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Albuquerque, NM.......Sept 27.......Duke City Raceway closed their 2003 point season schedule by racing all five divisions at the 19th Annual A L Smith Memorial Race. 2002 NMMRA unwinged sprint car champion Tom Ball enjoyed a near perfect night as only the dash win eluded him in the Norm Smith sprint car. He was chased to his 20 lap feature win by point leader Bo Baker and Charlie Fegan. Butch Reid finished off his Barnett’s Harley Davidson dirt modified championship season by winning that main event ahead of Bo Martinez’ Ford and 2002 track champion Tyrone Yazzie. Multi-division racer Ron Frazier Jr had his best combined night of the season as he won the dirt late model feature ahead of Reid, who was also championship in this class in his rookie season. Frazier Jr’s night included a third in the hobby stock feature and a fifth in the dirt modified main along with his dirt late model win. Jim Willis finished his track championship street stock season with another feature win ahead of Jay Pape, Dan Harmon and Joe Smithberger. The hobby stock championship came right down to the final race and J R Bonesteel was crowned champion after a second place feature run behind his father Steve Bonesteel. Frazier Jr’s third left him 22 points back of the champion in second.
The NMMRA unwinged sprint cars split a 20 car turnout into three heat races. Ron King beat Jon Taylor in heat 1 and Nick Rael won heat 2 over David Burns. Ball’s big night started with a win in heat 3 over Bo Baker and Bobby Seals. Ball’s clean sweep bid ended with a last lap slide job by 2002 rookie of the year Kelly Denison in the dash. Ball won the 20 lap main event from 9th starting. The race went red on lap 2 when J C Powell Jr did a slow roll in turn 1. Kristy Smith led the first five laps from the pole before Fegan took over. Fegan paced just one lap before Ball made an inside pass in turn 2 on lap 7. Ball survived four more caution flags to post the win. Grant’s Bo Baker, the point leader, climbed to 2nd and Fegan ran third. The top 3 finishers all received trophies from Imogene Smith and her two daughters. Albuquerque’s own Bud Goodwin made a rare start with the club and finished 7th behind Steve Nix, Seals and Rael. Rookie of the Year point leader Jeff Brumfield Jr was 8th ahead of Denison and Taylor. The NMMRA season ends Oct 4th at Hollywood Hills Speedway when they share top billing with the SCOA winged 410 sprint cars. Baker holds just a 10 point lead on Nix with third ranked Denison just 4 points ahead of Ball.
The dirt modifieds split 21 cars into three heat races. Tyrone Yazzie beat Mark McClarran in heat 1 and Kyle Odom won heat 2 over Richard Johnson. Donald Clinger edged out point champion Reid in heat 3. Bobby Bachechi returned to action and won the dash ahead of Martinez and Tracy Groves. Reid was the feature winner ahead of Martinez, Tyrone Yazzie, Clinger, Frazier Jr, Monte Hunter, Odom, Sean Hughes and Michael O’Neal. Reid ended up 50 points ahead of Rob Haaland. Haaland was 12th in the finale and ended up just 8 points ahead of Frazier Jr. Martinez was fourth in points, just 13 ahead of McClarran and 21 ahead of Johnson. The dirt late models had 9 cars for their finale and Robert Schorr beat Reid and Steve Suber in the heat race. Frazier Jr took main event honors ahead of Reid, Eloy Romero, Schorr, double division racer Jim Willis and John Aragon with Tracy Harris a main event scratch. Reid won the title by 30 points over Frazier Jr with Romero another 30 points back in third. Aragon slipped two points behind Romero on the final night and fifth ranked Schorr was 18 more points back.
