MIKE JOHNSON WINS FIRST 2007 IRWINDALE LATE MODEL MAIN

Source: Tim Kennedy
Date: 06/26/2007

IRWINDALE, California -- Sixth fastest qualifier Mike Johnson started second in a seven-car inversion and led all 40-laps Saturday to capture his first Auto Club Late Model feature since last season on the banked, half-mile Irwindale Speedway. More than 3,000 spectators on "Allstate Insurance-King Taco Family Night" watched the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series action on a mid-70s summer evening. Five divisions competed, three on the half-mile and two on the four-degree banked third-mile. Long-haired Johnson, of Covina, declined to cut his hair after he stopped his Cal Western Building Materials Chevy Monte Carlo at the finish line for the top three drivers interviews over the track PA system. Johnson, who earned $1,000, became the fifth different feature winner after eight of 14 scheduled ACLM races.

The Late Model field added proof to series members claim that it is the most competitive division at IS. Twenty-nine drivers started the race and for the second feature in a row the first five cars ran in a tight pack. When the checkers flew, fourth starter/inside groove runner Kevin Callahan finished second by a mere 0.124 of a second. Callahan, a 19-year old second year driver from Bakersfield, took second place on lap six and trailed Johnson closely all the way for his best finish at IS. He drove the No. 28 Chevy Monte Carlo built by his crew chief, former driver Gary Collins, and powered by a Watkins-built engine. Callahan said a third and fourth places were his best prior finishes at IS.

Tim Huddleston, leader of his four-car "blue crew" High-Point Distributing/Justice Brothers Monte Carlos, started sixth and battled the top duo closely from the eighth lap to the finish. He said he was thinking of the big picture (points) and settled for third, 0.426 in back of Johnson. Brian Wong, 18, graduated from Newport Harbor High Thursday and drove a Speed Wong Racing Monte Carlo to his third fourth place finish in eight ACLM races this year. Wong is a 2007 rookie in the late models after several years of racing legend cars and super trucks for his father's team of nine-cars/trucks.

Leading ACLM rookie and former point leader Jace Meier, an 18-year old USAC Ford Focus Midget graduate, started and finished fifth in one of Huddleston's Monte Carlos. His No. 55 had rebuilt front and back clips following his hard crash with teammate Chris Carmody two weeks ago. Racecar Factory repaired both cars and finished Meier's car Friday about 5:00 p.m. Owner Huddleston took six laps in it during Friday night open-practice. In two ACLM practice sessions Saturday afternoon Meier turned sixth and fifth fastest laps in the 29-car field. During official qualifying at 4:00 to set the racing lineup, Meier turned the third fastest time behind teammates Carmody and Huddleston.

Pole starter Dan DiGiacomo, Carmody, rookie Scottie Jenkins (in the fourth Huddleston car), 16-year old rookie Travis Motley, from Tucson, and Michael Wright completed the top ten. Motley scored his career-best ninth aboard a Victory Circle-built chassis based in Bakersfield. Twenty-seven of 29 starters reached the checkered flag; 25 drivers completed all 40 laps as positions changed hands throughout the field during the competitive contest. The race had one yellow and one red flag of nine minutes on lap 36 in a crash similar to an ACLM crash two weeks earlier.

Fifth place Aaron Staudinger, the ACLM point leader by two-points entering the race, appeared to hesitate as he tried to lap two slower cars in turn four on lap 27. Sixth place Meier apparently touched the back of Staudinger's Monte Carlo, which spun to the inside exiting the turn. He restarted at the back and passed about nine cars and became involved in a secondary crash with 14th-place Candace Muzny in the first turn after the serious-looking lap 36 incident that caused the red flag. Muzny restarted at the back, but two-time winner Staudinger drove to the pits, trailing sparks from right front damage.

The Muzny-Staudinger incident immediately followed the lap 36 crash in which the cars running 10th through 12th made contact approaching the starting line. Richie Altman (in 12th) got bumped and loose, tried to correct and got hit in the back by Muzny's car just past the starting line. Altman spun towards the inside first turn attenuator in front of the third-mile wall. His car hit it at the back end of his car, scattering protective truck tires and attenuator impact-cushioning material. Altman escaped injury and climbed from his car to survey the damage. A wrecker towed his Monte Carlo to the pits. The crash was reminiscent of Carmody's similar impact with the same attenuator two weeks ago that also caused a red flag.

Following the checkered flag the top five ACLM finishers pulled to the tech inspection area in the pits for the usual tear-down of engines and inspection of carburetors this week. Staudinger, still smarting over his lap-27 spin, came to the tech area and confronted Meier, who was still sitting in his car. Meier said Staudinger unhooked his safety net and started to pull him from his car before crewmen intervened. Meier said he was so close it was hard to avoid contact when Staudinger backed off briefly approaching the two slower cars. Meier pointed out to onlookers that his right front was not damaged. Later racing director Lester Boyer called Staudinger and Meier into his pit-side office separately to get their versions of what happened.

SUPER TRUCKS: In the other two main events on the half-mile, Matthew Hicks started third in his Chevy S-10 and led laps 22-40 of the King Taco Super Truck race. Point leader Pat Mintey, Jr started second and led the first 21 laps before settling for second, 0.258 back. NASCAR Elite Division and Super Late Model veteran Nick Joanides, a first-time truck racer, started 11th in the No. 89 Speed Wong Racing truck and finished third, 0.660 back. On lap 38 of the 40-lap run Joanides passed John Israel, the last main event winner on June 9. Hicks, who rebuilt his truck after a major crash recently, became the first repeat winner after seven of the 14 scheduled races.

