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Watsonville, CA.....August 13......Fighting
off a race long challenge from point leader Bradley Galedrige, Bobby Michnowicz
captured Friday night's 25 lap USAC Ford Focus Midget main event at Watsonville
Speedway. Galedrige was the recent 100 lap winner at the east-west showdown
event in Bellville KS. Michnowicz started outside front row and was never headed
in the 25 lapper, but was just ahead of both Galedrige and Chris Rahe at the
checkered flag. Jeff Buckner from Salinas got his first 25 lap IMCA Modified
feature win and did it in spectacular fashion as he drove underneath point
leader Kenny Nott Jr in turn 3 of the final lap. Nott ran second over Chuck
Harrell, who had to come from last when his car was found without a fuel cap on
lap 1. The NCMA Spec Sprints had an outstanding 18 car field and Darrell
Hanestad got that 25 lap win after passing another former San Jose Speedway
racer Rick Martin on lap 20. Hanestad and Martin were trailed by division rookie
Billy Macedo, a nationally known go kart racer and former super street stock
star. Todd Damron from Morgan Hill got his first ever Bay Area Dwarf Car feature
win in that 25 lapper. He stands third in points and paced the final 23 laps to
win ahead of Dave Penny and Howard Fergerson.
After a very
lengthy wheel packing session, the all open wheel show started with the
cancellation of the Ford Focus Midget time trials. Eric Pace won the first heat
race over Galedrige and Bobby McGowan. It was 2003 champion Josh Lakatos getting
the heat 2 win as he passed Ashley Swanson on the final lap. Michnowicz ran
third as the heat action was contested on a very narrow track with the bottom
groove still too wet to run. McGowan was the dash winner over Lakatos and
Swanson. The 15 car field ran the 25 lap feature with just 3 yellow flags. The
usual six car USAC inversion put McGowan and Michnowicz on the front row ahead
of Swanson, Galedrige, E Pace and Lakatos. Michnowicz took a quick lead over
McGowan and Galedrige. On lap 4, the first yellow happened as Galedrige ran over
the lapped car of Scott Nogrady and fourth place E Pace spun off the top of the
track into the wall in turn 3. Jeff Gregory and Chase Barber also got tangled up
and John Santimares fell out. Galedrige was able to drive through the incident
and maintain third place. Swanson raced into fourth only to get spun by Rahe on
lap 7. Her spun car was hit by Lakatos, ending the race for both and they joined
Alex Harris on the sidelines. Racing resumed on lap 8 with Michnowicz leading
McGowan, Galedrige, Rahe and previous week Madera winner, female rookie Audra
Sasselli. The front four were racing in a tight manner when the final caution
came on lap 14 as second place McGowan bropke. Gregory and Barber were late
dropouts as Galedrige and Rahe continued to put the pressure on leader
Michnowicz. Michnowicz held on for the narrow win over Galedrige and Rahe. On
the final lap, Ryan Pace forced Sasselli high off the track in turn 1 and took
over fourth. E Pace also got by Sasselli to finish fifth and the disappointed
Sasselli ran sixth. Only 7 cars finished with 69 year old J R Williams from
Carson City NV in 7th. The teams with the damaged cars were scrambling
after the event to get started on their repairs for a Saturday night race in
Petaluma.
The IMCA Modifieds split 13 cars into a pair of heat races and previous week
Merced winner Bill Saltzman won heat 1 over double division racer David Press
and Buckner. Chuck Harrell won heat 2 from the pole over Andy Obertello and Rick
Crissafulli. Press beat Obertello in the dash. California state point leader
Saltzman scratched from the main event. The IMCA point average lineup procedure
put Harrell on the pole and he led the opening lap over Crissafulli and Press.
The crew had added five gallons of fuel just before the start and forgot to put
the gas cap back on. Harrell spilled fuel all the way around the 1/4 mile clay
oval and a series of incidents behind him ended the race for Obertello. Harrell
was sent to the rear and Crissafulli paced the field for the restart.
Crissafulli led 3/4 of a lap before running off the top of the track in turn 3.
Press was the new leader over Mark Sargent and Nott. Nott took second on lap 3
and Buckner was third on lap 4. The final 29 laps were run without a caution
flag. Crissafulli retook fourth from Sargent on lap 5 and the struggling Garrett
Steitz was lapped on lap 10. Sargent lost a lap when he spun on lap 13 and
leader Press blew a tire on lap 14, handing the top spot to Nott. Buckner was
now second and Harrell had come from the rear to third. Crissafulli was running
his best race in fourth and Johnnie Baptista climbed to fifth after missing the
heat action. Rookie T J Etchison took over fifth on lap 21 and the lapped car of
Sargent tried to spin leader Nott on lap 23. On the final lap, Buckner tried to
make an inside move on leader Nott. The bottom of the track was still wet and
Buckner slide up into Nott as he completed the pass. Buckner got the exciting
win over Nott and Harrell. A last lap spin cost Crissafulli fourth as he fell
back to fifth behind Etchison. Baptista was sixth ahead of Don Bretten and
Sargent.
