed fourth place Schlick to reach the starter's stand first. The starter hit the yellow light although the drivers involved were in the infield or back in motion. Race director Lester Boyer returned all three drivers to their top three positions because of the inadvertent yellow light. Dunkleberger finished 0.368 behind Cansdale. Schlick made an outside pass in the final turn on the final lap to take third from Anderson at the finish line. The race ran a series-record 35 laps, including numerous caution laps for seven separate incidents during the 22-minute event.
TRAINS: The Richard “Flipper” Walker/Dave Baer team was surprised to receive the checkered flag first. They had been lapped three laps from the conclusion of the 12-lap race while they ran in second place. The leading duo—Randy Bylsma and Mark Miller—was run into the wall at speed in the third turn (turn four of the third-mile) by the lapped No. 34 train. After the race, the angry former leaders walked to the start/finish line interview area and confronted the No. 34 driver. Officials disqualified the disgruntled duo. The Robert Rice/Keith Johns team split $500 for second place. John Zimmerman/Patrick Miller placed third and received $350. One minor collision took place at the infield intersection, but both trains continued.
Hard Chargers & Fast Qualifiers: Hard Charger $100 gift certificate winners were: (VPSS) – C. Fisher; (JBMS) – R. Altman; (ACD SLM) – Dennis Furden. Fastest qualifiers were: Bandos (Fri.) - Dunkleberger @ 18.794 and (Sat.) Schlick @ 18.899; (JBMS) – Rod Schmitt @ 17.223; (S2) – King @ 20.528; (VPSS) – Cerquettini @ 20.848, and (SLM) - Michels on L 1 @ 18.135 and L 2 @ 18.220.
