SAN BERNARDINO, California — A driver making his first start in a year and one filling in for his ailing father both found their way to victory lane Saturday night at Orange Show Speedway.
"Ricky Lewis, who finished second in the 25-lap Bandoleros main event, was declared the winner when Mikael Lovas was disqualified for a rev limiter infraction."
Barry Karr, a Union Pacific Railroad engineer from nearby Redlands, had made just one start since Aug. 28, 2010, and none at all in the first seven rounds of the California Speed Jams season. There didn’t seem to be any after-effects of the layoff, though, because Karr qualified fourth, won the 4-lap Trophy Dash and then set the pace for all 50 laps of the Super Late Model main event.
Karr’s narrow win over points leader Mark Shackleford capped a night of racing on the ASA-sanctioned quarter-mile oval in which Jessie James Lawson substituted for his father, Jeff, and won the 30-lap Super Stock main, Erik Spring took the 30-lap Pony Stock feature, Dwayne Blay got his first Factory Four victory of the season and Brent Scheidemantle took the 35-lap INEX Legends Cars national qualifier.
Karr, usually a championship contender when he raced full-time, had to draw on all his skills at driving and using the entire race track to hold off Shackleford. A two-time class champion en route to his third title spent the final 20 laps trying everything possible to get the lead except spinning Karr out while Travis Stockman and Stephen Peace roared back into contention after getting together midway through the event.
The margin of victory for Karr was a slender 0.176 seconds.
Lawson, who is racing in the Late Model class this season, stepped back into the Chevrolet Camaro he drove last season and wound up a surprise winner. He was sent to the rear of the field after getting together with Cliff Conklin 7 laps into the race and was running fourth with 3 laps to go. Then leaders Steve Smith and Kyle Meyer bumped and spun in Turn 1, sending them to the rear of the field, and third-place Johnny Russo pulled off with possible engine damage.
That left Lawson leading Conklin and they crossed the line in that order, with Smith third and Meyer fourth.
Spring, of Beaumont, won the Pony Stock main by almost 8 seconds after 30 laps of destruction that saw four contending cars eliminated with crash damage.
Blay, the reigning champion in the Factory Fours division, started his Toyota truck on the outside of the front row, but took the lead from Tommy Reed on the opening lap and never trailed. He did come under pressure from Tim Cox and Dan French over the final six laps, but held on for a win by 0.897 seconds over Cox, with French inches back in third.
Ricky Lewis, who finished second in the 25-lap Bandoleros main event, was declared the winner when Mikael Lovas was disqualified for a rev limiter infraction.
| Super Late Models (50 laps) |
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| 1. Barry Karr, Redlands, Chevrolet Monte Carlo; 2. Mark Shackleford, Riverside, Monte Carlo; 3. Travis Stockman, Highland, Monte Carlo; 4. Stephen Peace, El Cajon, Ford Fusion; 5. Frankie Gould, Woodland Hills, Monte Carlo; 6. Gary Rodriguez, Bonita, Monte Carlo; 7. Dee Cable, Santee, Monte Carlo; 8. Adrianne Murlin, Corona, Monte Carlo; 9. JR Stout, Riverside, Chevrolet Impala; 10. Dave Scheidecker, Rialto, Monte Carlo. Margin of victory – 0.176 seconds. Average speed – 40.226 mph. Trophy Dash winner – Karr. Fast qualifier – Peace, 12.965 seconds/69.418 mph. |
