|
Oildale, CA., Mar. 27 – Jimmy Dodson started third and won the NMRA-TQ Midget main event Saturday at his hometown Bakersfield Speedway third-mile banked clay oval. It was the second NMRA point event this season and the first outing for Dodson. He took command on the seventh lap and led the final 18 laps of a 25-lap feature in his 836-cc Honda powered No. 6 TQ. All 11 cars in the race completed 25 laps. (See track release or website for results of other divisions.)
Dodson, the eighth ranked driver in 2008 final point standings, was the 2008 co-NMRA rookie of the year with Anthony Lopiccolo. Dodson avoided the so-called “sophomore jinx” by winning two 2009 NMRA-TQ features—on March 28 at Ventura and on July 25 at his hometown track in Bakersfield. He ran 12 of 17 NMRA events last season and finished tenth in final 2009 NMRA driver points after scoring five top five finishes and ten top tens in his 12 outings.
Chuck West came from sixth to place second Saturday in the West Evans No. 38 Stealth/Kawasaki. A. Lopiccolo started last (11th) and finished third in his father's No. 21 Stewart/Honda. Bruce Hiroshima, winner of the NMRA season opener on March 13 in Perris, started fifth and placed fourth. Ron Ahrendt started fourth and placed fifth. Sixth place Scott Niven started ninth. Bakersfield resident Dakota Schweitzer, the 2009 NMRA rookie of the year, came from tenth to seventh. Dave Lambert (from second), Amanda Thomas (from first), Kenny Wiley (from eighth) and West Evans (from seventh) were the other finishers in that order. Pole starter Thomas led the first six laps in her father's No. 40.
Hiroshima (from fourth) won the first of two eight lap heat races over Thomas. Ahrendt (from third) captured the second heat over second starter Dodson. After two of 17 scheduled NMRA races this season Hiroshima and Lopiccolo are tied for the 2010 drivers point lead at 121 points. Both drivers have averaged 60.50 points per event. C. West is third currently with 112 points and a 56.00 points per race average. Hiroshima's No. 5 is atop the car owner points by four points (127-123) over Paul Lopiccolo. Evans' No. 38 TQ ranks third at 118. Event number three of 2010 will take place on Saturday, April 10 at the third-mile clay Santa Maria Speedway in conjunction with IMCA Modifieds, hobby stock cars and mini stocks.
|
