Bakersfield, CA.. Burney Lamar, the 20 year old W. Sacramento, CA. college student - race driver, picked up his second top ten finish and second top-rookie honors in the past two events Saturday night at the half mile Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield, CA.
But his seventh place finish didn't come easy. During practice Saturday morning, the lower left rear control arm boke, and Burney found himself in the wall. The Bonicelli Racing Team brought out their back-up car and in some extraordinarily fast work, got it ready for ten laps of practice. Lamar then went out and qualified seventh, the third time in five races he's been seventh or better.
A little less than halfway through the 125 lap feature, Burney was gaining on the top four or five cars when his right rear tire went down.
Following a fast pit stop, he remained on the lead lap, but at the rear of the field. "We were at the end of the field, but we got back up to fifth, going for fourth, when LaMoure and Shepherd sort of both spun together in front of me, and I sort of had no where to go and got into the side of Shepherd. So we went a lap down because of that, but thanks to quick work by the pit crew on that earlier pit stop, we still ended up seventh".
As the result of his third top ten finish to far this season, Burney has the WaveShield-4 Points Hotels Sheraton Pontiac Gran Prix in 12th place in the NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Series point standings, and in 2nd place in the rookie standings, only one point out of first among the nine declared rookie candidates.
The next stop for the Colorado Springs based Bonicelli Racing Team, and the rest of the Touring Division, is next Saturday night just outside Los Angeles, at the half mile Irwindale Speedway.
