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Traditional Sprint Car FanSite |
See You At The Races!!! |
| Opening Day for NCMA at
Bakersfield Speedway by Debbie Shipherd |
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Bakersfield, CA...March 13....On Saturday, March 13, ten Spec
Sprint teams made the tow to Bakersfield Speedway's high banked 1/3
mile track for the first race of the NCMA season. Visitor Tim
Sherman from Citrus Heights took the feature win from his 2nd row
starting spot, followed closely by back row starter Keith Shipherd
from Pleasant Hill and the Flying Farmer Ed Amador of Modesto. The teams all received a warm welcome from the new promoters and officials, and enjoyed the opportunity to try out the track's transponders, which were loaned to all of the sprint drivers. This was also the inaugural race in the special West Coast Select Series, a set of six races within the club's schedule with a separate point fund. New members Jimmy Lavell of Brentwood and David Goodwill of Napa were welcomed, and the club was honored with a visit from the distinguished duo of Lance Jennings from SCRAFAN.com and Norm Bogan, who writes the Hotlaps columns. Many drivers were missing from this early race, some were still waiting on parts and putting motors together, others unable to make the longer tow. The Goodwill team made it down from Napa after just finishing the final touches on their beautiful new Kaeding Performance 2004 Maxim chassis, only to discover a clearance problem with the rear end and chassis, and he was unable to race. Russ Wullenwaber from Los Banos just finished his motor late Saturday morning, and pulled into the pits right before hot laps. In true NCMA form, crews and drivers jumped in to help him unload and get the car ready to race. John Fenton, last year's Rookie of the Year had only a two minute drive to the track and was thrilled to be able to race his Wafford Insurace sprint car with his friends and family in the stands.After showing off the brightly colored fresh paint jobs in a hot laps session, two 8 lap heat races ran, with J& J Dairy's Ed Amador and Ink Links, Inc.Tim Sherman taking the wins. In the 20 lap feature, OCR's Burt Siverling took the lead at the green, and on lap 2 George Terry made contact with the wall and took a few hard flips. He was all right, but his beautiful MTFX Graphics car suffered extensive damage. By lap 5 Sherman had gained the lead from his 2nd row starting spot, with Fenton, Amador, and Contra Costa Auto Parts Shipherd in a duel for the #2 position. Lap after lap they sliced and diced , running two abreast down the front stretch. Amador made a move on Fenton and in turn Shipherd moved in on Amador. Atwater's Darren Thomas pulled into the infield with mechanical problems, and on the last lap RPM's Wullenwaber lost his drive line. At the checkers, it was Sherman, Shipherd, Amador, Fenton, and Nume-oh Hove's Lavell in the top 5. Bakersfield's enthusiastic fans filled the pits after the races, and the teams enjoyed their friendly hospitality. A rollover fund was collected by the club members for George Terry, and he was grateful for all the help. NCMA's next race will be the 1st asphalt race at Altamont's 1/2 mile paved track on March 20, and the next dirt race is on March 27 at Chowchilla Speedway. Have fun, drive safe, and take care. SUMMARY: Heat 1: Tim Sherman, Burt Siverling, Jimmy Lavell, Darren Thomas, David Goodwill (DNS) Heat 2: Ed Amador, John Fenton, George Terry, Russ Wullenwaber, Keith Shipherd Main: Tim Sherman, Keith Shipherd, Ed Amador, John Fenton, Jimmy Lavell, Russ Wullenwaber, Darren Thomas, George Terry, David Goodwill (DNS)
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