Source: Moss/NSC Media
Date: 09/06/2005

UKIAH, California -- The season's final North State Challenge Series point race provided lots of action for the fans and lots of repair work for teams preparing for the upcoming Open shows. In the end, 2003 series champ Dave Miller held off Mike Doss, for his first win of the season, while Doss finished second and claimed the 2005 NSCS championship. Howard Ford was third and Sean Hays recorded a season high fourth place finish, while Darin Snider rounded out the top five.

Derek Thorn was the fast timer for a series high sixth time at 12.647 besting Ford's 12.784, Doss' 12.788, and Bill Binns' 12.794. C.J. Bawden would just miss the dash field with his 12.881. Binns would win the dash from the pole.

The yellow flag flew quickly for a Darin Snider spin, before the completion of the first lap, necessitating a complete restart. On the second attempt to get a lap in the books, contact sent the front row of Jim Stillman Jr. and Junior Roddy hard right, into the turn four wall, with much of the field stacking up behind them. Finished for the night were Jerry Allec Jr, Bawden, Mike Simpson and Corey James. Cars making repairs and continuing, with varying degrees of damage, included Stillman Jr, Roddy (who was wheeling the Blair Aiken owned #j15 car after suffering engine woes in his familiar #41 Pontiac), Bryan Denton, Doss and Thorn. Miller avoided the carnage, from his inside second row starting spot, and assumed the lead over Binns, Ford, Hays and David Furia.

Meanwhile, after the lengthy clean up, Thorn mounted an aggressive charge from the back of the pack with Doss in tow. Each of them had repaired mostly cosmetic damage from the first lap incident. By lap 10, Thorn was already back to fifth place. By lap 20, the duo was up to fourth and fifth. On lap 36, Thorn roughed up Ford's rear bumper and got by to claim third. Ford made a nice save to get back in line fifth. Thorn was given a furled black flag warning and there was no caution. On lap 50, Thorn used the high groove to get by Binns and move into second, where he immediately started working on Miller's bumper.

On lap 58, Thorn again tried the high line in a bid for the lead. Binns closed the hole on the bottom and the two were door to door. Over the next nine laps, while Miller stretched his lead, Binns and Thorn waged a fierce battle for second with neither driver willing to give an inch. The fans were on their feet as, lap after lap, the two banged, rubbed and hammered on each other. At one point, they "wheel hopped" sending both cars into the air and they just continued on, still side by side! On lap 67 they made contact again and Binns was turned hard into the frontstretch wall while Thorn spun to the infield. The race was red-flagged while track workers called for the ambulance. After an anxious few minutes, Binns emerged, under his own power, to the relieved cheers of the crowd. He was treated by paramedics but was not transported. His car was destroyed. Thorn did not appear to have any serious damage but did not rejoin the race. He'd say later, "I didn't want to finish ahead of Bill (in the point standings) because he'd crashed."

When racing resumed, Miller led Doss, Ford, Hays and Snider. On the restart, Miller's tight car pushed up the track in turn one and Doss took a look to the inside. Miller shut the door but Doss 'worried' his bumper over the final laps. "I'm lucky, lucky, lucky," the happy winner said later. "My car wasn't that good tonight. I had some polite drivers behind me! I've never sweated so much in a raceŠ somebody was always on my rear bumper!"

Doss claimed his first NSCS title on the strength of his 11 top-5 finishes, including a series tying 3 victories. He also set fast time three times including his new track record at Lakeport. Defending champion Bill Binns would finish second, Derek Thorn third, Josh Bews fourth and Junior Roddy filled out the top five in the championship standings.

Dash- Binns, Miller, Roddy, Thorn Main-Miller, Doss, Ford, Hays, Snider, Roddy, Sean Caturegli, Binns, Thorn, Stillman Jr, Furia, Denton, Mike Lovell, Bawden, Simpson, Allec Jr, Corey James

See Also .:

News Index | E-mail to a Friend