| Pony Stocks (30 laps) |
| 1. Erik Spring, Beaumont, Ford Pinto; 2. Evan McCray, Riverside, Pinto; 3. Bud Smith, Orange, Pinto; 4. Darrell Kelsoe, San Bernardino, Pinto; 5. Josh Hodges, Adelanto, Pinto; 6. Steve Patterson, Riverside, Pinto; 7. Joe Fernandez, Fontana, Pinto; 8. John Soares, San Bernardino, Mercury Capri; 9. Adrianne Murlin, Corona, Pinto; 10. Jack Hughes, Beaumont, Pinto; 11. Jeremy Perez, Chino, Pinto; 12. Michael Reid, Orange, Ford Mustang; 13. Nevada Chovan, Rialto, Pinto. Margin of victory – 7.805 seconds. Average speed – 24.263 mph. Trophy Dash winner – Hodges. Fast qualifier – Spring, 14.899/60.407. |
| Factory Fours (30 laps) |
| 1. Dwayne Blay, Riverside, Toyota; 2. Tim Cox, Claremont, Chevrolet; 3. Dan French, Claremont, Toyota; 4. Greg France, Claremont, Toyota; 5. Tony Forfa IV, Redlands, BMW 318i; 6. Danny Gutierrez, Redlands, Toyota; 7. Tommy Reed, Riverside, Toyota; 8. David Rice, Wildomar, Ford Escort; 9. John Long, Yorba Linda, Toyota; 10. Tony Forfa III, Redlands, Ford Courier; 11. Victor Garcia, San Bernardino, Toyota; 12. Gary McLaughlin, Garden Grove, Toyota; 13. Robert Heflin, Homeland, Toyota; 14. Jay Verdusco, Fontana, Ford Escort. Margin of victory – 0.897 seconds. Average speed – 23.376 mph. Trophy Dash winner – France. Fast qualifier – French, 16.199/55.559. |
| Super Stocks (30 laps) |
| 1. Jesse Lawson, Big Bear City, Chevrolet Camaro; 2. Cliff Conklin, Big Bear Lake, Camaro; 3. Steve Smith, San Bernardino, Chevrolet Nova; 4. Kyle Meyer, Highland, Nova; 5. Jerome Gipson, Highland, Nova; 6. Johnny Russo, Big Bear City, Chevrolet Monte Carlo; 7. Marissa Henson, Oak Hills, Camaro. Margin of victory – 1.127 seconds. Average speed – 34.615 mph. Trophy Dash winner – Meyer. Fast qualifier – Smith, 14.745/61.038. |
| Legends Cars (35 laps) |
| 1. Brent Scheidemantle, Alta Loma, ’34 Ford; 2. C.J. Hulsey, El Paso, Texas, ’37 Chevrolet; 3. Ryan Cansdale, Laguna Beach, ’34 Ford; 4. Todd Hunsaker, Chino Hills, ’40 Ford; 5. Austin Reed, Bakersfield, ’37 Chevrolet; 6. Parker Malone, Redlands, ’42 Ford; 7. Devin Mack, Las Vegas, ’37 Ford; 8. Derek Lacey, Tustin, ’34 Ford; 9. Cheyanne Schindler, Las Vegas, ’40 Ford; 10. Donna Gunther, Las Vegas, ’37 Chevrolet; 11. Racin Vernon, Bakersfield, ’34 Ford; 12. Blake Dunkleberger, Simi Valley, ’37 Chevrolet; 13. Margin of victory – . Average speed – . Fast qualifier – Scheidemantle, 14.544/61.881. |
| Fridays Race (30 laps) |
| 1. Scheidemantle; 2. Hulsey; 3. Hicks; 4. Cansdale; 5. Dunkleberger; 6. Reed; 7. Schindler; 8. Hunsaker; 9. Lacey; 10. Malone; 11. Gunther; 12. Mack; 13. Vernon; 14. Troutwine; 15. Chancellor Tiscareno, Menifee, ’37 Chevrolet. Margin of victory – 15.137 seconds. Average speed – 14.537 mph. |
| BANDOLEROS (25 laps) |
| 1. Ricky Lewis, Oxnard; 2. Case Brinksma, Claremont; 3. Tanner Cervantes, Hemet. Margin of victory – NA. Average speed – NA. Fast qualifier – NA |
| Fridays Race (20 laps) |
| 1. Mikael Lovas, Menifee; 2. Lewis; 3. Cervantes; 4. Brinksma. Margin of victory – 3.163 seconds. Average speed – 57.666 mph./ |
| Factory Four/Pony Stock Figure 8 (10 laps) |
| 1. French; 2. Gutierrez; 3. Cox; 4. Patterson; 5. McLaughlin. |
