POINTS RACE #1 AT CHOWCHILLA SPEEDWAY March 10, 2007 |
| This
was the season opener for BAD. The season opener in 2006 (March 31) was
rained out at Ocean; no races there until May 5. The first points race
last season was run on April 29 - at Chowchilla. With luck, maybe there
will be no rain-outs or make-ups this year. The weather looks promising
for Points Race #2 at Kings. I hope everybody will be ready for
the return of BAD to the 'King of the Dirt Tracks'. This event was a points race for both BAD and NORCAL clubs. Thirty cars signed in; 17 B cars and 13 N cars. The track was excellent but the lighting was poor. I had trouble seeing the action on the frontstretch and, at times, even had trouble recognizing some cars along the backstretch where I was watching through the fence. My notes are not great so correct me if there are mistakes in this report. Winners of four heat races were, Kevin BENDER (Heat 1), Jose GUEVARA (Heat 2), Gilbert TOSTE (Heat 3) and Dave MOSIER (Heat 4) - three out of four for BAD! In HEAT 1, Kevin got trapped in a crash on the second of three re-starts. Spanky Grenert made a tight inside pass on Kevin going into turn 3; as Spanky was clearing, Kevin was bumped by Bret Barstow, causing tire-to-tire contact and sending Kevin to the wall. Bret was collected, then two other cars. Kevin was at the front on the final re-start and held the lead for the win - about five car-lengths over Spanky who finished 2nd. The two lead cars were well ahead of the other two finishers. Jeremy Blackstone finished 3rd. Charles Holt, in his first race as a rookie, stayed out of trouble, finished a distant 4th and made a transfer to the A Main. In HEAT 2, there were six B cars. Jose Guevarra, in his latest car, started on the pole and led the entire race for the win. Ryan Diatte got the pole position by the pill draw but, as a first-race rookie, was put at the rear. Bill Martinez started inside row 2 and finished 2nd. Josh Hiatt finished 3rd and Pat Weger finished 4th for the final transfer spot. In HEAT 3, there were six B cars. Gilbert Toste started on the pole in Dan Gregory's hooked-up 32B and held the lead throughout the race. Scott Dahlgren was there the whole time challenging but settled for 2nd. Ryan Ameln started at the rear, was 3rd by mid-race and finished 3rd. Duane Daniel started 5th, finished 4th and transfered. In HEAT 4, Mosier was dominant from flag to flag and through several re-starts; this was clearly his race to win. Chris Weaver was 2nd, a straightaway behind Mosier. Daniel Weger started inside row 3, seemed to have a handling problem but finished 3rd. Larry Smith started 2nd, finished 4th and transfered. TROPHY DASH: Start = Mosier, Toste, Guevarra and Bender; finish = MOSIER, Toste, Bender and Guevarra. B MAIN. On an early re-start, Bret BARSTOW moved up from row 2 to pole position and set sail; stretching his lead, lapping cars by lap 8 or 9, and taking the win. The most spectacular move of this race was made by rookie, Ryan Diatte. Ryan started at the rear, was 6th by lap 2, 4th by lap 10, and finished 2nd! Neil Stinson started deep in the pack and finished 3rd. Tyler Schmidt, 2006 RoY, started 4th, ran 2nd until lap 5, but finished 4th for the final transfer spot. This race was rough on B cars. In an early re-start, 52N spun into the path of 18B; a hit was unavoidable; 35B then ran over the side of 18B. The 18B was able to continue and finish 6th with no transfer. At some point, the 35B left the race and was scored last. The 14B survived contact with the 35B; moved from a 9th place start to a 5th place finish. The 44B had problems by lap 9 and left the race. The 26B lost its hood after the race started; although legal by our rules, was removed from the race by track officials. A MAIN. Twenty cars were lined up with a 10 car inversion. On one of several re-starts (double file vs single file), as cars were accelerating into turn 3, yellow/red was displayed for no apparent reason. Cars checked up suddenly and the 22B of Bill Martinez ran up on the rear tire of another car and was launched into the K wall. The car suffered major damage in a series of high rolls and hard flips. Bill was released from the hospital the next morning with broken bones; is back at work and 'ready to race' again - amazing. Finally, after some messy re-starts, cars were lined up single file. Josh Hiatt took the lead with Spanky Grenert in hot pursuit. In the closing laps, GRENERT pulled ahead for the win. Josh finished 2nd. Dave Mosier, Gilbert Toste and Ryan Diatte were 3rd, 4th and 5th. Rounding out the top ten were, Pat Weger, Neil Stinson, Scott Dahlgren, Duane Daniel and Daniel Weger. This was another impressive race for rookie, Ryan Diatte - from 18th to 6th by lap 2 and 5th at the finish (3rd among B finishers). After one race, he is 3rd in series points (BAD) and 1st in hard-charger points (13). CONGRATULATIONS TO FEATURE WINNER, SPANKY GRENERT. THANKS TO ALL BAD DRIVERS WHO MADE THIS THIS RACE. CONGRATULATIONS TO HEAT WINNERS, JOSE GUEVARA, GILBERT TOSTE AND DAVE MOSIER; DASH WINNER, DAVE MOSIER. CONGRATULATIONS TO BAD ROOKIES, RYAN DIATTE who finished 5th in the A Main, ROBERT MESLOH who finished 5th in the B Main (only 4 transfered), and CHARLES HOLT who made his first A Main, ran with failing brakes and finished 12th. Misfortune for the other two rookies: Ernie Davila left the B Main with mechanical problems; John Pipkin Jr had transmission problems and took no green flags. |