PEEDAN MOVES ONE STEP CLOSER TO ANOTHER WILLOW SPRINGS CHAMPIONSHIP

Source: Dave Grayson
Date: 10/23/2006

John Penning followed the race winner under the checkers and was a force to be reckoned with during the final laps of the race. Alex Anderson and Randy Wilkins finished third and fourth. In the preliminary events Wilkins won the heat race and the trophy dash.

Anderson's third place finish was gratifying for him due to the fact that he crashed his Beyond Motorsports Chevrolet during a late afternoon practice session. The steering box reportedly malfunctioned and the car crashed into a large infield tire barrier at the bottom of the track. Anderson, who came into the race second in points, borrowed the car normally campaigned by Logan Mainella to make the field.

In the Willow Springs victory lane a very delighted Peedan said " I love racing with John, (Penning), I know he's not going to take me out so I don't have to overdrive the car. He's a good competitior and I knew if I made one mistake he was going to take it. It wasn't easy, I had to keep my eye on my rearview mirror and just keep after it. Now we just to keep it together for one more race and we'll have a championship."

The Legend Car Series was also a big part of this night at the Willow Springs Speedway and their feature race turned up a first ever winner. Ryan O'Connor came off of the front row and led the race from green to checkers. Bob Kindoll, Gary Schuerell, Bill Vose and Jim Pantier completed the top five. In the preliminary events Kindoll won the heat race while Schuerell won the trophy dash.

In victory lane a very happy O'Connor said "this is my first year in racing and my first win. It was hard with him, (Bob Kindoll), following me back there. He was in my rear view mirror the entire time. It was a real fun race, I had a really great time and I hope everyone else did too."

The Legend Car main was a little easier for the field due to the absence of Art Neville. The series points lead suffered a blown engine during the practice session and couldn't make the starting grid. While it was a disappointment for the driver and his fans, Neville came into Saturday night with a 125 point lead and has mathmatically locked up the 2006 championship.

The I-4/I-6 Outlaw Modified feature saw Jody Davis get his second win of the year but it wasn't an easy one. Davis had series points leader Jeffrey Goddard right on his bumper during the entire race. Ric Bronson and Dallas Varner followed them under the checkers. In the preliminary events Goddard won the heat race while Bronson took the trophy dash.

In victory lane Davis said "when Jeffrey, (Goddard), is behind you, you have to make sure you run your car on the bottom of the track because he's fast: the fastest driver we've got here. It's a pleasure to race against him. His family has done so much for me." On the family side of things, Davis dedicated the win to his mom and grandmother who were in the pits watching him race for the first time ever. He also thanked his team known as the Motley Crew. When asked about the team name, Davis laughed and said "you should see them."

Also seeing action, on this Saturday night at Willow Springs, were the youngsters in the Bandeleros. In the Bandelero Young Guns Division, Andrew Anderson padded his series points lead by winning his third feature of the year and held a full straightaway lead by the time it was over. Andrew Porter, Ryan Bragdon and Willy Kozak II followed him across the line. In the preliminary events Bragdon won the heat race while Anderson took the trophy dash.

This was the one race of the evening that turned up some yellow flags and even one red flag. The action began when Bragdon spun out on the frontstretch which forced a complete restart because the field had not completed the first lap of the race. The yellow flew again on lap seven when Kozak did a 360 spin on the backstretch. The Bandelero Young Guns didn't quite make a lap on the restart when the green flag turned to red when Ashlee Ambritz hit the frontstretch wall hard. The 13 year old driver from Las Vegas was not injured but the car sustained right side damage and she was through for the night.

In victory lane Anderson said "I'm really glad about the win because we were having problems with the car earlier. It was bogging out in the corners. I think I probably could have slowed down a little more because my Dad didn't want me to overdrive the car and I need to thank my Mom and my Dad for working on the car all day."

In the Bandelero Bandits Division Jack Madrid won his fourth feature of the year. Madrid made an inside pass on the backstretch, with seven laps left in the race, to take the lead from Tyler Fabozzi. Jeremy Birch and Aaron Anderson followed them under the checkers. In the preliminary events Madrid won the heat race while Fabozzi took the trophy dash.

After the race Madrid commented on racing with Fabozzi and said "I was following him and he was pretty fast and for awhile there I just couldn't get up close to him until he got a little loose and that helped me get around him."

A scheduled appearance by the WRA, Western Racing Association, and their antique open wheel race cars was reportedly cancelled on race morning due to a schedule conflict that saw the group going to the Perris Auto Speedway instead.

However that disappointment was quickly evaporated by the presence of the High Desert Cruisers. The Antelope Valley based classic car club brought a beautiful variety of cars, trucks and roadsters to the speedway and treated the fans to a burn out and beauty car contest. The crowd really loved their show.

See Also .:

News Index | E-mail to a Friend