THOMPSON TRIUMPHS IN IRWINDALE SUPER LATE MODEL 75
By noderel:
Irwindale, Ca. - May 7, 2011 – Kevin Thompson made his usual commute to Toyota Speedway at Irwindale Saturday from his home in Conroe, Texas to race at his favorite speedway. It paid off this week in his third main event triumph at Irwindale in a NASCAR Lucas Oil Slick Mist Super Late Model 75-lap race on the progressively-banked half-mile. The former Yorba Linda, CA resident drove his own two-race old Ford Fusion, sponsored by Ameri-Tex Pipe & Products, LLC—the firm he owns in Texas. The car has a chassis by Hamke Race Cars of Mooresville, N.C..The 37-year old winner, the biggest driver by far at Irwindale, is 6'6” and weighs 325. He credited his crew and crew chief, Dan Holtz, a fellow muscular driver and SRL Series stock car driver, for giving him a superior car. Thompson departed the track, after three of 11 scheduled 2011 SLM events, as the SLM point leader for the first time by 12-points over two-time 2011 feature winner Rod Johnson, Jr..
Other main event winners on the Mother's Day Celebration cool evening in front of 1,000+ spectators were:
> Rich DeLong, Jr, in the 11-car Ken Porter Auctions Open Comp 35-lap race on the third-mile.
> Andrew Anderson in a 10-car, 30-lap Langers Juice S2 race on the half-mile.
> Daryl Scoggins in a 12-car, 35-lap Justice Brothers Mini Stock main on the third-mile..
> Bryan Harrell, the 2006 and 2008 Vista Paint Super Stock champion, in a nine-car, 35-lap VPSS feature on the half-mile. It was his first victory since September 27, 2008 when he won his ninth main that season.
> Alisha Thiebert in a five-car demolition derby for six-cylinder front wheel drive cars. The 11-minute DD event concluded competition at 10:19 pm.
A frightening crash marred racing action. On lap 8 of the SLM feature a two-car collision at the end of the backstretch sent Jack Madrid to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center by ambulance for medical tests and overnight medical observation. The cars of Kyle Neveau and second fastest qualifier Madrid, 16, came together, causing Madrid's No. 91 to spin into the outer wall near turn three with heavy contact on the driver's side. Madrid lost consciousness momentarily before he was able to converse with rescue team members. Rescuers used the jaws of life to cut through the roof and roll cage to extract him safely. According to reports from the team Sunday, Madrid received a concussion and bruised lungs and was about to be discharged from the hospital Sunday afternoon.
LUCAS OIL SLICK MIST SLM 75: The 17-car field had a ten-car inverted start with fastest qualifier Rod Johnson, Jr starting outside row five in the Position One Motorsports No. 03 Ford. The competitive race had three leaders and four lead changes. Dennis Furden led the first three circuits. Fourth starter Thompson overhauled him after running second from the start. Madrid's serious crash resulted in a 20-minute red flag to remove him from the badly damaged car and to clear the track. The double-file restart of lap 8 had Thompson on the inside and seventh starter Ryan Partridge alongside. Partridge took the lead with his inside third turn pass and led laps 8-45 by as much as 30-yards over Thompson. Johnson, on the inside, challenged Thompson lap after lap from laps 8-46. Johnson's heated right front tire blew on lap 46 and, with sparks trailing, sent his car into the fourth turn wall. He exited slowly to the pit road and stopped without injury.
On the lap 46 restart leader Partridge chose the inside. Thompson kept his rpms up using the outside route and passed him on the backstretch and through the third and fourth turns. He moved ahead to stay before the starting line. With the green light on to the lap 75 finish, Thompson gradually increased his lead to 20-yards (1.231 seconds) at the finish. Partridge held on to his “handful” Eshleman Racing No. 33 for second place. Jason Patison finished third, 1.403 back. Race Liberante, 16, was fourth, 1.617 seconds behind the winner. Furden placed fifth, 7,825 back. Joe DeGuevara, 2010 Legend Car track champion Chad Schug, in his second SLM ride and on used tires, was the seventh and final driver on the lead lap. Nine drivers finished the event, which took 48-minutes to run, including the 20-minute red flag and one yellow flag to check for debris after Johnson's lap 46 wall contact. On lap 10 Johnson ran the fastest lap of the race at 18.193 (98.939 mph). Madrid (18.262 on L 3), Partridge (18.198 on L 8) and Thompson (18.295 on L 2) were next fastest in the rapid field.
LANGERS S2: A ten-car field of Racecar Factory-built S2 cars ran event two of the series third season. Second quickest qualifier Andrew Anderson, 18, won his first S2 feature after starting eighth and leading all but the first of 30 laps. He drove his family-owned yellow No. 44 and barely held off Andrew Porter, 17, in his grandfather's lime green/black No. 43. Fastest qualifier Porter started ninth in a fully inverted field based on qualifying times. He pressured Anderson closely for the final 15 laps and trailed by a quarter length (0.050) at the checkers. Porter won his first S2 main four weeks ago when Anderson set fastest qualifying time. They are now tied at 98 points for the S2 point lead. Resilient Porter fractured vertebrae last year and relinquished his S2 ride to his grandfather Kenny Smith for several races that grandpa won. Porter raced Saturday with a broken collarbone suffered earlier in the week during a fall while mountain biking near his home in La Verne. Past USAC Ford Focus Midget drivers Nik Romano and Jessica Clark placed third and fourth respectively in the 12:07.418 all green flag race. Rookie Austin Dyne, from Malibu, was fifth. Following closely were classic stock veteran/S2 rookie Mike Colato, Jr., Bandolero veteran Trevor Huddleston, and 50+ year old brothers Bill and Gary Waters. All nine drivers completed 30 laps, with the difference between P. 1 and P. 9 drivers 20.039 seconds. Aaron Anderson, 15-year old brother of the winner and the 2008 Bandolero track champion, missed time trials and started last in his S2 debut. He dropped out on lap 3.
