RACING INSIDER - IRWINDALE

Source: Janet Peery
Date: 04/30/2000

The draw for a number of the fans at Irwindale Speedway this Saturday night was definitely the chance of meeting Rusty Wallace and watching Tony Stewart race, but for the regular competitors, the presence of the two stars of the NASCAR Winston Cup was barely noticed. There was afterall a race at hand and the fast Irwindale track is not the easiest of ovals to set-up the car for.

Late Models

As we pulled into the track we waited while an ambulance exited. It turned out that the driver of the No. 08 Del Dalrymple spun in practice and the No. 90 of Brandon Loverock had nowhere to go and hit the 08 broadside Although the condition of the drivers has not been confirmed, it was rumored that Loverock was ok and Dalrymple had suffered a number of broken bones.

Shawn Brinks (No. 10) team were looking for more weight in the back to give the car a little more bite.

Dan Holtz (No. 16) has been a front runner at both Irwindale and Mesa Marin with consistent podium finishes, but next weekend Holtz will have to decide where he is going to go for the championship as both Irwindale and Mesa will be running the same division.

Tim Woods (No. 54) was looking for ways to adjust his car after qualifying. The team and Woods were successful in their work and the Chino Hills Ford crossed the line 5th for the finish.

The No. 72 team was working on the the car wrecked from last weeks event, but they felt they would have the car ready for Bobby James to race by the time the green flew and they did. The team finished 20th, only one lap down.

Kazuto Yanagawa, or KZ as he prefers to be called (No. 75) has been involved in a couple of accidents and was looking for luck in this race. Running on older tires he is hoping that using 4 new tires for the next event that pays more money will help him make his way up to a good finish. KZ's goal is still to get seat-time and exposure. KZ was a competitor up at Evergreen and finally was able to finish an event in Southern California. It looks like he may have found the luck he was looking for! KZ finished 13th on the lead lap.

The No. 77 CardService International Ladco Racing (NSLMS) team was working on their set-up and yes the coffee was brewing! The car was good after replacing a leaking oil filter. During the actual Super Late Model 75 main, driver Brian Kelley and Tony Stewart swapped mid-pack positions several times. A restart after a late race yellow had a number of cars braking to avoid a lapped car on the inside. Kelley's car was involved, suffering damage. Kelley went on to finish 23rd in his injured car. It was a heartbreak for the team that had planned on taking the car to the Conejo Valley Days Chili Cook off in Thousand Oaks (Calif.) for car owner, Mr. Ladd.

Greg Voight (No.89) had another strong run and held off a fierce charge from last season's champ, Rod Johnson to finish with another podium and no doubt increasing those points. Rumor is he is also leading the regional points.

Tony Stewart (No. 143) arrived via helicopter to qualify the car of Kenny Smith. Stewart had put the car in the wall the previous day, but the team worked at getting it back together and Stewart qualified 17th and finished 7th.

NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour

Sean Woodside (No. 4) qualified the Southwest Tenant Development Pontiac of Bob Farmer 14th. The team had practiced on old tires and were not real happy with the results. They worked hard trying to figure out how to get the new car to handle for the race. When the car took the green it held it's own. Woodside was hit on the final lap of the race, but finished the race as the last car on the lead lap. He didn't say who hit him and said it was just a "racing deal".

Frank Maronski (No. 7) broke a motor in practice. Maronski who was a past winner at the track was the first car out at this event. But it won't stop the team from getting the car ready to challenge the Tucson Speedway.

Kenny Shepherd (No. 9) came to the track with a beautiful new car and qualified the car fourth quick. During the race the wheel came apart in the center and the car was hurt pretty bad. It was a heartbreak for the team that had their hopes set so high. They definitely have some work ahead of them, but one thing about the No. 9 team is the guys stick together and they will work hard to give their driver what he needs.

Doug McCoun (No. 34) came in with a podium finish. I am sure that pushed him up even further in the points.

Keith Spangler (No. 37) who put on one heck of a show last season when he took the inside line to move up to second nearly winning the Irwindale event was a bit down. He had missed the driver's meeting. The meeting which was normally held outside the trailer was held inside. Spangler didn't blame anyone but himself. He said he had his work cut out for him, but work the track he did. From the back of the pack he drove the car low gaining positions and before the race was done he just missed the podium, crossing the stripe 4th. You have to believe the Spanglers have this track down. It certainly will not be a surprise to find Keith and his Dad in Victory lane at the track this season.

Carson Woods Jr. (No. 39) blew a rear end in practice and was only able to get in 4 laps before qualifying. He was one of six cars that had to run the trophy dash, including Jim Inglebright, Mike Snow, Todd Souza, Paul Banghart and Clint Curry. Unfortunately only the top two finishers transferred to the main, Inglebright and Snow. But Woods and the team remained upbeat looking forward to the next event.

The No. 43 of Ross Thompson was hurt when the No. 71 blew a tire and the 43 could not avoid contact. The Phoenix team will be another team hard at work getting the car ready for the next event.

