POINTS RACE #2 AT KINGS SPEEDWAY March 24, 2007 |
| This
was first BAD-only points race of the season and the first BAD race at
Kings Speedway in a number of years. The new promoter, Frank Dias, is
eager to have dwarf car races back on the schedule and, clearly, the
fans there enjoy dwarf car racing. The track is a big 3/8 mile track with turns that are strongly banked (est 15-16 deg) on the outside and almost flat on the inside. In past years, it was noted for excellent preparation; this night, the track was rough. We were told that contour and surface improvements are in the planning. Nineteen dwarf cars were entered for this event; seventeen B cars, one N car (BAD member) and one at-large car from the area. Winners of the three heat races were Doug MARTIN (HEAT 1), Ryan AMELN (HEAT 2) and Dave MOSIER (HEAT 3). In Heat 1, Doug's #85N was a rocket, leading by a straightaway on the second lap and finishing half a lap ahead of the next car. Chris Weaver was second, Chris Dorto was third and Danny Zuger was the final transfer. In Heat 2, Ryan started outside row 1, opened up a 10 carlength lead by mid-race and finished a straightaway ahead of the next car. The finish for second was about as close as it gets, with Ryan Diatte edging out Mark Tillinger who finished third. Rookie, Robert Mesloh was the final transfer. In Heat 3, Dave started on the pole, dominated the race and finished half a lap ahead of the next car. Martin Whittingham was second, Duane Daniel was third and Ernie Davila was the final transfer. There was no trophy dash. All nineteen cars were lined up (no inversion) for the 20 lap A MAIN with Doug Martin and Ryan Ameln on the front row. Martin had never raced here before but he was awesome, holding the lead until lap 18. Dave MOSIER moved up to second on lap 10, pressured Doug and overtook him on lap 18. Dave held on for his first win of the season. Doug took second. Gilbert Toste, who had a DNF in his heat (driveshaft problem), appeared to be done for the night but Dan Gregory did his magic on the #32B and Gilbert was ready for the feature. He started inside row 8 and was exciting to watch in his steady progress for a third place finish. Mark Tillinger made a quick move from mid-pack to join the front runners; ran third late in the race and finished fourth. Duane Daniel also had a strong run; moved up from a ninth place start for a fifth place finish. Rookie, Ryan Diatte was impressive again; started fifth, went to the rear on a lap 5 re-start (flat tire) and managed to finish sixth. The remaining top 10 were, Charles Holt, Martin Whittingham, Chris Weaver and Gene Pires Jr. This was a disappointing race for, Ernie Davila who ran as high as fifth but left the race with overheating problem; Tommy Astone III who started next to last, took fourth on lap 12 but left the race after a couple of spin-outs; Jose Guevara who made little progress with vibration problem and left the race; Ryan Ameln who started second and ran strong but had a pit visit and finished fifteenth; and, Chris Dorto who seemed to find no strike in his new snake. CONGRATULATIONS TO HEAT WINNERS, DAVE MOSIER AND OTHER TOP FINISHERS. THANKS TO ALL DRIVERS WHO MADE THE SHOW. This was the first time BAD cars were required to have transponders installed and operating. We expected to have a computer printout with detailed information immediately after the race. Instead, after an hour and a half wait, Joe was given only a page of handwritten results (already posted). I have contacted the track office and, after a number of phone calls, still have nothing more. The first response was surprise - nobody had asked for anything before. Nothing has shown up on mylaps.com either but I'll keep trying to get something. At this point, I don't even know whether the transponders were working! |