KPA OPEN COMP: Five drivers qualified and 11 drivers took the green flag for 35-laps on the third-mile. The 14-minute race had two cautions and a new winner in Rich DeLong, Jr aboard the No. 84 winged modified. As quickest qualifier, he started fifth with all qualifiers fully inverted. The race had four super stocks and a SWT truck added in rows four through six. They joined a winged Figure 8, two late models and a super stock that participated in time trials. Joe Anderson shot from fourth to first and led the first half dozen laps in a HPR team No. 50, the oldest RCF chassis (# 7) in their fleet. Then DeLong passed him and extended his lead. Anderson ran the fastest lap of the race on lap 2 at 15.123 (79.270 mph), but he spun on the backstretch while chasing DeLong during lap 16. He returned but dropped out of P. 3 on lap 20. DeLong won by almost half a lap (8.476 seconds) over Jerry Toporek's winged F-8. Jeff Williams came from tenth to place third (-11.341 seconds) in his No. 28 SWT Ford F-150. Rick Crow's late model was fourth and the last car on the lead lap. Don Rogers' late model was a lap down in P. 5. Ten drivers finished. On lap 8 DeLong III was the first dropout in his Chevy Impala SS 2010 VPSS championship car.
VPSS: Nine super stocks raced 35 laps on the half-mile in the first event at 7:14 pm. Second FQ DeLong III started eighth and led the first 20 laps. Two-time series champion Bryan Harrell, who has been idle since his championship Camaro was totaled in a crash, borrowed the No. 29 Chevy Impala SS from Mark Brinksma, the 2011 Orange Show Speedway promoter, set FQ time and started ninth in the fully inverted starting lineup. Harrell raced from second into the lead on lap 21 after the only yellow flag. A two car crash in turn one eliminated the P. 2 and P. 4 cars of Curtis White and 2011 race winner Gerrit Cromsigt. Harrell, driving a Chevy Impala SS-bodied car for the first time, extended his lead to 1.670 (30 yards) by the lap 35 checkers. On the final lap, Gary Frankovich, from Barstow, tried to pass Harrell for the lead low in the second turn, got loose and fell back 20-yards. New point leader DeLong III then took second from him via an outside pass from turn four to the finish line. He edged Frankovich by 0.055. The top three drove Chevy Impala SS cars. Seven drivers finished, with Zach Green fourth in a Camaro. Brad Keegan, rookie Michael Parr and Jason DeLong also completed 35 laps. Harrell ran the fastest race lap at 21.101 (85.304 mph) on lap 3.
JB MINIS: Twelve mini stocks ran the second main of the night after 14 SLMs qualified. The third-mile 4-cylinder warriors also used a fully inverted starting lineup. Bandolero graduate Aubree Porter, younger sister of the S2 winner and granddaughter of driver Kenny Smith, started from pole position in a Ford Pinto. She led lap one before yielding to Pinto driver Dusty Morgan, who led through lap 7. Tom Dye, in a Toyota Celica, came from fifth to lead laps 8-11. Then 2009-10 series champion Daryl Scoggins, from sixth starting spot, took command for good and won the 35-lap race for his 22nd career Irwindale triumph. FQ Kevin Bernhardt started 11th in his Pinto and passed Scoggins on the final lap after Scoggins pushed wide leaving turn two on the last lap. Scoggins charged back and re-passed Bernhardt on the outside between the fourth turn and finish line. He edged Bernhardt by a slim 0.029, the closest finish ever on the TS@I third-mile. Ryan Bragdon was third, 1.060 back. Dye ran the fastest lap of the race at 17.004 (70.501 mph) while leading lap 11 and finished fourth. Rod Schmitt, Dennis Croasmun, Jacob and Steve Rogers, Seth Wilson, Ron Schmitt and Morgan followed and all logged 35 laps. Rookie Porter spun four times before pitting on lap 20.
DEMO DERBY: Five front-wheel drive, six cylinder cars took part in the final event of the night. The DD event took place on a watered segment on the infield. Alisha Thiebert, 22, scored her first DD victory by defeating her father, Bill, as the final two cars still running. She drove a 1993 Buick Regal to her $600 victory. Her dad used a 1991 Olds Cutlass Ciera to second place, worth $300. His younger daughter Christine, 18, a two-time Irwindale DD winner, finished fifth this time. He said he bought all three cars from Haddick's Towing for DD use and he will bring them to a metal compactor Monday to be crushed..Adam Ditto and Scotty Cholo finished third and fourth.
FASTEST QUALIFIERS: (Half-mile) – VPSS – Harrell -20.985 (85.776 mph); S32 – A. Porter – 20.217 (89.034 mph); SLM – Johnson 17.584 (102.366 mph); (Third-mile) – M/S – Bernhardt – 17.010 (70.476 mph); Open Comp – DeLong – 15.579 (76.950 mph).
For complete results see www.ToyotaSpeedwayatIrwindale.com.