Matt Crafton (No. 46) was one of few teams we spoke to that did not seem to be struggling with a set-up. They were happy with the car, the driver and they said they were looking to qualify with a top three. And when it came time to qualify, Matt was as hot as the Bushrod's Barbeque Sauce that sponsors him, coming in second quick, barely missing the pole. Crafton was one of the front runners for much of the race when a vibration caused him to pull into the pits and the car that had at one time been racing door to door with the leader finished 17th, one lap down. But there are a lot of races coming up that are Matt's kind of racing, Tucson, Cajon and Sears Point. Crafton has not shown the finishes at Sears-Point that he is capable of. Maybe this year will be different.

While visiting the Crafton team we found a barbeque going on around the side of the hauler. There Paul Melton and his brother were applying the best smelling barbeque sauce. I brought 4 different bottles of the Bushrod's sauce home and we still can not decide which we like best, the stuff is good and the Jalapeno was a favorite. Bushrod's Barbeque Sauce is currently available at Smart and Final with plans of introducing it to other major markets soon.

Auggie Vidovich (No. 59) qualified 18th. He said as far as the race he believed tires would have a lot to do with it and thought he would be good for the race. He was; he finished 6th.

Mark Meech came up to compete in the Tour. Meech turned in a podium finish at the track last season. Meech was consistent in practice. He qualified 17th quick and before the race was over had maneuvered his Monte Carlo to the 13th position.

Across the way the No.81 NFSWS Lynch Racing team was making a deal with Scott Busby, driver of the No. 73 Port-a-Cool/Ron Grose Racing Engine Monte Carlo. Busby broke a valve in his motor during practice and the Lynch team was in a position to help. Busby who is a multiple winner in the tracks at Northern California has been plagued by bad luck in the touring series, but he finished on the lead lap, not bad since he started from the back of the pack.

Perhaps the heartbreak of the day was fast-timer Jon Nelson (No. 80). Tony Solorzano did an excellent job of reporting on the situation that every competitor I spoke to sincerely felt bad about. Here is Solarzano's account: As the Hemet native (Nelson) started his car in preparation for the four-lap Trophy Dash event, a valve spring retainer broke, sending one of his valves hurdling into the cylinder. Erring on the side of caution, Nelson and his crew decided to call it a night and forego the main event.

"I guess it just wasn't our night," said Nelson from the spotter's section of the racetrack. "I guess we were destined to sit in the stands tonight."

Nelson had earned his first pole award of the season last month at Mesa Marin in Bakersfield, with a time of 18.050 seconds. Nelson said the car was running impressively in practice earlier in the day, and had been leaving behind competitors like current points leader Doug McCoun, Matt Crafton and Jim Inglebright.

Despite the setback, Nelson was philosophical about pulling out of the race. "I'm not about to hand-grenade a $35,000 engine," he said, with a slight smile.

Scott Lynch (No. 81), driver of the Sobe/Calistoga Water/Mr. Gas Monte Carlo took time to talk about his hopes and goals for the season. Testing has been part of the plan for the team; they tested at Irwindale and have hopes of getting test dates at Albuquerque, Cajon and Pikes Peak. Their goal is to keep the car together and finish the season with a top-five. After finishing 10th last season and taking rookie honors, they feel that would be a respectable move up for the sophomore team. They would also like to attempt to run a couple Winston West events and get the feel of the radial tires and heavier cars and….maybe …just maybe even a Craftsman Truck. The team has all promised to shave their heads if Lynch wins a race. Lynch's father, Jim Lynch said he would shave his moustache. He said he has had it 30 years and the kids have never seen him without it. Now you know we want this team to win and I sure hope I am there. I will be carrying a razor in my backpack just to make sure they have no excuse. Come on Scott…WIN! Lynch did a great job in the race qualifying 7th and finishing 5th, right where he wanted to be.

The team of Clint Curry (No. 85) was just out to have a good time. It was the first time they had been to Irwindale and they were learning the groove, the track and trying to figure out a way to loosen the car up a little. The team out of Fresno will no doubt be back to try again.

M.K. Kanke (No. 87) driving for the Bonicelli Team in the Buyers-Choice Pontiac is a driver that a number of fans are happy to see back on the track. Barely missing the championship in 1998 to Steve Portenga, Kanke ran a limited schedule last season. The team had tested at Phoenix and tested at Irwindale and it paid off. Kanke qualified 9th for the event and finished 2nd with a number of door-to-door laps with eventual race winner, Greg Pursley. Before the race we asked Kanke how he thought he would do, he said, "We should be ok." That he was.

Although I never had a chance to talk to Greg Pursley (No. 98) he drove Irwindale like we have seen him do it so many times. If there is one car and driver combination that knows it's way around the track it is the No. 98. Pursley won by .05 seconds over Kanke.

Spec Trucks

The Spec Trucks were on hand and put on an awesome performance. It was only a shame that the race was cut short to meet city regulations.

There were a ton of drivers that we never had a chance to talk to. Including the spec-trucks. We hope to catch up with them in the future!

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