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| RANDY MOODY WINS SANTA MARIA NMRA-TQ MIDGET FEATURE By Tim Kennedy |
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Santa Maria, CA., Sept. 22 - Randy Moody, of Ventura, started eighth and drove to his third consecutive NMRA-TQ (3/4) Midget feature victory Saturday in a 25-lap event on the third-mile, banked clay Santa Maria Speedway. It was his fourth NMRA-TQ feature triumph in 12 NMRA races this season. Moody has won three of the five NMRA main events contested this year at the central California coastal track. His other victory came September 1 at Bakersfield Speedway. He drove Dave Lambert's 1991 Dennis Hart-built No. 55 Hart/Honda. Moody now ranks eighth in NMRA points this year despite racing in only eight of 12 events. Moody, a 36-year old open-wheel veteran of midgets and sprints, returned to TQ Midget racing this year after racing drag boats for several years. His NMRA ride is the same car that Steve Lambert, the car owner's son, drove to the 2003-04 NMRA driving championships. Greg Edenholm's No. 2 car won the 2003-04 NMRA car owner championships with several different drivers during those seasons. Moody won the 1993 USAC-TQ Midget rookie of the year trophy. In 1994 he won two USAC TQ features at his hometown track, Ventura Raceway before expanding his horizons. . Moody scored a clean seep at Santa Maria Speedway Saturday night. He set the fastest qualifying time of 15.623, .177 faster than the second fastest driver, Chuck West, in a 13-car field. Moody started fifth and won the first of two eight-lap heat races. In the main event, Moody became the third race leader on lap 21 and paced the final five laps. Richard Ortega, Jr, who was NMRA's 2005 rookie of the year, started third and led lap 9-20 and finished second in his own Stealth/Kawasaki. He also won the other eight-lap heat race. Point leader Kenny Wiley, 47, came from fifth grid position to earn third place in Paul Lopiccolo's Rick Stewart chassis with Honda power. He increased his point lead from 54 points to 69-points.over two-time NMRA champion Chuck West, the 2002 and 2006 title-holder. Pole starter Scott Niven led the first eight laps and finished a career-best fourth. Second ranked NMRA rookie Niven moved into 11th place in points, 116 digits behind the leading rookie, ninth-place Jonathan St. Clair. Scott Dobson, NMRA's 2006 rookie of the year, placed fifth in Guy Barber's Stewart/Honda. Jenna Bliffen, newcomer Anthony Lopiccolo, Bruce Hiroshima, West and St. Clair completed the top ten. West Evans, Ron Ahrendt and rookie Amanda Thomas followed. After 12 of 15 scheduled 2007 races, NMRA has had an average car count of 13 cars per event. Four drivers have won main events. West has five, Moody four, Wiley two and Ortega one victory. Three races remain on the 2007 NMRA schedule. They are the September 28-29 Open Wheel Spectacular at Kings Speedway in Hanford, a Saturday, October 27 return to the Hanford 3/8-mile clay track, and a Saturday, November 10 race at Ventura Raceway. Summary: Fast Time: Randy Moody, 15.623. Heat 1: Moody, Bruce Hiroshima, Kenny Wiley, Jenna Bliffen, Anthony Lopiccolo, Ron Ahrendt, Amanda Thomas. Heat 2: Richard Ortega, Jr., Scott Dobson, Chuck West, Scott Niven, West Evans, Jonathan St. Clair. Main: Moody, Ortega, Wiley, Niven, Dobson, Bliffen, Lopiccolo, Hiroshima, West, St. Clair, Evans, Ahrendt, Thomas. NMRA POINT STANDINGS: Drivers Car Owners 1 Kenny Wiley 706 1 21 Paul Lopiccolo 742 2 Chuck West 637 2 38 West Evans 673 3 Bruce Hiroshima 624 3 5 Bruce Hiroshima 660 4 West Evans 623 4 36 West Evans 659 5 Scott Dobson 613 5 18 Guy Barber 649 6 Richard Ortega, Jr. 559 6 8 Richard Ortega, Jr. 592 7 Ron Ahrendt 528 7 15 Jonathan St. Clair 555 8 Randy Moody 483 8 55 Dave Lambert 547 9 Jonathan St. Clair ® 444 9 87 Ron Ahrendt 525 10 Jenna Bliffen 329 10 20 Bruce Hiroshima 389 |
