InsideGroove - Race Report

TEENAGER BRAD POUNDS GET FIRST IMCA MODIFIED WIN

Bakersfield, Ca --

In a race marred by 7 caution flags and one that never had more than four straight green flag laps, teenager Brad Pounds posted his first IMCA Modified main event win as he put his QWIK Chassis in the winners' circle after the time limit shortened Saturday night's race to just 17 laps. Gary Dutton ran second and Mike Corwin broke his recent mechanical failure string with a 3rd. They still left the American Stocks a half hour to run their main event, but a big fire and the cleanup needed saw them only finish 12 laps before the 11 o'clock curfew. Perry VanScoy was leading at the checkered flag, but both him and 4th place Roy DeGeer Jr were disqualified for not having four equal sized tires. This handed the win to Lonnie Boatman, who was making his 2002 season debut. Amy Hedden moved up to second and took over the division point lead in the process.

There were 22 IMCA Modifieds with Ventura's Wes Richardson visiting and San Francisco Bay Area racer Joel Hale making his first ever Bakersfield appearance. Bill Gates won the third heat from the third row with last starting Richardson second. Rookie Lee Walker won heat 2 from the pole with Dutton second. Pounds took heat 3 from the pole with Corwin second. The feature lineup had Walker and Pounds in the front row as Dutton started 8th. Pounds led all 17 laps. Walker settled into second ahead of Jim Deines. On lap 2, Steve Morrison spun and point title hopeful Rick Childress had to pit with a flat tire. Dutton gained fifth on the restart and passed Corwin for fourth on lap 6 as Tom Gregory spun for a yellow flag. The yellow flag fell 3 more times before lap 9 was scored. Dutton took third from J Deines and then got by Walker for for second on lap 9. Corwin was third at the lap 11 yellow when Bryson Lynch spun. Mike Scott had to pit with a flat tire. Point leader Rodney Jennings, the 2001 hobby stock champion at the track, was now fifth and he took fourth from Walker on the restart. Lynch spun again for a final yellow flag on lap 15. Saying that the time limit was long over, the checkered flag came on lap 17 with Pounds just a half car in front of Dutton. Corwin was third over Jennings, Childress, Walker, J Deines, Gates, Lin Deines and Hale. Jennings has a 6 point lead over Childress, who is just a single point ahead of Dutton. Fourth ranked Gates is just 10 points out of the point lead.

There were 28 cars in the expanding American Stock ranks. Mark Hogue, Hedden and Matt Wankum had heat wins. They advanced 12 cars out of the heat action and added 8 more from the B Main. Walt Farris III won the B Main over Bobby Lynch and Clyde Benson. The scheduled 20 lap feature was restarted when Chris Aldridge spun and was hit head on by Wankum. Taking over the car that Richie McGowan had put in the early 3rd place in points, Eric Olson flipped on lap 2. He scrambled out unhurt and the car burst into flames when righted. It took the water truck to put out the intense flames. P VanScoy led all 12 laps that they were able to finish before 11 o'clock. Hogue gained second on lap 2, but fell back on lap 4 as Boatman moved into second over DeGeer Jr. Jeremiah VanScoy passed Hedden for fourth on lap 6 and gained third on lap 7. J VanScoy had to then pit with a flat tire and Hedden was back in third. The race ended on lap 12 when Johnny Morales spun. Both winner P VanScoy and 4th place DeGeer Jr were disqualified for not fitting the division policy of running four equal sized tires. That gave Boatman the win over Hedden, Hogue, newcomer Jason Loth, Craig Houk, Benson and Roy DeGeer Sr.

Hedden emerged from the night with a 6 point lead on DeGeer Sr. With McGowan's absence, Benson moved up to third and Hogue is now fourth.

Summary American Stock Heat 1-Mark Hogue, Chris Aldridge, Roy DeGeer Sr, Jeremiah VanScoy, Walt Farris III. Heat 2-Amy Hedden, Perry VanScoy, Jason Loth, Lonnie Boatman, Randy Jordan. Heat 3-Matt Wankum, Roy DeGeer Jr, Eric Olson, Robert Smith, Steve McKinley. B Main-Farris, Bobby Lynch, Clyde Benson, Jordan, Danny Gott, Craig Houk, Randy Spicer, Johnny Morales, Christy Carl, Ricky Spicer. A Main-Boatman, Hedden, Hogue, Loth, Houk, Benson, DeGeer Sr, Lynch, Gott, Randy Spicer, Morales, Farris III, J VanScoy, Wankum, Jordan, Olson, Smith, Aldridge. IMCA Modified Heat 1-Bill Gates, Wes Richardson, Steve Morrison, Lin Deines, Mike Scott. Heat 2-Lee Walker, Gary Dutton, Jim Deines, Rick Childress, Lee Jensen. Heat 3-Brad Pounds, Mike Corwin, Rick Jenkins, Troy Morris Jr, Rodney Jennings. Main-Pounds, Dutton, Corwin, Jennings, Childress, Walker, J Deines, Gates, L Deines, Joel Hale, Jeff Miller, Jensen, Bryson Lynch, Scott, Morris, Richardson, Tom Gregory, Morrison, Bill Stevens, Jenkins.

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