Utah's Michael Self wins $10,000 Super Late Model Open Comp at Las Vegas Motor Speedway">The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway; Juan Garcia of Bogota, Colombia wins 100-lap Late Model feature
LAS VEGAS – Michael Self of Park City, Utah won the 2012 Open Comp Super Late Model 150 tonight at the Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Chris Clyne of Las Vegas led from the opening green flag until Self drove to the inside to take the lead on lap 13. Self’s move opened the door for Dustin Ash and Dylan Kwasniewski and Clyne was “freight-trained” back to fourth place. Ash took command on lap 26 as the top three cars motored away from the field. The first caution flag flew on lap 26 when Toni McCray spun in Turn 2. Self grabbed the lead after the restart and was followed by Ash.
The caution flag flew again on lap 52 when Alex Haase, Chris Clyne and Glen Burke spun in Turn 1. Haase’s car took the worst of it and exited the track on the back of a tow truck and Burke drove to the pits. The race restarted and was slowed again on lap 53 when Bobby Hirschbock of Redbluff, Calif. and Dave Hemrich (Delta, British Columbia, Canada) crashed in Turn 4. Neither driver was injured. On the restart, Self, Ash and Kwasniewski pulled away from the pack. Self led the race to the 10-minute halfway break followed by Ash, Kwasniewski, Jay Beasley and Jack Madrid.
Self once again motored away on the restart, leaving Kwasniewski and Ash to put on the two-car, side-by-side show. Once again the caution flag flew when Toni McCray and Mark Shackleford spun coming out of Turn 2.
Kwasniewski moved into second place with 54 laps remaining and set off in pursuit of Self. The torrid pace began taking its toll as Dennis Rock Jr. retired on lap 103. Ash took his turn at racing in second place on lap 106 but the race still belonged to Self. The pace slowed once again as Kelly Admiral’s car dropped oil on the track for the entire length of the oval. Jay Beasley pulled off the track on lap 114 after running in the top five all night.
With 25 laps remaining, Kwasniewski turned up the wick and chased down Self. By lap 129, Kwasniewski was challenging for the lead after erasing Self’s comfortable advantage. Disaster struck on lap 136 as Kwasniewski was battling Self for the lead. Kwasniewski’s car made contact with the lapped car of Bob DeLorma and both crashed in Turn 1. Kwasniewski’s car suffered considerable damage and his hopes for an Open Comp $10,000 payday were dashed. With 14 laps remaining, under caution, the top five were Self, Ash, Madrid, Clyne and Jonathan Gomez of Twin Falls, Idaho.
The rest of the race was uneventful as the 22-year-old Self cruised to a $10,000 payday. Ash and Madrid could only watch from a distance as Self took the checkered flag.
“They made it kinda hard out there at the end – a lot harder than I expected,” said Self. “It was an awesome race and I can’t thank everyone enough – especially Golden Gate Racing Team, my crew chief Steve Portenga. Really excited to bring this home to the Utah guys."
Fifteen-year-old Juan Garcia of Bogota, Colombia scored his first U.S. win when he took the lead on the final lap of the Late Model feature after Luis Martinez – who led most of the 100-circuit contest – ran out of fuel on the white-flag lap. As Martinez slowed, Garcia raced past Cole Custer to take the lead. Custer finished second and Martinez coasted home third. Taylor Miinch and Darrell Midgley completed the top five. Garcia, a go-kart racer in his native Colombia and the U.S., made his stock-car driving debut in July at Madera, Calif.
Phil Goodwin won the hotly-contested 50-lap Super Stock feature. Vinny Raucci finished second and Richard LaVallee was third. Mike McKearn and Steve Smith completed the top five.
The 50-lap Bomber feature was won by Wade Pearson. Mark Hodges finished second and Patrick Camburn was third.. Bomber heat races were won by Michael Takami and Nathan Boss.
The 20-lap Silver Star Plumbing Bandolero combined feature was won by Caden Carlin. Noah Gragson finished second and Christian Warren was third.
The USAC Ignite Midget feature was a hard-fought, side-by-side affair staged by Michael Fanelli and Jake Swanson. Bryant Dawson joined the fray over the last 10 laps and the trio battled three-wide down the back straightaway on lap 25. Fanelli, who also won on Friday night, grabbed the win ahead of Swanson and Dawson.
The 50-lap USLCI Legend Car feature was won by Dustin Ash. Brent Scheidemantle finished second and Donny St. Ours was third.
NOTES: No luck whatsoever for Billy Mitchell. His hauler suffered not one, but two flat tires on the trip from California. Mitchell crashed on the first lap of his Super Late Model qualifying heat. He returned today but the repaired car spun in Turn 4 and hit the wall during practice. More bad luck too for Bullring champion Scott Gafforini: after falling ill and leaving the track yesterday, he was involved in a three-car crash on the first lap of tonight’s Super Late Model B-Feature.
