It was Mike Duncan Night at the Races at Mesa Marin Raceway. First in qualifying he sets the all time Late Model fast time record with a 18.705. He gets lucky on the draw and picks the #1 and starts on the pole. He wins the trophy dash. But the sweetest victory of all was going 100 laps with Kevin Vernon beating on his bumper and Vernon barely getting past him 4 times. The final pass was on the white flag lap, but Duncan always came right back and when the checkered flag dropped Duncan’s #9 was just a nose ahead of the 3-time track champion’s #51. The last race of the season Duncan proved what the fans sensed all year. He had become a race car driver to contend with in 1999.
Mike Alsup won his first track championship by playing it safe in 4th place where he started and finished the night behind Greg Pursley. Kevin Vernon had to finish eleven places ahead of Alsup to recover the lead, but he finished only two places ahead of the #61. The Alsup family and team celebrated as the 1999 NASCAR Winston Racing Series Late Model Track Champion for Mesa Marin Raceway. Greg Pursley, who won the season finale in 1998, finished 3rd and Bobby Aldridge had his best race ever finishing 5th.
In Modified Stocks Dave Howell of Rosamond gave it his best effort and led the first nine laps, but his #26 had not been able to fend off Tehachapi’s Gene Fife #7 and Danny Collins’ #19 all season. Fife took the lead on lap #9 and held it for the season finale win. Danny Collins finished 2nd and celebrated his 2nd consecutive Modified Stocks Track Championship. Eric Sunness of West Hills and Marlin Gill of Burbank finished 4th and 5th.
In the NASCAR Winston Racing ShorTrack Street Stocks Mike Alexander finished his championship season with another win during CARQUEST Night at the Races. Brian Richardson had a strong start, but the pack that ran together all year – Daren Blanton, Mike White, Mike Riale and Alexander – worked their way to the front and passed Richardson by the 6th lap of 25. With several yellow flags caused by season finale bumps and nudges that turned some race cars and tore off some body parts, the finish had Alexander in the winner’s circle followed by Mike White, Mike Riale, Bill Tucker and Brian Neufeld.
In the Campus Motorsports High School Series, the Visalia Motorsports Youth made it two in a row. Starting in the back Eric Ramos was able to catch and pass North High’s Jason Keeney. Keeney came right back, but a little too close and Ramos went spinning. Finding the right direction, Ramos was soon back ahead of North and chasing Centennial. A caution put Visalia on Centenial’s Jacob Scott’s bumper. The Centennial #97 wasn’t fast enough to maintain the lead on the re-start and Visalia finished ahead of Centennial, Kern Valley, North and South.
In the 911 Race For Youth, Casey Clark of the Kern County Fire Department put it in gear and jumped ahead of the field and stayed out there for all 12 laps. Meanwhile, once Jeff Olle of the Bakersfield Fire Dept. bumped Kern County Sheriff Betty Mitchell out of the way, he had to contend with Bakersfield Police Dept.’s Wally Whitaker, who thought rubbing was the name of the game. With BPD and BFD fighting it out, Jerry Barker of the CHP got past both of them and finished 2nd behind Clark to maintain the points lead going into the season finale Friday, October 15 of the October Classic.
Mesa Marin takes a month off of racing to prepare for the 4-day festival of speed - the October Classic, October 14-17. A full show of NASCAR action features NASCAR Winston West, NASCAR Southwest Series, NASCAR Winston Racing Late Models, including a 6-track champion’s invitational, Street Stocks, Super TT Motorcycles, 2 days of Ultra Wheels SPEC Trucks, and the season finale of the Women’s Series, 911 Race For Youth and Campus Motorsports. An incredible weekend for an incredible group rate $50 per person for 4 days for groups of 10. Individual tickets range from $15 to $32 for each day. For more information call Mesa Marin Raceway, ValliTix, or check out www.mesamarin.com.
CAR QUEST 100 RESULTS
1 9 MIKE DUNCAN
2 51 KEVIN VERNON
3 98 GREG PURSLEY
4 61 MICHAEL ALSUP
5 26 BOBBY ALDRIDGE
6 13 BARRY BRADSHAW
7 2 BRIAN BRANSON
8 83 LESLIE LIPSCOMB
9 4 KEVIN SMALL
10 37 CHARLIE SOLOMON
11 15 JEFF MICHALS
12 81 JR JONES
13 59 STEVE REAVES
14 16H RICHARD HOOPER
15 11 LES DENHERDER
16 86 STEVE LEWIS
17 21 JEREMY SALAMACHA
