TWO HOODS PACE BAKERSFIELD POINTS FOLLOWING MIKE HOOD WIN

IMCA Modifieds, Super Street Stocks, Hobby Stocks and American Stocks

By: Gary Jacob and Don Low Where: Oildale, CA On: 06/14/2003

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Oildale, CA -- Jumping into the car usually driven by Darrell Hood, Mike Hood paced the final 11 laps to win the time limit shortened 13 lap IMCA Modified main event at Bakersfield Speedway Park Saturday night. Defending track champion Rick Childress ran second and 17 year old rookie Larry Hood emerged with the track point lead with a third place run. It was another busy weekend for L Hood as he chases the Western Region rookie of the year honors. He raced Friday night in Hawthorne, NV then hustled back to Bakersfield for the Saturday night action. With only an 8 car field, the super street stock 25 lapper saw four different lead changes. On the final lap, leader D Hood got into the rear of a limping Dave Bauer and Lonnie Welch drove around both on the outside for his second feature win. D Hood ran second and ended the night tied with Welch for the track point lead. Defending Hobby Stock champion Bruce Johnson made it four wins in 2003 as he drove underneath Jeremiah VanScoy on lap 18 to win the 20 lapper. VanScoy broke a motor and Eric Olson ran second ahead of point leader Richie McGowan. Jesse Bowles first American Stock feature win came in impressive fashion as he won the dash, his heat and the 20 lap feature. Matt Peternel made a last lap run to second, but was disqualified in post race tech. Don Mead climbed up to second ahead of Steve McKinley.

The 25 IMCA Modifieds were split into four qualifying heat races. Outside front row starter L Hood won the dash ahead of Gary Dutton. The dash win carried a special $150 award from Little Darlings Day Care this week. Mike Scott beat Doug Thompson in heat 1. Visiting Kings Speedway star Jimmy Reeves held a big lead in heat 2 when he crashed hard into the back stretch fence. The impact actually knocked down part of the fence. Reeves was unhurt but done for the night. Brad Pounds won the race ahead of Jeff Miller. David Childress beat Dutton in heat 3 and M Hood won heat 4 ahead of rookie Robert Sanders. M Hood is a veteran of numerous divisions on both the dirt and pavement and is the brother of super street stock point leader D Hood. Incoming point leader Steve Smothermon broke a motor finishing third in his heat, but was able to borrow the car of visitor Kathy Pierson for the scheduled 25 lap main event. When Brady Bell also broke in the heat action, the track was able to start the 22 remaining cars without racing a B Main.

With the racing slowed by six yellow flags, the IMCA Modifieds were able to only complete 13 laps of racing before getting flagged off the track to allow 20 minutes to complete the super street stock feature. Sanders and Thompson each led one lap before a big front stretch incident ended the race for Thompson, Steve Morrison, Kenneth Cleveland and Dutton. M Hood now led Miller and Sanders. Scott crashed into the fence for a lap 5 yellow and then Bryan Terry spun for another yellow flag. Fourth place Chris Mendenhall had to pit with a flat tire. R Childress was now third ahead of brother D Childress. R Childress grabbed second from Miller on lap 9 and L Hood had climbed into the top five. Alan Updyke climbed to fifth place and the race ended with a series of yellow flags. Smothermon dropped a drive line for the first, Mendenhall spun for the second and finally a spin by Pounds ended the race with just 13 rounds scored and the clock reading 10:40 PM. M Hood’s win was his second top five of the season and R Childress ran second ahead of L Hood, Miller and Updyke. Interestingly, the top four finishers all carry the number 2, 3 or 4 on their cars. Visitors Dale Underwood, Larry Blake and Joe Porche followed. L Hood became the new point leader with a 7 point advantage on Smothermon, 16 in front of R Childress and 26 ahead of Dutton.

Only a second in the dash marred the night for Welch in the super street stock action. D Hood won that dash ahead of Welch and Dave Bauer. Outside front row starter Welch won the first heat with Karl Noland Jr returning to action with a second. Outside front row starter Lloyd Reed won heat 2 ahead of Steve Cargill. The lineup for their 25 lap main was a complete inversion off the heat finishes and they raced the distance just two cautions. Driving the car that Wayne Coffman paces the California State Street Stock Championship Series points in, Bill Little spun on lap 1 for a yellow with Welch leading Reed and D Hood. D Hood raced into second on the restart and took the lead from Welch on lap 3 with an inside pass. Welch and Reed dueled side by side for second for several laps, but Reed could never get by. Cargill took third from Reed on lap 11 and Welch then made an outside run on leader D Hood to claim the top spot on lap 15. Reed broke a motor for the next yellow flag on lap 18 with Noland into fourth. The caution tightened up the leaders and D Hood again was able to ride a low line into the top spot on lap 20. Bauer blew a right rear tire on lap 22 and was limping to the checkered flag. On the final lap, leader D Hood drove into the rear of the limping Bauer and Welch rode the high line around both to pick off the win. D Hood ran second ahead of Cargill, Noland, Little and Bauer. D Hood and Welch emerged tied for the point lead, 12 ahead of Reed and 22 in front of Bauer.

