InsideGroove - Race Report

BIGGEST CAREER WIN FOR GEORGE BOULDEN

Yuma, AZ --

George Boulden from Lake Elsinore, CA led just the final 1/4 lap, but that was enough for the veteran racer to collect his biggest career win with a $1,000 victory in the Crazy Turkey 50 lap street stock open comp Saturday night at Yuma Speedway Park. Wendell King appeared headed to a successful defense of his win in this race in 1998 as he battled back from a midrace flat to take the lead on lap 40. In the final corner of the final lap, King got in too hot and spun to allow Boulden to race by for the win. Boulden started 15th after a third in the B Main and worked his way to 7th at half-way. He passed Dino Napier for 2nd on lap 42. Boulden began his racing while living in Lake Havasu City, AZ and his efforts are sponsored by the Carter Company and Car-Co Machine. Running the motor out of his Champ Truck, Napier finished a $600 second and Don Woolen led the Yuma contingent with a $400 third. Adolfo Noriega won $300 for fourth and King recovered to finish a $250 fifth. It was King’s final race as he is selling his car after a five win, 2nd place point season because it takes too much time away from his relationship with his two young sons.

The open comp street stock action drew a 35 car field. Phoenix racer George Fronsman won the dash from the pole ahead of Canyon and Manzanita champion Doug Shadd. The cars were split into four heats with only the top 3 in each advancing into the 50 lap main. King came from fifth starting to win heat 1 ahead of 7th starter Glenn Thurman and pole starter Wade Daffern, the factory stock champion at Yuma. New Mexico’s ageless Billy Powell blew a motor running 2nd. Shadd also came from fifth to win heat 2 with Pahrump, NV ace Wyatt Ehrp second ahead of Chuck Craig. Perris racer Mike Hixson escaped unhurt when he climbed the backwall and flipped. Colorado ace Tony Hill broke running 4th on the last lap. Hill ran a parttime schedule in 1999, but collected a $3,000 win in Cortez, Colo, a $2,000 win at Price, Utah and a pair of $1,500 wins at Olathe, Colo. Ronny Sanders won heat 3 from the pole as Steven Daffern spun trying for the top spot. Woolen ran second ahead of Fronsman with Yuma track champion Tony Lentz just missing with a 4th. Randy Boring won heat 4 from third starting and Napier was second ahead of David White. Pavement convert J J Howe spun out of 2nd and later looped his way out of 4th. The final 8 transfers came out of a B Main that was scheduled for 20 laps, but shortened to 15 laps. Lentz took the lead from Tommy Pulda Jr on lap 7 and won with Casa Grande regular Thierry Allred second ahead of Boulden, S Daffern and Howe. Dick Rautenberg had a flat running fifth, but still managed to get the final transfer slot.

The 50 lap street stock A Main was run in two 25 lap segements with a fuel break in the infield after 25 rounds. The race had to be restarted after Chuck Craig made heavy contact with the turn 1 fence on the first try. The heat transfers had drawn for their starting order at the front of the 20 car lineup with Thurman and King drawing the front row, White and Sanders in row 2 and Fronsman and Shadd in row 3. King raced into the lead ahead of Sanders and Thurman. Howe crashed in turn 3 for the first yellow flag on lap 2. Fronsman took third from Thurman on lap 7 as White lost laps with a flat tire. Working lapped traffic, Fronsman took second from Sanders on lap 8. Ehrp’s night ended on lap 11 when he spun and made contact with the turn 2 fence. Napier restarted in the rear after pitting. Lentz broke into the top 5 on lap 15 as both Rautenberg and Howe lost laps in the pits with flat tires. Shadd passed Sanders for third on lap 16 and Lentz was fourth on lap 18. After leading 20 laps, King suddenly slowed with a flat right rear tire and Fronsman took over the top spot on lap 21. King was able to limp his way to the midrace fuel stop on the flat tire to stay on the lead lap. Fronsman led Shadd, Lentz, S Daffern, Sanders, Napier, Boulden and Woolen at the fuel stop, but he broke a valve and pitted his smoking car rather than pull into the infield. King also pitted to change the flat tire and restarted in the rear.

When King attempted to return from the pits, he had to pit again as his car was stuck in low gear. Fronsman ran just a few laps in the second 25 lap segment before retiring. When the green flag racing resumed, Shadd led Lentz and S Daffern, but S Daffern spun with a flat tire for a yellow flag. Napier took third from Sanders on lap 30 and Lentz lost a lap when he blew a tire and made contact with the turn 3 fence. He pitted for new rubber, but just missed making it back for the restart. King was now back to fifth and he took fourth from Boulden on lap 34. King made short work of both Sanders and Napier to gain second and he emerged back in the lead when Shadd stalled with a flat right rear on lap 29. Boulden took second from Napier on lap 42 and Napier was sent to the rear for spinning Rautenberg on lap 43. Shadd raced back to fourth behind King, Boulden and Woolen, but his right front went flat and he stalled for a 2nd caution. He returned and ran the remainder of the race, but was dropped to a last place finish for ignoring the black flag for causing two yellow flags. King continued to set the pace, but he had the lapped car of Lentz pressuring him as Napier worked his way back to third behind Boulden. Not knowing who it was that he heard pressuring him, King got into the final corner too hot and spun. Boulden raced by for the win with Napier second ahead of Woolen and Noriega. King recovered for fifth ahead of Sanders and Lentz as White, Seaman and Allred rounded out the top ten.

Summary Dash-George Fronsman, Doug Shadd, Wyatt Ehrp. Heat 1-Wendell King, Glenn Thurman, Wade Daffern, Norm Winemiller, Dave Scott. Heat 2-Shadd, Ehrp, Chuck Craig, Tommy Pulda Jr, John Seaman. Heat 3-Ronny Sanders, Don Woolen, Fronsman, Tony Lentz, George Boulden. Heat 4-Randy Boring, Dino Napier, David White, Tom Hussak, Michael Hitchings. B Main-Lentz, Thierry Allred, Boulden, Steven Daffern, J J Howe, Seaman, Adolfo Noriega, Hitchings, Dick Rautenberg, Pulda, Robert Bebe. A Main-Boulden, Napier, Woolen, Noriega, King, Sanders, Lentz, White, Seaman, Allred, Thurman, Rautenberg, Howe, Boring, Fronsman, S Daffern, W Daffern, Craig, Ehrp, Shadd.

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