Tracks: Race Report for Home Depot 100 and others at Irwindale
1 May 2000
Irwindale, Calif. - - Newhall's Greg Pursley won Saturday night's Home Depot 100 for NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour Cars the same way he that he won Irwindale's first SWT race last year: convincingly, but by the very smallest of margins. Pursley's winning drive of his Community Recycling Chevy Monte Carlo in the hot 100-lapper kept everyone in the 6,000+ crowd on the edge of their seats for the entire event. Pursuing Pursley was Granda Hill's own M.K. Kanke, who's recurrent runs at Pursley had the fans hoarse from their screaming by lap 80 and almost standing on their seats for the final five go-arounds. Lap after lap, Pursley and Kanke toured the Irwindale ½-mile oval turning near qualifying-speed laps while seemingly welded together doorhandle to doorhandle. Adding to the interest, were third place runner (and series point leader) Doug McCoun and the Chatsworth-based Keith Spangler who rode the bottom from a fifteenth place starting slot to fifth overall when it was all over. The Pride of Prunedale, California, Fire Captain McCoun was a very close third … Perhaps one of the closest one-two-threes ever seen in the series (but we really won't know as the transponder on Kanke's car was lost during the race) in Featherlite history. Hand timing had the trio separated by half-hundredths of a second, with Spangler's try for the podium falling only a few split seconds short behind that. Completing the top ten in the intense contest were: Scott Lynch (Burley, Idaho), Augie Vidovich (Lakeside), Jim Inglebright (Fairfield), Steve Petty (Walnut Creek), Mike Snow (Littleton, Colorado), and Darrell LaMoure (Glendale, Arizona). NASCAR's exciting Featherlite Southwest Series has two more appearances on the Irwindale 2000 calendar: Saturday, July 29, and Saturday, October 7, fans of action-packed NASCAR touring series' racing are urged to mark their daybooks for a trip to "L.A.'s ½-Mile Super Speedway" for a great night of super NASCAR series racing. Irwindale Speedway's own Food 4 Less Super Late Models are always a crowd-pleasing attraction, with their own brand of weekly NASCAR racing thrills provided by a unique combination of old pros and up-and-coming young lions. Saturday night another item of interest was added to the division's wide fan appeal: NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie-of-the-Year Tony Stewart was in the house, and not just here (from nearby California Speedway) to sign autographs. Heck no, that racer was here to race. Irwindale Marketing VP Pat Patterson had arranged for the "Rushville Rocket" to take the helm of Kenny Smith's #143 Super Late Model machine as well as for a "lemon-pie" colored helicopter to bring the young star over to Irwindale directly after 'Cup Happy Hour at the 2-Mile Speedway some 30 miles distant. Stewart, with three and a half laps of practice, qualified the car a safe and solid seventeenth (of 40 qualifiers) and finished a sterling seventh driving an unfamiliar car with Winston Cup-winner style and (obviously) great gusto. It wasn't until the race was over that Tony nonchalantly noted that the 75-lap race was his first time EVER at the controls that type of car … Period. The "Super Lates" gave the fans a very popular first time winner with Rancho Santa Fe driver Brandon Miller, another 18 year-old former-karter phenom who all but dominated a tougher-than-nails bunch of regulars from the green flag on. Miller led from the shotgun start until he "Got 'er up into the gray stuff and nearly walled it." on lap 56, letting Bakersfield's always ready, always racey Dan Holtz slip past. Miller then proceeded to calmly hunt Holtz back down and on lap 65, he forcefully retook the lead for good for and for the gold. Points leader Greg Voigt (Goleta) followed in third place and defending division Champ Rod Johnson (Canyon Country) showed a fine return to form with a stout fourth. Chino's Tim Woods III finished fifth gaining valuable points in the series as well. A red flag on the 28 lap for a nasty-appearing accident between two Ultra Wheels Spec Trucks ended that contest with Vince Little of Clovis in the lead. Bill Helegeson (Riverside), Jim McGill (Temecula), Dave Blankenship (Stevenson Ranch), and Joe Herold (Poway) were the second through fifth racers on the track when the race was declared over. A crowd of 6,150 saw action aplenty on Saturday night and, as a extra treat, were able to get an autograph from Winston Cup super star Rusty Wallace who made a quick trip out to see if what he had heard about Irwindale Speedway could even be close to the truth. "This is neater that I ever expected," the 50-time 'Cup victor allowed, "This is a beautiful short track … I'll be back." Enough said … -DS