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David Cardey
Wins Friday Night Prelim!
Darren Hagen Wins Open Nationals @ Perris Auto Speedway!
Darren Hagen could not have picked a better
first race to enter and win! Although the former National Karting
Champ has alot of driving experience this would be his first
"official" CLS start as he celebrated his 16th birthday
just a few days prior to the race. Darren's first win and the $2000
check made for great birthday presents!
Friday night action kicked off with a stacked first heat race won by
Brent Sexton from the 2nd row ahead of David Cardey, Jonny Bates and
Pat Hickey. Adam Tjemeland won the 2nd heat race ahead of Gary
Sexton, Josh Williams and Jeff Stiller. Wink Schweitzer's bad luck
string was broken as he won the 3rd heat race convincingly over
Tyler Brown, Greg Bragg and Keith Janca. Darren Hagen charged from
last place to win the 4th heat race ahead of Kip McCleary, Jesse
Dean and Ernie Bartley. Denise Cline won the closely contested B
Main as she and Dylan Morris exchanged the lead several times within
the first few laps. Donny Gansen, Rob Sczymczak and Paul Townsend
would take up the final starting positions of the A Main.
David Cardey got the jump on the A Main field ahead of pole sitter
Gary Sexton. Brent Sexton ran 3rd ahead of Darren Hagen and Wink
Schweitzer. The top 5 ran unchanged lap after lap on the slick
surface that took rubber early in the evening. Passing among the top
5 got under way late in the race on lap 16 as Rookie Points Leader
Jonny Bates passed Wink Schweitzer for 5th. Brent Sexton's chase
after his dad for 2nd ended on lap 17 as he developed engine trouble
and dropped out. Wink Schweitzer was back in the top 5. Darren Hagen
passed Gary Sexton on lap 18 for 2nd. Gary Sexton's podium finish
went away with his right rear tire as it wore through the threads
and shredded on lap 19. Keith Janca fought his way through the field
from his 15th place starting position and was now up to fifth. Jonny
Bates passed Darren Hagen on the last lap to take 2nd away. David
Cardey took the win without having reached lapped traffic. During
post race tech inspection Bates weighed in too light and was
disqualified. Keith Janca earned hard charging honors moving up 11
positions.
Saturday's racing got under way without Friday Night's Feature
winner David Cardey as his motor blew in hot laps. The top 10
finishers from the Friday night A Main went straight to a 6 lap
trophy dash to determine the starting order of the night's feature.
The rest would fight for top 3 finishes in the heat races and top 2
in the B Main. Heat race wins went to James Dean, Ashley Walker and
Jonny Bates. Mike Hood and Brent Sexton made up the final two
transfer spots from the B Main. Adam Tjemeland drew the pole
position for the trophy dash along side Jeff Stiller. Stiller got
the jump on the field and drove away to an easy victory earning the
pole position and a trophy winner's jacket.
The Perris Auto Speedway track prep crew put a great deal of work
into the surface on Saturday as the track had seen it's fourth
consecutive night of racing and was sure to take a severe beating.
The crew worked hard all night raking and preping the track between
events. The work paid off as some of the best racing of the year was
on display for the CLS feature. Stiller got the hole-shot in the A
Main but a miscue in the setup effort proved costly as he spun
toward the turn 4 infield. He managed to keep the car going to avoid
caution. Darren Hagen led the first lap's completion ahead of Greg
Bragg, Adam Tjemeland, James Dean and Paul Townsend. James Dean
passed Adam on the 2nd lap and started to chase Bragg. The two
experienced drivers then put on a show for the fans running side by
side inches apart swapping racing lines and position over the next
several laps. Hagen opened up a small lead on the pair. James Dean
eventually seized the advantage to take sole posession of 2nd place.
Paul Townsend and Jonny Bates passed Adam Tjemeland on lap 6 for 4th
& 5th respectively. Jonny Bates continued forward and passed
Townsend on the next lap. Brent Sexton was up to 6th place by lap 9
from the 19th starting position without the help of a single DNF.
