SAN BERNARDINO, California — Rob Kiemele turned in one of the best drives of his racing career Saturday night, leading 42 of 50 laps and holding off a late challenge by two-time champion Mark Shackleford to win the Super Late Models main event and cap the second Speed Jams 2011 event of the year at Orange Show Speedway.
Kiemele, whose crew worked until 4 a.m. Saturday to get his Unlimited Landscaping Chevrolet Monte Carlo ready, started fourth in the 9-car field, but inherited the lead when front-runners Matt Hicks and John Manke got together in Turn 2 on lap 8. Once in front, the Riverside (Calif.) driver seldom put a wheel wrong in beating Shackleford by 0.597 seconds.
Shackleford, who was third in the opener April 9, trimmed a 0.718 deficit on lap 25 to 0.296 on lap 40, but as his tires lost grip Kiemele pulled away again. Hicks, the April 9 winner, recovered from two early incidents to finish third.
Brandon Loverock made it two-for-two in the Late Model division, taking the lead when early pacesetter Matt Goodwin was involved in a Turn 4 incident on lap 19 and driving away from a depleted field.
Jesse James Lawson was second and Goodwin third. Two-time class champion Jim Conklin lost power during the warmup and completed just one lap.
Yucaipa (Calif.) resident Robby Hornsby Jr. continued his mastery of the Pony Stocks by scoring his 14th win in the past 16 races. He had to come from the rear of the 15-car field after getting spun on the first lap, but didn’t have to work too hard to do so because of numerous yelow caution flags.
Hornsby took the lead from Kevin Meador in Turn 2 with 15 laps to go and won comfortably, with Meador second and Adrianne Murlin third.
Cliff Conklin salvaged some of the night for Conklin Racing by winning the 35-lap Super Stocks main over Steve Smith and Kyle Meyer. Conklin, who was fifth in the April 9 opener, won a mid-race battle with Smith and took the checkered flag 0.419 seconds in front of the opening night victor.
Dave Foster of Riverside (Ca.), one of the founders of the Stock Cars USA class, got their 2011 season under way with a 1.4-second win over Scott Groom of Anaheim (Ca.) and Mark Fletchall of Riverside in their 35-lap main. Foster put his Chevrolet Monte Carlo into the lead on the restart after a first-lap caution and stayed there throughout, with Groom and Fletchall in close pursuit.
The win in the 35-lap Factory Four feature went to Tony Forfa III, who led much of the way, took the checkered flag fourth, and got the win when the top three finishers, Dan French, Dan Gutierrez and Dwayne Blay, were disqualified when they failed post-race inspection.
| Super Late Models (50 laps) |
|---|
| 1. Rob Kiemele, Riverside, Chevrolet Monte Carlo; 2. Mark Shackleford, Riverside, Monte Carlo; 3. Matt Hicks, Lakeside, Dodge Charger/Chevrolet; 4. David Ross, Colton, Chevrolet Impala; 5. John Manke, Ramona, Ford Fusion; 6. Dee Cable, Santee, Monte Carlo; 7. Jered King, Hesperia, Monte Carlo; 8. Chris Evans, San Bernardino, Monte Carlo; 9. Gary Rodriguez, Bonita, Monte Carlo. Margin of victory – 0.597 seconds. Average speed – 44.607 mph. Trophy Dash winner -- Manke. Fast qualifier – Hicks, 12.986 seconds/69.305 mph. |
| Late Models (40 laps) |
| 1. Brandon Loverock, Highland, Toyota Camry/Chevrolet; 2. Jesse James Lawson, Big Bear City, Chevrolet Impala; 3. Matt Goodwin, Wildomar, Chevrolet Monte Carlo; 4. Jeremy Perez, Chino, Monte Carlo; 5. Dave Arce, Santee, Monte Carlo; 6. Stan Chatwood, Bloomington, Monte Carlo; 7. Jim Conklin, Big Bear City, Monte Carlo. Margin of victory – 0.844 seconds. Average speed – 38.888 mph. Trophy Dash winner -- Conklin. Fast qualifier – Loverock, 13.642/65.973. |
| Pony Stocks (35 laps) |
| 1. Robby Hornsby Jr., Yucaipa, Ford Pinto; 2. Kevin Meador, San Bernardino, Pinto; 3. Adrianne Murlin, Corona, Pinto; 4. Erik Spring, Beaumont, Pinto; 5. Jack Hughes, Beaumont, Pinto; 6. Bud Smith, Orange, Pinto; 7. Lucas McCray, Corona, Pinto; 8. Joe Van Sant, San Bernardino, Pinto; 9. Michael Reid, San Jacinto, Ford Mustang; 10. Steve Patterson, Riverside, Pinto; 11. Nevada Chovan, Rialto, Pinto; 12. Joe Fernandez, Fontana, Pinto; 13. Evan McCray, Riverside, Pinto; 14. Darrell Kelsoe, San Bernardino, Pinto; 15. Josh Hodges, Adelanto, Pinto. Margin of victory – 0.308 seconds. Average speed – 16.403 mph. Trophy Dash winner . Fast qualifier – Hornsby, 14.611/61.597. |
| Super Stocks (35 laps) |
| 1. Cliff Conklin, Big Bear Lake, Chevrolet Camaro; 2. Steve Smith, San Bernardino, Chevrolet Nova; 3. Kyle Meyer, Highland, Nova; 4. Bobby Dezarov, Palm Desert, Camaro; 5. Jeff Lawson, Big Bear City, Camaro; 6. Bryan Harrell, Riverside, Chevrolet Malibu; 7. Marissa Henson, Oak Hills, Camaro; 8. Johnny Russo, Big Bear City, Chevrolet Monte Carlo; 9. Jeff Henson, Fallbrook, Camaro; 10. Mike Scheidecker, San Bernardino, Chevrolet Chevelle. Margin of victory – 0.419 seconds. Average speed – 18.293 seconds. Trophy Dash winner -- Dezarov. Fast qualifier – Smith, 14.491/62.108. |
| Factory Four (35laps) |
| 1. Tony Forfa III, Redlands, Ford Courier; 2. Tommy Reed, Riverside, Toyota; 3. Victor Garcia, San Bernardino, Toyota; 4. David Rice, Wildomar, Ford Escort; 5. Gary McLaughlin, Garden Grove, Toyota; 6. Stan Youngblood, San Bernardino, Toyota; 7. Rick Hinkle, San Bernardino, Nissan; 8. John Long, Yorba Linda, Toyota; 9. Tony Forfa IV, Redlands, BMW 318i. Margin of victory – 1 lap. Average speed – 52.506. Trophy Dash winner -- Reed. Fast qualifier – French, 16.017/56.190. |
| Stock Cars USA (35 laps) |
| 1. Dave Foster, Riverside, Chevrolet Monte Carlo; 2. Scott Groom, Anaheim, Chevrolet Chevelle; 3. Mark Fletchall, Riverside, Chevelle; 4. Allen Hevy, Yucca Valley, Chevrolet Nova; 5. Steven Clark, Riverside, Monte Carlo; 6. Dave Vreatt, Riverside, Nova; 7. Donny Rudd, Riverside, Monte Carlo; 8. Mike Scheidecker, San Bernardino, Chevelle; 9. Blake Usilton, Corona, Chevelle; 10. Brian Maza, Glendora, Corona. Margin of victory – 1.401 seconds. Average speed – 26.552 mph. Trophy Dash winner -- Hevy. Fast qualifier – Maza, 15.286/58.877. |
