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Santa Maria Sept. 19 – Anthony Lopiccolo enjoyed his first NMRA-TQ Midget Series feature victory at Bakersfield so much a week earlier, he won again Saturday night at the third-mile clay Santa Maria Speedway. The 22-year old Brea resident led only the final two laps of the 20-lap main event after starting fourth. The 2008 NMRA co-rookie of the year drove the No. 21 Rick Stewart/Honda owned by his father Paul. It was the 2007 NMRA season championship car. The winner climbed from sixth to fifth in 2009 driver's points. The race was round 15 of 17 this season.
West Evans started third and finished second in his own Stealth/Suzuki. Point leader Scott Dobson, the 2006 NMRA rookie of the year, came from fifth to earn third place. He increased his point lead from 59 to 67 points as he attempts to win his first driving championship. Rookie Dakota Schweitzer, from Bakersfield, started second next to fellow rookie Amanda Thomas. He led the first 18 laps in just his ninth TQ midget race (one last year and eight this year). He settled for a career-best fourth place in Steve Parke's No. 59 Stewart/Honda. Kenny Wiley, the 2007 NMRA champion when he drove the Lopiccolo No. 21, drove the No. 20 to fifth position after starting sixth.
Ron Ahrendt, Scott Niven, Dave Lambert and A. Thomas finished sixth through ninth respectively in the nine-car field. Seven drivers completed all 20 circuits and two drivers ran 19 laps. The TQs were part of a four-division program at the popular speedway west of highway 101 and just north of Santa Maria. Danny Faria won a 360 cu. in. sprint car main, Danny Lauer captured the IMCA modified main, and Michael Frazier took the factory stocks trophy.
The TQ midgets ran one nine-car, 12-lap heat race. Schweitzer began his most successful TQ racing evening by starting second and finishing first over sixth starter Lopiccolo and seventh starter Dobson. All nine TQs completed 12 laps. The next NMRA race will be in two weeks on Saturday, October 3 at Ventura Raceway. The 2009 season finale will be run October 17 at he quarter-mile paved Orange Show Speedway in San Bernardino.
SUMMARY:
Heat race, 12 laps: Dakota Schweitzer, Anthony Lopiccolo, Scott Dobson, West Evans, Kenny Wiley, Amanda Thomas, Ron Ahrendt, Dave Lambert, Scott Niven.
Main, 20 laps: Lopiccolo, Evans, Dobson, Schweitzer, Wiley, Ahrendt, Niven, Lambert, Thomas.
POINT STANDINGS: (as of 9/22/09)
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