|
Irwindale, CA.,May 30 – Two features on the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale banked half-mile highlighted a five-division main event evening Saturday in front of about 2,000 fans. Tim Huddleston, 38, won his third consecutive NASCAR Auto Club Late Model 50-lap race in his No. 50 Justice Brothers High Point Racing Chevy Monte Carlo. He chopped eight points from the point lead of Nick Joanides. Fastest qualifier Huddleston started first in a 19-car field and led all the way after the inversion number dice roll landed on one. It was the 41st main event victory at the track for the three-time ACLM champion. He tied six-time Legend Cars champion Tom Landreth for second most feature triumphs at the 11-year old speedway.
In the most thrilling race of the night, Jeremiah “Jammin J” Wagner, a 16-year old Legend Cars veteran from Las Vegas, became the fourth and final leader of a 19-truck Verve Energy Drink ASA Speed Truck Challenge 75-lap main that concluded the all-racing events program. Wagner, started ninth in his “flat black” and white No. 77 Chevy Colorado pickup and used the inside groove perfectly to pass trucks in the turns during three-and four wide racing action. It was his first feature victory at Irwindale. He has won numerous Legends features, including nine in a row last year, at his home track—the three-eights “Bullring” at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Other feature winners in 35-lap races were Dalton Kuhn, of San Marcos, in the Southwest Tour Trucks. He is the son of modified and Pro Truck veteran Dean Kuhn, a 23-time winner at Irwindale. It was Dalton's second consecutive victory in the series, formerly known as West Coast Pro Trucks. He won the April 4 opener at TS@I. As fastest qualifier, Kuhn started fourth on the half-mile and led laps 12-35 after passing early leader and past series champion Jeff Williams on the inside in the second turn. Two preliminary mains used the four-degree banked third-mile track. LAPD cop Daryl Scoggins passed early leader Eric Reed on lap 6 and led the final 30 laps in his Ford Pinto to earn his third consecutive Justice Brothers Mini Stock main. Scoggins broke his first place tie in points with past mini stock champion Tyler Rogers; he now leads Rogers by eight points. Twelve of 14 minis present started.
Donny St. Ours, 15, drove his colorful yellow and green replica 1934 Ford Coupe to an impressive victory in a 35-lap Legends race on the third-mile. The Upland resident started second as the second quickest qualifier, chased fast timer/pole starter Darren Amidon, 24, for 25 laps. He made a decisive inside move from the starting line to turn one to take command. Amidon, the 2007 track champion, fought back and fell two lengths short of his third consecutive victory this season. St. Ours won two Bandolero races at Irwindale in his youth and won a Legends main two years ago as a rookie. He also raced Saturday night in his ASA Speed Truck as a Greg Biffle Racing developmental driver.
ASA SPEED TRUCKS: The ASA Speed Truck 19 truck field had six rookies and several second year drivers. Teenage drivers included one 14 year old, four 15, one 16, two 17, and one 18-year old. The talented teens have invigorated the series with their years of racing experience in karts and Legends and some even in super late models. The race had four leaders and three lead changes. Legends veteran Race Liberante, 14, led the first six laps from pole position in his Chevy S-10. Todd McLauchlan, a 46-year old Alpine resident, made an inside pass in turn four on lap 6 and led through lap 11 in a Chevy Colorado. Sixth starter Randel King, a 17-year old NASCAR SLM rookie last year at Irwindale, made an outside pass at the starting line in his Dodge Dakota and paced laps 12-57. Hard-charging Wagner started ninth, reached third on lap 33 and second on lap 45. He battled side-by-side with King from laps 53 to 58 when inside-running Wagner made his pass stick from turn four to the starting line. He then pulled away to a 35-yard victory over King. As consolation, King moved from second to first in ASA points. He also won the six-truck five-lap trophy dash at 7:05. Cole Cabrera, a 15-year old Legends veteran, came from eighth grid position to finish third. Josh Goshen, 15, started and finished fourth. The top four finishers are all ASA Speed Truck rookies. The 34-minute race had three cautions on laps 20, 25 and 52 to check for debris after contact and for a spun and stall in the second turn by St. Ours florescent green truck after contact. Seventeen of 18 starters finished and 16 drivers completed all 75 laps. Chris Birdsong, from las Vegas, Jason Black, McLauchlin (winner of two of the four ASA races at TS@I last year), Jamie Bennett, 18, Mike Kai and Chris Snyder rounded out the top ten. Shawn Steele did not start because of a transmission leak.
