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Santa Maria, CA., Apr. 10 – Third generation racer Anthony Lopiccolo won his third National Midget Racing Association (NMRA) three-quarter (TQ) midget main event April 10 at the third-mile, clay Santa Maria Speedway. The 2008 co-rookie of the year in NMRA won his first two NMRA features last September in back-to-back races at Bakersfield Speedway and Santa Maria Speedway. He drove the same No. 21 Stewart/Honda TQ owned by his father Paul to win his first main event this year in the third NMRA point event.
Lopiccolo started seventh in a ten-car field and became the fourth leader of the 25-lap SMS feature on lap 15. He led the final 11 laps and jumped into sole possession of the NMRA series driver point standings lead. He entered the race tied for first place with Bruce Hiroshima, who dropped to third in points after finished tenth at SMS. Jimmy Dodson (from fourth starting spot), Ron Ahrendt (from fifth), Greg Edenholm (from third) and West Evans (from eighth) completed the top five finishers after 25 laps. Dakota Schweitzer, Dave Lambert, Amanda Thomas, Scott Niven and Hiroshima followed and all ran 25 laps.
Thomas led the first lap. Lambert paced the next two circuits and Dodson was the front-runner during laps 4-14. Lopiccolo and Evans won the pair of six-car, eight-lap heat races with five cars in both heat races in which all starters finished.
Summary:
Heat 1: Lopiccolo, Ahrendt, Dodson, Thomas, Schweitzer.
Heat 2: Evans, Edenholm, Lambert, Hiroshima, Niven.
Main: Lopiccolo, Dodson, Ahrendt, Edenholm, Evans, Schweitzer, Lambert, Thomas, Niven, Hiroshima.
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