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IRWINDALE, CA. June 14 – Travis Thirkettle and Nick Joanides split a pair of featured NASCAR AC Delco Super Late Model twin-40-lap main events Saturday on the banked half-mile Toyota Speedway at Irwindale. A special Father's Day promotion admitted dads free and attracted more than 4,000, many of them first time track visitors according to a vocal and show of hands survey of spectators. The 7:00 to 10:00 pm racing action took place on three tracks--half and third-mile ovals and the Figure 8 infield course. SLM, two truck series, mini stocks and Figure 8s provided six main events that entertained fans. Three to five cars or trucks battled closely in each race for the victories.
1ST SLM 40: Thirkettle, usually a quick qualifier, recorded a sub-standard seventh best time in the 18-car field. His team later discovered the problem. They put the left side tires on the right side and the right side tires on the left side. Luckily, when fastest qualifier Joanides spun the inversion wheel that set the starting grid for both SLM races, it landed on seven for the first race. Thirkettle found himself on the pole with his tires now mounted correctly. He shot into the lead in his High-Point Distributing Chevy Monte Carlo and opened a 30-yard lead over fourth starter Dan Moore by lap 23 when the only caution flag flew for a solo spin by the 16th place car. Moore, Joanides and Jason Patison waged a close battle during the final 18 laps. Thirkrettle scored his second SLM victory this year and his 28th overall in three series at the track. He crossed the finish line five yards in front of Moore's Ford Fusion (0.390). Joanides was 0.765 in back of the winner and Patison 0.959 behind Thirkettle. Andy Allen, two-time winner Charles Price, point leader Scot Conaway, David Ross, Stephen Peace and David Beat completed the top ten in a 17:39.016-timed event. Sixteen of 18 starters finished and 14 drivers completed all 40 laps.
2ND SLM 40: After three other series competed, 15 SLM cars returned for the second 40-lap main. After spinning a one for the second feature inversion, Joanides started from pole position in Loyd McGhee's J & M Construction, Mr. Gasket 2008 Chevy Monte Carlo. As expected, he ran away to a comfortable 30-yard advantage by mid-race over Moore's Ford. A two-car spin caused a caution flag on lap 32. Patison, a 27-year old NASCAR Camping World Grand National West veteran, was making his first SLM start of the season in his recently purchased ex-Keith Spangler No. 37 that had been idle since Lloyd Mack raced it in the March 22 season opener. Patison, with sponsorship from E-3 Spark Plugs, Lucas Oil and Dixie Chopper--The World's Fstest Lawnmower--made an impressive SLM debut. He ran the low groove all night, took second place from Moore on lap 23 with a clean paas from the fourth turn to the starting line.
On lap 33 third place Moore got loose leaving turn two and spun out to the backstretch infield without contact. He returned and finished 11th in the 15:37.457 race that had only one yellow flag. That caution on lap 32 eliminated Joanides' 20-yard lead and put Patison on his back bumper. During the final nine laps, Joanides used his usual outside groove and Patison made a strong challenge on the inside in each corner. He pulled alongside the leader several times and fell short of victory by 0.253. Thirkettle was third, 2.769-seconds back. Price, Beat, former point leader Conaway, Allen, Peace, 16-year old rookie Randel King and Jeff Eshleman rounded out the top ten. Four of the 15 starters did not finidsh. Following the two-40s, Joanides had won six of the ten TS@I SLM features this year. He scored 96 points (46 and 50) and leap-frogged from second to the point lead (422-410) over Conaway, who finished seventh and sixth in the two races.
WEST COAST PRO TRUCKS: The third West Coast Pro Trucks race at Irwindale this season for the touring series produced a field of 15. Fastest qualifier Jeff Williams, the series 2006-07 Irwindale track champion, set quick time, started second and led all 40 laps in an exciting three-truck fight for the victory. Williams prevailed by 0.943 over Ricky James, a 19-year old paraplegic former motocross cycle racer who uses hand controls in his truck. James entered the race as the point leader in the WCPT after six races in his first full season on the circuit. He won a series race last year at Irwindale.His three 2008 main event victories (including the first two at Irwindale), gave him 1,234 points. One-time winners Williams and Christian Copley were second and third respectively with 1,193 and 1,179 points.