Brent's forward progress "hit a wall" when he reached Paul
Townsend running 5th. Townsend withstood the challenge to keep Brent
out of the top 5. Hagen reached heavy lapped traffic on lap 13 with
James Dean and Greg Bragg just a few lengths behind. Jonny Bates was
quickly cutting into the gap between he & Bragg until the front
3 sped away in lapped traffic. Hagen went to work putting on his own
show in lapped traffic and opened up his lead to take the win. Brent
Sexton earned hard charger (13 positions). Ernie Bartley won a
"hard luck" jacket!
Race Summary (Friday):
Heat Race 1 - Brent Sexton, David Cardey, Jonny Bates, Pat Hickey,
Denise Cline, Rob Sczymczak, Paul Townsend, Paul Cook
Heat Race 2 - Adam Tjemeland, Gary Sexton, Josh Williams, Jeff
Stiller, Dylan Morris, Karl Benefeil, Lonnie Clabaugh, Wendel
Gentry, Steve Barnette
Heat Race 3 - Wink Schweitzer, Tyler Brown, Greg Bragg, Keith Janca,
Donny Gansen, Mike Barnette, Jim Henderson, Chris Rahe
Heat Race 4 - Darren Hagen, Kip McCleary, Jesse Dean, Ernie Bartley,
James Dean, Steve Cardey, Ashley Walker, Mike Hood
B Main - Denise Cline, Donny Gansen, Rob Sczymczak, Dylan Morris,
Paul Townsend, Mike Hood, Steve Barnette, James Dean, Mike Barnette,
Karl Benefeil, Seth Kramer
A Main - David Cardey, Darren Hagen, Wink Schweitzer, Keith Janca,
Kip McCleary, Greg Bragg, Adam Tjemeland, Jeff Stiller, Paul
Townsend, Rob Sczymczak, Pat Hickey, Jesse Dean, Gary Sexton, Josh
Williams, Brent Sexton, Mike Hood, Jim Henderson, Dylan Morris,
Denise Cline, Jonny Bates
Race Summary (Saturday):
Heat Race 1 - James Dean, Gary Sexton, Jim Henderson, Karl Benefeil,
James Squire, Denise Cline, Brent Sexton
Heat Race 2 - Ashley Walker, Steve Cardey, Mike Barnette, Mike Hood,
Jesse Dean, Josh Williams, Jon Squire
Heat Race 3 - Jonny Bates, Dylan Morris, Seth Kramer, Steve Nelson,
Ernie Bartley, Steve Barnette, Pat Hickey
B Main - Mike Hood, Brent Sexton, Jesse Dean, Ernie Bartley, Karl
Benefeil, Pat Hickey, Josh Williams, Steve Barnette, Steve Nelson,
James Squire, Danny Swanson, Denise Cline
Trophy Dash - Jeff Stiller, Darren Hagen, Greg Bragg, Adam Tjemeland,
Rob Sczymczak, Paul Townsend, Wink Schweitzer, Keith Janca, Kip
McCleary
A Main - Darren Hagen, James Dean, Greg Bragg, Jonny Bates, Paul
Townsend, Brent Sexton, Adam Tjemeland, Keith Janca, Rob Sczymczak,
Mike Hood, Gary Sexton, Kip McCleary, Jim Henderson, Seth Kramer,
Ashley Walker, Dylan Morris, Mike Barnette, Wink Schweitzer, Jeff
Stiller, Steve Cardey
Points (7-6-02) 1. Greg Bragg 1313 2. David Cardey 1231
3. Gary Sexton 941 4. Steve Cardey 905 5. Jonny Bates
894 6. Ashley Walker 874 7. Danny Swanson 859 8.
Jesse Dean 808 9. Josh Williams 780 10. Chris Rahe 770
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