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| FIVE DIVISIONS, SIX MAINS,
MICHELS DOMINATES IN SLM 50 - By Tim Kennedy |
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Irwindale, CA., Aug. 11 - Point leader/third fastest
qualifier Rip Michels started and finished first at Irwindale
Speedway Saturday in the featured 50-lap AC Delco Super Late Model
20-car race. It was his ninth triumph on the banked half-mile in 14
series races this season and his track-record 53rd feature victory
in three series. He drove Bob Bruncati's Sunrise Ford Fusion during
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series action. Five divisions ran six
main events from 7:00 to 10:10 in front of almost 5,000 vocal
spectators on 1st Centennial Bank Night with moms admitted free and
$1.00 hot dogs. Other winners on the half-mile were Matthew Hicks,
22, in the King Taco Super Trucks 40-lap event. It was his fourth consecutive feature trophy and fifth in ten races of the 14-race season. Fastest qualifier Bryan Harrell started second and led all 35-laps in the Vista Paint Super Stock main. Two series used the third-mile track and delivered three lead-swapping races. The fourth of five Irwindale Speedway USAC K & N Filters Ford Focus Midget paved track series races had 15 starters for the third event in a row at IS. Ian Miille, a 17-year old from Pleasanton, started fourth and became the second and final leader on lap 24 of 35. He passed pole starter Mark Atkinson, 16, on the inside through the third and fourth turns. Both drivers drove 2007 Steve Kent-built midgets for Ron Sutton's driver development team. It was Miille's first feature victory in the series. The second-ranked driver in K & N's IS series within a series cut four points from the 10-point lead of Tim Skoglund. Miille now trails Skoglund 190-184. The final K & N sponsored event will take place Thanksgiving evening, November 22. A season-high 16 pure stock cars raced in the BG Products Pure Stock Series oval track 30-lap feature. Jeff Elder, from fourth starting slot, became the third race-leader on lap 22; he won by half a straight. It was his third triumph this year and third in the last four races. In the final race of the night, 14 pure stocks came back and ran a 15-lap Figure 8 race. Rookie Chad Kelly became the third race leader on lap 11 and won his first main event at Irwindale. He drove the ex-No. 38 pink 1979 Oldsmobile Cutlass that Rick Crow drove to three series victories earlier this season. SLM MAIN: Front row starter Andrew Phipps out-jumped pole-man Michels significantly on the initial start, causing a restart. The main event field then clicked off 50 green flag laps in 16-minutes with Michels running off to a half-straight victory (3.387-seconds). Rookie Derek Becker, 19, started fourth, took second from Phipps on lap six and trailed Michels by a few lengths for the first half of the race. He lengthened his advantage while lapping six slower cars during the second-half of the race. Some thought Michels was toying with the field. He later thanked car owner/Ford dealer Bruncati for offering him the Ford SLM ride this year because "I had nothing going after the NASCAR Elite Division ended last year." He said, "I enjoy racing at Irwindale and winning races and winning big." Seventeen of the 20 starters finished and nine drivers completed all 50-laps. Fastest qualifier Dan Moore started and finished third, 4.625-seconds behind Michels. Leading series rookie Travis Thirkettle finished fourth, six-seconds back. Phipps placed fifth, 12-seconds behind the winner. SUPER TRUCKS: The closest race-long contest for the lead came in the King Taco Super Truck event, the first feature of the night. Third quickest qualifier Hicks led all 40-laps from the pole, but fastest qualifier/third starter Connor Cantrell, a 16-year old two-year Legend Cars veteran, gave him fits all 40-laps. Cantrell took second place on the first lap and seldom trailed Hicks by more than a few lengths. Rookie Cody Swanson, from Norco, caused a red flag on lap 9 after he spun leaving turn two and hit the backstretch wall head-on in one of the Speed Wong Racing trucks. He was uninjured. A six-minute delay ensued for track cleanup and removal of the shortened truck. Cantrell saved his prime passing attempt for the final lap in the final turn. He got under Hicks and his RF fender nudged Hicks' LR and loosened his truck briefly. Cantrell refrained from turning Hicks Chevy S-10 and they continued to the checkers with Cantrell's Chevy Silverado a yard back (0.151). Joe Herold, Logan Henson and point leader Pat Mintey, Jr. followed the lead duo. Nineteen of the 21 starters finished and 15 drivers ran all 40-laps. "I never had to work so hard to win," Hicks told spectators. "Connor is a class act. He was just fast and was all over me. Oh