The street stocks enjoyed a 14 car turnout and Rick Combs beat Danny Gross in heat 1. Smithberger won heat 2 over Pape and Willis. Willis rebounded from last week’s mechanical failure to win the A L Smith feature aheaad of Pape, Dan Harmon, Smithberger, Ralph Garcia, Bruce Martin and Benny Chavez. Willis ended with a large 90 point lead over Harmon and the absent Kenny Wheeler ran third, 40 more points back. Jennifer Zorn was 13th in the finale, but finished 8 points ahead of Clay Moseley for fourth in points. With over 30 hobby stocks on hand, they used three heats and a B Main to limit the A Main grid to 24 cars. The top six in each heat and the B Main made up the A Main field. Lee Abers beat Sandy York in heat 1 and Larry Stoerkel won heat 2 over Aleta Hanna. Shane Kapinski beat previous week Hollywood Hills winner Randy Carter in heat 3. J R Bonesteel had to come through the B Main, but he won that race over Phil York and Ronnie Bell. S Bonesteel returned to action with an A Main win as his track championship son had to borrow his car for much of the season. J R Bonesteel came through the pack to finish 2nd ahead of Frazier Jr, Robert Kapinski, Bell, Ron Leathem Jr, Rick Boelter and S Kapinski. Boelter was third in points, 8 behind Frazier and 20 ahead of York, who ran 14th. S Kapinski finished fifth in points.
After the success of the last enduro, the track has scheduled three more as we move into winter. Dates are Oct 26, Nov 16 and Dec 7. Each will pay $1500 to win but the winning car will be auctioned off and the money raised in the auction will be added to the following race’s winning purse.
Summary
Hobby Stocks
Heat 1-Lee Abers, Sandy York, Jennifer Bertetto, Don Goss, Suezanna Bonesteel.
Heat 2-Larry Stoerkel, Aleta Hanna, Staci March, James Shook, Randall Trujillo.
Heat 3-Shane Kapinski, Randy Carter, Robert Kapinski, Rick Boelter, Ron Frazier Jr.
B Main-J R Bonesteel, Phil York, Ronnie Bell, Don Baehr, Charla Robinson, John Cruickshank, Brian Haworth, Bob Hanna, Dan Galloway, Chris Downey.
A Main-Steve Bonesteel, J Bonesteel, Frazier Jr, R Kapinski, Bell, Ron Leathem Jr, Boelter, S Kapinski, Robinson, Sandy York, Baehr, Bertetto, March, P York, Shook, Goss, Stoerkel, Audrey Whyman, Hanna, S Bonesteel, Cruickshank, Trujillo, Carter, Lee Abers.
Street Stocks
Heat 1-Rick Combs, Danny Gross, Clay Moseley, Ralph Garcia, Jennifer Zorn.
Heat 2-Joe Smithberger, Jay Pape, Jim Willis, Dan Harmon, Andy Tanner.
Main-Willis, Pape, Harmon, Smithberger, Garcia, Bruce Martin, Benny Chavez, Tanner, Kenny McDonald, Moseley, Gross, Combs, Zorn, Ronnie Bell. Dirt Late Model Heat-Robert Schorr, Butch Reid, Steve Suber, John Aragon, Eloy Romero.
Main-Ron Frazier Jr, Reid, Romero, Schorr, Jim Willis, Aragon, Suber, Ralph
Dutcher.
Dirt Modifieds
Dash-Bobby Bachechi, Bo Martinez, Tracy Groves.
Heat 1-Tyrone Yazzie, Mark McClarran, Eric Alwin, David Sheffield, Bill Lynch.
Heat 2-Kyle Odom, Richard Johnson, Taylor Yazzie, Rob Haaland, Martinez.
Heat 3-Donald Clinger, Butch Reid, Michael O'Neal, Ron Frazier Jr, Monte Hunter.
Main-Reid, Martinez, Tyrone Yazzie, Clinger, Frazier Jr, Hunter, Odom, Sean Hughes, O'Neal, McClarran, Taylor Yazzie, Haaland, Tim Lamm, Matt Whetstine, Johnson, McDonald, Bachechi, Lynch, Groves, Sheffield, Alwin.
Unwinged Sprint Cars
Dash-Kelly Denison, Tom Ball, Steve Nix.
Heat 1-Ron King, Jon Taylor, J C Powell Jr, Kevin Faber, Kristy Smith.
Heat 2-Nick Rael, David Burns, Charlie Fegan, Chris Faber, Russell Gossett.
Heat 3-Ball, Bo Baker, Bobby Seals, Denison, Nix.
Main-Ball, Baker, Fegan, Nix, Seals, Rael, Bud Goodwin, Jeff Brumfield Jr, Denison, Tayulor, Smith, C Faber, Burns, Gossett, Tim Jones, K Faber, Joe Larkin Jr, King, Thomas Murray, Powell.
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