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San Felipe Pueblo, NM....Oct
25......Forced to come from the very rear of the 19 car main event after a last
place heat finish, Rick Ziehl closed his championship season with the USAC
Southwest Unwinged Sprint Car series by leading the final 18 laps of the 30 lap
main event Saturday night at Hollywood Hills Speedway. R Ziehl timed in second
quick, but lost his spot in the inversion with the last place heat run. A former
Washington star now living in Colorado and driving the Conklin car, fast timer
Gary Taylor led laps 6-12 and ran second behind R Ziehl and ahead of Robert Hall
Jr and Robert Gomez. The dirt late models that race at Duke City Raceway made
their first ever appearance at the new Indian Casino race track and DCR champion
Butch Reid won the 10 car feature over John Aragon and Ron Frazier Jr. The
street stock action was dominated by the IMCA Stock Cars from Aztec Speedway
with young Garrett Higgins the feature winner ahead of Aztec champion Allen
Bradley and Andy Tanner. Robert Kapinski beat the son-father team of J R
Bonesteel and Steve Bonesteel in the hobby stock main event.
Taylor was quickest of the 19
unwinged sprint cars in time trials with his 15.38 lap. R Ziehl ran a 15.40,
Brandon Lane a 15.44 and Matt Rossi a 15.65. They were the only cars in the 15's
as Steve Nix ran a 16.15 and David Burns a 16.17. Bruce St James won the first
heat ahead of G Taylor and John Ziehl. Nix outraced Robert Gomez and Gary Appel
in heat 2. El Paso's Beau Binder won the third heat with Leighton Crouch second
ahead of NMMRA racer Jon Taylor. Lane led the first five laps of the 30 lap main
before G Taylor took over. R Ziehl was flying through the field and he raced
into the lead on lap 13. R Ziehl led the rest of the way ahead of G Taylor, Hall
Jr, Gomez and last starter Ronnie Clark. Clark missed both time trials and the
heat action, but tagged the main event grid. Binder ran sixth ahead of Nix,
female ace Kaylene Verville and Crouch. R Ziehl won the championship by 63
points over Lane with Hall third ahead of Clark, Binder, Verville and the absent
Mike Martin. USAC is shipping 12 of the Southwest racers to Hawaii for a $19,000
Nov 14-15 race on the islands. The dozen USAC cars will battle the island
regulars in the two nights of racing. Representing the USAC group will be R
Ziehl, Lane, Hall, Clark, Verille, Martin, Shon Deskins, St James and Texans
Crouch and Binder along with 2002 champion Mike Boat.
The ten car dirt late model
feature found Reid winning ahead of Aragon, double division racer Frazier Jr,
Ralph Dutcher, Tracy Harris, Darrel Meek, Jim Willis and Bob Suber. Twelve of
the 16 starters finished the street stock main event. Clay Mosely won the first
heat race over G Higgins and Joe Smithberger. Rex Higgins outraced Mario Truden
Jr and Danny Gross in heat 3. G Higgins then captured the feature honors ahead
of Bradley, Tanner, Mosely, Frazier Jr, Ray Hollingsworth, Gross and Kenny
McDonald. The Bonesteel team won the two hobby stock heat races. Kapinski ran
second in his heat and won the feature ahead of J Bonesteel, S Bonesteel, Phil
York, Ron Leathem Jr and Aztec racer Jeff Jennings. Duane Oldfield ran sixth
over John Cruickshank.
Summary Hobby Stock
Heat 1-Steve Bonesteel, Robert Kapinski, Larry Stoerkel.
Heat 2-J R Bonesteel, Jeff Jennings, Dale Lovato.
Main-Kapinski, J Bonesteel, S Bonesteel, Phil York, Ron Leathem Jr, Jennings,
Duane Oldfield, John Cruickshank, Stoerkel, Gene Jaramillo, Mike Dempsey, #02,
Lovato.
Street Stock
Heat 1-Clay Mosely, Garrett Higgins, Joe Smithberger.
Heat 2-Rex Higgins, Mario Truden Jr, Danny Gross.
Main-G Higgins, Allen Bradley, Andy Tanner, Mosely, Ron Frazier Jr, Ray
Hollingsworth, Gross, Kenny McDonald, John Hoosier, Benny Chavez, Dan Harmon,
Jim Tryrell, Truden, Smithberger, R Higgins, Frank Garcia.
Late Model
Main-Butch Reid, John Aragon, Ron Frazier Jr, Ralph Dutcher, Tracy Harris,
Darrel Meek, Jim Willis, Bob Suber, Eloy Romero, Andy Tanner.
USAC Unwinged Sprint Car
Fast Time-Gary Taylor 15.38
Heat 1-Bruce St James, Taylor, John Ziehl, Matt Rossi, Robert Hall Jr.
Heat 2-Steve Nix, Robert Gomez, Gary Appel, Jeff Brumfield Jr, Jim Pless.
Heat 3-Beau Binder, Leighton Crouch, Jon Taylor, Nick Rael, David Burns.
Main-Rick Ziehl, G Taylor, Hall Jr, Gomez, Ronnie Clark, Binder, Nix, Kaylene
Verville, Crouch, Burns, Appel, Brandon Lane, Rael, Brumfield Jr, J Taylor,
Pless, St James, J Ziehl, Rossi.
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