The 5th annual "Bomber Bash at the Lakeport Speedway was held Saturday night with Finley’s Chuck Pruett and Kelseyville’s Kevin Schafer big winners of the twin 50 lap main events. Kelseyville driver Darren Knight finished second in both segments making him the high points man of the series, earning the overall bomber bash trophy.
The 46-car field drew for positions in the five 12-lap heat races with the top four finishers in each race advancing into the main event. Heat winners were Lakeport Speedway bomber champion Mark Maines of Clearlake, Schafer, Jeff Davis of Clearlake, Bernie Simpson of Santa Rose and inaugural bomber bash winner Steve Peirce of Redwood Valley. With a strong field of drivers from both the Ukiah and Lakeport Speedways, it was tough to advance directly to the main event and many of the top runners from each track first had to work their ways through the 35 lap "B" race including "B" main winner Ross English of Ukiah, Ruben Serrano of Kelseyville, Don Baker of Lower Lake and Casey Saunders of Redwood Valley.
The 24 car field re-drew for position in the feature and the first 50 lapper saw Kevin Minassian of Santa Rosa and Chuck Pruett sharing the front row. Pruett pulled ahead at the drop of the green flag with Darrin Knight following him to the front. Mike Bishop passed Minassian for third on lap seven as the leaders began lapping the slower cars.
The first caution came on lap 14 when Jeremy Nowlin and Airport Auto Brokers Late Model champ Robert Loucks came together. This mishap resulted in a six-car pile-up that included Nowlin, Loucks, Bernie Simpson, Mike Doss and Lakeport modified champion Rick Rose. Nowlin and Loucks were towed to the pits and all the others restarted in the rear.
When the green fell again Pruett maintained the lead with Knight and Bishop next in line. Steve Peirce passed Minassian for fourth on 19 and Jeff Davis joined the top five runners two rounds later. At the mid point in the race Kenny Grinols and John Saunders tangled to slow the action and Saunders spun again on lap 30. This restart saw Bishop lose ground to both Peirce and Maines. Doss snuck under Peirce on 40 and drove around Maines for third on 45. The remaining laps went smoothly with Pruett picking up the first $500 win. Knight finished second with Doss third, Maines fourth and Peirce fifth.
The second 50-lapper was inverted from the finish of the first event putting Sean Caturegli and Don Baker on the front row. Schafer started second row inside with Arlene Pruett next to Schafer. The race was stopped after the first lap as Doss’s car was leaking oil on the track. When racing finally got back under way Schafer drove to the front with Jeff Davis in second and Ruben Serrano in third. Bernie Simpson drove around Serrano on lap seven as the leaders were weaving through lapped traffic.
Lap 22 saw the yellow fly for a tangle between Caturegli and John Saunders. Knight picked up position on the restart, and as Davis faded on the outside, Rose and Doss moved ahead but both experienced tire failure and had to pit early. With time running out, the race was yellow-checkered on 35 when Baker and Grinols crashed in front of the leaders. Schafer made contact with the stalled cars but continued on to take the checkers and the $500 win. Knight finished second with Simpson third, Davis fourth and Chuck Pruett fifth.
Twenty cars ran the 35-lap "B" main with Ross English overcoming this 4-week smoking problem to lead all but the first three laps to win this event. Chris Straka ran a strong second until a lap 11 restart when Ruben Serrano nosed under him. Casey Saunders took over third on 13 with Rick Tellstrom passing both Straka and Saunders two rounds later. Straka regained fourth on 20 but ended his run on lap 22 when he was hit by another car and ended up in the turn two concrete. Bill Binns came from nowhere and passed Serrano for second on lap 24 but lost power and pulled into the infield on 27. This moved Baker up and at the checkered flag is was Englilsh, Serrano, Baker, C. Saunders and Kevin Waycik.
The bombers return to the Lakeport Speedway on October 14-15 as a part of the 11th Annual "KXBX October Classic" featuring six divisions of race cars.
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BOMBERS
Trophy Dash: Mark Maines, Jeff Davis, Kevin Schafer, Steve Peirce, Bernie Simpson
Heat 1: Maines, Mike Doss, Darrin Knight, Chuck Pruett, Bill Binns
Heat 2: Schafer, Rick Rose, John Saunders, Arlene Pruett, Wes Stillwell
Heat 3: Davis, Jeremy Nowlin, Robert Loucks, Micharl Bishop, Don Baker
Heat 4: Simpson, Steve Haley, John Peters, Sean Caturegli, Wayne Bates
Heat 5: Peirce, Sean Sweeney, Kenny Grinols, Kevin Minassian, Ruben Serrano
"B"-Main: Ross Engllish, Serrano, Baker, Casey Saunders, Kevin Waycik, Wayne Johnson, Harley Sharpe, Wayne Bates, Jimmy Sorrels, Mike Miller, Rick Tellstrom, Mark Lazzini, Binns, Straka, George Reihl, Lex Burger, Stillwell, Rod Harper, Mike Shoffeitt
Main Event No. 1: Chuck Pruett, Knight, Doss, Maines, Peirce, Simpson, Bishop, Serrano, Peters, Haley, Arlene Pruett, Schafer, Davis, Baker, Caturegli, John Saunders, Rose, English, Minassian, Grinols, Sweeney, Casey Saunders, Nowlin, Loucks
Main Event No. 2: Schafer, Knight, Simpson, Davis, C. Pruett, Serrano, Peirce, Maines, Nowlin, Caturegli, Bishop, A. Pruett, Haley, Baker, English, Waycik, Grinols, Minassian, J. Saunders, Doss, Rose, C. Saunders, Peters, Sweeney.
