Irwindale, Ca. - June 11, 2011 –    Nic Romano, a 20-year old NASCAR Auto Club Late Model rookie, drove the No. 51 High Point Racing Chevy Monte Carlo to the first 50-lap late model victory of his career Saturday on the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale half-mile. He did so on the annual Teachers and Students Appreciation Night. The Atherton resident is a graduate of quarter midgets, mini sprints, USAC Ford Focus Midgets, and Grand American Modifieds last year. He has been a driver for Ron Sutton's Winner's Circle Driver Development Program since 2009 when he won USAC Ford Focus Midget Western Series rookie of the year and championship honors. His step-up to late models this year is backed by his father's Fremont Plastic Surgery and his uncle's Romolo CNC Machine and other family members. The King Taco Super Truck division on the half-mile again ran the race of the night. It was a three truck dog-fight for the 40-lap victory. Reigning series champion and 2009 series rookie of the year Ryan Partridge, 23, won narrowly over a pair of 20-year old drivers--fastest qualifier Jeff Peterson by 0.072 and Connor Cantrell by 0.514. Both ACLM and KTST mains were all-green flag races.

Three other main events used the third-mile track. Donny St. Ours, 17, won a thriller in the Echo Equipment Legend Car 35-lap race. Richie Altman took a 35-lap Justice Brothers Mini Stock event; and Christian McGhee, 12, won a 19-car, 20-lap Jan's Towing Bandolero race. Rookie Ricky Lewis, 12, won the 13-car, 20-lap Bandolero main event Friday night during the weekly open practice session for all divisions. Lewis set fastest qualifying time both nights and broke the “official” one-lap track record Friday with his 18.061. INEX disallowed his 17.972 record a week earlier. A post-race tech inspection of the top five cars found an engine irregularity and moved his car to last position in the feature. The official move also disallowed his one-lap record that night.

Romano, an automotive technology student at DeAnza Junior College in Cupertino, flies south to practice on Fridays on his TS@I race weekends and drives north on I-5 with his plastic surgeon father on Sundays. His victory Saturday, in front of about 2,000 spectators, topped his best prior late model finish of fifth, where he finished twice in eight races. Romano started fourth and took the lead on lap 17 from his fellow HPR Team rookie Dylan Lupton, 17. He had to hold off his red-hot HPR second year late model teammate Brandon Davis, the NASCAR Whelen All-American Weekly Racing Series track and California State point leader. Davis, 25, had won the first five ACLM features at the track this season and now has back to back runner-up finishes to his HPR rookie teammates. The Irwindale ACLM season has had four different winners in a row since Davis won his fifth race on May 14. Chris Holloway, Lupton and Romano triumphs followed on May 21 and 28 and Saturday.

ACLM 50: Sixteen qualifiers and four other late models, including Toni McCray's backup car, took the green flag at 8:38 pm with a three-car inverted lineup. They ran 50 green-flag laps in 16 minutes at an average speed of 91.919 mph. Outside front row starter Lupton jumped into P.1 over pole starter Darren Cheek and fastest qualifier Davis. They ran three-wide initially as fourth starter Romano settled into P. 4. On lap 6 as Cheek and Davis dueled for second position, Romano made his move. From 15-yards back a lap earlier, Romano passed both drivers and took second place. Lupton, seeking two consecutive feature triumphs, opened a straightaway lead. On lap 16 the leader experienced a problem turning in the corners and slowed with a deflating left rear tire. Lupton lost the lead to Romano on lap 17 and dropped to fourth a lap later as he ran low near the white line. He continued in fourth place to lap 22 when he pulled into the infield because of the flat tire and finished 14th. On lap 18 Romano held half a straightaway lead over Davis, who passed Cheek on lap 9 on the inside exiting the fourth turn. ACLM rookie Taylor Miinch, 16, took third on lap 13. Davis closed ground steadily and at lap 25 was only15-yards in back of smooth-running Romano. The winner admitted he lost focus a bit at mid-race before he regained it and maintained his narrow lead. By lap 40 Davis was only five yards behind Romano and appeared ready to pounce for his sixth victory of 2011. However, the personable first-time winner extended his winning edge to 0.721 on the final lap.

Romano said on his final lap he thought about rookie J. R. Hildebrand, a fellow San Francisco Bay Area resident, going for his first Indy Car victory two weeks ago in the Indianapolis 500 crashing on the last lap in the final turn. “I quickly put that thought out of my mind,” he said in the pits. The top three drivers stopped at the finish line for post-race interviews. Romano stated, “This is incredible. I worked my way forward. I always knew I had the speed. I'm not a good qualifier, so I wear out my tires and they're toast by the end of races.” Runner-up Davis said, “We had plenty of time to get it done. We just couldn't run him (Romano) down.” The ACLM top ten finishers completed 50 laps with Romano, Davis and Miinch the top three. Sean Woodside, HPR rookie Devon Ostheimer, Holloway, Cheek, Toni McCray, Kyle McGrady and SWT Truck champion/late model rookie Jeff Williams rounding out the top ten. Thirteen of 20 cars finished and three drivers crossed the finish line one lap down. Romano's fastest lap of 19.223 was on lap 4, and Davis' best lap of 19.264 came a lap earlier. Cheek ran the second fastest lap of the race (19.156) on his third lap. Retiree Lupton ran the only sub-19 second lap of 18.931 (95.082 mph) on lap 3.

