Irwindale, CA, May 11 - Tim Huddleston won his second NASCAR Auto Club of Southern California late model feature this season Saturday night at the half-mile Irwindale Speedway with 5,868 spectators present. The winner started on the pole and led all 50 laps over runner-up/fourth starter Mike Price.
Huddleston left the track tied for the series point lead with his car fabricator Todd Burns, who placed third in a Monte Carlo. The one-two finishers drove Pontiac Grand Prix cars with the new General Motors ZZ38 Fastburn "spec" engine. The only other ZZ38 engine present was in a brand new Chevy Monte Carlo driven by Doug McComb.
McComb tested his newly built car Friday and qualified Saturday second fastest of 28 qualifiers. He had to start 28th when his starter failed as he tried to leave the grid from his second starting position. After receiving a push start, McComb raced his way forward and finished seventh, with 16 ofthe 26 finishers on the lead lap.
The three late model drivers were the only drivers using the new ZZ38 GM engine and they praised it. Huddleston predicted 90% of the field would use the new sealed engine next year. He said the GM "spec" engine uses 1,500rpm less and drivers don't need as much braking because they roll through corners. It makes engine horsepower less important than chassis set-up. Reliabilty is a strong point about the engine according to the three drivers.
Other main events on the half-mile track went to first-time NASCAR Grand American Modified (GAM) winner Travis Thirkettle and Ultra Wheel Super Truck veteran Ron Peterson in his Frahm Dodge-sponsored Dodge Ram truck. Resilient Terry Limberopoulos took another 35-lap Modified 4s race on the third-mile aboard his tough Renault that flipped last week and received significant body-work damage.
Thirkettle, the 24-year old son of long-time Saugus Speedway and Featherlite Southwest Series stock car driver Jim Thirkettle, has raced a fender-less GAM six years and all four years of racing at Irwindale. He never came closer to a first place trophy in a feature than second and third place podium finishes. This year Thirkettle built a new, better GAM car. He changed from his red color to maroon and success followed.
Thirkettle started second in a 14-car field and was in front all 35 laps despite intense pressure from fastest qualifier/fourth starter Roger Carufel, Jr. Point leader Carufel took second position on lap two. From laps 24-28 Carufel raced under Thirkettle side-by-side and tried to pass the leader several times unsuccessfully. Carufel heated his tires and fell back during the final five laps and trailed by 0.428 seconds (ten yards) at the conclusion. The caution-free race took 11:02.313 to complete.
"He (Carufel) kept me honest. I couldn't make a single mistake," Thirkettle said. Rod Johnson, who started and finished third, stated, "I overused my right rear tire and they got away from me." He trailed Carufel by a straight-away. Eleven of the 14 cars on the starting grid finished, with the top six cars on the lead serial.
Ultra Wheel Super Truck fastest qualifier Peterson, from San Bernardino, started fourth and took second on the fifth lap. He used a turn four pass during lap eight to take command for good from pole starter and early leader Joe Herold. Peterson defeated Herold by ten yards in a 31-minute race slowed by three caution periods following multi-truck crashes. A red flag on lap 29 stopped the race because of wall contact by Colin Dickinson on the backstretch. No injuries resulted. Only 27 of the 33 starters finished; 25 drivers ran all 50 laps.
The top eight trucks ran in a close pack following the red flag, resulting in the final crash. Fourth and fifth place Cory Fancy and Greg Adler came together on lap 34 exiting turn two. Adler's truck slammed into the backstretch wall and tore up the right side and Fancy's truck received heavy body damage as well.
Limberopoulos came from fifth in the 20-car Modified 4s field. He became the third and final race leader on lap 15 when he made an inside pass of Steve Rogers Ford Pinto and pulled away to a 1.782 second triumph over Tony Lawler's Pinto. Recent winner Greg Tucker, Rogers and defending Mod 4 track champion Guy Tripp followed.
Nineteen of 20 drivers finished the Mod 4s race and 12 completed all 35 circuits. The winner said many late night hours went into getting his battered Renault ready to race following his flip across the starting line in the May 4 feature. He credited his father for his repair help and his supply of hard-to-get parts for the once common French car.
Defending track late model champion Dave Hessing led all the way from the pole in the fully inverted six car, six lap trophy dash. It was the only dash of the evening. With numbers one through ten on a carnival-type wheel, quickest qualifier Huddleston spun the wheel and it landed on one, giving him the pole for the main. It was the first fully straight-up lineup of the season.
The Summary: (pick up agate)
MODIFIED 4s:
Fast Time: Guy Tripp, 17.379.
Main: Terry Limberopoulos, Tony Lawler, Greg Tucker, Steve Rogers, Tripp, Eric Reed, Dusty Morgan, Evan Banda, Fred Adams, James McNear, Tim Ross, Greg Didogha, Richard Boker, Amee Blue, Ed Lavender, Dennis Croasmus, Virgil Young, John Bromberek, Terry Elliott, Rick LeMaster.
GRAND AMERICAN MODIFIEDS:
Fast Time: Roger Carufel, Jr, 18.690.
Main: Travis Thirkettle, Carufel, Rod Johnson, Charlie Wahl, John Watkinson III, Robert Rice, Mike Trottochau, Tim Morse, Joe Ruggles, Richard Altman, Dennis Schlarbaum, Eddie Ernst, Dennis Eckert, Chad Daly.
ULTRA WHEEL SUPER TRUCKS:
Fast Time: Ron Peterson, 19.438.
Main: Peterson, Joe Herold, Dave Blankenship, Jon Campbell, Reggie Church, Brian Araki, Tom Stanton, Jim McGill, Rich Geisler, Carson Woods, Mark Laeger, Ryan Arciero, Dan Moore, Louis Mannolito, Frank Steiner, Scott Davidson, Paul Brennan, Jim Van Gordon, Kyle Evens, Brian Reed, Troy Lindstrom, Zeke DeRose, Jeb Bailey, Jesse Poppen, Darren Sigwing, KenDavis, Kevin O'Neil, Jim Kondziela, Cory Fancy, Greg Adler, Craig O'Rourke, Colin Dickinson, Hector Sandoval.
AUTO CLUB of SOUTHERN CALIF. LATE MODELS:
Fast Time: Tim Huddleston, 19.137.
Dash: Dave Hessing, Mike Price, Doug McComb, Kevin Wood, Huddleston, Todd Burns.
Main: Huddleston, Price, Todd Burns, Hessing, Mike Johnson, Jess Flores, McComb, John Lathrop, Craig Rayburn, Brian Kelley, Ron Schartau, Deryk Ward, Todd Conrad, Barry Karr, Jim Conklin, Johnny Butler, Pat Ackley, Scott Youngren, Tim Harris, Rob Chaney, Brian Rock, John Cran, Mike Rinehart,John Ahrendt, Chuck Kevwitch, Juan Gonzalez, Kevin Wood, Andy Bargaehr, Dave Lowenstein.
