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(Chowchilla
,
CA
October 27-28, 2006
)...Stephens Motorsports’ young Kent Stephens of
Modesto
took the thirty lap feature win on Saturday, October 28 at
Chowchilla Speedway’s 6th Annual Open Wheel Roundup.
Stephens started in the sixth spot but moved up quickly when a turn
one incident on the lead lap shuffled the top spots. RJB Engines’
Jerry Cisco led the restart and Stephens was in third behind
DES
’s David Hayes by lap five. On lap twenty four Stephens made the
pass for the lead and took home the win.
Rancho Cordova
’s Jerry Cisco, Gary Lewis, Brian Gray, and Tim Sherman Jr. of
Rocklin rounded out the top five finishers in the final feature.
Chowchilla Speedway promoters Tom and Cindy Sagmiller hosted the
last Spec Sprint open show of the 2006 season and rolled out the red
carpet for the twenty four Spec Sprints and over forty Dwarf cars
attending. Thursday the track was open for early practice sessions.
Friday consisted of heat races lined up by pill draw, a trophy dash,
and a preliminary A main for the Spec Sprints. The top five
finishers from the heats would then transfer to the A main with the
remaining cars racing a B main on Saturday.
Rio Vista’s Dan Simpson won the first heat race followed closely
by Rocklin’s Tim Sherman Jr. and Gary Lewis of Cameron Park. The
heat two victory went to Sparky Howard who was chased to the
checkers by T & T Trucking’s Matt Streeter and RJB Engines’
Jerry Cisco. David Goodwill took the third heat win over
Modesto
’s Kent Stephens and Rankin Performance Machine’s Troy Caraway.
Stephens took the honors in the six lap trophy dash.
A pill draw among the top 15 heat finishers determined the lineup
for Friday’s Preliminary A main. Veteran driver Brian Gray and Rio
Vista’s David Hayes drew the front row positions, and Gray took
the lead at the green. A lap later it was Tim Sherman Jr. at the
point followed by Goodwill, Dan Simpson, and Jerry Cisco. Goodwill
made the pass on
Sherman
on lap five with Hayes and Simpson close on his tail. The fast paced
action was slowed only once for a spun car on lap twelve. On the
restart it was Goodwill leading Hayes, Tony Richards, and Cisco.
Hayes overtook Goodwill and then Richards slipped into the second
spot. A lap later, Richards charged into the lead and took home the
win. David Hayes, Jerry Cisco, Matt Streeter and Goodwill rounded
out the top five spots.
Friday night featured a Chili Feed for everyone in the pits which
was sponsored by the B.A.D. Association and Chowchilla Speedway.
Teams camping in the pits circled the wagons and gathered around
roaring campfires as the mysterious “Roundup Bandit” made his
annual trip streaking through the pits wearing a cape and riding on
a quad.
Saturday morning as the Chowchilla Speedway crew groomed, watered
and prepped the 1/3 mile track, many teams made repairs and tuned up
their cars. The
Sherman
team replaced a torque tube and the Shipherd team tackled electrical
problems. Davis’ Steve Stein and Pat Goodwill of Shingle Springs
joined the Spec Sprint roster and several more dwarf cars arrived
for Saturday’s races. Gary Costa, the awesome Interrogation writer
was a welcome sight, and we enjoyed the company of last year’s
Spec Sprint Roundup winner and friend Sam Fries,
as well.
The fifteen lap B main began with
Antioch
’s Roy Fisher and Anthony Ryan on the front row. At the green,
Fisher took the lead with Contra Costa Auto Parts’ Keith Shipherd
on his tail. The dry slick track sent everyone to the bottom hugging
the inside, and at the checkers, it was Fisher, Shipherd, Ryan,
Stein, and Butterfield in the top five transfer spots.
After all the dwarf car mains ran, the thirty lap Spec Sprint
feature began with Tony Richards and David Hayes grid on the front
row, followed by Jerry Cisco and Matt Streeter in row two. At the
start the lead cars were shuffled when two made contact. On the
restart, RJB Engines’ “Cisco Kid “ Jerry Cisco was in the lead
followed by David Goodwill, Hayes, and Dan Simpson. Several spins on
the dusty dry slick reshuffled the field once again and by lap five
it was Cisco, Hayes, Stephens, Lewis and Gray in a single lane,
tight formation. Track officials utilized the black flag for
incidents involving rough driving which sent two cars to the rear of
the field. By lap ten Hayes led with young Kent Stephens nipping at
his tail. Richards and Streeter tangled for another yellow, and then
Shipherd pitted safely with brake failure. Kent Stephens charged
into the lead on lap twenty four and held the point at the lap
thirty checkers. A happy Jerry Cisco finished second followed by
Gary Lewis, Brian Gray, and a hard charging Tim Sherman, Jr.
A spaghetti dinner followed the evening’s races and many teams
hung around to celebrate and visit. We thank the Chowchilla Speedway
staff for their hospitality and wish all of our fellow race teams,
fans, and sponsors a healthy and happy holiday season. See you at
the swap meets. Drive safe, have fun and take care.
Chowchilla's 6th Annual Open Wheel Roundup Summary:
Friday, 10/27:
(top 5 transfer to prelim.A main)
Heat 1: Dan Simpson, Tim Sherman, Jr., Gary Lewis, Brian
Gray, David Engstrom, Roy Fisher, Danielle Simpson, Doug Butterfield
Heat 2: Sparky Howard, Matt Streeter, Jerry Cisco, David
Hayes, Scott Holloway, Anthony Ryan, Eric Humphries
Heat 3: David Goodwill, Kent Stephens, Troy Caraway, Tony
Richards, Dave Press, Keith Shipherd, Bobby Nichols
Trophy Dash: K.Stephens, S.Howard, D.Goodwill, T.Sherman, Dan
Simpson, M.Streeter
Preliminary A Main: Tony Richards, David Hayes, Jerry Cisco,
Matt Streeter, David Goodwill, Kent Stephens, David Engstrom, Dan
Simpson, Brian Gray, Gary Lewis, Dave Press, Scott Holloway, Tim
Sherman, Jr., Troy Caraway, Sparky Howard
Saturday, 10/28
B Main: (top 5 transfer) Roy Fisher, Keith Shipherd, Anthony
Ryan, Steve Stein, Doug Butterfield, Pat Goodwill, Eric Humphries,
Danielle Simpson, Bobby Nichols
A Main: Kent Stephens, Jerry Cisco, Gary Lewis, Brian Gray,
Tim Sherman, Jr., Dave Press, Steve Stein, Tony Richards, David
Engstrom, Anthony Ryan, David Goodwill, Troy Caraway, Roy Fisher,
Sparky Howard, David Hayes, Scott Holloway, Doug Butterfield, Dan
Simpson, Matt Streeter, Keith Shipherd
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