InsideGroove - Race Report

JOHNNY CARDOZA BREAKS BAD LUCK STRING WITH $1,000 WIN

Chowchilla, CA -- Last year’s Chowchilla Speedway point runnerup Johnny Cardoza has had a tough start to his 2003 season fighting minor engine woes, but he fought off a stiff late race challenge from both Watsonville Speedway regular Chris Messmer and Chowchilla point leader Nathan Corn to score a $1,000 win in the super street stock 25 lap feature as the Steitz Freedom Series opened on Monday night at Chowchilla Speedway. Cardoza thought that he had stepped up his engine program for 2003, but he has only been able to race in handful of events with his engine woes. He led the final five laps for the Monday night win but just nosed Messmer at the checkered flag. Messmer collected $550 for second and Corn was a $375 third despite pitting twice during the event to secure loose body parts. The super street stocks put forth a spectacular effort for 14 laps, but the final 11 rounds saw three red flags and three other caution flags. Only five cars finished on the lead lap with Merced point leader Tim Ragsdale a $225 fourth ahead of Hilmar’s Randy Brewer, who won $200. Defending track champion Jimmy Brewer remained red hot despite digging last year’s car out of mothballs for the race. He was a wire to wire $500 winner of the hobby stock 25 lap A Main. Current Chowchilla Speedway point leader Cory Gilmore ran a $275 second and long tows Robby Sawyer and Gary Dutton rounded out the top four. Both race at Bakersfield and the teenaged Sawyer won $175 for third place. After racing his IMCA Modified to a third place run in Merced on Sunday night, Dutton borrowed the Bakersfield Speedway point leading hobby stock of Richie McGowan for the Chowchilla race. He won $135 for fourth and Thomas McAbee was a $110 fifth.

The super street stock action drew a 25 car turnout and they were divided into four qualifying heat races. Coming off strong runs at Santa Maria and Merced the previous two nights, Bakersfield’s Keith Heaslet saw his night end early as he broke in hot laps. The winner of the Merced leg of the California State Street Stock Championship Series on Sunday night, Coalinga’s Rich Denman won heat 1 from the pole ahead of Corn and MoPar racer Eric VanHooser. Making his 2003 season debut with the car that won both the Chowchilla track title and the Steitz Freedom Series in 2002, veteran Darrell Hughes won heat 2 from an outside front row start ahead of 4th starting Royce Patterson and Monty Tomlinson Jr. After Santa Maria California State Street Stock Series winner Wayne Coffman broke leading, Ragsdale won heat 3 from the last starting spot ahead of George Lefler Sr and go kart national star Billy Macedo. Dennis Clay came from 4th to win heat 4 ahead of Messmer and Darren Thomas. Hanford point leader James Cornelius arrived late and broke in heat 1 to join Heaslet, Coffman and Rodney Orozco as main event scratches.

Thet left a 21 car grid for the 25 lap main event and Denman rolled the complete inversion option on the inversion dice roll. That put the top 16 heat finishers completely inverted in front of the 21 car lineup. Steve Stone Sr raced into the lead and paced the first five laps. Lefler Sr spun on the opening lap and was lapped by the leaders as he idled around the track. Frank Hannah settled into second ahead of Cardoza. Darren Thomas raced into fourth on lap 3 and Patterson was fifth a lap later. Patterson was wheeling the Marlin Scruggs car this week. David Woodbridge stalled with a flat for a lap 5 yellwo flag. Corn was riding 8th, but he had to pit to secure his passenger side door. Stone had a tough lap 6 as he was shuffled out of the top five by new leader Hannah, Thomas, Cardoza, Patterson and Macedo. Newcomer Joe Carter, Red Williams and Stone were all forced to pit with flat tires and Karl Noland Jr parked his car in his 2003 debut. From lap 5 through lap 15, the field put forth exciting action with Hannah leading Thomas. Patterson got around Cardoza for third on lap 13 and Hughes climbed up to fifth. The race’s complexion changed on lap 16 when leader Hannah spun in turn 4 and was hit by Patterson, Hughes, Denman and VanHooser. The race was over for everyone but Hannah. Cardoza led Thomas, Ragsdale and Messmer on the restart, but a turn four tangle between Brewer, Woodbridge, Carter and Williams produced a second straight red flag. On the next green flag, Thomas blew a left front tire and Messmer got by him for 2nd. Debris forced a lap 18 yellow flag and Thomas pitted to change his tire. Tomlinson lost a lap making a tire change. Messmer raced ahead of Cardoza to pace laps 19-20 and Clay spun out of fourth. Megan McCown and Macedo crashed for lap 20 yellow flag. Cardoza retook the top spot from Messmer, but Clay spun and got hit by Macedo for a lap 22 yellow flag. The restart produced a third red flag when Tomlinson, Woodbridge, Stone and Carter crashed on the front stretch. Thomas got into the back fence as the red light came on to end his night. The track used a single file restart for this final green and Cardoza paced the final 3 laps despite having Messmer force him high on the racing surface in turns 3 and 4 on the final lap. Corn closed in to finish a tight third ahead of Ragsdale and Brewer. Lefler Sr salvaged a sixth ahead of Macedo and Thomas.

