MAY 11 RACE REPORT / TIM KENNEDY

   Irwindale, CA, May 11 - Tim Huddleston won his second NASCAR Auto 
> Club
of
> Southern California late model feature this season Saturday night at the
> half-mile Irwindale Speedway with 5,868 spectators present.   The winner
> started on the pole and led all 50 laps over runner-up/fourth starter 
> Mike Price.
>
>     Huddleston left the track tied for the series point lead with his 
> car fabricator Todd Burns, who placed third in a Monte Carlo.  The 
> one-two finishers drove Pontiac Grand Prix cars with the new General 
> Motors ZZ38 Fastburn "spec" engine.  The only other ZZ38 engine 
> present was in a brand new Chevy Monte Carlo driven by Doug McComb.
>
>     McComb tested his newly built car Friday and qualified Saturday 
> second fastest of 28 qualifiers.  He had to start 28th when his 
> starter failed as
he
> tried to leave the grid from his second starting position.  After
receiving a
> push start, McComb raced his way forward and finished seventh, with 16 
> of
the
> 26 finishers on the lead lap.
>
>     The three late model drivers were the only drivers using the new 
> ZZ38
GM
> engine and they praised it.  Huddleston predicted 90% of the field 
> would
use
> the new sealed engine next year.  He said the GM "spec" engine uses 
> 1,500
rpm
> less and drivers don't need as much braking because they roll through 
> corners.  It makes engine horsepower less important than chassis 
> set-up. Reliabilty is a strong point about the engine according to the 
> three
drivers.
>
>
>     Other main events on the half-mile track went to first-time NASCAR
Grand
> American Modified (GAM) winner Travis Thirkettle and Ultra Wheel Super
Truck
> veteran Ron Peterson in his Frahm Dodge-sponsored Dodge Ram truck.
Resilient
> Terry Limberopoulos took another 35-lap Modified 4s race on the 
> third-mile aboard his tough Renault that flipped last week and 
> received significant body-work damage.
>
>     Thirkettle, the 24-year old son of long-time Saugus Speedway and 
> Featherlite Southwest Series stock car driver Jim Thirkettle, has 
> raced a fender-less GAM six years and all four years of racing at 
> Irwindale.  He never came closer to a first place trophy in a feature 
> than second and
third
> place podium finishes.  This year Thirkettle built a new, better GAM 
> car.
He
> changed from his red color to maroon and success followed.
>
>     Thirkettle started second in a 14-car field and was in front all 
> 35
laps
> despite intense pressure from fastest qualifier/fourth starter Roger
Carufel,
> Jr.  Point leader Carufel took second position on lap two.  From laps
24-28
> Carufel raced under Thirkettle side-by-side and tried to pass the 
> leader several times unsuccessfully.  Carufel heated his tires and 
> fell back
during
> the final five laps and trailed by 0.428 seconds (ten yards) at the 
> conclusion.  The caution-free race took 11:02.313 to complete.
>
>     "He (Carufel) kept me honest.  I couldn't make a single mistake," 
> Thirkettle said.  Rod Johnson, who started and finished third, stated, 
> "I overused my right rear tire and they got away from me."  He trailed
Carufel
> by a straight-away.  Eleven of the 14 cars on the starting grid 
> finished, with the top six cars on the lead serial.
>
>     Ultra Wheel Super Truck fastest qualifier Peterson, from San
Bernardino,
> started fourth and took second on the fifth lap.  He used a turn four 
> pass during lap eight to take command for good from pole starter and 
> early
leader
> Joe Herold.  Peterson defeated Herold by ten yards in a 31-minute race
slowed
> by three caution periods following multi-truck crashes.  A red flag on 
> lap
29
> stopped the race because of wall contact by Colin Dickinson on the 
> backstretch.  No injuries resulted.  Only 27 of the 33 starters 
> finished;
25
> drivers ran all 50 laps.
>
>     The top eight trucks ran in a close pack following the red flag, 
> resulting in the final crash.  Fourth and fifth place Cory Fancy and 
> Greg Adler came together on lap 34 exiting turn two.  Adler's truck 
> slammed
into
> the backstretch wall and tore up the right side and Fancy's truck 
> received heavy body damage as well.