Wagner became the fifth different feature winner this season at the fifth different track for the touring truck series that has a reputation for developing outstanding drivers at a younger age than normal. Drivers may race ASA Speed Trucks at age 14 with signed parental consent/emancipation. Main event winners this year have been series veteran Darren Young (March 7 at Blythe), Cole Cabrera (April 18 at the LVMS Bullring), St. Ours (April 25 at Lake Havasu, AZ), and veteran Jeff Catlin (May 9 at Firebird Raceway in Chandler, AZ). Wagner and Cabrera are series rookies and Legend veterans. The next ASA Speed Truck race will be Saturday June 13 at Irwindale for the first return visit to a track in 2009.
ACLM: Huddleston out-dragged fellow front row starter Mike Johnson to the first turn on the initial lap. He won in a flag-to-flag run in his now unnamed Race-Car Factory-built Chevy. He ran the fastest lap of the race (19.243) on lap 2. Johnson's RCF Chevy trailed by 3.593-seconds. Beau DeBard, a 21-year old ACLM rookie from Reno and a graduate of the USAC Ford Focus Midget Series, backed up his second place finish last week with a close third place this week. He started fourth in Huddleston's HPR No. 55 Chevy, took third on the opening lap, and trailed Johnson by 0.165 (five yards). Travis Irving came from sixth starting to fourth finishing position and was 4.511 seconds behind the winner. Miles “Pistonhead” Copenhaver started and finished fifth.
ACLM point leader Nick Joanides served as best man at his brothers' 5:00 pm wedding ceremony in Solvang, northeast of Santa Barbara. He chartered a helicopter and flew to TS@I, arriving at 7:05 at the track heli-pad beyond turn three. ACLM cars were set to qualify following the 7:00 ASA Speed Truck trophy dash. Joanides was able to qualify during the 7:11 to 7:28 ACLM time trials. The qualifying order was from lowest in points to the point leader, so Joanides qualified last (19th) and set the seventh quickest time. However, track rules require that each team have a driver or driver representative at the drivers meeting. Joanides did not have a representative present at the 1:30 pm ACLM drivers' meeting, so he had to start last (19th) in the feature. One report had his team's female representative attending the wrong series drivers meeting. There were three meetings (LC & MS), (LM & SWTT) and (ASA Speed Trucks). Joanides was upset at the ruling, but he complied and resolved to race as far forward as possible to defend his point lead. Fans watched Joanides' progress from the back towards the front with interest. He passed one car on the first lap and was 12th on lap 8 when the only yellow flag of the race flew for a spin by Kenny Smith after contact from a following car. Joanides was tenth at lap 10, ninth on lap 12, eighth on lap 14, seventh on lap 16, sixth on lap 23 and that's where he advance stalled. After seven of 18 scheduled races Joanides now leads Huddleston by ten points (314-304) after losing eight points from his lead Saturday. Third place is now a tie at 272 between T. Irving and M. Johnson.
SW TOUR TRUCKS: Kuhn's third victory in his series came nine months after his initial victory last August in the same No. 16 truck. He won by a straightaway, or 6.326 seconds, in the 18-minute race. He ran the fastest lap of the race at 20.127 on lap 2. Ronnie Davis, Jr. started on the pole and finished third, with IMCA modified racer Christian Copley fourth and Jim Satterfield fifth. Thirteen of 15 starters were racing at the finish and seven drivers ran all 35 laps of the 18-minute contest that had one yellow flag on lap 4 after a blown engine.
LEGENDS: The St. Ours-Amidon battle for the lead was close, but the battle behind them was exciting as well. Brent Scheidemantle, 16, came from fifth to pass sixth-starter Ryan Reed, 15, on lap 28. Greg Scheuerell, Michael Smith, point leader Brandon Toy, 17, Jordan Hyland, Josh Geer and Chase Catania rounded out the top ten. Twenty-two of 24 starters reached the checkered flag. Eighteen drivers ran all 35 laps.
MINI STOCKS: Scoggins' 1.670-second victory over Kevin Bernhardt came in a 10:17.762-timed all-green flag race. Berhhardt took second from early leader Eric Reed on the white flag lap. Steve Rogers passed Reed on the inside in the final turn for third place. Reed edged Tyler Rogers for fourth. Eight of the 11 finishers ran all 35 laps.
Fastest qualifiers by division were: (LC) – Amidon, 16.817 (71.285 mph); (MS) – John Vredeveld, 17.291 (69.331 mph); (SWTT) – Kuhn, 20.168 (89.250 mph); (ASA ST) – Taylor Cuzick, 20.268 (88.810 mph); (ACLM) – Huddleston, 18.908 (95.198 mph). There were 92 racing cars and trucks in the pits. Hard Charger $100 gift certificate winners were: (MS) – Ron Schmitt; (LC) – Matthew Hicks, (ACLM) – Brennan Newberry, a 19-year old rookie and USAC FF Midget graduate.
|
|
