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Ventura, CA., Oct. 3 – Three-time NMRA-TQ Midget champion Chuck West, of Clovis, scored his second series feature 2009 victory Saturday in a 20-lap event on a busy, multi-division show at the banked, fifth-mile clay Ventura Raceway. He drove the same No. 38 West Evans-owned Stealth/Kawasaki in which he won the season opener at Perris Auto Speedway on March 7. West now has 17 NMRA-TQ main event triumphs since NMRA resumed sanctioning TQ (�) midget racing in 2002. The race was round 16 of 17 for NMRA this year and the third time NMRA teams have raced in Ventura this season.
Family-man West, a former USAC Western Midget Series driver, has only raced a TQ in eight of the 16 events. His 66 points earned Saturday kept him in 12th position among 19 drivers with NMRA 2009 points. West started third in a 13-car field. He took command on lap 8 and led to the lap 20 checkered flag. Ironically, West passed the first seven laps leader, Scott Niven, who drove his own No. 66 car that West sub-drove in the last TQ race on September 19 at Santa Maria Speedway. Niven faded to sixth place in the official finish.
West Evans, the owner of West's winning car, started fourth and drove his No. 36 Evans Motor-sports Stealth/Suzuki to second place. Kenny Wiley, NMRA's 2007 champion, came from ninth to finish third in Bruce Hiroshima's No. 20. Point leader Scott Dobson, the 2006 NMRA rookie of the year, came from eighth starting spot to finish fourth. He increased his point lead from 67 to 69 points with only one race remaining. Dobson finished fourth in 2007 points and improved to second place in final 2008 NMRA driver points. He has driven Guy Barber's 2002 NMRA championship car all four seasons and has won two features in it this year. Barber's No. 18 Stewart/Honda is the current leader in car owner points by 80 digits over Evans' No. 36.
Richard Ortega, Jr., a three-time feature winner this year, finished fifth after starting seventh. Ron Ahrendt, Bruce Hiroshima (own No. 5), rookie Dakota Schweitzer, and rookie Amanda Thomas completed the top ten and ran 20 laps. Car owners Dave Lambert and Greg Edenholm also completed 20 laps and placed 11th and 12th. Anthony Lopiccolo, who won his first and second career features in the last two events, ran 15 laps and was the only non-finisher.
NMRA ran a pair of eight-lap heat races. Third-starter West, in a six-car field, and fifth-starter Lopiccolo, in a seven-car field, won the two heats. All drivers in each heat completed eight laps. The NMRA 2009 season finale will be Saturday night, October 17 at the quarter-mile paved Orange Show Speedway in San Bernardino. It will be the only TQ race this year on a non-dirt track.
Summary:
Heat 1: Chuck West, Richard Ortega, Jr., Bruce Hiroshima, Scott Niven, Kenny Wiley, Dave Lambert.
Heat 2: Anthony Lopiccolo, Scott Dobson, West Evans, Ron Ahrendt, Amanda Thomas, Greg Edenholm, Dakota Schweitzer.
Main: West, Evans, Wiley, Dobson, Ortega, Niven, Ahrendt, Hiroshima, Schweitzer, Thomas, Lambert, Edenholm, Lopiccolo.
POINT STANDINGS:
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