WEST WINS VENTURA RON OTTO MEMORIAL TQ MIDGET FEATURE SEPT. 21, 2012
By noderel:
Ventura, CA., Sept. 21 – West Evans became the leader of the NMRA-TQ Midget Series in 2002 when NMRA resumed operations after 15 years of USAC TQ Midget sanctioning TQ races. Evans won the eighth NMRA feature of 2012 Saturday night at the seaside fifth-mile clay Ventura Raceway in the TQ portion of a multi-division open-wheel racing program. It was the first TQ event at the track this season and the second feature triumph for Evans, a June 23 winner at Bakersfield Speedway. The Ventura TQ event was the eighth Ron Otto Memorial honoring the late NMRA officer/official during the 1957-1986 era of TQ racing.
Gay Otto and her son Tony attended the race named for her late husband and the father of long-time racing starter Tony. They welcomed family and racing friends, including the Carrolls, Longs, Marshalls, Rodneys, Schoemans, Sharps and Dyers. The event had been held for years at Santa Maria Speedway near their home in Nipomo. Evans was instrumental in finding a new home for the Otto Memorial race. It was fitting that he won the 25-lap feature. He did so by starting sixth and becoming the third and final leader on lap 17. He drove his own No. 36 Spike chassis with a Don Vesco 750cc Suzuki engine.
Chuck West started seventh in the ten car field and placed second in the Evans Motorsports No. 38 Stealth team car, also powered by a 750cc Suzuki. Bruce Hiroshima (from second), Scott Dobson (from fourth), and Scott Niven (from eighth) completed the top five. Kenny Wiley (from fifth), pole starter Don Kiefer, Dave Lambert (from ninth), Mike Black (from third), and newcomer Rick Poe (from tenth) in his own car were the other finishers. All ten drivers were racing at the checkers, with seven drivers on the lead lap. Kiefer led the first three laps and Hiroshima paced laps 4-16.
Teammates Evans and his first cousin West won the pair of eight lap heat races after starting fourth. All five drivers in each race completed eight laps. West had his point lead in driver standings slip from 21 points to 18 over Evans. In car owner point rankings the Evans 38 car point lead over the Evans 36 also dropped from 21 to 18 points. Fifteen drivers and 15 owners have earned 2012 NMRA points.
The next NMRA scheduled race will be held Saturday, September 29 at the series home track—Bakersfield Speedway on North Chester Avenue. Only two TBA race dates are shown on the NMRA 2012 schedule so teams hoping to gain positions have to “make hay” on September 29.
Summary:
Heat 1 – West Evans, Scott Dobson, Bruce Hiroshima, Scott Niven, Dave Lambert.
Heat 2 – Chuck West, Kenny Wiley, Don Kiefer, Mike Black, Rick Poe.
Main – Evans, West, Hiroshima, Dobson, Niven, Wiley, Kiefer, Lambert, Black, Poe.
POINT STANDINGS:
Drivers Car Owners
1 Chuck West 499 1 No. 38 Evans Motorsports 523
2 West Evans 481 2 No. 36 Evans Motorsports 505
3 Mike Black 387 3 No. 14 Brian D. Baker 411
4 Don Kiefer 384 4 No. 9 Don Kiefer 408
5 Kenny Wiley 334 5 No. 96 Kenny Wiley 352
6 Scott Dobson 306 6 No. 18 Scott Dobson 324
7 Adam Baker 290 7 No. 17 Brian D. Baker 308
8 Anthony Lopiccolo 238 8 No. 21 Paul Lopiccolo 250
9 Dave Lambert 222 9 No. 55 Dave Lambert 237
10 Bruce Hiroshima 204 10 No. 20 Bruce Hiroshima 216