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Hanford, CA.....Oct 24.......First
night action at the 9th Annual Western Dirt Track Nationals sponsored by Texaco
Express Lube saw the top qualifiers in each of the four division square off in
$500 to win Kings Clash races. Electing to go with Mike Johnson's car setup for
the first time, Eric Jacobsen from Seacliff scored easy wins in both his heat
race and the Kings Clash for the dirt late models. Jacobsen won by a quarter lap
over Santa Maria champion Devin Crockett as CarQuest point runnerup Phil Barrow
ran third. Sorting out a new car for the upcoming Nationals in Perris, Bud
Kaeding won his Bandit unwinged 360 sprint car heat race from last starting,
then took the lead from sixth starting in just 4 laps to score the $500 win in
the Kings Clash for that class. Bandit season champion Greg Porte ran second
ahead of A J Burgin. The dirt modifieds had the biggest car turnout with 51 cars
in action. Watsonville Speedway regulars took the top three spots in the Kings
Clash with Kenny Nott Jr winning for a second straight year. Bobby Hogge IV ran
second ahead of Jim Pettit II. The Hot Stocks also had a huge turnout with 43
cars in action. Bakersfield Speedway point runnerup Lloyd Reed from Shafter drew
the pole and won the 10 lap Kings Clash for a $500 payday. Some hectic late race
action found Tim Randolph second ahead of Paul Pelletier. The four Kings Clash
events paid $500 to win and $50 to the other entrants and were sponsored by
Western Speed and Fuel.
The dirt late models had a 24
car turnout, but both Shawn DeForest and Doug Thompson broke motors in hot laps.
The cars were divided into three 10 lap heat races lined up by a draw. The top
five finishers earned the right to redraw for their starting order in the $2500
to win, 30 lap A Main on Saturday night. Outside front row starter Jacobsen won
heat 1 with 4th starter Scott Pounds second. Bobby Hogge IV debuted the car that
he purchased out of Colorado this summer with a Hendren built engine and he ran
a strong third ahead of Bart Reid. Seventy four year old Larry Damitz turned a
front row start into a win in heat 2 over travelmate Nick Perivolaris and
CarQuest point runnerup Phil Barrow. Riding his hot streak, Mike Johnson came
from 7th starting to 2nd only to break an axle. He was able to limp to a 5th and
will be in the draw for those first 15 starting spots. Santa Maria's Randy
Claborn won heat 3 from third starting as Chad Reichenbach ran second ahead of
late arrival Crockett and Dana Nelson. The top two finishers in each heat moved
into the $500 to win Kings Clash. Again, a draw was used to line up the 10
lapper with Crockett and Hogge drawing the front row ahead of Perivolaris,
Jacobsen, Damitz and Pounds. Jacobsen took a quick lead over Crockett and Hogge.
A big turn 1 incident ended the race for both Perivolaris and Pounds with Hogge
pitting with a flat tire while circling under the caution. Jacobsen pulled away
from Crockett over the final 9 green flag laps to win by a quarter-lap as
Crockett ran second ahead of Barrow, Damitz, Claborn and Reichenbach.
There were 32 Bandit unwinged
360 sprint cars divided into four heat races and USAC star Bud Kaeding came from
8th starting to win heat 1 over pole starter Richard Harvey Jr and Josh Ford.
Sporting a new former Beefpackers car, Davey Pombo Jr claimed the final transfer
after Chris D'Arcy had spun out of third. In this class, the top four from each
heat moved into the Saturday night $2,500 to win 30 lap feature and the top 2
from each heat moved into the Kings Clash. Outside front row starter Andy
Forsberg won heat 2 by a half lap over 7th starting Porte and pole starter Terry
Shank Jr. Josh Davis edged Jason Montgomery for the final transfer. Petaluma
Speedway regular Norm Johns won heat 3 from the pole and fifth starter Gene
Manhire ran second ahead of John Burnett and Jim Richardson. Top runner Josh
Wise had a flat riding in third and superstar Brent Kaeding dropped out after
running off the end of the track with steering woes. A J Burgin won heat 4 from
the pole with fellow front row starter Aaron Chaney second ahead of NCMA
champion Scott Holloway and Rick Williams. Jake Ford escaped unhurt after a big
engine fire. Again, the top 8 from the heat action redrew for their starting
order in the Kings Clash with Burgin and Porte drawing the front row ahead of
Manhire and Forsberg. Bud Kaeding started 6th and Manhire was sent to the rear
for passing the pace truck as the field warmed up. Porte led the first 3 laps
with Bud Kaeding into fourth on lap 1. Bud Kaeding was 2nd on lap 3 and took the
lead from Porte on lap 4 as Forsberg broke an engine. Bud Kaeding won ahead of
Porte, Burgin, Johns and Manhire.
