By Dave Grayson
Under an abundance of Saturday afternoon sunshine, and a huge break from the 60 MPH winds that plagued California's Antelope Valley the day before, six racing divisions responded to the green flag in what would turn out to be another day of racing fun at the Speedway Willow Springs. The quarter mile paved oval is located within the 600 acre complex known as Willow Springs International Raceway in Rosamond, California.
In the 40 lap Hooper's Rear End Service Elite Division main event, David Brandon picked up his first win of the still young season in rather dominant fashion. Speedway veteran Randy Wilkins led the field to the initial green flag and paced the event for the first eight circuits before Brandon was able to make an inside move, going into turn three to become the new race leader. It turned out to be the race winning move. At one point in the event Brandon held a full straightaway lead over Anthony Mainella. Late in the race Mainella picked up a few ticks on the stop watch and reduced Brandon's lead to one half of a straightaway. However, despite being the fastest car on the track, time and laps ran out and Mainella had to settle for the runner up finish. The margin of victory was 3.715 seconds. After the race Brandon lit up his tires and performed a victory lane burnout that completely engulfed his car in smoke much to the delight of the fans.
Speedway veteran, and past track champion, Chris Peedan crossed under the checkers to take third and was followed by Tony Forfa, Alex Anderson, Rich Wilson and Randy Wilkins. Earlier in the day Peedan set the fast time in qualifying with a hot lap of 15.376 seconds. Mainella won the division's heat race.
In Platinum Loan & Jewelry Street Stock action, Dwight Kelly roared out of his front row outside starting position to take the lead. Throughout the majority of the 35 lap main event, the top four drivers lined up bumper to bumper while displaying the meaning of an old stock car racing term known as the freight train shuffle. It was almost like the drivers in positions two through five were waiting for that special moment in time that would allow them to eradicate Kelly's lead and steal the win. That moment in time appeared on lap 28 when Kelly's car inched towards the high side while he was negotiating turn two. That left Tony Forfa IV just enough room, on the turn's low groove, to work his way into the race lead. At this point Forfa, to coin another old racing term, literally checked out of the hotel and won the race with a 8.289 second margin of victory.
Bruce Secord, the winner of the speedway's season opener, drove under the checkers to take second and was followed by Jerry Baxter, Kelly, Ray Butler and Justin Good. Earlier in the day, Secord set the fast time in qualifying with a lap of 16.257 seconds. Justin Good was the winner of the division's eight lap heat race.
In the Wayne & Dave's Automotive Hobby Stock 35 lap main event Johnny Troesch came out of the front row, at the initial green flag, and turned in a formidable performance and led all of the event's laps to score a flag to flag win as well as his second, consecutive, division win. His margin of victory was a whopping 18.170 seconds. Brandon Fisk came across the line in second followed by Corey Carter, Michael Williams and Rod Sproule. In preliminary action Fisk set fast time in qualifying with a hot lap of 16.751 seconds. Williams won the division's eight lap heat race.
In the Lucas Oil Mini Stocks main it was a case of the same car, a Ford Mustang, winning for the second time in a row but with a different driver sitting in the seat. John Dunlap drove the car to victory during the March 26th season opener while speedway veteran and former track champion Bobby Dezarov parked the Mustang in victory lane this past Saturday. Following the waving of the initial green flag to start the race, Dezarov came out of his pole position starting berth and jumped into the lead. He led all 20 lap of the race to score the win. His margin of victory over runner up Greg Didoha was 2.559 second. Jeremy Queener came across the line in third and was followed by Randy Hannah, Danny Quinn, Matt Peterson, Nick Higginson and Tim Ogdon. Dezarov's excellent day at Speedway Willow Springs included hitting the trifecta by setting the fast time in qualifying, 16.479 seconds, and winning the eight lap heat race.
Skid Plate racing is a popular form of racing that has swept southern California in recent years. The concept calls for the rear tires, of a small sport compact type race car, to be removed and replaced with a pair of steel hub welded to flat steel plates. These plates slide across the track surface showering sparks.The other result is a challenge for the driver of these cars to maintain control due to the fact that the rear end of the vehicles slide around. Spin outs, as well as fender bender situations, are quite common because these vehicles totally redefines the racing term loose race car.
