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| FIVE FEATURES ATTRACT 4,000
SPECTATORS TO IRWINDALE SPEEDWAY - By Tim Kennedy |
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Irwindale, CA., Aug. 4 - Five features attracted more than
4,000 spectators to Irwindale Speedway Saturday night for NASCAR
Whelen All-American Series racing, a demolition derby, and round
three in the USAC K & N Filters Ford Focus Midget five race
series. The series within the 17-race touring series has stops at
eight paved tracks in four western states-California, Arizona,
Nevada and Utah. It was LA Dodgers Baseball Appreciation Night
presented by LA Racing Experience (the race-car driving
experience/school at IS) in a promotional effort with the major
league baseball LA Dodgers organization. Feature race winners were April 28 main event winner Chris Carmody, a 23-year old Valencia-resident and three-year series veteran in the NASCAR Auto Club Late Model Series. He drove one of four High-Point Distributing/Justice Brothers Chevy Monte Carlos to lead all 40-laps on the banked half-mile. A first-ever IS tie for first place tie occurred in a $2,000 nine-car demolition derby in the infield that concluded action at 10:17 p.m. Co-winners split the first place and second place money and both drivers went home with $750. In racing on the four-degree banked third-mile, series point leaders Tom Landreth (Legend Cars) and Tyler Rogers (Justice Brothers Mini Stocks) won their respective 30-lap main events. Beau DeBard, a 19-year old USAC Ford Focus Midget rookie and member of the four-car Ron Sutton driver development team, started and finished first in a 35-lap race. His first victory at IS utilized the third-mile as well in an IS season-high 16 car field. It was his second triumph in the series and followed his July 14 victory at Altamont Raceway near Tracy. Midget teams raced for a $3,395 purse. The winner from Reno drove the same No. 42 Sutton car, a 2007 chassis built by long-time sprint car driver Steve Kent, of Fresno. DeBard climbed to fourth place in overall season points, 72-points behind the series leader. DeBard also jumped from seventh to third in K & N Filters Irwindale-only points after three of the five scheduled races. Round four of USAC FF Midget racing at IS will take place next Saturday, August 11. The fifth and final round in the K & N FF Midget series will occur at the annual USAC Thanksgiving Midget Grand Prix on November 22. ACLM: Dan DiGiacomo started his Chevy from pole position as the
fourth quickest qualifier and chased winner Carmody all 40-laps. He
trailed by ten yards (0.560) and claimed his second consecutive
runner-up finish. A green, white checkered flag finish enabled
DiGiacomo to make one last bid for victory and his The 44-minute ACLM 27-car feature had seven caution flags for multi-car crashes. Sixteen drivers finished and 13 completed all 40-laps. A three-car collision in turn two on the second lap sidelined one car. Two cars bumped exiting turn four on lap 12, sending June 23 feature winner Mike Johnson's Chevy to the infield with right side damage after it slammed off the wall. Three cars also came together on lap 24 approaching the starting line with Sean Bennett and Jonathan Greaney spinning across the starting line as Greaney's car shed its hood. The two cars stopped together in mid-track about 30-yards past the starting line and other cars passed high and low. Wreckers towed both cars to the pits. Lindsey King's car was involved and sidelined as well. On lap 32 two ACLM rookie drivers named Travis (Irving No. 85 and Motley (No. 91) were battling each other for 11th place after both drivers started in row six. Their cars came together in the fourth turn and Irving's car slammed off the wall and stopped. A wrecker towed it to the pits and officials sent Motley to the back of the field for causing Irving's crash. A lap later the cars of Motley and George Ruark came together in turn two, sidelining Motley's Monte Carlo. Aaron Staudinger, a two-time ACLM winner this year, had an eventful, frustrating race. He started 18th and became involved in two incidents of car contact with other drivers. Mike Varela, in 11th place, spun tail first into the fourth turn crash-wall on lap 37 after contact with Staudinger. Both drivers restarted at the back. Then Staudinger and Rodney Peacher cars got together on lap 39. The race director sent Staudinger to the pits. He was incredulous and blamed the other two drivers. His spotter, his wife, urged him via radio to keep his cool and he angrily complied with the order to pit. LEGENDS: Landreth, a five-time champion in the six years of Legend car racing at IS, started third and became the third race leader on the sixth