Scorching Competition in the High Desert. By Jerry Brown. Dave Arnheiter (#33, Los Alamitos, CA) overcame a practice crash and scorching competition to capture his 2nd straight race win and regain the points lead, in Round 6 of the 2003 American Stockcar Challenge (ASC), hosted by the National Auto Sport Association (NASA) July 26- 27 at "The Fastest Road in the West", Willow Springs Raceway.
Saturday, July 26: Due to the format of gridding the ASC cars with their partner series, Pro Truck (PT), solely on qualifying times, Jerry Brown (#22, Santa Clara, CA) took his first ASC pole surrounded by trucks on the inside of the 2nd row with a 1:26.91 effort. Ken Stinnett (#5, Phoenix, AZ) with a 1:28.34 in a borrowed car, and Steve Carvajal (#90, El Paso, TX) with a 1:28.77, rounded out the top 3 ASC cars. Dave Arnheiter missed qualifying following a practice session crash with another ASC car, but with borrowed tools and the hard work of his crew, was able to make repairs. Unfortunately, the other car, owned and driven by series regular Manuel Gil del Real (#27, Phoenix, AZ) was not as lucky.
At the start, Brown was mugged by one of the trucks and lost a position, but Stinnett immediately fell substantially off the pace, and ultimately retired with mechanical problems. Carvajal and Arnheiter wasted no time in moving through the field, and Brown regained his position, to create a 3-car ASC train behind the 2nd place truck. In an attempt to put the truck between himself and Carvajal, Brown spun in T3, letting both Carvajal and Arnheiter by. The two proceeded to produce some fantastic racing, trading places 3 times, until Arnheiter got by the truck and was able to put distance on Carvajal. A last-lap spin by Carvajal in T2 gave Brown a chance to regain a position, but Carvajal was able to get back on track and block him from going by.
Arnheiter celebrated his hard-won 2nd race in a row, with Carvajal hanging on to 2nd, followed by Brown in third. An elated Arnheiter said, "We were all faster than the truck, and we all knew the one to get by him was going to win."
Saturday ASC Race Results, Fast Laps: 1) Dave Arnheiter, #33, 1:27.29 2) Steve Carvajal, #90, 1:27.58 3) Jerry Brown, #22, 1:27.78 4) Ken Stinnett, #5, 1:35.31
Sunday, July 27: Having fixed his mechanical gremlins, and taking advantage of fresher tires from his early retirement Saturday, Stinnett took pole with a 1:26.86, followed by Carvajal (1:27.41) and Brown (1:27.68). At the start, Brown got by Stinnett in T1, but on the next lap, Stinnett and Brown got together in T4, causing Brown to get loose, letting Stinnett and a truck by. Several laps later, a truck got into Brown at the apex of T9, sending him spinning and out of reach of the leaders. Stinnett's mechanical problems resurfaced just past the half-way point and he again retired. Arnheiter drove his usual consistent race, and moved steadily through the pack, right up behind Carvajal.
Carvajal paced himself to the ASC win, followed by Arnheiter, then Brown.
Sunday ASC Race Results, Fast Laps:
1) Steve Carvajal, #90, 1:28.92
2) Dave Arnheiter, #33, 1:29.01
3) Jerry Brown, #22, 1:28.82
4) Ken Stinnett, #5, 1:28.36