B Johnson emerged with a clean sweep in the hobby stock action as he won the dash ahead of Chad Johnson. Mike Wilson and Robby Sawyer both turned front row starts into heat race wins and B Johnson won the third heat from fourth starting. Roger Brewer scratched to leave a 19 car field for the 20 lap feature. Outside front row starter VanScoy paced the first 17 laps. Sawyer settled into second ahead of Wilson. Seventh starter C Johnson climbed to fourth on lap 7 and a broken axle for Sawyer produced the first yellow flag on lap 10. C Johnson pitted and the restart found VanScoy leading Wilson, Olson and Tom Klamorick. Point title contender Zach Forster moved up to fifth, but hit the wall for a lap 13 yellow flag. With his muffler dragging on the track, second place Wilson had to pit. VanScoy now led Olson, Klamorick, Eric Cimental and 12th starter B Johnson. B Johnson grabbed third on lap 15 and passed Olson for second on lap 16. Klamorick broke and B Johnson took the lead from VanScoy on lap 18. VanScoy broke a motor and B Johnson was chased across the finish line by Olson, point leader McGowan, Mike Lee, David West, 16th starter Steve Cimental and the debut race for Dale Diede. McGowan now holds a 22 point lead on Lee and a 34 point lead on Forster. Division regular Lou Wolfe of Buttonwillow did undergo heart surgery after being transported to the hospital last Saturday. During the week, he suffered another major heart attack and is on life support systems as this is being written.

The American Stock class has numerous rental cars from various sources and this week’s 17 car turnout was a season high. Bowles beat Steve McKinley in the dash. Heat winners were Mead, Bowles and Nick Sylvester, a Bandit sprint car racer in Hanford. Their 20 lap feature had four cautions in the first five laps, then ran 15 straight green flag laps to conclusion. Mead paced the first 3 laps from the outside front row. Mead pitted on a yellow flag and new leader Amy Hedden broke an axle on the restart to hand the top spot to Bowles. Point leader Mark Hogue was now second and Allen Reeves used an outside pass around Sylvester to take third on lap 8. Hogue made several inside runs at leader Bowles, but could never finish a pass. Hogue pitted with two laps to go and Bowles led Sylvester and Reeves at the white flag. Reeves spun Sylvester on the final lap and Matt Peternel crossed the finish line in second. Peternel parked the rental car in the tech area after the race, but no one remained with the car and he was disqualified in tech giving Mead the second place finish ahead of McKinley, Sylvester and the penalized Reeves. Despite not finishing, Hogue holds a 20 point lead on Mead and a 30 point margin over Rose Tyack.

Dash

Jesse Bowles, Steve McKinley, Amy Hedden

Heat 1

Don Mead, Mark Hogue, Rose Tyack, Alan Reeves, Eric Jones

Heat 2

Bowles, Hedden, Matt Peternel, Conrad Feliks, Robbie Truesdale

Heat 3

Nick Sylvester, S McKinley, Bill Whaley, Christine Carl, Chelsea Fitzgerald

Main

Bowles, Mead, S McKinley, Sylvester, Reeves, Charlotte Ahrens, Carl, Hogue, Hedden, Jones, Truesdale, Tyack

Dash

Bruce Johnson, Chad Johnson, Eric Cimental

Heat 1

Mike Wilson, Eric Olson, Zach Forster, David West, Jacky Wood

Heat 2

Robby Sawyer, C Johnson, Richie McGowan, E Cimental, Wes Scott

Heat 3

Bruce Johnson, Jeremiah VanScoy, Tom Klamorick, Mike Lee, Billy Irwin

Main

B Johnson, Olson, McGowan, Lee, West, Steve Cimental, Dale Diede, Wood, Rachel Paul, VanScoy, Klamorick, E Cimental, Forster, Dave Hayder, Wilson, Scott, C Johnson, Sawyer, Irwin

Dash

Darrell Hood, Lonnie Welch, Dave Bauer

Heat 1

Welch, Karl Noland Jr, Hood, Bill Little

Heat 2

Lloyd Reed, Steve Cargill, Terry Simpson, Bauer

Main

Welch, Hood, Cargill, Noland, Little, Bauer, Reed, Simpson

Dash

Larry Hood, Gary Dutton, Brady Bell

Heat 1

Mike Scott, Doug Thompson, Rick Childress, Alan Updyke, Larry Blake

Heat 2

Brad Pounds, Jeff Miller, Steve Smothermon, Steve Morrison, Jimmy Goldsmith

Heat 3

David Childress, Gary Dutton, Chris Mendenhall, Joe Porche, Cory Turner

Heat 4

Mike Hood, Robert Sanders, Kenneth Cleveland, Larry Hood, Dale Underwood

Main

M Hood, R Childress, L Hood, Miller, Updyke, Underwood, Blake, Porche, Bryan Terry, Turner, Mendenhall, Pounds, D Childress, Sanders, Smothermon, Chett Reeves, Goldsmith, Scott, Dutton, Cleveland, Morrison, Thompson

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