The Friday night
NCMA action was part of their special series and drew several Antioch Speedway
regulars. The large 18 car turnout got three heat races. Michael Zarevich
impressed with his heat 1 win from the pole as he fended off a stiff challenge
from Hanestad on a narrow track. Macedo won heat 2 over spec sprint newcomer
Martin and Sal Mannina. Burt Siverling ran away with heat 3 over Jimmy Lavell
and Jim Janssen. Siverling broke his front end in a first lap dash incident and
Macedo got that win over Martin and Zarevich. The 25 lap feature was run with
just 3 yellow flags on a very racy track. The top six from the heat action were
inverted in the front and Martin raced to a quick lead over Lavell and Hanestad,
who stands third in Antioch points. Hanestad took second just before a Sal
Mannina spin forced the first yellow flag on lap 4. Newcomer Willie Butterick
parked with a broken rear end on the restart and Doug Gandy stalled for a lap 9
yellow. At the midway mark, Macedo ran fourth over Siverling, Zarevich, Steve
Mannina and Rob Hammond. Hanestad lost a lot of ground when he ran over the top
of turn 3 on lap 14, but the heavy lapped traffic allowed him to quickly close
back on Martin. Martin got tangled up with the lapped car of Sal Mannina and
both Sal Mannina and Hammond fell out. The yellow came on lap 18 as Keith
Shipherd broke and Lavell's great run ended as he got tangled up with Steve
Mannina. On the restart, Martin led Hanestad, Macedo, Siverling and David
Goodwill. Hanestad got underneath Martin for the top spot on lap 20 and he
pulled away over the closing laps. Goodwill raced into fourth. Martin made a bid
on the last lap, but ended up running off the top of turn 3. Hanestad got the
win with Martin recovering for second ahead of Macedo, Goodwill, Ed Amador,
Siverling, Zarevich, Janssen and Steve Mannina. Usual dirt modified racer David
Press also fielded an unwinged sprint car and ran 11th ahead of double division
racer Charlie Correia.
The dwarf cars
split 16 cars into a pair of heat races and previous race feature winner Stan
Silva Jr won the first over Bill Martinez. Matt Sargent turned his pole start
into a win in heat 2 over Damron and point leader Ryan Ameln. Silva beat Damron
in the dash. The 25 lap feature had a straight up start and Silva took the early
lead over Sargent and Damron. A first lap incident ended the race for Ty Schmidt
and cost Chris Dorto a lap making repairs. On lap 2, Gene Pires Jr spun and the
leaders got together at start finish. Sargent was sent to the rear for putting
Silva into the infield in the incident. Suddenly, Damron found himself leading
Ameln and Penny. That threesome pulled away as Sargent got tangled up with John
Prenctice. Sargent's rear tire was rubbing badly and he was blackflagged off the
track and Tony Miller also exited. Bill Martinez raced into fourth on lap 9 and
Penny grabbed second from Ameln on lap 12. The flying leaders had opened a 1/4
lap margin on fourth place Martinez. Silva spun for a lap 14 yellow and Correia
spun on the restart for another yellow. Howard Fergerson moved into the top five
and he gained third when Ameln broke on lap 19. When Martin Whittingham spun for
a lap 22 yellow, Prentice was sent to the rear and he elected to park his car.
Damron continued to lead despite heavy pressure from Penny and Fergerson. Fourth
place Martinez blew in a ball of flames on the last lap as Damron got a career
first feature win over Penny, Fergerson, Mark Tillinger, Dan Zuger, Correia and
Pires Jr.
The NASCAR
Super Stocks race their premier event of 2004, the Mike Cecil 100 lapper on
August 20.
Summary
Dwarf Cars
Dash-Stan Silva Jr, Todd Damron, Matt Sargent.
Heat 1-Silva, Bill Martinez, Dave Penny, Dan Zuger, Ty Schmidt.
Heat 2-Sargent, Damron, Ryan Ameln, Gene Pires Jr, Martin Whittingham.
Main-Damron, Penny, Howard Fergerson, Mark Tillinger, Zuger, Charlie Correia,
Pires, Whittingham, Martinez, Silva, Chris Dorto, John Prentice, Ameln, Sargent,
Tony Miller, Schmidt.
NCMA Spec Sprints
Dash-Billy Macedo, Rick Martin, Mike Zarevich.
Heat 1-Zarevich, Darrell Hanestad, Rob Hammond, Steve Mannina, David Press. Heat
2-Macedo, Martin, Sal Mannina, Ed Amador, Keith Shipherd.
Heat 3-Burt Siverling, Jimmy Lavell, Jim Janssen, George Terry, Willie Butterick.
Main-Hanestad, Martin, Macedo, David Goodwill, Amador, Siverling, Zarevich,
Janssen, Steve Mannina, Terry, Press, Charlie Correia, Shipherd, Lavell,
Hammond, Sal Mannina, Doug Gandy, Butterick.
IMCA Modifieds
Dash-David Press, Andy Obertello, Chuck Harrell.
Heat 1-Bill Saltzman, Press, Jeff Buckner, Don Bretten, Garrett Steitz.
Heat 2-Harrell, Obertello, Rick Crissafulli, Kenny Nott Jr, Mark Sargent.
Main-Buckner, Nott, Harrell, T J Etchison, Crissafulli, Johnnie Baptista,
Bretten, Sargent, Steitz, Press, Jim DiGiovanni, Obertello.
Ford Focus Midgets
Dash-Bobby McGowan, Josh Lakatos, Ashley Swanson.
Heat 1-Eric Pace, Bradley Galedrige, McGowan, Chris Rahe, Alex Harris.
Heat 2-Lakatos, Swanson, Bobby Michnowicz, Ryan Pace, Audra Sasselli.
Main-Michnowicz, Galedrige, Rahe, R Pace, E Pace, Sasselli, J R Williams, Chase
Barber, Jeff Gregory, McGowan, Swanson, Lakatos, Harris, Scott Nogrady, John
Santimares.
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