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IRWINDALE, CAL, Nov. 25 - Fastest
qualifier Michael Lewis started sixth in a six-car inversion,
battled fourth starter Bobby East for victory and won a 40-lap USAC
Western States 360 cu. in. Sprint Car Series Casey Diemert Classic
Thursday on the Irwindale Speedway banked half-mile. The
Noblesville, IN driver earned $2,500 from the $16,305 purse in a
race he also won last Thanksgiving. Lewis drove the No. 40 Western
Speed Racing/Team ASE/Snap-on Eagle/Wesmar. The second support
series main event of the evening at the Thanksgiving Night Grand
Prix preceded the featured 100-lap USAC Midget Classic.
East, in the Klatt Enterprise/Power Stroke Diesel
Beast/Ford, shot from the second row and paced the first 13
circuits. Sixth quickest qualifier Kody Swanson, a 16-year old Grand
American Modified driver from Kingsburg, CA, started on the pole in
his sprint car debut and held second in the toughest field of the
season until Lewis passed the teen during lap seven on the inside at
turn four.
On lap 13 East, Lewis and Swanson ran in the
first three positions. Point leader Tony Hunt (Lewis' Western Speed
teammate and co-W/S Sprint Car championship contender), NASCAR
Nextel Cup star Tony Stewart, Josh Wise, Destiney Hays (in her first
race at Irwindale), and USAC open-wheel ace/ARCA stock car driver A.
J. Fike held positions four through eight respectively.
The first caution flag flew on lap 14 after
Fike's Beast/Chevy contacted Hays' car. Hays spun tail-first into
the second turn crashwall, hard enough to crumple the tail of her
No. 28 Beast/Chevy. She was unhurt but sidelined from the race as
Fike, 23, continued. On the lap 14 restart Lewis pressed leader East
and made an inside pass exiting the fourth turn. He then set the
pace to the finish and beat East by a straight-away (4.081 seconds)
with three lapped cars between them.
The second and final yellow flag came on lap 18
and involved NASCAR Cup driver Stewart and his Stewart Racing USAC
Midget and 410 cu. in. sprint car driver Wise. Stewart, the fourth
fastest qualifier in a 38-car field, and Wise, the fifth quickest
qualifier in Ted Finkenbinder's Beast/Chevy, raced side-by-side for
fifth position from laps 13-19. They traded fifth twice as Wise ran
the inside and Stewart the outside. Their tires made contact
entering the first corner on lap 19 and Stewart spun to the outside
wall. Wise continued and dropped back before pitting with a
problem. Stewart got a push start and drove to the pits where he
parked his car with damage from the racing incident with
his Mopar-contracted rising star Wise.
TOP TEN
Chris Schmelzle, from Victoria, B.C, Canada,
raced his Lejeune/Montgomery sprinter from 11th to an impressive
third place, 4.805 seconds in back of winner Lewis. Aaron Pierce,
winner of the earlier qualifying race for time trials qualifiers
outside the top 14, came from 15th to finish fourth in his Sam
Pierce Racing Beast/Frampton Chevy. Local star Rick Hendrix-the 2002
W/S Sprint champion, 1998 W/S Midget champion and 1992 USAC TQ-Midget
champion-came from 12th to place fifth. Rounding out the top ten
were Hunt, rookie Swanson, Fike, Bobby Santos and Tracy Hines, the
21st starter in the debut of long-time dirt track sprint car owner
Mark Priestley's new paved track sprint car. Fifteen of the 23
starters finished, with 12 drivers on the lead lap.
Hunt entered the race 44 points ahead of teammate
Lewis and his sixth place gave the 32-year old driver from Fair
Oaks, CA, the coveted 2004 W/S 360 Sprint Car Series driving title
by 28 points (895-867) over race winner Lewis. Hunt, the 1998 W/S
Sprint co-rookie of the year, previously won the 2001 Western Sprint
Championship, the 2002 Western Regional Sprint title and the 1992
Russell Pro Series crown. Western Speed Racing, which fielded seven
cars (four sprints and three midgets) Thursday, finished one-two in
W/S Sprint Cars entrant final points and backed up their 2003 W/S
Sprint Car owner championship.
Lewis, addressing the estimated 6,000 spectators
said, "We got this new frame a couple of weeks ago. We had a
great year and I gave it everything I had tonight. Stewart raced me
pretty hard early. Thanks to Eagle chassis, Red Line Oil and all our
sponsors." Series champion Hunt added on the PA system,
"It's great to have Turkey Night racing, the Agajanians,
Justice Brothers and my Western Speed Racing team. I got really
tight early. I made adjustments in the cockpit, but it didn't
alleviate it. I learned where the race track is and where to go in
our midget."
The Last Chance W/S Sprint race had 22 starters
and Indianapolis resident Pierce led all 12 laps from the outside
front row starting spot. He won by half a straight (4.145 seconds)
over Tim Barber, of San Francisco, and Brad Bumgarner. Twenty
drivers finished and 18 ran all 12 laps in a caution-free,
3:39.489-timed run. Lewis set the fastest qualifying time of 16.487
(109.177 mph) and Midget Series fastest qualifier Hunt was second
best at 16.748 (107.476 mph).
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