InsideGroove - Race Report

FIRST WIN FOR ROOKIE CORY TURNER

Oildale, CA --

A 22 year old go kart racer running in just his fifth IMCA Modified event, Cory Turner led the final five laps to get his first feature win in the crash shortened 10 lap feature Saturday night at Bakersfield Speedway Park. Turner teamed up with Matt Barrett to purchase the former Eric Jacobsen Carr Chassis and Barrett raced it a few times to get it set up before Turner took over the wheel. Interestingly, Jacobsen won the 50 lap Super Late Model feature this night. Barrett still maintains the car and was excited to Turner get his first win. After 8 yellow flags in the first 9 laps ate up nearly one hour, the officials electedt to end the race with a one lap shootout as Turner won ahead of Mike Hood. The reduced laps made it impossible for Brad Pounds to collect a fifth straight win as he settled for third ahead of teenaged point leader Larry Hood and NASCAR invader Bobby Hogge IV. Amy Hedden paced the final 15 laps to win her first 20 lap American Stock main event of the season. Jesse Bowles ran second ahead of Christine Carl. Both Hedden and Bowles raced without their roofs as the track gives all of the classes the option to remove their roofs for the hot August action.

The IMCA Modifieds are the only class not given the roofless option as the national rules will not allow it. The modifieds had a 23 car turnout, but state championship hopeful Bob Williamson Sr from Merced lost an engine in hot laps. He loaded up quickly in hopes of racing his backup car in Merced. L Hood won the dash from an outside front row start with pole starter Turner second. Modified heat races went to 4th starter Buck Cox, pole starter Billy Griffin, sixth starter Hogge and 4th starting Pounds. Jeff Miller finished second behind Cox, but scratched from the feature with engine problems. The large crowd was looking forward to the scheduled 25 lap feature with invader Hogge lining up 9th in his bid to snap the four race Pounds' winning streak. Bakersfield doesn't race to the yellow flag and never could the field string together more than two straight green flag laps in the hour long, 10 lap feature. Griffin paced the first 3 laps in the Ken Hobson owned Xtreme Chassis, but he had to pit with a flat on a yellow flag and the car wouldn't run right when he returned. Rookie Brady Bell inherited the lead and paced laps 4-5 before he spun in turn 4 and got hit hard by Alan Updyke, ending the race for former track champion Updyke's Dirt Works. Hogge had pitted on the lap 3 yellow and restarted in the rear. On lap 6, Turner led M Hood, Pounds, Steve Morrison and L Hood. Morrison spun and the cautions continued with Darrell Hood losing a wheel. Hogge climbed to fifth on lap 8. The last caution came on lap 9 as Morrison and Chett Reeves got tangled up. The one lap restart saw Turner stay out front for the win ahead of M Hood, Pounds, L Hood and Hogge. Having missed his heat race when his car wouldn't start, defending track champion Rick Childress came from the rear to finish sixth ahead of Thursday night Ventura fair winner Gary Dutton and Bell.

The American Stocks produced 11 entries. Rose Tyack drove to an aggressive win in the dash over fellow female racers Carl and Hedden. Teammates Bowles and Carl won the heat races. Conrad Feliks led the first lap of the 20 lap feature, but broke on lap 2 to hand the top spot to Steve McKinley. Tyack threw a wheel for a lap 4 yellow flag. Hedden drove underneath McKinley in turn 3 for the lead on lap 6. Bowles gained second a lap later and McKinley was shuffled out of the top five on lap 9 as Carl raced into third over point leader Mark Hogue and Bryan Homme. Sam Henry blew on lap 14. Also running topless, Hogue threw a wheel for the final yellow flag on lap 16. Both Homme and Carl made contact with the front wall in the final two laps as they dueled for third. Hedden won ahead of Bowles, Carl, Homme and Brad Fowler. Running for no points, Laura Farris tagged the feature and ran fifth ahead of McKinley.

Summary American Stock Dash-Rose Tyack, Christine Carl, Amy Hedden. Heat 1-Jesse Bowles, Mark Hogue, Bryan Homme, Hedden, Sam Henry. Heat 2-Carl, Steve McKinley, Brad Fowler, Tyack. Main-Hedden, Bowles, Carl, Homme, Fowler, Laura Farris, McKinley, Hogue, Henry, Conrad Feliks, Tyack. IMCA Modified Dash-Larry Hood, Cory Turner, Brad Pounds. Heat 1-Buck Cox, Jeff Miller, Marvin Leist, Jimmy Goldsmith, Darrell Hood. Heat 2-Billy Griffin, Mike Hood, Alan Updyke, Gary Dutton, Robert Sanders. Heat 3-Bobby Hogge IV, Turner, Brady Bell, Chett Reeves, Mike Scott. Heat 4-Pounds, Steve Morrison, L Hood, Chris Mendenhall, David Childress. Main-Turner, M Hood, Pounds, L Hood, Hogge, Rick Childress, Dutton, Bell, Reeves, Scott, Tommy Gregory, Leist, Morrison, D Hood, D Childress, Updyke, Griffin, Cox, Sanders, Mendenhall, Goldsmith.

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