SUPER STOCKS: A 17-car, Vista Paint Super Stock 35-lap main event was a race-long battle between the two fastest qualifiers/front row starting Chevy Camaros. Pole-starter Darren Cheek led all the way and edged fastest qualifier Bryan Harrell by five yards (0.454). Greg Crutcher started and finished third, 0.839 behind the winner, in his Camaro. Fifteen of the 17 starters finished and ten drivers completed every lap in the 18-minute race that had two cautions. The lead duo monopolized victory lane this year by winning all seven features-Harrell has four and Cheek has three trophies.

LEGEND CARS: In a 35-lap Legend Car feature on the third-mile, Tom Landreth, a five-time series champion at IS and the fastest qualifier, started third in his replica 1934 Ford coupe. He trailed teenage pole starter Bree Brewer, a three year series veteran at IS, for nine laps. He passed her on lap 10 and led the final 26 laps. Brewer finished seventh. Landreth, 39, won his 31st feature at IS, tying Ron Peterson for fourth on the all-time list of winners. Chad Schug, a triple winner this year, trailed Landreth by two yards with 21-year old point leader Darren Amidon 20-yards back. During a lap 16 caution the racing director warned all drivers by radio to cease running under the inside white line or there would be stop-and-go penalties for violators. Schug later dipped below the inside line attempting to pass Landreth. On lap 33 he received a stop-and-go penalty that he ignored. Following the race, officials dropped him from second to the back of the lead lap (23rd position).

Mark Borchetta's No. 41 replica 1937 Dodge coupe (the ex-No. 91 Connor Cantrell winning car) moved from fourth to third in the official finish. It was the best finish of his brief career. Twenty-seven of 29 starters finished and 23 drivers ran every lap. Cody Swanson, a 16-year old from Norco and the leading series rookie, also received a similar penalty. The fourth place point driver started the Speed Wong No. 89 coupe 12th and was in sixth spot on lap 29 when he complied with his stop-and-go penalty for cutting corners. He finished 21st. Speed Wong Racing owner Darryl Wong put Southwest Series/SLM veteran Nick Joanides in his No. 99 coupe for his first Legend cars ride. He dropped out on lap 4, becoming the first retiree.

FORD FOCUS MIDGETS: The second feature on the third-mile and the third main event of the night was the first of five K & N Filters USAC Ford Focus Midget Series events at IS this season. California Paved FF Series point leader Tim Skoglund started third in a 12-car field and made an inside pass leaving the second turn on lap 5. He kept his No. 40 Western Speed Racing Gerhardt chassis in the lead for the balance of the 35-lap race. Fastest qualifier Nic Faas started sixth and finished second, 0.429 back. He also passed lap 1-4 leader Mark Atkinson on lap 5. Rookie Atkinson, 16, drove one of four Ron Sutton Winners Circle Driver Development Team Ronnie Day-built chassis. He finished third, 6.829 seconds behind teenage winner Skoglund. Beau DeBard, 19, started 12th in one of Sutton's cars and finished fourth, ahead of teammate Ian Miille, 17.

Tom Dyer, ranked second in USAC paved track FF points, flew from northern California to race his FF midget that his car owner qualified sixth fastest for pole position. He had started fifth and finished tenth in the NASCAR Grand National West 125-mile race at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma from 2:00 to 4:35 p.m. The FF midgets pushed off at 8:15 and Dyer had to start his first race at IS from the back row because of the driver change after time trials. Dyer finished sixth, 7.817 seconds behind the winner. All 12 drivers finished the ten-minute race that had one brief caution for a solo spinout. Nine drivers ran all 35 laps. Irwindale was the sixth race at the sixth different track in three western states visited this year by the series. Stops since March have included Lake Havasu City, AZ, Las Vegas, NV, Blythe, Roseville and Tracy in California. Skoglund became a three-time series winner. Dyer is a double winner and Faas won the other main. The remaining Irwindale USAC FF midgets are July 28, August 4 and 11and November 22.

FAST TIMES & HARD CHARGERS: Fastest qualifiers on the third-mile were (LC)-Landreth at 16.897, and (FF)-Faas at 14.448 (82.973 mph), well above the track record time of 14.249 established during the first FF Midget season in 2002. The half-mile quick qualifiers were (LM)-Carmody at 19.096, (ST)-Logan Henson at 19.847, and (SS)-Harrell at 20.955 (85.898 mph). It was the fifth time this season the SS track record fell from the 2006 mark of 21.249. Cheek lowered the mark three times and Harrell broke his own two-week old record of 20.980. Hard chargers were (ST)-Kenny Smith (12th to 7th), (LC)-Austin Grabowski, an 18-year old recent Damien High graduate, (16th to 5th), (SS)-Julianne Seeley (14th to 9th), and (LM)-Sean Bennett (29th to 15th). Bennett, the slowest qualifier, started on the pole in a six-lap trophy dash for the six slowest qualifiers and led all the way in the first race of the evening.

See Also .:

• Toyota Speedway at Irwindale Track Page

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