To no real surprise, the Tire Store Skid Plate division has become very popular with the fans at Speedway Willow Springs. During last Saturday's 12 lap main event there were more cases of race cars doing 360 degree spins than could be counted. On lap ten of the race two car hooked bumpers with the result being fender benders and more spins from the drivers behind them trying to avoid the melee. The red flag came out for track clean up and that's when the speedway's Race Director called the event two laps prior to completion. Daniel Chadwick was declared the winner. He noted that this was only his second ever race. The first was at Speedway Springs on March 26 when hard luck created a major learning curve for the young driver. However, it was lessons well learned because they helped Chadwick take home the winner's trophy.
One of the extremely popular events at Speedway Willow Springs is the So Cal Enduro Racers. Created and promoted by Ridgecrest resident Danny Quinn, these sport compacts run lengthy events under very unusual conditions such as driving around huge tractor tires located at the edge of the speedway's two straightaways. Last Saturday's race was billed as the Motion Tire Motorsports 100 which was divided into twin 50 lap segments.
During the first segment, Michael Walters led the opening laps until Joe David took the point on lap 12. Unfortunately, bad racing luck hit David, on lap 37, when he suffered a flat tire. Nate Van De Venter became the new front man and guided the field to the end of the first 50 lap segment. The twin segment was utilized due to the fact that the transponders, an electronic device on the cars that sends track position data to a computer located in the speedway's race control tower, required reactivating. The teams were also given seven minutes to work on the cars with many of them electing to change tires.
During this intermission something rather bizarre happened. Two race vehicles, a full size truck and a large bomber stocker, came out on the track towing boats. The tow chains were released from the boats and the two vehicles circled the track while repeatedly running into the boats. The result was a case of maritime murder and the boats were soon reduced to piles of debris. It turns out that the management of Speedway Willow Springs likes to stage a little destruction now and then while sharing the moment with their fans.
Following track clean up, it was time for the Enduro teams to line up for the start of segment two of the Motion Tire Motorsports 100. Nate Van DeVenter picked up the pace, where he left off in the first segment, and began putting asphalt between himself and his closest competitor. It appeared that he was well on his way to collecting the $400 winner's check. Unfortunately, with the race three quarters complete, the tell tale signs of heavy white smoke began to drift from the back of his car. This was followed by a rarely seen event when the battery came flying out of the window of one of the cars and landed on the track. The result was a red flag condition to allow clean up followed by a standing still restart. That restart came very quickly and Van DeVenter's car was slow to respond and, by the time he recovered, five cars passed him. To his credit, Van DeVenter did find a way to drive his ailing car to a fifth place finish despite all of the white smoke streaming out the back of it.
Meanwhile Pete Chilbes became the new race leader and made quick work of running out the waning laps to claim the win. Unofficial results, pending a complete review of the lap charts by the speedway's scoring team, showed Jake Basham and Randy Hannah following the race winner under the checkers. There's a lot of excitement attached to the So Cal Enduro Racers and it's very easy to see why they've become so popular with the fans. This is a top shelf, well run, racing program that has unlimited potential for a very bright future.
Racing returns to the Speedway Willow Springs on May 14th featuring the same six divisions. With the late spring, early summer, expected to be in place in the Antelope Valley area, the speedway will begin its night racing schedule meaning the first race will begin at 6pm.
The Speedway Willow Springs is greatly enhanced, and blessed, with a large group of track sponsors that includes: A To Z Signs, Abadak, Adams Metalizing and Grinding, Angel's Touch Towing, Benz Sanitation, Deist Safety, Dezarov's Mobile Auto Service, Dominguez Mexican Restaurant, 51 Fifty Energy Drink, Frank's Radios, High Desert Cellars, Hooper's Rear End Service, KGG Electric, K&N Performance Filters, Linny White's Race Shop, Lucas Oil Products, Misfit Motorsports, Pinnacle Peak Steak House-Colton and San Dimas locations, Platinum Jewelry and Loan-Lancaster, Scramblez, Street Customs, Studio Equipment Rentals, 10,000 RPM, The Tire Store and Wayne and Dave's Automotive.
