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| BOWMAN DOMINATES TURKEY NIGHT USAC FORD FOCUS MIDGETS AT IRWINDALE – By Tim Kennedy |
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IRWINDALE, Calif., Nov. 27 – Rookie Alex Bowman, a 15-year old USAC Ford Focus Midget Series driver from Tucson, crowned his sensational debut season Thursday during the annual Toyota Speedway at Irwindale Thanksgiving Night Grand Prix USAC open-wheel racing triple-header. The first main event of the night started a season-high and TNGP-high 31 Ford Focus Midgets on the four-degree baned third-mile track. Drivers ran a 40-lap feature, five laps longer than the usual FF Midget main events at the track. FF drivers came from seven states, including six from Utah, and two from Canada. Bowman, a past regional and national quarter-midget racing champion, set the fastest qualifying time during mid-afternoon single-car time trials. With the usual USAC six-car inversion based on qualifying times he started outside in the third row. All season he had raced the same No. 55 Beast "combo car" on both paved and dirt tracks. His team acquired the pavement only Beast chassis raced previously by Michael Faccinto; that is the car he raced for the first time Thursday at Irwindale. He had already captured USAC's 2008 dirt track FF championship by 13-points and entered the TNGP FF race second in points (-35 points) behind Ian Miille. He had won three of the prior California FF Paved Track Series main events at Irwindale this season, including the last three. His victory Thursday cut seven points from Miille's lead but he had to settle for second to Miille in the 2008 California FF Paved Track title chase (1026-998). FF NATIONAL CHAMPION Bowman also won the Henry Ford Sweepstakes Trophy emblematic of USAC's FF Midget Champion in the one-race title event. USAC FF Midget racing is seven seasons old and 473 races have been run in various regions of the nation at 80 tracks in 24 states. California has been the setting for 165 races with Irwindale's 31 trailing only 37 at Ventura Raceway. There have been 132 different feature winners. Bowman became the fourth USAC FF National Champion. The inaugural FF National Champion title was in 2005 and went to Robbie Ray from Iowa. Faccinto, from Hanford, Calif., was the 2006 FF National Champion. James Robertson, of Indianapolis, was the 2007 FF National Champion. The 2005 FF National races were held at Lima, Ohio (dirt track) and Anderson, Ind. (paved track) and the winners were Chase Scott and R. Ray. The 2006 FF National title races were held at Ventura (dirt track) and Irwindale (paved) with Nic Faas winning at Ventura and Faccinto at Irwindale on Thanksgiving evening. Faccinto amassed the most points at the two races to earn the title. The 2007 FF National Championship also was a single race won by Robertson at Anderson, Indiana. Names of each FF Midget National champion are engraved on the permanent Henry Ford Sweepstakes Trophy. Bowman's fourth USAC main event victory at Irwindale also moved him up to sole possession of seventh place on the all-time list of USAC top ten feature winners at Irwindale. He is two victories shy of tying Bud Kaeding and Michael Lewis for most USAC triumphs at the San Gabriel Valley oval. Pole starter Charles Maier led the first ten laps in his Beast chassis. Bowman moved from sixth to fourth in one lap. He was third on lap three, second on lap seven, and made his winning move on lap 11 when he exited the second corner and passed Maier on the inside before they reached the third turn. He opened a 30-yard lead by lap 25 when the second caution flag appeared for a spinning car. Miille started fifth and on lap 25 took second from Ontario, Canada driver Steve Mathews, a first-time TS@I racer. Bowman extended his lead to 35 yards despite another caution flag on lap 35 for a spinning car. Mathews recaptured second from Miille on the lap 35 restart and finished 1.706-seconds in back of Bowman in the 26:20.938-timed 40-lap main that was slowed by five yellow flags. Miille's third place, 0.240-seconds behind Mathews, assured him of the 2008 California FF Midget Paved Track championship. Garrett Peterson, from West Sacramento, started eighth and finished fourth in a Rick Stewart chassis. Michael J. Lewis, 17-year old son of ten-time USAC National Midget Championship car owner Steve Lewis, made his second FF Midget start. He set fast time in his debut FF race at Lake Havasu, Arizona last month. He started third Thursday as the fourth fastest qualifier and ran in the top six all the way in his first race at Irwindale. He returned to fifth place finishing position on lap 21 in the No. 40 Western Speed Racing Gerhardt chassis. Early leader Maier faded to sixth place at the checkers. Utah sprint car driver Jim Waters started second in Tom Ault's newly purchased Steve Kent-built chassis and placed seventh. Jessica Brunelli, 15, started one of four Ron Sutton Winner's Circle Driver Development Program Kent cars seventh and finished eighth, 4.744 seconds behind the winner. Justin Hommel's Bullet came from tenth to finish ninth. March 2008 Irwindale feature winner Brendan Langlois, from British Columbia, Canada, completed the top ten in another Ron Sutton entry. There were 25 of 31 starters still racing at the finish with 20 drivers on the lead lap. Eric Gunderson, a 15-year old Legend Cars three-time feature winner at Irwindale this season and the runner-up for the track Legends championship, made his FF Midget racing debut in one of two FF Midgets entered by his FF Midget driving instructor Wally Pankratz. Gunderson started 22nd and finished 20th on the lead lap in his first open-wheel race. Austin Williams, 18-year old son of CRA sprint car 2004 champion Rip Williams, drove the second Pankratz Edmunds Autoresearch FF entry and started 26th, but he ran out of fuel and dropped out on lap 29 . Winner Bowman ran the fastest lap of the race at 14.417. Miilles' 14.453 was the second fastest lap. The 26:20.938 race started at 7:48 and finished at 8:15 pm with five caution flags slowing action. The top three finishers stopped at the finish line after a cool-off lap. Winner Bowman told the crowd, "This is a new Beast pavement-only chassis for our team and tonight is the first time we ran it. My older Beast car is a back-up. It's for rent next year because our family team is out of money to race." Bowman is a national quarter-midget champion and the rookie of the year/champion in the 2008 California FF Midget Dirt Track Series. He won ten FF Midget features this season in both the dirt and paved track series. Bowman said he would like to race in the USAC Western Midget Series next season for another team and follow in the career path of Nic Faas, 19, who won a 2007 California FF Midget championship and stepped up to the USAC Western Midget Series where he won rookie of the year and championship honors. Bowman hopes someone will call him or the USAC office with a ride offer for 2009. Fast Time: Alex Bowman, Bowman 55, 14.449. Feature, 40-laps: Bowman, Steve Mathews, Ian Miille, Garrett Petersen, Michael J. Lewis, Charles Maier, Jim Waters, Jessica Brunelli, Justin Hommel, Brendan Langlois, Rick Hendrix, Jake Swanson, Brennan Newberry, Shawn Buckley, Zach Stout, Brody Roa, Cody Swanson, Kipp Posey, Gregg Fuette, Eric Gunderson, Ryan Bernal, J. R. Williams, Ron Duncombe, Henry Steele III, Austin Luttmer, Austin Williams, Jeff Oleen, Nick Carlson, Bob Brewer, Jimmy Moon, Corey Tucker. NT. |