The hobby stocks had the biggest turnout as they spread 36 cars over five qualifying heats. Only the top 3 in each heat advanced into their 25 lap A Main. Heat winners were Bakersfield long tows Sawyer and Dutton along with Chowchilla track regulars Gilmore, Mike Stockton and Brewer. Mike Soiseth broke racing second in his heat and Rachel Paul spun out of the lead in his. Advancing with second place heat runs were Syd Finn, George Lefler Jr, Ron Chandler, Watsonville’s Paul Duncan and Mark Funkhouser. The B Main transfers were increased from 7 to 8 when Lloyd Bamping scratched from the 25 lap A Main. After Watsonville rookie Todd Stephens had engine woes leading, Marshall Weaver won the B Main ahead of Wayne Hall, Ron McCaul and Craig Gardner. Paul again spun leading the C Main as veteran female racer Jeannette Gomes won the C Main ahead of Antioch female racer Denise McCown and McCaul. In contrast to the super street stock action, the hobby stock A Main had just a five car inversion and it ran the 25 lap distance with just two caution flags.

Brewer started on the pole and was never challenged. Dutton took second from Stockton on lap 2 and Gilmore raced into third on lap 3 as Finn spun and Antioch’s Rich Gardner took an infield excursion. Brewer quickly checked out on the field and Chad Buttrey was an early dropout. Merced star Lester Beavers spun without a yellow flag on lap 10 and Brewer had lapped one third of the field before Carl Lollar Jr and McCaul both spun for a lap 17 yellow flag. On the restart, Gilmore took second from Dutton in lapped traffic and Dutton dropped back to fifth when he got into the turn 4 infield. Brewer now led Gilmore, Sawyer, McAbee and Dutton. Dutton regained fourth on lap 21 and the final caution came on lap 23 for spins by both Finn and Chandler. Brewer stayed out front all race long for the $500 win. Gilmore ran second ahead of Sawyer, Dutton, McAbee, Wayne Hall, Weaver, Duncan and Dan Stephens.

Next race in the three race Steitz Freedom Series here at Chowchilla will be Thursday night, July 3. The series concludes with another Monday holiday show on Labor Day weekend. Each race is paying a $15,000 purse to four divisions in 2003 and the series point battles will pay three positions each in all the classes.

Heat 1

Robby Sawyer, Syd Finn, Thomas McAbee, Todd Stephens, Marshall Weaver

Heat 2

Gary Dutton, George Lefler Jr, Rich Gardner, Wayne Hall, Jim Watson

Heat 3

Cory Gilmore, Ron Chandler, Lloyd Bamping, Chad Buttrey, Gene Verbeek

Heat 4

Mike Stockton, Paul Duncan, Lester Beavers, Joe Smith Jr, Carl Lollar Jr

Heat 5

Jimmy Brewer, Mark Funkhouser, Dan Stephens, Tony Chavez, Craig Gardner

C Main

Jeannette Gomes, Denise McCown, Evan Craig, Ron McCaul, Jeff Christiansen, Jeremy Petrell, D J Petrell, Rachel Paul, Mike Soiseth, Johnny Tevis

B Main

Weaver, Hall, McCaul, Gardner, Verbeek, Lollar, Buttrey, McCown, Gomes, Chavez

A Main

Brewer, Gilmore, Sawyer, Dutton, McAbee, Hall, Weaver, Duncan, D Stephens, Funkhouser, Lefler Jr, McCaul, Chandler, Gardner, Verbeek, Lollar, Beavers, McCown, Finn, Stockton, Gardner, Buttrey

Heat 1

Rich Denman, Nathan Corn, Eric VanHooser, Johnny Cardoza, Karl Noland Jr

Heat 2

Darrell Hughes, Royce Patterson, Monty Tomlinson Jr, Frank Hannah, Megan McCown

Heat 3

Tim Ragsdale, George Lefler Sr, Billy Macedo, Wayne Coffman, David Woodbridge

Heat 4

Dennis Clay, Chris Messmer, Darren Thomas, Steve Stone Sr, Joe Carter

Main

Cardoza, Messmer, Corn, Ragsdale, Randy Brewer, Lefler Sr, Macedo, Thomas, Woodbridge, Clay, McCown, Tomlinson, Hannah, Carter, Red Williams, Patterson, Hughes, Denman, VanHooser, Stone, Noland

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