>
>     Limberopoulos came from fifth in the 20-car Modified 4s field.  He
became
> the third and final race leader on lap 15 when he made an inside pass 
> of Steve Rogers Ford Pinto and pulled away to a 1.782 second triumph 
> over
Tony
> Lawler's Pinto.  Recent winner Greg Tucker, Rogers and defending Mod 4
track
> champion Guy Tripp followed.
>
>     Nineteen of 20 drivers finished the Mod 4s race and 12 completed 
> all
35
> circuits.  The winner said many late night hours went into getting his 
> battered Renault ready to race following his flip across the starting 
> line
in
> the May 4 feature.  He credited his father for his repair help and his
supply
> of hard-to-get parts for the once common French car.
>
>     Defending track late model champion Dave Hessing led all the way 
> from
the
> pole in the fully inverted six car, six lap trophy dash.  It was the 
> only dash of the evening.  With numbers one through ten on a 
> carnival-type
wheel,
> quickest qualifier Huddleston spun the wheel and it landed on one, 
> giving
him
> the pole for the main.  It was the first fully straight-up lineup of 
> the season.
>
>     The Summary:  (pick up agate)
>
> MODIFIED 4s:
>
> Fast Time: Guy Tripp, 17.379.
>
> Main: Terry Limberopoulos, Tony Lawler, Greg Tucker, Steve Rogers, 
> Tripp, Eric Reed, Dusty Morgan, Evan Banda, Fred Adams, James McNear, 
> Tim Ross,
Greg
> Didogha, Richard Boker, Amee Blue, Ed Lavender, Dennis Croasmus, 
> Virgil Young, John Bromberek, Terry Elliott, Rick LeMaster.
>
> GRAND AMERICAN MODIFIEDS:
>
> Fast Time: Roger Carufel, Jr, 18.690.
>
> Main: Travis Thirkettle, Carufel, Rod Johnson, Charlie Wahl, John
Watkinson
> III, Robert Rice, Mike Trottochau, Tim Morse, Joe Ruggles, Richard 
> Altman, Dennis Schlarbaum, Eddie Ernst, Dennis Eckert, Chad Daly.
>
> ULTRA WHEEL SUPER TRUCKS:
>
> Fast Time: Ron Peterson, 19.438.
>
> Main: Peterson, Joe Herold, Dave Blankenship, Jon Campbell, Reggie 
> Church, Brian Araki, Tom Stanton, Jim McGill, Rich Geisler, Carson 
> Woods, Mark Laeger, Ryan Arciero, Dan Moore, Louis Mannolito, Frank 
> Steiner, Scott Davidson, Paul Brennan, Jim Van Gordon, Kyle Evens, 
> Brian Reed, Troy Lindstrom, Zeke DeRose, Jeb Bailey, Jesse Poppen, 
> Darren Sigwing, Ken
Davis,
> Kevin O'Neil, Jim Kondziela, Cory Fancy, Greg Adler, Craig O'Rourke, 
> Colin Dickinson, Hector Sandoval.
>
> AUTO CLUB of SOUTHERN CALIF. LATE MODELS:
>
> Fast Time: Tim Huddleston, 19.137.
>
> Dash: Dave Hessing, Mike Price, Doug McComb, Kevin Wood, Huddleston, 
> Todd Burns.
>
> Main: Huddleston, Price, Todd Burns, Hessing, Mike Johnson, Jess 
> Flores, McComb, John Lathrop, Craig Rayburn, Brian Kelley, Ron 
> Schartau, Deryk
Ward,
> Todd Conrad, Barry Karr, Jim Conklin, Johnny Butler, Pat Ackley, Scott 
> Youngren, Tim Harris, Rob Chaney, Brian Rock, John Cran, Mike
Rinehart,John
> Ahrendt, Chuck Kevwitch, Juan Gonzalez, Kevin Wood, Andy Bargaehr, 
> Dave Lowenstein.


THANKS!