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Santa Maria Speedway July 12th Recap |
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Santa Maria, CA - July 12, 2008...The yellow flag remained holstered for most of the night Saturday at Santa Maria Speedway as Bandit Sprint Cars, the USAC Western Midget Car Series, and NMRA TQ Midgets strutted their stuff on the 1/3-mile oval. *Driving in memory of a crew member known affectionately as "Little Oz", who was killed in a traffic accident in the week leading up to the event, Dan Faria, of Tipton, drove to the front of the 30-lap Bandit Sprint Car main and stayed there despite repeated attempts by point leader Peter Murphy, of Clovis, to steal the victory away. Starting outside of row two, Faria chased Visalia's Richard VanderWeerd for the first ten circuits before going to the front and then spent the second half of the event fending off Murphy. Atascadero's Greg Porte came home third, followed by VanderWeerd and Jason May of Taft. Albert Pombo, of Easton, set fast time of 14.308 seconds his first time out in the McCowan Motorsports number 11. Faria, Justyne Hamblin, of Hanford, and Kevin Barnes, of Fresno, won 8-lap heat races. *Nic Faas, of Huntington Beach, led only eight of the 30 laps in the USAC Midget feature event, but they were the ones that counted. Pole sitter C.J. Sarna, of Palm Desert, led the first third of the event before being overtaken by Chico's Ryan Kaplan. Kaplan remained on the point until Faas passed him on lap 23. Kaplan placed second, Sarna third, Ione's Justin Grant fourth, and Murrieta's Robby Flock fifth. Shannon McQueen, of Bakersfield, set fast time at 13.962 seconds and 8-lap heat race wins went to Randi Pankratz, of Atascadero, and Ernie Bartley III of El Cajon. *Chuck West was first in the 25-lap NMRA TQ Midget feature event for the second time in-a-row at Santa Maria Speedway. West started eighth on the grid and methodically worked his way through the field. The Clovis driver was fourth by lap 5, third by lap 10, second by lap 15, and in the lead by lap 18. Newbury Park's Scott Dobson, who led the first seventeen circuits, had nothing for West, once he caught him, and had to settle for the runner-up spot. Third place went to Bruce Hiroshima, of Camarillo, followed by Sunland's Kenny Wiley and Camarillo's Richard Ortega, Jr. Dobson and Ron Ahrendt, of Harbor City, were first in 8-lap heat races. West set fast time of 15.445 seconds for one lap. *Next Saturday night Western All Stars Late Models, IMCA Modifieds, and Factory Stocks will provide the action. Spectator gates will open at 3:00 p.m., with racing beginning at 6:00 p.m. Admission will be $20.00 for adults, $16.00 for seniors (65+), $5.00 for children six to twelve, five and under free. Credit cards are not accepted. The Speedway is located 1/4-mile north of the 101/166 interchange on Hutton Road. RACE SUMMARIES... Bandit Sprint Cars: Fast Time - Albert Pombo, 14.308. Heat 1 - Kevin Barnes, Peter Murphy, A. Pombo, Jace VanderWeerd, Jeff Culver, Wes Gutierrez (DNS). Heat 2 - Justyne Hamblin, Tyler Schmidt, Greg Porte, Rusty Carlile, Jeff Fiscus, Rick Eberhardt. Heat 3 - Dan Faria, Jr., Jason May, Richard VanderWeerd, Mike Larsen, Steve DeMott, Bill Jones, Davey Pombo (DNS). Main Event - Faria, Murphy, Porte, R. VanderWeerd, May, Carlile, A. Pombo, Hamblin, Gutierrez, J. VanderWeerd, Fiscus, Schmidt, Barnes, DeMott, Larsen, Culver, Eberhardt, Jones, D. Pombo. USAC Western Midget Series: Fast Time - Shannon McQueen, 13.962. Heat 1 - Ernie Bartley III, Jimmy Christian, Ryan Kaplan, Matt Streeter, McQueen, Robby Flock, Scott Pierovich (DNS). Heat 2 - Randi Pankratz, Nic Faas, Justin Grant, C.J. Sarna, Robby Josett, David Prickett, Quentin Crye (DNS), Josh Ford (DNS). Main Event - Faas, Kaplan, Sarna, Grant, Flock, Streeter, McQueen, Josett, Bartley, Pankratz, Prickett, Christian, Crye, Pierovich (DNS), Ford (DNS). NMRA TQ Midgets: Fast Time - Chuck West, 15.445. Heat 1 - Scott Dobson, Bruce Hiroshima, Kenny Wiley, West, Anthony Lopiccolo, Steve Parke. Heat 2 - Ron Ahrendt, West Evans, Richard Ortega, Jr., Jimmy Dodson, Scott Niven. Main Event - West, Dobson, Hiroshima, Wiley, Ortega, Evans, Lopiccolo, Dodson, Niven, Parke, Ahrendt. POINT STANDINGS: Bandit Sprint Cars - 1. Peter Murphy, 374 2. Albert Pombo, 330 3. Justyne Hamblin, 289 4. Rusty Carlile, 280 5. Kevin Barnes/Richard VanderWeerd, 251. |