boy, am I tired." Cantrell said his new engine gave him his main event power and first fast time during his first season of racing on the half mile. SUPER STOCKS: Harrell (the FQ) started second and led all 35-laps over fellow front row starter and title-contender Darren Cheek, the point leader. The two orange Camaros have won nine of ten VPSS features this season, with Harrell now holding five victories and Cheek four. Cheek finished a close second (0.169 back) so Harrell cut only two points from Cheek's 20-point lead and now trails Cheek 486-468 with four races remaining in the season. Greg Crutcher, the only other series winner in 2007, started fourth and finished third (0.401 back). He said, "I tried to split the orange pumpkin cars." Eric Sunness and Dan Fitzgerald followed as 14 of 18 starters reached the finish line. The 28-minute race had five caution flags and some battered cars were walking wounded at the end. Julianne Seeley's Camaro was missing the front body-work and it finished last, 17 laps behind the winner. Ten drivers completed all 35-laps. USAC FF MIDGETS: The all-green flag 35-lap feature took only 8:34.151 and all 15 starters finished. With the speedy field all qualifying from 14.494 to 15.078, the first car wasn't lapped until lap 25. The only other lapping took place two laps later. Pole starter Atkinson, a 16-year old rookie, led the first 23 laps by no more than five yards over Miille. On lap 24 Miille made his winning move and opened a ten-yard winning margin (0.762) over Atkinson, who was seeking his first USAC victory as well. Fastest qualifier/point leader Tim Skoglund, 19, started sixth and finished third to now lead the overall series points 724-683 for the runner-up. Nic Faas, 17, started last (15th) because he did not post a qualifying time during the 3:30 p.m group qualifying session. Faas impressively raced from 15th to fourth, which he took from rookie Robby Josett, 16, during the final lap. The race had the two teenage sons of USAC-CRA 410 cubic inch sprint car champion Rip Williams competing together in the USAC FF Midget Series for the first time. Both drove Edmunds Autoresearch midgets owned by their mentor, USAC veteran Wally Pankratz. Younger son Austin ran all 35 laps and finished 13th; older son Cody was down a lap in 15th. PURE STOCKS: Jeff Elder came from fourth in his 1975 Chevy Nova and led the final nine laps of the 30-lap oval main. Harry Michaelian's 1973 Plymouth Roadrunner (in Petty blue) led the first two laps from the pole. Son Ken Michaelian's 1974 Dodge Dart (also Petty blue) paced the 16-car field from lap 3-21 before Elder made his winning pass on the inside from the fourth turn to the starting line. John Mattie (1974 Chevy Nova) took second on lap 23 and trailed Elder by three-fourths of a straight (4.876 seconds). The cars of third place Mike Colato and fourth place K. Michaelian tangled on the final lap in turn four, remained stuck together and did not finish. H. Michaelian inherited third. Ginger Bryk earned fourth and Dave Foster was fifth. Eleven cars finished with only one car lapped. PURE STOCK FIGURE 8: The six minute 15-lap BG Products Pure Stock Figure 8 race had 14 starters, including two replacement drivers, Figure 8 specialists-Jerry Toporek and Robert Rice. There was one brief red flag on lap 11 to unhook two cars stuck together. Rookie Tory Christopher led the first four laps and yielded the point in the third turn to Toporek, the May 12 PSF8 winner in the same Ken Michaelian car. Sixth starter Chad Kelly, from Calabasas, made an inside pass in turn four and won by 0.736 over Toporek. Rice, the other "ringer" and a versatile late model veteran, drove the No. 17 IS "house car" started by late model veteran Craig Yeaton in the oval race. Rice, driving the "Toni Williams car" for the wife of track owner Jim Williams, inherited third place after he contacted and spun Elder (the PS oval main winner) in the final turn on the last lap. H. Michaelian and Elder were the only other finishers with 15 laps. One driver was down a lap and eight drivers were parked in the pits. Although there were a few close calls, there were no collisions at the X intersection. HARD CHARGERS/FAST TIMES: Ten firms provided hard charger $100 awards for each main event. Winners were (SLM)-Mike Price - P 17-11; (ST)-Joe Anderson - P 16-11; (SS)-Jeff "Hibachi" Grill - P 15-8; (PS)-Curtis Drye - P 10-6, and (USAC FF)-Faas came from P 15-4, but he had not posted a time during time trials so Skoglund (P 6-3) received the award. Grill won the six-lap VPSS trophy dash for the six slowest qualifiers. Fastest qualifiers were (USAC FF)-Skoglund - 14.494 (82.710 mph); (PS)-rookie Tommy Agosta - 17.696 (67.744 mph); (SS)-Harrell - 21.161 (85.062 mph); (ST)-Cantrell - 19.867 (90.603 mph), and (SLM)-Moore - 18.296 (98.382 mph). |
