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Oildale, CA.....April 5.......After
battling his way from sixth starting spot to the lead in 18 laps, fast timer
Josh Wise drove to victory in the 30 lap USAC Western States Midget feature
Saturday night at Bakersfield Speedway Park. When some of the faster qualifiers
had trouble in their heat action, 8th quick Jerome Rodela got a front row start
and he paced the first 17 laps before settling for a 2nd place finish ahead of
Robby Flock. The new Ford Focus midget action featured a great duel between mini
sprint veteran Phil Goodwine and fast timer Tyler Brown. Goodwine led all 20
laps to post the win with Brown second ahead of Todd Hunsaker. Robert Sanders
celebrated his birthday in style as he led all 20 laps from a front row start to
win the hobby stock main event. Sanders also won his heat race from the pole as
his low early season point average aided his efforts. Mike Lee battled from a
7th row start to finish 2nd ahead of Zach Forster. Point leader Richie McGowan
crashed hard in the dash and missed his heat, but came from the rear to a 6th
place feature finish.
The first USAC visit to the 1/3
mile clay oval since the Schweitzer family took ownership saw a 20 car turnout
of midgets. Wise posted fast time honors with his 13.843 lap. Rick Hendrix ran a
14.070 and local car builder Larry Brown was third quick at 14.072. Alex Harris
posted a 14.0124 and Flock turned in a 14.125. Former winged sprint car champion
Johnny Rodriguez won the first heat in front of Bobby Boone and mini sprint
super star Dallen McKenney. Steve Paden beat Rodela and double division racer
Garrett Hansen in heat 2. Arizona's Van Knill captured heat 3 ahead of Michael
Simpson and Stockton's John Sarale. The heat race misfortunes of Brown, Harris
and Rob Russell saw the invert 6 lineup move 8th quick Rodela into the front
row. Kirk Kubik was the only feature scratch and the remaining 19 cars ripped
off 30 straight green flag laps. They didn't get on the track until after 10 PM
and their efforts gave the show an early 10:15 conclusion in front of a few
frozen fans. Rodela was chased down by fast timer Wise and relinquished the lead
on lap 18. Wise charged to the win with Rodela hanging on for second ahead of
Flock, Hendrix, Harris, Paden, McKenney, Simpson and Sarale.
The very affordable Ford Focus
division has taken great strides forward from their debut year in 2002. They
brought a 22 car turnout to Bakersfield. Mini sprint graduate Tyler Brown paced
time trials with a 14.837 lap. A graduate of the quarter midgets and modified
midgets, Bradley Galedrige from the San Jose area clicked off a 14.861 with
Wayne McCormick the final 14 second qualifier at 14.959. G Hansen and another
modified midget graduate Garrett Boyden rounded out the quick five. Brown beat
female racer Randi Pankratz in heat 1 with Bakersfield's own Steve Davis
capturing heat 2 ahead of Steve Koster Jr. Incoming point leader and Perris race
winner Josh Lakatos won heat 3 ahead of Bobby Owens. Third quick McCormick was a
feature scratch after his heat race woes. Goodwine led all 20 laps to win the
feature, but had a fierce challenge from Brown for the honors. Todd Hunsaker ran
third ahead of Owens, back of the pack starter Kevin Kierce, S Davis, Darren
Hagen and Bobby McGowan. Former Ventura Raceway sprint car champion Kierce
failed to post a time and ran last in his heat, but rebounded strongly in the 20
lap feature. Another California Lightning Sprint former champion Chris Rahe
broke in his heat to end his night.
There were 20 hobby
stocks. The night got off to a rough start for point leader Richie McGowan as he
crashed hard into the wall in turn 3 in the dash. The team spent the heat race
time making repairs to tag the main event. David West beat Tom Klamorick in the
dash. Lou Wolfe won heat 1 ahead of Forster. Sanders took heat 2 from the pole
with Mike Wilson second. Steve Cimental broke in hot laps and joined McGowan on
the sidelines for heat 3 leaving just 4 starters with outside front row starter
Eric Cimental beating pole starter Ricky Ward. Dave Hayder joined S Cimental as
a main event scratch to leave an 18 car grid. Wes Scott and Sanders brought the
field down for the green flag and Sanders took a quick lead over Scott and Roger
Brewer. Kathy Irwin was blackflagged with a bumper dragging. Eric Olson raced
into third on lap 3 and Wilson was fourth a lap later. Wilson broke an axle for
a lap 6 yellow flag and Wolfe had to pit with a slipping transmission. Ward had
just raced past Chad Henry into fourth when he had to pit with a flat tire.
Henry spun and then Olson was sidelined with a flat tire. This left Sanders
pacing Klamorick, Chad Johnson and Lee at the midway mark. Johnson drove by
Klamorick for 2nd only to blow a tire and exit on lap 16. Klamorick re-inherited
second, but he too joined the flat tire victim list on lap 18. Sanders was the
excited wire to wire winner with Lee second ahead of Forster. A badly smoking
Henry crossed the line in 4th, but was dropped to last for ignoring numerous
black flags. Brewer inherited fourth ahead of back row starter Robby Sawyer,
McGowan, West and Klamorick. McGowan emerged from the night with a 14 point lead
on West, 16 ahead of Klamorick and 24 in front of Forster. E Cimental is just 2
points back of Forster.
Summary
Hobby Stocks
Dash-David West, Tom Klamorick,
Richie McGowan.
Heat 1-Lou Wolfe, Zach Forster, Wes Scott, Chad Johnson, West.
Heat 2-Robert Sanders, Mike Wilson, Eric Olson, Klamorick, Chad Henry.
Heat 3-Eric Cimental, Ricky Ward, Roger Brewer, Kathy Irwin.
Main-Sanders, Mike Lee, Forster, Brewer, Sawyer, McGowan, West, Klamorick,
Olson, Johnson, Irwin, E Cimental, Clyde Benson, Scott, Ward, Wilson, Wolfe,
Henry.
Ford Focus Midgets
Fast Time-Tyler Brown 14.837
Heat 1-Brown, Randi Pankratz, Garrett Hansen, Ryan Pace, Stephen Graves.
Heat 2-Steve Davis, Steve Koster Jr, Phil Goodwine, Garrett Boyden, Heather
Davis. Heat 3-Josh Lakatos, Bobby Owens, Todd Hunsaker, Darren Hagen, James
Miller Jr.
Main-Goodwine, Brown, Hunsaker, Owens, Kevin Kierce, S Davis, Hagen, Bobby
McGowan, Hansen, Koster, Lakatos, R Pace, Miller, Ashley Walker, Bradley
Galedrige, Eric Pace, H Davis, Boyden, Pankratz.
Midgets
Fast Time-Josh Wise 13.843
Heat 1-Johnny Rodriguez, Bobby Boone, Dallen McKenney, Wise, Alex Harris.
Heat 2-Steve Paden, Jerome Rodela, Garrett Hansen, Rick Hendrix, Robby
Flock.
Heat 3-Van Knill, Michael Simpson, John Sarale, Wally Pankratz, Jim Christian.
Main-Wise, Rodela, Flock, Hendrix, Harris, Paden, McKenney, Simpson, Sarale,
Rodriguez, Rob Russell, Larry Brown, Knill, Michael Whitcomb, Pankratz, Hansen,
Tony Everhart, Boone, Christian.
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