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Bakersfield Sept. 12 – Anthony Lopiccolo, the 2008 co-rookie of the year, won the first NMRA-TQ Midget feature of his two-year career Saturday at the third-mile clay Bakersfield Speedway. The 22-year old Brea resident drove his father Paul's No. 21 Rick Stewart chassis with Honda power. It was the 2007 NMRA championship car. He started sixth in the 11-car field, became the third leader on lap 19 and led the final seven laps of a 25-lap main event. Third generation driver Lopiccolo became the eighth different winner in 14 NMRA features this season. Despite not competing in two events, he is sixth in NMRA driver points among 19 drivers with points in the series. He also finished sixth in final 2008 series points after racing in 10 of 11 events.
Kenny Wiley, the 2007 NMRA champion, chased his 2002-2007 ride to the finish line. He drove from seventh starting spot to finish second in Bruce Hiroshima's No. 20 Meli/Honda instead of his own No.96 in which he won three main events this year. Point leader Scott Dobson came from eighth in Guy Barber's No. 18 Stewart/Honda to earn third. Ron Ahrendt started third and finished fourth in his own Ellis/Honda. West Evans started and finished fifth in his own Stealth/Suzuki.
Rookie Dakota Schweitzer, of Bakersfield, raced from 11th to place sixth. Amanda Thomas, Dave Lambert, three-time series champion Chuck West, sub-driving Scott Niven's No. 66, and Bruce Hiroshima rounded out the top ten. The first eight finishers completed 25 laps. Bakersfield resident Jimmy Dodson, a 2008 NMRA co-rookie of the year, started second in his own No. 6 and was pressing West for the lead when he contacted West's car that crashed. Officials black-flagged Dodson and disqualified him for rough driving.
Pole starter Amanda Thomas, a rookie, led the first eight laps. West, who started fourth, led laps 9-18 before being crashed out on lap 19 by contact from Dodson. Third-running Lopiccolo inherited the lead and stayed in front of the pack to the checkered flag. S. Dobson, the 2006 rookie of the year, won the first eight lap heat race after starting fourth. J. Dodson started and finished first in the second eight-lap heat.
Three Saturday night race dates remain on the 2009 NMRA-TQ 17 race calendar. They are: September 19 – Santa Maria Speedway (third-mile clay); October 3 – Ventura Raceway (fifth-mile clay), and October 17 – Orange Show Speedway in San Bernardino (quarter-mile paved). C. West won the last NMRA feature at Orange Show last October 11. The only NMRA paved track race of 2009 will be the seventh time NMRA has raced at that track since NMRA reformed in 2002. That race total includes four times in 2005 and once in 2006.
SUMMARY:
Heat 1: Scott Dobson, Ron Ahrendt, West Evans, Amanda Thomas, Bruce Hiroshima, Dakota Schweitzer.
Heat 2: Jimmy Dodson, Anthony Lopiccolo, Kenny Wiley, Chuck West, Dave Lambert.
Main: Lopiccolo, Wiley, Dobson, Ahrendt, Evans, Schweitzer, Thomas, Lambert, West, Hiroshima. DQ-Dodson.
POINT STANDINGS:
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