Saturday event results, in chronological order:
6-lap Bandolero heat race: 1. Caden Carlin, 2. Noah Gragson, 3. Ryan Vargas, 4. Vincent Raucci Jr., 5. Christian Warren, 6. Phillip Root, 7. Kyle Jacks, 8. Sam Jacks.
First 8-lap Bomber heat race: 1. Nathan Boss, 2. Wade Pearson, 3. Justin Griffiths, 4. Cayla Bronston, 5. Marty DeLuca, 6. Mark Hodges, 7. Martin Sullins.
Second 8-lap Bomber heat race: 1. Michael Takami, 2. Michael Greve, 3. Jason Sullins, 4. Patrick Camburn, 5. Steven Durbin, 6. Gerri Pearson, 7. William Hern.
8-lap USAC Ignite Midget heat race: 1. Jake Swanson, 2. Michael Fanelli, 3. Bryant Dawson, 4. Christine Breckenridge, 5. Cody Mansfield, 6. George Blacker, 7. Austin Blair, 8. Maria Turner.
20-lap Super Late Model B-Feature (first four cars will transfer to the Open Comp feature): 1. Chris Birdsong, 2. Bobby Hirschbock, 3. Dave Hemrich, 4. Bob DeLorma, 5. Jason Tarasenko, 6. Anthony Mainela, 7. Dee Cable (crashed), 8. Greg Hanneman (crashed), 9. Scott Gafforini (crashed).
20-lap Silver Star Plumbing Bandolero combined feature: 1. Caden Carlin, 2. Noah Gragson, 3. Christian Warren, 4. Phillip Root, 5. Ryan Vargas, 6. Vincent Raucci Jr., 7. Sam Jacks, 8. Kyle Jacks.
50-lap Bomber feature: 1. Wade Pearson, 2. Mark Hodges, 3. Patrick Camburn, 4. Nathan Boss, 5. Justin Griffiths, 6. Michael Greve, 7. Jason Sullins, 8. Gerri Pearson, 9. Cayla Bronston, 10. Jim Merlino, 11. William Hern, 12. Steven Durbin, 13. Marty DeLuca, 14. Michael Takami.
50-lap Super Stock feature: 1. Phil Goodwin, 2. Vinny Raucci, 3. Richard LaVallee, 4. Mike McKearn, 5. Steve Smith, 6. Daryl Crocker, 7. Adam Jeffrey, 8. Chuck Burgess, 9. Kolleen Dresser, 10. Greg Szot, 11. Patrick OO’Hanley, 12. Kayli Barker, 13. Matt Larsen, 14. James Wingard.
30-lap USAC Ignite Midget Series feature: 1. Michael Fanelli, 2. Jake Swanson, 3. Bryant Dawson, 4. Christine Breckenridge, 5. Cody Mansfield, 6. Austin Blair, 7. George Blacker, 8. MarinaTurner.
100-lap Late Model feature: 1. Juan Garcia (Bogota, Colombia), 2. Cole Custer, 3. Luis Martinez, 4. Taylor Miinch, 5. Darrell Midgley, 6. Trevor Huddleston, 7. Dylan Kwasniewski, 8. Mark Allison, 9. Mike Johnson, 10. Kyle McGrady, 11. Brandon Loverock, 12. Toni McCray, 13. Adrianne Murlin, 14. Andrew Murray, 15. Kyle Niquette, 16. Scott Rhoden, 17. Ryan Partridge, 18. Glen Schwenger, 19. Eric Martin.
50-lap USLCI Legend Car feature: 1. Dustin Ash, 2. Brent Scheidemantle, 3. Donny St. Ours, 4. Michael Abbate, 5. Zane Smith, 6. Blake Olsen, 7. Gary Scherell, 8. Michael Womack, 9. Jonathan St. Ours, 10. Casey Tillman, 11. Danny Medina, 12. Cory Seip, 13. Matthew Cardenas, 14. Zachary Weatherwax, 15. Blaine Perkins, 16. Chase Havely, 17. Josh Fultz, 18. Ian Anderson, 19. Andrew Muscannell, 20. Chris Trickle, 21. Robert Ewing, 22. Kenny McGee, Nick Halen (disqualified).
