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by
Jim Pluhar
SANTA MARIA, Calif. (July 13) - CARQUEST
Dirt Late Model Stock Cars were the featured division Saturday night at
Santa Maria Speedway. Mini Stocks and Factory Stocks were also on the
menu.
Fremont's John Silva was well on
his way to victory in the 30-lap Tour main event before mechanical problems
took him out of the winning equation. Silva took the lead from Santa Maria's
Randy Claborn four laps into the event but near halfway sparks began showing
near the left rear wheel. Five laps from the end the sparks disappeared
but the car began to slow. A yellow came out three laps from the end allowing
Silva to remain in the top spot for the restart. When the green flew,
Silva's car wouldn't respond to the throttle causing several cars
behind him to pile into each other. On the next restart Silva, still in
front, moved out of the way and let the rest of the front runner go by.
Scott Pounds, of Bakersfield, managed to move from fifth to first on the
second restart and came away the winner. Hayward's Shawn DeForest
finished second, followed by Mike Johnson, Clovis; Randy Claborn, Santa
Maria; and Rick Coffey, Santa Maria. Johnson, Pounds, and Mike Collins,
of Terra Bella, won the 8-lap heat races.
Frank Clyburn led the bulk of the 20-lap Mini Stock main event but couldn't
hold off the advances of Tom Grzincic who passed his fellow Atascadero
driver five laps from the finish to take his third feature victory of
the season and move into the point lead. Clyburn held on for second and
Darrin Davis, another Atascadero driver, was third. Fourth spot went to
Brad Smith, of Lompoc, and fifth to Scott Fowler of Santa Maria. Grzincic,
Davis, and David McMullen, of Nipomo, took the 8-lap heat races.
Santa Maria drivers swept the top-three spots in the 20-lap Factory Stock
feature event with point leader Thad Bennett winning out over Gary Rayburn,
Sr. and Scotty Preast. Fourth and fifth went to Ray Sayre, of Goleta,
and Kelly Pusley of Santa Maria. Eight-lap heats were captured by Preast
and Tim Breshears of Santa Maria.
In Campus Motorsports action Righetti's Ian Hunter outran Cabrillo
High's Tyler Stewart and Lompoc High's Mike Martinez in both the
8-lap heat and the 15-lap main event.
Next Saturday night SCRA Non-Winged 410 Sprint Cars and NMRA TQ Midgets
will bring a night of open wheeled racing to the third-mile oval.
Spectator gates open at four, qualifying begins at six, and racing will
follow at seven. Admission prices are: $19.00 for adults, $11.00 for seniors
(65+), and $3.00 for children 6 to 12. SMS is 1/4-mile north of the 101/166
interchange on Hutton Road.
CARQUEST Dirt Late Model Tour:
Heat 1 - Mike Johnson, John Silva, Dana Nelson, Ron Bartels, Eric Jacobsen,
Brian Wirtz. Heat 2 - Scott Pounds, Randy Claborn, Jay Edens, Phil Barrow,
Rick Coffey, Brian Kuhn. Heat 3 - Mike Collins, Shawn DeForest, Doug Jeffers,
Steve Heckman, Chris Kearns. Main Event - Pounds, DeForest, Johnson, Claborn,
Coffey, Heckman, Barrow, Nelson, Silva, Jeffers, Wirtz, Kearns, Edens,
Jacobsen, Kuhn, Collins, Bartels.
Mini Stocks: Heat 1 - David McMullen,
Coy Hartsell, Bill Pinette, Robert Claborn, Anthony Melin, Mark Haddon,
Brian Herlihy, Mike Weigel. Heat 2 - Tom Grzincic, Scott Fowler,
Jenise Ferrara, Alex Dimitrijevic, Kenny Whitehead, Tom Hutchinson, Gretchen
Graham. Heat 3 - Darrin Davis, Wayne Nunes, Brad Smith, Ron Spencer, Ben
Caswell, James Brown, Jeremy Heroux, Frank Clyburn.
Crossroads Community Church Factory
Stocks: Heat 1 - Tim Breshears, Thad Bennett, Ray Sayre, Kelly Pusley,
Mike Wied. Heat 2 - Scotty Preast, Kirk Morgan, Lorinda Kearns, Gary Rayburn,
Sr., Tom Herlihy (DNS). Main Event - Bennett, Rayburn, Preast,
Sayre, Pusley, Morgan, Wied, Kearns, Breshears, Herlihy.
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