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| NMRA TQ MIDGETS 2008 SEASON
TO DATE AFTER FOUR EVENTS By Tim Kennedy |
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LOS ANGELES, CA. -- The National Midget Racing Association (NMRA) TQ
(3/4) midget racing series began its 51st year since the racing
group formed in 1957 with a point-race on April 19, 2008. The site
was Bakersfield Speedway, a third-mile banked clay track that began
holding races in 1946 when troops returned home from World War II.
NMRA has 11 point races booked this year at three dirt tracks and
one paved quarter mile during its six-month schedule from April
through October 11.
RACE 1: April 19 Bakersfield Speedway: A 12-car field competed in a 25-lap main event. Scott Dobson, the 2006 NMRA Rookie of the Year, drove Guy Barber's Stewart/Honda from fourth starting position into first place on the third lap. He passed pole starter/early leader Ron Ahrendt. Dobson drove to his first TQ Midget main event victory and he became the 21st different feature winner since NMRA resumed operations in 2002. It relinquished TQ race sanctioning duties to USAC from 1987-2001. Chuck West, of Clovis, came from sixth starting spot to second place, with 2007 NMRA champion Kenny Wiley third. Richard Ortega, Jr was fourth and Bruce Hiroshima fifth. West Evans, Chris Hedge, Scott Niven, rookie Jimmy Dodson and Ahrendt completed the top ten. Dodson, from Bakersfield, recently bought the Marshall No. 6 TQ. Seven drivers completed all 25 laps. Hiroshima and S. Dobson won the pair of 8-lap heat races with six cars in each heat. ROUND 2: May 3 Santa Maria Speedway: The popular, banked, third-mile clay track on Highway 101 just north of Santa Maria hosted the second point race. Eleven TQ Midgets participated. West set the fastest qualifying time of 15.678 on his first of two timed laps. Wiley and Hiroshima won the two six-lap heat races. Wiley, the 2002 NMRA Rookie of the Year, started and finished first in Paul Lopiccolo's Stewart/Honda in a 25-lap main event. He led every lap. Wiley and Lopiccolo won the NMRA driver and car owner championships together last year. Hiroshima, West, Ortega, Scott Dobson, Niven, West Evans, Ahrendt, rookie Anthony Lopiccolo, and rookie Dodson all ran 25 laps in that order. Hedge dropped out on lap 19. RACE 3: June 7 Bakersfield Speedway: Another 12-car field ran a pair of 8-lap, six-car heat races, with West and his cousin Evans the winners. West, the 2002 and 2006 NMRA champion driver in one of two Evans-owned TQs, started fourth and won the 25-lap feature in the No. 38 Stealth/Kawasaki. His car owner Evans, from Moorpark, started sixth and finished second in his No. 36 Stealth/Suzuki. Rookie Anthony Lopiccolo, son of the 2007 championship car owner, started third and led the first nine laps before fading to an impressive fifth place. Dobson and Ortega were third and fourth. Wiley, Niven and Ahrendt all completed 25 laps and earned sixth through eighth respectively. Steve Parke, rookie Dodson and Richard Marshall all ran 24 laps and finished ninth through 11th. Hiroshima was the only non-finisher. ROUND 4: June 14 Santa Maria Speedway: The 4th annual Ron Otto Memorial race is named for the late NMRA president/car owner/race official who resided in nearby Nipomo. The event attracted a season-high 13 TQ Midgets for racing and a post-race BBQ tri-tip dinner put on by the Santa Maria Lions Noontimers. NMRA-TQs were co-billed with the USAC-CRA sprint car series. More than 100 hungry racing fans enjoyed the excellent meal following the final checkered flag. Point leader West again set fast time during time trials with a 15.166 on his second lap. West, from sixth grid position, and Niven, from third, captured the six-car, 8-lap heat races. In the 13-car feature, West started started eighth and took command of the 20-lap race on lap 9. It was his 13th NMRA main event triumph in 67 races (19.4%) since NMRA reformed to run TQ racing in the West after USAC dropped the series to sanction Ford Focus Midget racing. Hedge started first and led the first eight laps before slipping to seventh place. Randy Moody, driving Dave Lambert's Hart/Honda in their 2008 season debut, moved from sixth at the start to second. Hiroshima finished third. Rookie A. Lopiccolo charged from 12th grid spot to finish fourth. Ahrendt and Dobson were fifth and sixth. Parke, Marshall, Evans, Niven, Dodson and Ortega followed. Eight drivers ran all 20 laps, three drivers ran 19 laps and two drivers were in the DNF category. RECAP: With four of the 11 currently scheduled NMRA TQ races in the record book, the touring series has had three different feature winners and six heat race winners. Sixteen drivers and 16 cars have earned NMRA points. West parlayed four top five feature finishes (two victories) to the 2008 point lead265-232 for Scott Dobson and 211 for third place Hiroshima. Ortega and Evans round out the top five with 200 and 196 points respectively. Wiley, a one-time feature winner, missed one race date and lies sixth in points with 171. Evans was the leading car owner with his No. 38 at 277 points to 244 for Guy Barber's No. 18. Paul Lopiccolo's No. 21 ranks third with 239. Rounding out the top five in owner points are Hiroshima's No. 5 at 223 and Ortega's No. 8 at 212. UPCOMING NMRA-TQ MIDGET RACE DATES: Saturday, July 12 Santa Maria Speedway Saturday, July 19 Bakersfield Speedway Wednesday, July 30 Ventura Raceway (County Fair Night) Saturday, Aug. 16 Santa Maria Speedway Saturday, August 30 Bakersfield Speedway Saturday, Sept. 20 Santa Maria Speedway Saturday, Oct. 11 Orange Show Speedway, San Bernardino (quarter-mile paved) |