KTST 40: The sensational super truck field of 16 had a five truck inverted lineup with FQ Jeff Peterson starting fifth and fifth FQ Partridge on the pole. Drivers reeled off 40 fast laps in 13:29.175 with the green light on all the way. On lap 4 Peterson took second over Matt Kimball and Jameson Spies in three-wide racing. Then he engaged 2010 series champion Partridge from lap 10 to the finish, with Partridge outside and Peterson inside. On lap 20 Partridge led by a mere 0.001 as Connor Cantrell made it a three-way contest to the end. Two-time 2011 winner Todd Cameron finished fourth, 2.804 seconds off the lead. Kimball, Dennis Arena, Spies, Ken Brown, Ryan Fortier and Scott Corrigan completed the top ten. All 16 drivers finished, with 13 drivers on the lead lap and three drivers down a lap. Peterson ran the fastest lap of the race at 19.867 (90.603 mph) on lap 6. Next fastest was Partridge at 19.875 (90.566 mph) on lap 3. Eight drivers ran best best laps under 20 seconds. Partridge won his third KTST main this season in five races. It was his 20th main event victory in four series, tying him with fellow rising star Rod Johnson, Jr, also a feature winner in four divisions. The trucks, in response to fan requests for trophy dashes, ran a 6-lap trophy dash for the six slowest qualifiers. Fourth starter Ken Michaelian, a truck rookie and classic stock champion, led all the way. Kenny (Quick Pick Motor-sports) Smith started fifth and finished only a foot short of victory (-0.023) after outside-runner Michaelian's truck wiggled briefly leaving turn four. Philip Lauck came from sixth to finish third.

EE LEGENDS 35: Twenty Legends ran the final race of the night in 24 minutes with five caution flags for spins or multi-car crashes. The race had six lead changes, four of which counted after two cautions for spins returned the lead to ultimate winner Donny St. Ours. Past champion Darren Amidon led laps 1 and 3. St. Ours paced laps 2 and 4 to the official lap 35 conclusion. From lap 6 to 30 the top four—St. Ours, Matt Hicks, 2010 track champion Chad Schug and Brent Scheidemantle—ran virtually nose-to-tail. On lap 30 Schug and Scheidemantle both passed St. Ours on the inside entering turn three, but a two-car spin caused a caution flag and returned St. Ours to P. 1. On lap 34 Amidon and Scheidemantle went three-wide with St. Ours and again dropped him the third place. A car stalled in turn four, causing another yellow flag that returned St. Ours to the point. A green, white, checkered flag finish followed with the top four cars vying for victory. St. Ours became the fourth different Legends winner in seven races this season after edging Amidon by a length (0.193). Scheidemantle (0.390), Schug (0.507) and Hicks (0.655) followed. Jared Torres, Cale Kanke, Tony Green, Blake Dunkleberger, Aaron Wells and 23-year old visitor Tony Mangini, from Benicia, followed as 16 of 17 finishers completed 35 laps.

JUSTICE BROS. MINIS 35: Eleven cars started with FQ Richie Altman starting fifth. Second starter Ryan Bragdon led the first 20 laps in his 1979 Ford Mustang II. Altman's Ford Pinto reach P. 2 on lap 8 and used an outside pass on lap 21 to take command for good. Cars in P 2-3-4 collided on lap 22 in the fourth turn. Bragdon's LF bodywork was torn apart. He pitted and his crew removed it, allowing him to return to the race. However, he dropped out on lap 31.Altman, the first repeat winner in four mini stock races this year, ran off to a half-straight triumph over Jacob Rogers. Kevin Bernhardt, Daryl Scoggins and Dennis Croasmun followed. Ten drivers finished the 20+ minute race and nine drivers ran every lap.

JAN'S TOWING BANDOLEROS: (SAT.) - Nineteen young drivers continued their close competition in INEX Bandolero cars, powered by Briggs & Stratton engines. They used a straight-up start based on time trials. FQ Ricky Lewis, 12, led the first 15 of 20 laps in a close-duel with third starter Christian McGhee, 12. After a lap 16 caution, McGhee shot into P. 1 and led the final five laps. Lewis trailed by 0.213 at the checkers. Danny Nikolai, 14, Mikael Lovas, 13, rookie Ian Wesolowski (grandson of long-time Ascot Park stock car racer Henry Wesolowski), finished third through fifth. Ricky Schlick, 14, Brandon “Shorty” (4'5”) Weaver, 10, Blaine Perkins, 11, Troy Wesolowski, Ryan Dunkleberger, 10 and Alexis Mann, 12, followed. The 19-minute contest had three cautions and 16 finishers.

(FRI.) - Thirteen Bando cars started the 20-lap main at 8 pm behind Lugg Nutz, the track mascot's Legends-based single-seat convertible. FQ Lewis led every lap from the pole. He beat McGhee by 0.291 after McGhee made a three-wide pass from turn four to the finish line on the last lap. Nikolai, Weaver and Perkins completed the top five. Ivan Gudmestad, brothers Ian, 11, and Troy, 10, Wesolowski, Schlick, Dunkleberger, Austin Farr, 11, Jakob Ulrich, 10, followed and all completed 20 laps.