The Bandits had a hard fought main event with Josh D*avis, of Atascadero, Bobby Elliott and Jimmy Reeves all having a shot at victory in the 30 lap main event. After a red flag on lap 7 when the fuel cap came off of the sprint driven by Bill Jones, of Santa Maria, causing a blazing fire that Jones was able to escape from, the race was on. Davis, who took the lead at the drop of the green and never relinquished it, was rarely move than a car length ahead of second place finisher Elliott, who was rarely more than a car length ahead of third place finisher Reeves. Point leader Greg Porte, of San Luis Obispo, brought out a red on lap 27 when he backed into the turn 1 wall. Porte was uninjured but the DNF dropped him to second in points behind Reeves. Davis, Elliott and Mike Knopf, of Santa Maria, won 8 lap heat races and Evan Suggs set fast time of 14.497 seconds.

BCRA Midgets also ran a 30 lap feature. Josh Lakatos, of Arroyo Grande, took the early lead and held it for the first 10 laps before being past by Garratt Boyden. Stockton's John Sarale went to the point on the seventeenth circuit and held it for the duration. Lakatos managed a runner-up placing followed by point leader Thomas Meseraull, Boyden and Rob Russell. Eight lap heat races were captured by Boyden and Russell and fast time, of 14.565 seconds was set by Meseraull.

Point leader Jody Bandfield, of Hesperia, methodically worked his way through the NMRA TQ Midget field to take the win in their 20 lap main event over Chuck West and Walt Johnson. Bruce Hiroshima and Steve Lambert completed the top-five. Lambert and Steve Parke won 8 lap heat races after Johnson set fast time of 15.859 seconds.

Next Saturday night USAC/CRA Non-Winged 410 Sprint Cars make their first run at Santa Maria, joined by Ford Focus Midgets and Mini Stocks. It will be Law Enforcement/DARE night and all law enforcement personnel, with proper credentials, and up to three members of their family will be admitted free of charge. Gates open at four, with qualifying at six and racing at seven.

RACE SUMMARY

Bandit Sprint Cars: Fast Time - Evan Suggs, 14.497. Heat 1 - Mike Knopf, Suggs, Joey Layman, Bill Jones, Jason Montgomery, Mike Baker. Heat 2 - Bobby Elliott, Greg Porte, Jimmy Reeves, John Iturriria, Jeff Culver. Heat 3 - Josh Davis, Rusty Carlile, Patrick Frisco, Thad Bennett, Mike Larson. Main Event - Davis, Elliott, Reeves, Knopf, Carlile, Suggs, Bennett, Montgomery, Culver, Layman, Iturriria, Larson, Porte, Baker, Frisco, Jones.

BCRA Midgets: Fast Time - Thomas Meseraull, 14.565. Heat 1 - Garratt Boyden, Ralph Cortez, Pete Davis, Rick Faeth, David Prickett, Bobby Dalton, Joe Lindsey. Heat 2 - Rob Russell, Jimmy Christian, John Sarale, Meseraull, Josh Lakatos, Greg Dennett, Quinton Sall. Main Event - Sarale, Lakatos, Meseraull, Boyden, Russell, Dennett, Ryan Pace, Sall, Cortez, Davis, Dalton, Lindsey, Christian, Faeth, Prickett.

NMRA TQ Midgets: Fast Time - Walt Johnson, 15.859. Heat 1 - Steve Parke, Bruce Hiroshima, Johnson, Jody Bandfield, Michael Bliffen, Richard Ortega. Heat 2 - Steve Lambert, Chuck West, West Evans, Ron Ahrendt.
Main Event - Bandfield, West, Johnson, Hiroshima, Lambert, Bliffen, Evans, Parke, Ahrendt (DNS), Ortega (DNS).