InsideGroove - Race Report

TWO STRAIGHT LATE MODEL WINS FOR LONNIE PARKER JR

Casa Grande, AZ -- Lonnie Parker Jr continues to close in on series point leader Adam Crippen by winning his second straight Southwest Dirt Late Model feature Saturday night at Central Arizona Raceway. Parker Jr outdueled Wayne Noyes for the win for the second straight weekend as they also finished 1-2 at Canyon Raceway on June 8. Crippen broke an engine late in the race at CAR after running 3rd at Canyon. The rapidly improving Don Earven got his first Budweiser Street Stock feature win after earlier winning his heat race. Brad Whitfield was second ahead of Steve Nelson. Jumping into the Brian Barsness car while Leroy Ashcraft drove his usual mount, track championship challenger Mike Newton won the Bud Light Factory Stock main event. Marcos Borjorquez was second with Ashcraft in third. A huge crowd packed the grandstands as CAR admits all men free on Fathers Day weekend.

The 16 car dirt late model field included the season debut for Yumas Brett Simala with modified veteran Jim Armstrong bringing out a new car. Coming off a strong fifth place run at Canyon, Mike Tahtinen won the first heat race as he fought off W Noyes with newcomer Steve Ricehouse in third. Crippen drove to a win in heat 2 ahead of Keith Noyes and Parker Jr. In the feature, Crippen and W Noyes battled early for the top spot, Randy Anderson was a crash victim and K Noyes had a flat in the closing laps. Crippen pulled off with a broken engine and Parker Jr outdueled W Noyes for the win. Tahtinen was sent to the rear for a restart violation, but battled his way back to third as Jerry Fincher ran fourth ahead of Jeff Manka, Lonnie Parker Sr, Simala, Armstrong, Ron Butler and Armstrong.

A huge turnout of 37 street stocks required five heat races and a 22 car B Main to set the 24 car A Main grid. The five heat races transferred three cars each and 9 moved forward from the B Main action. Rick DiPomazio won the first heat ahead of Dennis Lillie and Steve Nelson. Newcomer Jeff Hansen took heat 2 ahead of Brad Whitfield and Brandon Roper. D Earven outran Eddie Fansler and Larry Brigner in heat 3. The 2001 champion Mike Brigner recently returned to action after missing several events and he won heat 4 over Allen Kelley and rookie Brandon Garner. Jack Buckner took heat 5 ahead of Perry Mallery and track title challenger Mark Harrison. The hotly contested B Main went to Wayne McCleskey over Gene Freeman, Alan Compton and Joe Weigman. D Earven captured the 20 lap feature in front of Whitfield, Nelson, Roper, Fansler, Harrison, Mallery, Buckner, Freeman and Lillie.

The 21 car factory stock turnout was split into three heat races and featured the return to action by 2001 track title contender Roger Lundy. Jim Hauver beat James West and Tommy Hussak in heat 1. Newton wheeled his borrowed car to a win in heat 2 over Lundy and Mary Drake. Jeff Bennett won heat 3 over Ashcraft and Quentin Pierce. Newtons track championship hopes took an upturn as closest rival E J Jones ran 18th and third ranked Matt Forkner broke in the heat action, scratching from the feature. Newton won the main event ahead of Borjorquez, Ashcraft, Bennett, Hauver, Hussak, James Gee, Gary Armes and West.

Only two weeks of racing remain before the track takes their summer break. The track doesnt race in the month of July or the first couple weekends of August.

Summary Factory Stock Heat 1-Jim Hauver, James West, Tommy Hussak, E J Jones, Gary Armes. Heat 2-Mike Newton, Roger Lundy, Mary Drake, Marcos Borjorquez, Thomas Guenther. Heat 3-Jeff Bennett, Leroy Ashcraft, Quentin Pierce, Keith Wells, James Gee. Main-Newton, Borjorquez, Ashcraft, Bennett, Hauver, Hussak, Gee, Armes, West, Drake, Ricky Cook, Chrissy Langston, Lundy, Guenther, Wells, Bob Sacco, Gene Cornwell, Jones, Pierce, Gene Crisp. Street Stock Heat 1-Rick DiPomazio, Dennis Lillie, Steve Nelson, Scott Starns, Joe Weigman. Heat 2-Jeff Hansen, Brad Whitfield, Brandon Roper, Wayne McCleskey, Frank Soboski. Heat 3-Don Earven, Eddie Fansler, Larry Brigner, Matt Lundy, Tom Hussak. Heat 4-Mike Brigner, Allen Kelley, Brandon Garner, Alan Compton, Rob Colclasure. Heat 5-Jack Buckner, Perry Mallery, Mark Harrison, Gene Freeman, Skip Walker. B Main-McCleskey, Freeman, Compton, Weigman, Lundy, Mike Hancock, Colclasure, William Lacy, Lonnie Sanders, Ray Earven. Main- D Earven, Whitfield, Nelson, Roper, Fansler, Harrison, Mallery, Buckner, Freeman, Lillie, M Brigner, Hancock, Compton, Lundy, W Lacy, Garner, L Brigner, Colclasure, McCleskey, Kelley, Weigman, Sanders, DiPomazio, Hansen. Dirt Late Model Heat 1-Mike Tahtinen, Wayne Noyes, Steve Ricehouse, Jim Armstrong, Lonnie Parker Sr. Heat 2-Adam Crippen, Keith Noyes, Lonnie Parker Jr, Randy Anderson, Brett Simala. Main-Parker Jr, W Noyes, Tahtinen, Jerry Fincher, Jeff Manka, Parker Sr, Simala, Armstrong, Ron Butler, Ricehouse, Keith James, K Noyes, Randy Burrows, Crippen, Bobby Burrows, Anderson.

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