Eric Holmes from Escalon, Calif. scored his second victory of the season by winning the 1-800-CLEANUP "150" for the Featherlite Southwest Series, NASCAR Touring division at Mesa Marin Raceway Sunday afternoon. David Gilliland, M.K. Kanke, Ben Walker, and Craig Raudman rounded out the top five finishers in the 25th annual October Classic.
Eddy McKean saw his point lead shrink to just 43 points going into the final event at Phoenix Int'l Raceway November 7 after he was involved in a lap 65 wreck. McKean spent more than 50 laps in the pits repairing his Pontiac. Kanke stays in second, with Burney Lamar, Jim Pettit II, and Todd Souza rounding out the top five in the point standings.
2001 MMR Late Model track champion Dan Holtz set the pace in qualifying and lead the most laps in the event until his car became loose in the later stages of the race. Steve Belletto won Rookie-of-the-Race honors and closed in on Rookie leader Brandon Whitt.
The race took 1 hour, 4 minutes, 32 seconds to complete and the action was slowed four times for 28 laps. There were four lead changes among three drivers.
The next event for the Featherlite Southwest Series is Thursday, November 7 at the one-mile Phoenix Int'l Raceway. The Cruise America "125" will cap off the season and the 17th series champion will be crowned.
1-800-CLEANUP "150" Mesa Marin Raceway, Bakersfield, October 20, 2002 150-Laps/75-Miles on 1/2-Mile Paved Oval, Purse: $38,600 Finishing position, starting position, driver, car, laps completed, reason out, money won.
1. (13) Eric Holmes, Chevrolet, 151, Running, $4,475; 2. (7) David Gilliland, Chevrolet, 151, Running, $2,400; 3. (8) M.K. Kanke, Chevrolet, 151, Running, $1,950; 4. (26) Ben Walker, Chevrolet, 151, Running, $1,200; 5. (2) Craig Raudman, Chevrolet, 151, Running, $1,250; 6. (15) Todd Souza, Ford, 151, Running, $1,350; 7. (1) Dan Holtz, Ford, 151, Running, $1,850; 8. (25) Steve Belletto, Chevrolet, 151, Running, $1,175; 9. (14) Jon Nelson, Pontiac, 151, Running, $900; 10. (3) Auggie Vidovich Jr., Chevrolet, 150, Running, $1,075; 11. (21) Brandon Whitt, Chevrolet, 150, Running, $1,050; 12. (6) Frank Deiny Jr., Chevrolet, 150, Running, $725; 13. (19) Joe Herold, Chevrolet, 150, Running, $950; 14. (9) Jason Allen, Pontiac, 150, Running, $625; 15. (27) Bob Lyon, Chevrolet, 149, Running, $925; 16. (30) Rod Johnson, Chevrolet, 149, Running, $575; 17. (17) Jim Pettit II, Ford, 149, Running, $800; 18. (4) Burney Lamar, Chevrolet, 149, Running, $775; 19. (22) Mike Ledbetter, Chevrolet, 149, Running, $750; 20. (28) Chris Rothfus, Pontiac, 147, Running, $475; 21. (23) Doug McCoun, Chevrolet, 147, Running, $700; 22. (16) Greg Fowler, Chevrolet, 145, Electrical, $425; 23. (12) Nick Lynch, Chevrolet, 139, Accident, $400; 24. (18) Kenny Shepherd, Chevrolet, 139, Running, $400; 25. (10) Eddy McKean, Pontiac, 3, Running, $900; 26. (29) Rocky Nash, Pontiac, 65, Accident, $400; 27. (20) JR Patton, Pontiac, 64, Accident, $400; 28. (24) Frank Maronski Jr., Chervolet, 64, Suspension, $650; 29. (11) Scott Lynch, Chevrolet, 63, Accident, $400; 30. (5) Kevin Vernon, Chevrolet, 22, Accident, $400;# Rookie-of-the-Year Contenders
Failed to Qualify: Keith Spangler, Scott Busby, Chris Wadsworth, Danny Burson, Rick Ruzbarsky, Stan Silva Jr., RB Bracken, Darren Michaels, Ray Neveau
TIME OF RACE: 1 Hour, 4 minutes, 32 seconds
AVERAGE SPEED: 70.196 mph
MARGIN OF VICTORY: .162 seconds
BUD POLE AWARD: Dan Holtz, Rialto Concrete Products Ford
18.425/97.693 mph
GATORADE FRONT RUNNER AWARD: Dan Holtz, Rialto Concrete
Products Ford
ROOKIE-OF-THE-RACE AWARD: Steve Belletto, California Hot Wood Chevrolet
CAUTION FLAGS: Four for 28 Laps (25-31, 56-63, 65-69, 142-149)
LAP LEADERS: Four lead changes among three drivers. Dan Holtz (start), Craig
Raudman (1-54), Holtz (55-127), Raudman (128), Eric Holmes (129-151)
