InsideGroove - Race Report

NEVADA VISITOR ROBERT MILLER WINS AT BAKERSFIELD

Oildale, CA -- Gardnerville, NV’s Robert Miller enjoyed a very successful visit to Bakersfield Speedway Park Saturday night. He came from the fourth row to 2nd in his heat and then won the 25 lap IMCA Modified main event from the sixth row in his D&M Performance Chassis. Miller was a NASCAR Pacific Coast Regional titlest when he lived in San Jose and has dominated the IMCA action at Reno-Fernley Raceway for the past two seasons. He plans to expand his Central California schedule in a run for the Western Region honors. Gary Dutton took over the point lead with a 2nd straight 2nd place run and defending track champion Rick Childress ran third. Taking the lead from Lonnie Welch with just four laps to run, Dave Bauer won the 20 lap Super Street Stock main event. Welch was second ahead of Darrell Hood. Bauer tuned up for the Bakersfield season with a great 2nd place run in his first visit to Imperial Valley Speedway in February. Defending track champion Bruce Johnson won the crash shortened hobby stock feature. The race ended when M’lissa Manzella flipped in a fierce tangle with Mike Wilson. Second place finisher Richie McGowan is the new point leader. Craig Houk paced the final ten laps to win the 20 lap American Stock main event. Don Mead ran second ahead of point leader Tyler Bandy.

The track’s new promoters, the Schweitzer family, have restored trophy dashes to the race lineup. Ventura female racer Kathy Pierson won the IMCA Modified dash ahead of Dutton. The 27 car turnout was split into four qualifying heat races with just the top 3 in each advancing to the 20 lapper. Pierson impressed as she came from sixth to win heat 1 ahead of Brad Pounds. Fourth starter Brady Bell fought off 7th starter R Miller in heat 2. Teenaged Larry Hood won heat 3 from 4th starting with Dutton second. R Childress came from 3rd to win heat 4 over opening night winner Steve Smothermon. The 15 car B Main ran 12 laps and transferred 8 cars into the A Main. Joe Porche was a wire to wire winner with 4th starter Damon Redman climbing to a 2nd. Buck Cox broke racing 2nd as Wes Richardson ran third ahead of David Childress and Tom Gregory. Bill Saltzman dropped a drive line, Mike Corwin hit the wall with Jeff Miller and Steve Morrison also out early. Since he didn’t race on opening night, R Miller shared the sixth row with Smothermon for the 25 lap feature. Merced Speedway regular Bob Williamson Sr led the first two laps with R Childress into second on lap 2. R Childress got underneath Williamson for the lead on lap 3. Dutton gained fourth behind Bell when Pierson spun on lap 5. A series of yellow flags slowed the action with Dutton taking third from Bell. Williamson made an inside run at leader R Childress, but couldn’t pull off a pass. Dutton and Williamson traded second until Dutton gained the spot on lap 12. R Miller leaped into the top five in 4th on lap 12. R Miller gained third before Bell and Pounds tangled for a lap 14 yellow flag. R Miller and 15th starter Richardson shuffled Dutton back to 4th and R Miller took the lead from R Childress on lap 18. Kenneth Cleveland spun for a lap 21 yellow and Pounds spun for a lap 23 yellow. Porche lost a transmission with R Miller picking off the win ahead of a late charge by Dutton. R Childress salvaged third ahead of Richardson, Smothermon, Williamson, Pierson and L Hood. Dutton holds a slim two point lead over Smothermon.

The 9 super streets were divided into two heat races. Darrell Hood beat Bill Little in heat 1. Ed Barrett won heat 2 ahead of opening night feature winner Lloyd Reed, but scratched from the feature race. Keith Heaslet had beat pole starter Bauer in the dash. Welch and Steve Cargill shared the front row for their 20 lap feature. Welch raced into the lead over Cargill and Heaslet with Little and Tom Campbell hooking bumpers for a lap 1 yellow. Bauer moved into fourth behind D Hood as Cargill was working a bottom line in his duel with leader Welch. Heaslet pitted from fifth with a flat tire as Bauer took third from D Hood on lap 10. Bauer used a contact pass to take second from Cargill on lap 12 and the action left Cargill stalled on the track with a flat right rear tire for a lap 13 yellow flag. When green flag racing resumed, Bauer began to work the bottom line in his duel with leader Welch. He pulled off his winning pass on lap 17 and Welch ran second ahead of D Hood, Reed and Campbell. Reed holds a four point lead over Bauer.

