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Jim Pluhar
SANTA MARIA, Calif. (September 27) - Super Late Model Stocks, Fox 11 First at Ten East vs. West Super Streets, Factory Stocks, and Mini Stocks wrapped up their 2008 point chases Saturday night at Santa Maria Speedway.
Steve Drake, of San Luis Obispo, who claimed his fourth Super Late Model Stock championship two weeks ago, ran second to Buena Park's Billy Griffin who picked up his first 30-lap feature event victory of the season. Doug Thompson, running only his second race of the year on the 1/3-mile oval was third, followed by fellow Bakersfield driver David Childress, and Lompoc's Dana Beattie. Griffin set fast time of 14.582 seconds as-well-as winning an 8-lap heat race to make it a perfect night. Drake and Beattie captured the other heats.
When the evening began there was a 3 point difference, in the East vs. West Shootout, between point leader Tim Randolph, of Santa Maria, and Darrel Hood of Bakersfield. The 30-lap main event was the downfall of Hood, who fell out with mechanical problems, handing the title to Randolph who finished second in the feature behind Eric Cimental of Bakersfield. Bakersfield's Nick Sylvester, Atascadero's Morris Sealy, and Bakersfield's Brian Knight rounded out the top-five. Randolph set fast time of 16.836 seconds plus winning an 8-lap heat race. The other heat went to Kyle Heckman of Nipomo.
Defending Factory Stock champion Kirk Morgan, of Santa Maria, needed only to take a green flag to make it two in-a-row. Morgan reached that goal in his 8-lap heat race and went on to finish second in the 20-lap main behind second in points Michael Frazier of Santa Maria. Mike Leland, of Atascadero, Ray Pezzi, of Terra Bella, and Glen Sparks, of Santa Maria, were next in line. Pete Lethcoe and David Addamo, of Santa Maria, and Theo Van De Sande, of Carpinteria, won the heat races.
Mini Stocks were the other division of the night with a 3 point spread between first and second place. Justin Crockett, of Arroyo Grande, had the lead going into the night but ran afoul of slower traffic during the 20-lap feature event and had to settle for a seventh place finish. That was enough to give Justin Marsh, of Nipomo, who finished third in the main, the championship by 2 points. Atascadero's Darrin Davis won the event, his sixth of the season, with Atascadero's Aaron Cervantes second, Nipomo's Korban Ensign fourth, and Santa Maria's Frank Nyback fifth. Ensign, Nyback, and Ben Caswell, of Santa Barbara, saw the checkers first in 8-lap heat race action.
The Speedway will be closed next Saturday night, October 4, but will reopen the following Saturday, October 11, for the final event of the season. The finale will be the "No Entry Fee Nationals" for Bandit Sprint Cars, Mini Stocks and VRA Dwarf Cars. It will be the final points race for Bandit Sprint Cars. Spectator gates for the season ending event will open at 3:00 p.m., with racing at 6:00 p.m. Ticket prices will be $20.00 for adults, $16.00 for seniors (65+), $5.00 for children six to twelve, with kids five and under admitted free. Credit cards are not accepted. Santa Maria Speedway is located 1/4-mile north of the 101/166 interchange on Hutton Road.
RACE SUMMARIES:
Super Late Model Stocks:
Fast Time - Billy Griffin, 14.582.
Heat 1 - Griffin, Bill Bartels, Rob Sanders, Devin Crockett, Dennis Souza.
Heat 2 - Dana Beattie, Nick Bartels, David Childress, Anthony Barket, Willy Oathout.
Heat 3 - Steve Drake, Doug Thompson, Jim Giardina, Logan Drake, Donnie Hampl.
Main Event - Griffin, S. Drake, Thompson, Childress, Beattie, Crockett, B. Bartels, Barket, L. Drake, Sanders, Giardina, N. Bartels, Souza, Oathout, Hampl (DNS).
East vs. West Super Streets:
Fast Time - Tim Randolph, 16.836.
Heat 1 - Tim Randolph, Lonnie Welch, Toby Randolph, Elton Shaffer, Nick Sylvester, Wayne Dotson.
Heat 2 - Kyle Heckman, Eric Cimental, Morris Sealy, Brian Knight, Darrel Hood.
Main Event - Cimental, Tim Randolph, Sylvester, Sealy, Knight, Shaffer, Welch, Dotson, Heckman, Toby Randolph, Hood.
Factory Stocks:
Heat 1 - Theo Van De Sande, Randy Obert, Kirk Morgan, Chris Graham, Dale Sylvester, Tim Bennett, Robert Read.
Heat 2 - Pete Lethcoe, Ray Pezzi, Jim Ford, John Hanson, Glen Sparks, Bill Spratlin.
Heat 3 - David Addamo, Charlie Scovell, Michael Frazier, Mike Leland, Matt Marchiando, Brandon Brickey, Sr.
Main Event - Frazier, Morgan, Leland, Pezzi, Sparks, Addamo, Marchiando, Graham, Sylvester, Obert, Read, Scovell, Hanson, Spratlin, Bennett, Brickey, Van De Sande, Lethcoe, Ford.
Mini Stocks:
Heat 1 - Frank Nyback, Justin Crockett, Matt Sweeney, Ron German, Jeff Biggs, Justin Klucker, Daylan Coffey.
Heat 2 - Korban Ensign, Darrin Davis, Jeremy Heroux, Aaron Cervantes, Greg Noah, Ryan Changus.
Heat 3 - Ben Caswell, Justin Marsh, Robby Cervantes, Kenny Smith, Bill Jewell, Phillip Sewell.
Main Event - Davis, A. Cervantes, Marsh, Ensign, Nyback, German, Crockett, Heroux, Jewell, Sweeney, Caswell, Biggs, Smith, Sewell, Klucker, R. Cervantes, Noah, Changus, Coffey (DNS).
POINT STANDINGS:
Super Late Model Stocks: 1. Steve Drake, 475 (Champion) 2. Devin Crockett, 400 3. Billy Griffin, 396 4. David Childress, 349 5. Anthony Barket, 329.
Factory Stocks: 1. Kirk Morgan, 714 (Champion) 2. Michael Frazier, 680 3. Glen Sparks, 625 4. Tim Bennett, 602 5. Mike Leland, 594.
Mini Stocks: 1. Justin Marsh, 709 (Champion) 2. Justin Crockett, 707 3. Jeremy Heroux, 580 4. Daylan Coffey, 567 5. Darrin Davis, 555.
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