lap. He paced the 23-car field to the checkers for his fourth victory in nine main events this season. It was his third consecutive triumph and fourth in the last five races. Landreth logged his 33rd main event victory (all in Legends) and moved into a third place tie with ACLM driver Huddleston for third place on the list of all-time IS main event winners. The 39-year old veteran praised his younger competitors skills and said point leader Darren Amidon, 22, will be tough to catch for the championship with five races remaining. Landreth cut four points from Amidon's lead and now trails the San Diego area driver by 44-points. Austin Grabowski, 18, came from 11th on the grid and took second place from ninth starter Amidon on lap 29 of 30. They trailed Landreth by 50-yards (more than two seconds) in a 14-minute race with three caution flags. Teenager Jeremiah Wagner, from Las Vegas, paid his $250 fine for speeding through the pits to get back into competition during the last feature. He set his first fastest qualifying time at IS in a 25-car field. Wagner started and finished fourth in the main event. Josh Geer, from the pole, led lap 5 after passing first four laps leader Cory Miles. Geer finished fifth as 18 of 23 starters reached the checkered flag with 17 cars on the lead lap. MINI STOCKS: It was family feud time in the Justice Brothers Mini Stock Pole starter Eric Reed led 15 laps before point leader/second starter Tyler Rogers moved his Ford Pinto into the lead with an inside pass through the third and fourth turns. It was his fourth victory in nine 2007 mains. Steve Rogers, father of the winner, also passed Reed on lap 19 and cut into his son's 25-yard lead. His Pinto was on Tyler's back bumper with two laps remaining and finished 0.183 back. Reed's Pinto took third, 0.606 behind the winner. Fastest qualifier Rich Garver's Toyota Celica earned fourth. Thirteen of 15 starters finished the 17-minute event that had two yellow flags. Eleven drivers ran all 30-laps. Winner Rogers was ill with flu symptoms. "I took it easy with him. I'll be harder on him next time," dad Steve told the crowd. "Dad should have won tonight. I blocked him tonight," Tyler admitted. He thanked his dad for preparing the three Rogers family Pintos, including the one raced by his brother Jacob, a rookie. FF MIDGETS: Pole starter DeBard out-jumped fellow front row starter Justin Hommel at the start and paced the 16-car field to the first of three yellow flags on lap 16. Nic Faas, 17, took second from Hommel on lap 19, but he became involved in the second caution on lap 27 in turn two. His car stopped at turn three of the half-mile. Point leader Tim Skoglund, a two-time winner at IS this season, spun as did rookie Robby Josett and Shawn Buckley. The third caution involved a loop by fifth place Tom Dyer and sixth place Caitlin Shaw dropped out with a flat RF tire. DeBard ran off to a 20-yard (1.108 second) victory over his Sutton Racing teammate Ian Miille, the only FF Midget veteran on the four member team. Hommel had a career-best third place in the 35-lap race. Skoglund, 19, raced back to fourth with 18-year old rookie Dan Adler fifth in a Sutton car. Walt Johnson, Charles Maier, 72-year old retired airline captain J. R. Williams, Austin Williams (teenage son of sprint car champion Rip Williams), and Mark Atkinson were the only other finishers in a 24-minute race. Atkinson was fourth on the final lap when he spun and dropped six positions. DEMO DERBY: The final event was a $2,000 nine-car demolition derby with $1,000 going to the winner. After 20 consecutive minutes of smashing and bashing (despite two engine fires in the same tough car) officials ruled the outcome was a tie--a first at IS. Travis Altsather and Stan McDonald, in a 1976 Chevy Impala, each received $750 from the combined first and second place payoffs. McDonald, 39, is a US Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant with two tours of duty in war-torn Iraq. He will retire from the USMC in four months after 20-years of service. The Valley Center resident (near Camp Pendleton) has six demo derby victories including wins at IS and Del Mar. He said he got his winning car in Yuma, AZ and it might not see additional DD action. HARD CHARGERS/FAST TIMERS: Hard charger $100 gift certificates from Racecar Factory and Impact Racing went to (Legends)-Mark Iungerich (P 14 to 7); (MS)-Rod Schmitt ((P 12 to 8); (FF Midgets)-J. R. Williams (P 14 to 8) and (LM)-Lair (P 23 to 10). Robert Rice led all six laps and won the ACLM trophy dash for the 19th-24th fastest qualifiers. Fastest qualifiers were (LC)-Wagner-16.929 (70.813 mph); (MS)-Garver-17.136 (69.958 mph); (FF Midgets)-Faas-14.519 (82.568), and (LM)-Jenkins-19.117 (94.157 mph). |