The big field of
dirt modifieds were split into six heat races with just the top 2 finishers in
each moving into the $2000 to win Saturday night 30 lapper. Pettit won the first
heat from the pole with his Cobra as Chico's Dustin Jenks ran second ahead of
Kenny Neu. Brady Bell escaped unhurt in a spectacular flip off turn 3 after an
entertaining duel with Pettit for the top spot. 2002 track champion Brian Cass
won heat 2 from the pole in a spectacular four way duel with runnerup Bobby
Scott Jr, Bakersfield youngster Brad Pounds and Elma WA special winner Kellen
Chadwick. Nott turned an outside front row start into a win in heat 3 as third
starter Bobby Hogge ran second ahead of Antioch youngster Steve Noack. Nott also
announced that he has purchased the Ron Martin Rayburn dirt late model from the
famed Medford car owner. Track regular Lonnie Lacy Jr won heat 4 from the pole
as Scott Busby ran second ahead of Petaluma's Charley Campbell. A late yellow
flag allowed last starter Bobby Hogge IV to reel in heat 5 leader Bryan Burnes
and Hogge was able to take the lead at the white flag and win ahead of Hanford
champion Burnes and Don Camili. Another strong Hanford racer, Jimmy Reeves won
heat 6 from fifth starting as fellow third row starter Paul Stone ran second
ahead of Las Vegas long tow Mark Allison. Gary Dutton broke leading early in
this race. With the six heat format, only the heat winners qualified for the
Kings Clash as Nott and Hogge IV drew the front row ahead of Cass and Lacy. Nott
traded the lead with Hogge IV on the opening round, but ended up leading all 10
laps. Hogge IV ran second ahead of last starting Pettit and Cass.
The Hot Stocks used a five heat
format with the top 3 from each moving into Saturday night's $1500 to win 30
lapper and the top 2 from each qualifying to race in the Kings Clash. Santa
Maria regular Joey Silva beat Coalinga's Paul Pelletier and Mike Slaney in heat
3. Fernley champion Craig Eubanks broke early in heat 1. Another Santa Maria
regular Kenny Kirkpatrick won heat 2 from 4th starting ahead of pole starter
Glen Hughes and Raymond Noland, who was wheeling the Bill Little car. Santa
Maria regulars actually won all five heat races as Tim Randolph took heat 3 from
the pole ahead of Hanford champion Rich Denman and Johnny Cardoza. Elton Shaffer
turned an outside front row start into a win in heat 4 over Reed and Watsonville
titlest Dennis Pelphrey. Third starter Billy Simkins won heat 5 over Steitz
Freedom Series champion Chris Messmer, who ran the whole race with his hood up
in front of his view. Another Watsonville Phillip Priddy nipped Darren Thomas
for third. J T Contente lost a wheel in this event. With a ten car field, the
draw for the starting order in the Kings Clash was vital and Reed drew the front
row alongside Silva as Pelletier and Shaffer shared row 2. Reed took a quick
lead over Silva and Shaffer with Pelletier spinning out of fourth on lap 2.
Shaffer took second from Silva on lap 4, but spun in turn 4 on lap 8 and was hit
hard by Messmer. Denman joined Messmer on the sidelines. On the restart, Silva
was spun out of 2nd by Tim Randolph and Reed took the $500 win ahead of Tim
Randolph, Pelletier, Simkins and Silva.
Summary
Hot Stocks
Heat 1-Joey Silva, Paul Pelletier, Mike Slaney, Rick Henderson, Toby
Randolph.
Heat 2-Kenny Kirkpatrick, Glen Hughes, Raymond Noland, Charlie Dowdy, Eddie
Dale.
Heat 3-Tim Randolph, Rich Denman, Johnny Cardoza, Keith Heaslet, Frank Molthen.
Heat 4-Elton Shaffer, Lloyd Reed, Dennis Pelphrey, Darrell Hughes, Steve Noland.
Heat 5-Billy Simkins, Chris Messmer, Phillip Priddy, Darren Thomas, Tony
Contente.
Kings Clash-Reed, Tim Randolph, Pelletier, Simkins, Silva, Kirkpatrick, Shaffer,
Denman, Messmer, Hughes.
Dirt Modifieds
Heat 1-Jim Pettit II, Dustin Jenks, Kenny Neu, Jim DiGiovanni, Tommy Bottini.
Heat 2-Brian Cass, Bobby Scott Jr, Brad Pounds, Kellen Chadwick, Cory
Turner.
Heat 3-Kenny Nott Jr, Bobby Hogge, Steve Noack, Billy Griffin, Billy Wilker.
Heat 4-Lonnie Lacy Jr, Scott Busby, Charley Campbell, Bob Williamson Sr, Jeffrey
Priddy.
Heat 5-Bobby Hogge IV, Bryan Burnes, Don Camilli, Ray Mayer, Donnie Range
Jr.
Heat 6-Jimmy Reeves, Paul Stone, Mark Allison, Todd Hermosillo, Don Shelton.
Kings Clash-Nott, Hogge IV, Pettit, Cass, Reeves, Lacy.
Bandit Unwinged 360 Sprint Cars
Heat 1-Bud Kaeding, Richard Harvey Jr, Josh Ford, Davey Pombo Jr, Greg
Taylor.
Heat 2-Andy Forsberg, Greg Porte, Terry Shank Jr, Josh Davis, Jason
Montgomery.
Heat 3-Norm Johns, Gene Manhire, John Burnett, Jim Richardson, Jonathan
Logan.
Heat 4-A J Burgin, Aaron Chaney, Scott Holloway, Rick Williams, Ronnie
Case.
Kings Clash-Bud Kaeding, Porte, Burgin, Johns, Manhire, Harvey, Chaney, Forsberg.
Dirt Late Models
Heat 1-Eric Jacobsen, Scott Pounds, Bobby Hogge IV, Bart Reid, Jeff
Decker.
Heat 2-Larry Damitz, Nick Perivolaris, Phil Barrow, Pete VanIderstine, Mike
Johnson.
Heat 3-Randy Claborn, Chad Reichenbach, Devin Crockett, Dana Nelson, Tom
Johnson.
Kings Clash-Jacobsen, Crockett, Barrow, Damitz, Claborn, Reichenbach, Hogge,
Pounds, Perivolaris.
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