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Chowchilla,
Ca. July 19...
Danny Olmstead rocketed his Stealth Motorsports sprinter to victory
on a sweltering Saturday night at Chowchilla Speedway in an
electrifying fast paced 25 lap main, making it his 3rd feature win
racing with the traveling club. Olmstead took the lead from RPM's
Russ Wullenwaber on a lap 3 restart and powered it to the checkers
with Western Tile's Keith Shipherd and Wullenwaber in hot pursuit on
the fast 1/3 mile track.
Pizza Factory's Doug Gandy and the Flying Farmer Ed Amador rounded
out the top 5.
Tonight's fast 15 car field consisted of a few veteran
drivers; Tracy's Charlie Corriea sponsored by Outlaw Signs and
Charles High Performance, Mike Johnson of Concord, and Tim Sherman
of Citrus Heights. Sherman won the Friday night feature at
Sacramento Raceway Park, but struggled tonight with overheating and
motor problems.
The 1st heat race was won by Cargill's Welding John Fenton,
followed by strong running Wadco's George Terry and Jim Janssen. On
lap 5 contact with a spun car caused TBS's Scott Holloway some
unfortunate front end damage, and he was unable to finish the
race.The 2nd heat ran flag to flag and began with Mike Johnson and
Russ Wullenwaber on the front row. Wullenwaber led at the green, but
by lap 3, 5th starting Danny Olmstead
had charged to the front. Western Tile's Keith Shipherd challenged
Wullenwaber for the 2nd spot, but Wullenwaber held him off for 3
laps, with Shipherd making a last lap pass in turn 3 and finishing
2nd behind Olmstead. Doug Gandy and Rick Eversult rounded out the
top 5.
The biggest challenge for everyone was staying cool. It was
hot and humid, as the threatening storm clouds moved in. Many waited
anxiously for Nick Sagmillar, driving the water truck, to make his
rounds through the pits so they could drench themselves for relief
from the heat. The rain came during mud packing for a brief period
which helped add
moisture to the track, and in true Chowchilla fashion, a small
rainbow appeared later.
After the heat races the Holloway crew made repairs to a bent
torsion bar tube, and the Amador family was busy helping Burt
Siverling with his starter problems. The Correia team discovered a
broken fuel pump drive and was unable to start the main. Visiting
with the Olmstead team was a real pleasure, especially meeting
Danny's mom, who videotapes his races. This young talented driver
has been meticulously dialing his car in at several N.Calif. tracks,
and his latest win was last week at Fernley, Nev. Olmstead's 1st
feature win with the NCMA was at Chowchilla in April. He plans to
have a car ready to race with the Bandit Sprints later this year,
and then hopes to make some appearances with the SCRA.
The 25 lap feature started with Ray's Auto Body Wullenwaber
and the Chappa Insulation car of Jim Janssen on the front row. The
terrific two grooved track gave drivers room to pass, and there was
plenty of exciting passing action. On lap 3 a caution flew for a
spun car and Olmstead bolted to the front and put the race in high
gear. Wullenwaber and Shipherd jockeyed for the 2nd spot running
neck and neck through the corners and drag racing down the straights
for several thrilling laps.
On lap 15 Shipherd powered it in hard on
the high groove and moved into 2nd, with Wullenwaber right on his
tail. A strong battle was going on also for 4th between Amador and
Gandy, and in 6th position Janssen began loosing ground as he ran
out of fuel. The lead cars were lapping traffic by lap 18, and then
it was hard to keep track of who was where. As the checkered flew,
it was Olmstead 1st, Shipherd 2nd, Wullenwaber 3rd,
Gandy 4th, and Amador 5th. The main concluded with all of the
sprints parking in the infield to throw frisbees to the crowd, with
several lucky Chowchilla fans winning free pizzas, courtesy of Doug
Gandy's sponsor, Pizza Factory. NCMA heats up again next week at
Altamont Raceway Park on Sat., July 26. Have fun, drive safe, and
take care, Deb
SUMMARY:
Heat 1: John Fenton, George Terry, Jim Janssen, Ed Amador, Mike
Zarevich, Scott Holloway, Tim Sherman
Heat 2: Danny Olmstead, Keith Shipherd, Russ
Wullenwaber, Doug Gandy, Rick Eversult, Mike Johnson, Charlie
Correia, Burt Siverling (DNS)
Main: Olmstead, Shipherd, Wullenwaber, Gandy,
Amador, Holloway, Terry, Fenton, Siverling, Janssen, Johnson,
Eversult, Zarevich, Sherman, Correia (DNS)
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