The hobby stocks split 22 cars into four heat races. Eric Olson won the dash from the pole ahead of McGowan. B Johnson took heat 1 from an outside front row start with Mike Lee second. Wilson came from 4th to take heat 2 over McGowan. Olson continued his strong night with a drive from 5th to win heat 3 over Ricky Ward. Clyde Benson and Ward shared the front row for their scheduled 20 lap feature. Ward led Wilson over the first two laps, but they fell from contention with McGowan the new leader over Steve Johnson and Lee. B Johnson was third on lap 5 and took second from S Johnson on lap 6. Morgan Wiggers Jr lost his hood for a lap 6 yellow and spun on the restart. Ward spun and got hit by Ricky Spicer. S Johnson had to pit with a flat right rear tire. B Johnson used the inside line to take the lead from McGowan on lap 9 and Lee was second a lap later. A hard drive into the fence by Chad Huffmon produced a lap 12 yellow flag. Lee spun out of second on lap 16. The leaders were getting ready to get the white flag when Wilson turned Manzella and then drove through her as they dueled for third. Manzella flipped and Wilson ended up on top of the Manzella car. No one was injured and the race was called as the 11 o’clock curfew approached. B Johnson won ahead of McGowan, David West, Tom Klamorick, Benson, Steve Cimental and S Johnson. McGowan ended the night with a 12 point lead over both Klamorick and West.

Bill Whaley won a photo finish in the American Stock dash over Mark Hogue. There were 13 cars this week and Bandy won the first heat over Mead. Hogue came from last to win heat 2 over fellow back row starter Matt Woessner. Mead beat Houk on the start of the 20 lap feature and paced the first 4 laps. Bandy raced into second on lap 2 and took the lead on lap 5 with Houk following him into second. Woessner gained fourth on lap 6 and Johnny McKinnley spun for a lap 7 yellow. Houk went underneath Bandy for the lead on lap 11 and Jessie Bowles pitted his smoking mount. Opening night winner Hogue broke an axle riding in 5th to end his race on lap 18. Houk won ahead of Mead and Bandy with Woessner losing his fourth place finish when he failed to report to the tech area when the race ended. This gave Steve McKinnley fourth ahead of Rose Tyack and Robbie Truesdale. Bandy leads Mead and J McKinnley by ten points in the point duel.

Summary American Stock Dash-Bill Whaley, Mark Hogue, Tyler Bandy. Heat 1-Bandy, Don Mead, Steve McKinnley, Craig Houk, Kristine Cook. Heat 2-Hogue, Matt Woessner, Robbie Truesdale, Johnny McKinnley, Christine Carl. Main-Houk, Mead, Bandy, S McKinnley, Rose Tyack, Truesdale, J McKinnley, Carl, Cook, Whaley, Hogue, Jessie Bowles. Hobby Stock Dash-Eric Olson, Richie McGowan, Eric Cimental. Heat 1-Bruce Johnson, Mike Lee, E Cimental, David West, M’lissa Manzella. Heat 2-Mike Wilson, McGowan, Steve Johnson, Clyde Benson, Lou Wolfe. Heat 3-Olson, Ricky Ward, Zach Forster, Wes Scott, Roger Brewer. Main-B Johnson, McGowan, West, Tom Klamorick, Benson, Steve Cimental, S Johnson, E Cimental, Lee, Brewer, Manzella, Olson, Wilson, Chad Huffmon, Ricky Spicer, Ward, Morgan Wiggers Jr, Forster, Wolfe. Super Street Stock Dash-Keith Heaslet, Dave Bauer, Bill Little. Heat 1-Darrell Hood, Little, Lonnie Welch, Bauer, Terry Campbell. Heat 2-Ed Barrett, Lloyd Reed, Steve Cargill, Heaslet. Main-Bauer, Welch, Hood, Reed, Campbell, Cargill, Heaslet, Little. IMCA Modified Dash-Kathy Pierson, Gary Dutton, Damon Redman. Heat 1-Pierson, Brad Pounds, Rodney Jennings, Buck Cox, Tom Gregory. Heat 2-Brady Bell, Robert Miller, Bob Williamson Sr, Joe Porche, Mike Corwin. Heat 3-Larry Hood, Gary Dutton, Doug Thompson, Wes Richardson, David Childress. Heat 4-Rick Childress, Steve Smothermon, Kenneth Cleveland, Redman, Steve Morrison. B Main-Porche, Redman, Richardson, D Childress, Gregory, Mike Scott, Phil Cook, Chett Reeves, Cox, Bill Saltzman, Morrison, Chris Mendenhall, Jeff Miller, Corwin, Lynn Anderson. A Main-R Miller, Dutton, R Childress, Richardson, Smothermon, Williamson, Pierson, L Hood, Redman, Bell, Cook, Gregory, Jennings, Doug Thompson, Scott, Porche, Pounds, Cleveland, Reeves, D Childress.

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