James took second position from pole starter Copley on lap two and the three drivers raced all the way in close formation. James used the inside groove to get alongside leader Williams several times as Copley tried to pass the leading duo. Copley nosed ahead of James on the white flag lap at start/finish, but James edged past Copley on the final lap. Takuma Koga, a GN West stock car veteran from Nagoya, Japan, finished fourth. David Timewell was fifth. After the finish two trucks pulled to the infield wirh an engine fire in Bob Wright's truck and a rear end fire in Tom Mikla's truck. Fourteen of 15 drivers finished and eight ran all 40 laps in the 17:46.294 race. A blown engine during lap six was the only caution incident.
SUPER TRUCKS: King Taco Super Trucks turned out 21 trucks strong and waged another exciting three-truck battle in a 40-lap contest. Point leader Pat Mintey, Jr, a second generation driver, started fourth and passed early leader/rookie Jeff Peterson before sailing off to a hallf-straightaway lead. A lap 22 caution for a one-car spin put Todd Cameron and two-time 2008 winner Connor Cantrell, 17, on his back bumper. A second yellow on lap 33 made the top three battle intense during the final eight circuits. Mintey held off Cameron by three yards (0.337) and Cantrell was two yards behind Cameron (0.477). Peterson was fourth, ten yards back, for his best finish in six starts. Fellow rookie and front row starter Rod Johnson, Jr was fifth in his second top five result this year. Dennis Arena, Dana Higgins, Ryan Fortier, Mason Britton and grandpa Kenny Smith completed the top ten. Twenty of 21 starters reached the finish line and 16 of them ran all 40-laps of the 19:38.364 race slowed by two cautions. Mintey increased his point lead from 12 to 18 over Cantrell.
MINI STOCKS: The most entertaining and amazing race of the night took place on the third-mile. The Justice Brothers Mini Stock Series for four-cylinder Ford Pintos, Toyota Celicas and Datsun 510s started 17 cars. The 35-lap main had four leaders, seven lead chanlges and a wild, five lap dash to the checkered flag. Three drivers led and there were four lead changes during the hectic, final five laps. When the 16-minute race concluded drivers said they couldn't explain what happened in the closing laps. Daryl Scoggins' Pinto was fifth at lap 30 and he won by a few feet (0.028 of a second) over Rich Garver's Toyota. Fastest qualifier Tom Dye, in a Celica, led the first 'four laps from the pole. Garver then led lap 5-17, 20-30 and 32. Jacob Rogers' Pinto led lap 18-19, 31 and 33.The Rogers brothers, Jacob, 18, and Tyler, 21, were second and third and challenging for the lead when they spun out between turns three and four. As drivers scattered, Scoggins passed two drivers ahead of him to edge former leader Garver and former fourth place Kevin Bernhardt, who placed third, 1.660 behind the winner. Rod Schmitt and Dye completed the top five as 16 of 17 drivers reached the finish line. Thirteen drivers completed all 35 laps. Bernhardt apologized on the pit microphone for getting into and spinning Tyler Rogers.
OUTLAW FIGURE 8s: Steve Stewart, the 2007 Figure 8 track champion and Pick Your Part Outlaw Figure 8 point leader, started first as fastest qualifier. He led the first five laps before yielding the point for three laps to past champion Billy Ziemann. Stewart reclaimed the lead and won his fourth consecutive TS@I Figure 8 main event. Rod Proctor, Jay Henson, Tony Curtis and Ziemann followed in a season-high 11-car fieldl that included the body-damaged No. 81 Super Truck of John Sereika, who finished ninth. A two-car collision between John Latlhrop and Henson caused a four-minute red flag for cleanup work. Second place Ziemann and fourth place Rusty Stewart collided on lap 15 at turn two. Only Ziemann continued. The 20-lap 7:'32.308 race had seven finishers, witrh six drivers on the lead lap.
A six-lap trophy dash for the six slowest Super Truck qualifiers was the opening race. Kenny Smith started last, passed Rich DeLong III on the third lap and defeated DeLong by 35-yards. Hard chargers named by race control officials were: (SLM)--Beat (1st 40) and Jeff Eshleman (2nd 40); (ST)--D. Arena; (WCPT) - Cecil Phelps; (MS)--Kris Melleby, and (F-8)-Jerry Toporek. No one lap track records fell in any of the five divisions.
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