DACONO, Colorado — Harold Evans began defense of his 2010 Englewood Racing Association supermodified championship in fine fashion Saturday night at Colorado National Speedway">Colorado National Speedway, where the 60-year-old racer passed Chris Sheil late in the 25-lapper to claim the season opening win.
Evans started seventh in the 11-car field and narrowly missed an opening-lap accident that involved his teammate, Richie Castor. Three-wide racing down CNS’s backstretch among Sheil, Ira Castor and R. Castor squeezed R. Castor out of the groove and hard into the turn three wall. The four-time ERA champ’s No. 2 Hyder chassis sustained heavy front-end damage and was out of the race without completing a lap.
Evans moved into second by lap 12 to find Sheil a half-lap ahead. The crafty veteran then began closing on the Mountain States Toyota-sponsored driver, as the pair showed they had the fastest cars on the track.
But Evans’s mount was a bit quicker, and the purple No. 3 caught Sheil’s Skip Mikula-owned No. 33. Evans made his winning move to the inside on lap 17, passing Sheil in turn one.
Sheil, a former Rocky Mountain Midget Racing Assn. champion, looked to be in line for a runner-up finish but blew an engine less than a lap after losing the lead. A solid start to the season went up in flames – literally, as an oil fire ensued on the silver 33 – and a dejected Sheil was forced to watch the remaining few laps from the pit area.
“Once I got into second, I saw Sheil easily a half-track ahead,” Evans said. “I didn’t think I’d have enough time, but each lap I was getting quicker. We were able to eat away at his lead. On one lap, I caught him an awful lot. I don’t know if he messed up or if I just cut a great lap, but a few laps after that we were by him. Then he blew up. Maybe his engine problems were why we caught him so quick. I don’t know, but it’s nice to start the season with a win.”
Sheil’s engine letting go caused a long delay, but the yellow flag stayed out as the winged supermodifieds circled CNS’s three-eights-mile oval under caution. The long yellow-flag session caused several crews and drivers to worry about fuel. Teams had a good reason for concern; several drivers either ran out or nearly ran out of fuel on the five-lap run to the finish, including Evans.
Matt Gilbert started from the pole but quickly slipped back to fifth. Gilbert ran there for most of the race until Sheil dropped out. On the last restart, Joe Gallegos and Joe Prisalec, who were running second and third, stumbled with fuel pick-up problems, allowing Gilbert to shoot past and move back into the runner-up spot, where he finished.
Prisalec was able to hold on for a solid third-place result. Ira Castor came home fourth and Gallegos nursed his fuel-starved No. 14 home for fifth.
Some racers say it’s never too early to talk about points. With top challengers Sheil and R. Castor experiencing DNFs, and three-time 2010 feature winner Johnny Pickard not in attendance, Evans left the night not only with another ERA triumph, but a strong head start on the 2011 ERA championship battle.
“It was a steady, consistent run,” Evans commented. “We missed the setup a little. The car had quite a bit of oversteer in it early, but I adapted to it by about lap 10, and from there we were able to get quicker. It was cold night; everyone was slipping and sliding on the start, and I knew there’d be a problem. I just laid back and let things shake out on the start. Cold weather on opening night can spell disaster; I’ve learned that over the years.”
The open-wheel stars of the ERA are back in action at CNS in two weeks for another 25-lapper on Saturday, June 4.
For more information on the Englewood Racing Association, visit erasupermodifieds.tripod.com. The ERA is now on Twitter! Follow the Denver-based supermodified series @erasupermods.
May 21 ERA finish: Harold Evans, Matt Gilbert, Joe Prisalec, Ira Castor, Joe Gallegos, Ian Tolen, Chris Sheil, Matt Griffin, Brian Pacheco, Stevie Gallegos, Richie Castor.
