VICTORVILLE, California -- Apple Valley's Jimmy George made it two wins in a row on Saturday night, repeating his Street Stock Main Event win at the recent County Fair meet with another trip to Victory Lane before a big crowd at Victorville's Route 66 Raceway. Barstow's Roger Gordon, driving his familiar #10, hung on to finish second, while George's driving compatriot, John Abright, also hailing from Apple Valley, finished in the third position.
Gordon, who has been seen rather infrequently lately and who may or may not be considering returning to racing on a more frequent basis, took the Street Stock Semi-Main, followed by Oak Hills' Ralph Adams in second place and Hesperia's Randy Callister finishing in third place.
Ridgecrest's Frank Hopkins caused more than a little excitement when, coming out of turn four he somehow managed to position his #7 car squarely atop one of the tires which are placed between the inside edge of the track and the infield. After a bit of persuasion by track personnel, Hopkins' car was placed squarely on its own four wheels and he was able to complete the race coming through none the worse for wear with a very respectable eighth-place finish.
In the Super Street division, the battle for supremacy got even tighter between Barstow's Mike Morris and Trona's Chris Smith as Morris came home with the win with Smith finishing in second position. This finish, coupled with each driver winning their respective heat races, places the pair in a dead heat in the points race this season. Morris has been inching closer to Smith with each race and at the conclusion of the Fair race on May 21st Smith held an ever-so-slight half-point lead over Morris. The rest of the season is shaping up to be an extremely tight contest between the two competitors. Fontana's Leonard Wahlquist finished in third position while Riverside's Scott Moore and Phelan's Dave Funkhouser rounded out the top five in Super Street.
Mini Stock was also well represented as no less than 17 cars completed the Main Event. Riverside's Dave Clark took the win, with Barstow's Robbie Cockrell drove his #70 Pinto to his second consecutive second-place finish. Victorville's Andy Moreton, who took the checkered flag in this event at the Fair, drove to a third place finish in this one.
In the popular All-American class, it was Hesperia's Jason Andrews taking the win this time out, while Victorville's Walt Reynolds finished second and J.R.Steele, racing out of Hesperia, placed third.
It was a one-two finish for drivers from El Cajon in the 250 Sprint class with John Wilcox and Charlie Andrews finishing first and second, respectively. Chris Gansen came up from Rialto to take third. This class sees cars and drivers coming from all over and this week was no exception as racers like Tommy Berry from San Bernardino, Phillip Ward from Costa Mesa, Stan Ross from Point Mugu and Kyle Cicio from Moreno Valley were all actively seeking the checkered flag in this race.
Speaking of traveling from faraway places, the same hold true for the cars and drivers in the Dwarf class. These little speedsters really burn up the track and this race was no exception. Tom Clodt from Corona took the win here, with Hesperia's Berry Highfill finishing in second position. Chuck Lippert of Los Angeles finished third. Bart Bartolacci from Escondido, Mike Atteberry, Jr., Lucerne Valley and Murietta's Kevin Frantum finished fourth through sixth.
The Hornet Juniors race turned out to be a two man-two car event featuring youngsters Nick Searles and A.J. George, both from Apple Valley battling it out for top honors. Searles took the win while George, driving his sister Danielle's car finished second. The track is actively seeking more young drivers eager to get their start in racing by becoming involved in this class. Those interested should contact the Fairgrounds for more information on both the Hornet and Hornet Junior classes.
The super-quick IMCA Modifieds had their turn at the track and the Main Event saw Riverside's Dale Underwood taking the checkered flag, with Vegas' Mark Allison, the winner last time out, finishing second. Local driver Brad Bennett drove to a third-place finish.
The evening's race card ended with the ladies taking the track in the season's fourth Powder Puff Main Event. It was a strong win for Monrovia's Dianne Abright, while Yucca Valley's Timi Warner finished second and Barstow's young Tabitha Rose placed third. The girls will be back on the track in mid-June as they continue on in their quest for the Powder Puff Points title.
Would you like to own a racecar of your very own? Thanks to Route 66 Raceway you can actually win your very own race-ready car. More details on the car and how you can win will be covered in the near future. The car has been displayed behind the grandstand at the track on race nights and it could be yours.
A correction and an apology are out to Street Stock racer Frank Hopkins of Ridgecrest. When reporting on the results of his last race, what was omitted was the fact that Hopkins actually led that race for most of it. In fact, Hopkins led that race for 17 out of the 20 laps. Eventual race winner Jimmy George did not run that race wire-to-wire as originally reported.
After a week off, racing resumes at Route 66 Raceway on Saturday, June 19th and it will be "Harley Night" at the track, with special reduced admission to the grandstand for folks who come to the races on their "Hogs." They will also get to take a spin around the track on their bikes during intermission. For more information or directions to the track call the Fairgrounds at 760-951-2200.