150-lap, $10,000-to-win Super Late Model Open Comp: 1. Michael Self (Park City, Utah), 2. Dustin Ash (Las Vegas), 3. Jack Madrid (Dove Canyon, Calif.), 4. Jonathan Gomez (Twin Falls, Idaho), 5. Chris Clyne (Las Vegas), 6. Mark Shackleford (Riverside, Calif.), 7. Korbin Thomas (White Rock, B.C., Canada), 8. Rick Chavez (Escondido, Calif.), 9. Toni McCray (Highland, Calif.), 10. Brian Levant (Calgary, Alb., Canada), 11. Trevor Emond (Leduc, Alb., Canada), 12. Randy Allridge (Escondido, Calif.), 13. Dylan Kwasniewski (Las Vegas), 14. Bob DeLorma (Calgary, Alb., Canada), 15. Bobby Hirschbock (Redbluff, Calif.), 16. Jay Beasley (Las Vegas), 17. Kelly Admiral (Sherwood Park, Alb., Canada), 18. Dennis Rock Jr. (Henderson), 19. Joe Deguevara (Las Vegas), 20. Alex Haase (Las Vegas), 21. Chris Birdsong (Las Vegas), 22. Glen Burke (las Vegas), 23. Dave Hemrich (Delta, B.C., Canada), 24. Dylan Lupton (Sacramento, Calif.).
Friday, Oct. 19 results from Open Comp Weekend at the Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
NOTES: The weekend started with a bang when Canadian Bob DeLorma crashed into the car of John Thomson as it was exiting the track just as final practice ended on Friday. DeLorma’s car was cradled by two tow trucks to remove it from Turn 1. Both cars were able to participate in time trials. Thomson’s bad luck continued as he was involved in a crash in Turn 2 during the first lap of the third Super Late Model heat through no fault of his own. Dental pain didn’t slow Patrick O’Hanley from dominating and winning the Super Stock heat. His wisdom teeth were removed earlier this week, resulting in stitches and swelling. Eight entries in the Super Late Model and Late Model classes came from Canada. Four-time Bullring Super Late Model champion Scott Gafforini fell ill and left the track before competing in his heat. He will have to start at the tail end of the B-Feature and race into a qualifying position.
First 25-lap Legend Car Qualifying Feature: 1. Dustin Ash, 2. Donny St. Ours, 3. Zane Smith, 4. Blake Olsen, 5. Chris Trickle. 6. Michael Womack, 7. Cory Selp, 8. Casey Tillman, 9. Zachary Witherwax, 10. Michael Abbate, 11. Chase Havely, 12. Devin Mack.
Second 25-lap Legend Car Qualifying Feature: 1. Brent Scheidemantle, 2. Nick Halen, 3. Josh Fultz, 4. Danny Medina, 5. Ian Anderson, 6. Jonathan St. Ours, 7. Andrew Muscannell, 8. Matthew Cardenas, 9. Gary Scherrell, 10. Blaine Perkins, 11. Ron Duprau, 12. Kenny McGee.
8-lap USAC Ignite Midget heat: 1. Jake Swanson, 2. Michael Fanelli, 3. Bryant Dawson, 4. Jeff Kelly, 6. Cody Mansfield, 7. Marina Turner, 8. George Blacker, 9. Austin Blair, 10. Jamie Belfiore.
8-lap Super Stock heat: 1. Patrick O’Hanley, 2. Vinny Raucci, 3. Kolleen Dresser, 4. Greg Szot, 5. Daryl Crocker, 6. Kayli Barker, 7. Richard LaVallee, 8. Adam Jeffrey.
15-lap Late Model heat: 1. Taylor Miinch, 2. Darrell Midgley, 3. Brandon Loverock, 4. Andrew Murray, 5. Kyle McGrady, 6. Kyle Niquette, 7. Adrianne Murlin, 8. Glen Schwenger.
First 15-lap Super Late Model heat: 1. Dylan Lupton, 2. Jay Beasley, 3. Glen Burke, 4. Brian Levant, 5. Bobby Hirschbock, 6. Dave Hemrich, 7. Anthony Mainela, 8. Jason Tarasenko.
Second 15-lap Super Late Model heat: 1. Jonathan Gomez, 2. Korbin Thomas, 3. Kelly Admiral, 4. Toni McCray, 5. Chris Birdsong, 6. Bob DeLorma, 7. Dee Cable, 8. Greg Hanneman.
Third 15-lap Super Late Model heat: 1. Joe Deguevara, 2. Rick Chavez, 3. Trevor Emond, 4. Randy Allridge, 5. Billy Mitchell (crashed), 6. John Thomson (crashed).
30-lap USAC Ignite Midget feature: 1. Michael Fanelli, 2. Bryant Dawson, 3. Jeff Kelly, 4. Christine Breckenridge, 5. Cody Mansfield, 6. Austin Blair, 7. George Blacker, 8. Marina Turner, 9. Jake Swanson, 10. Jamie Belfiore.
