Arce wins wild Late Model main at Orange
Show Speedway
SAN BERNARDINO – Dave Arce had a fast
race car Saturday night. More importantly, however, Arce somehow managed
to stay out of trouble and win the BSR West Late Model main event at
Orange Show Speedway.
“It’s hard to race with these guys,”
said Arce, 47, of Santee . “You have to be patient.
“There was a lot going on out there.
The guys up front wouldn’t give each other any room and it hurt
them.”
Arce proved that in addition to being a good driver
he is a master of understatement after a night of unexpected events.
A race that was scheduled for 35 laps on the quarter-mile
paved oval was shortened to 25 because of the carnage created by incidents
that resulted in seven yellow caution flags, one red flag, a disqualification
and who knows how many angry words when it was all over.
It took three attempts to get the race started and
there was another yellow flag after the first lap. Once the race did
get under way, 2005 champion Richard Hooper and defending champion Jim
Conklin settled into a battle for the lead. Hooper had it for the first
16 laps, but Conklin nudged him in Turn 2 and claimed the top spot,
and in Turn 4 Hooper ran into Conklin, triggering a melee that destroyed
two cars and left three others unable to continue. Whether Hooper’s
Dodge could have continued was academic because he was ordered to load
the car on its transporter and disqualified.
When the race resumed, Arce was in front of the nine
cars remaining, and he stayed there to the green-white-checkered finish
made necessary by the final caution. Robbie Hewitt was second, in a
Ford owned by Hooper, in his first race of the season, with Jimmy Rouse
Jr. third and Conklin fourth.
It’s likely to be several weeks before the
controversy over this one is put to rest.
The first of the unexpected finishes came in the
25-lap Stock Pony main event, with Bill Hoagland finding himself in
the winner’s circle after being prepared to settle for third.
That came about because on the final lap leaders Matt Goodwin and Eddie
Secord got together in Turn 2. Goodwin spun out of the lead and Secord,
who took first in the incident, was sent to the tail end of the lead
lap.
No one realized that was only a prelude of things
to come.
The Lucas Oil Outlaw Figure 8 series continued to
be a showcase for Tom Smith, with the Lakewood driver taking his fifth
win in as many starts on the infield course. Smith, 31, chased “Barefoot
Billy” Ziemann for the first nine laps, then was unchallenged
after Ziemann pulled off with mechanical problems on lap 9.
Riverside Norte Vista High student Bree Brewer, 17,
who had finished second and third the past two times out, finally got
her first win of the year in the Legends class by leading the 30-lap
race from start to finish and holding off two-time winner Darren Amidon
over the final 15 laps.
Eric Sloan, 12, of Alta Loma took the 15-lap Bandoleros
main event.
ORANGE SHOW SPEEDWAY
Results for Saturday, May 12
LATE MODELS
Main event (25 laps) – 1. Dave Arce, Santee
, Pontiac Grand Prix; 2. Robbie Hewitt, Simi Valley , Ford Taurus; 3.
Jimmy Rouse Jr., San Bernardino , Chevrolet Monte Carlo ; 4. Jim Conklin,
Big Bear, Pontiac Grand Prix; 5. John Mattie, Highland , Chevrolet Monte
Carlo .
Heat race winners – Brian Malone, Grand Terrace,
Chevrolet Monte Carlo; Dan DiGammarino, San Bernardino, Chevrolet Monte
Carlo. Trophy dash winner – Conklin. Fast qualifier – DiGammarino.
OUTLAW FIGURE 8
Main event (30 laps) – 1. Tom Smith, Lakewood
, Chevrolet; 2. Rusty Stewart, Long Beach ; 3. Harry Kuenniger, San
Bernardino , Chevrolet; 4. Jay Henson, Oak Hills, Chevrolet; 5. Tom
Proctor, Riverside , Chevrolet.
Heat race winner – Smith. Trophy dash winner
– Smith. Fast qualifier – Smith.
STOCK PONY
Main event (25 laps) – 1. Bill Hoagland, Alpine,
Ford Mustang; 2. Jim Edmiston, Highland , Ford Pinto; 3. Joe Perez Jr.
Chino , Ford Pinto; 4. Bobby Hogerhuis, Chino , Ford Pinto; 5. Adrianne
Murlin, Corona , Ford Pinto.
Heat race winners – Joe Perez, Chino , Ford
Pinto; Murlin; Eddie Secord, Oak Hills, Ford Mustang. Trophy dash winner
– Hoagland. Fast qualifier – Secord.
LEGENDS CARS
Main event (30 laps) – 1. Bree Brewer, Riverside
, ’34 Ford sedan; 2. Darren Amidon, Santee , ’34 Ford sedan;
3. Tom Landreth, Rancho Cucamonga , ’34 Ford coupe; 4. Chad Schug,
Oak Hills, ’37 Ford coupe; 5. Art Nevill, Acton, ’37 Chevrolet
sedan.
B main winner – Larry Meredith, Redlands ,
’34 Ford coupe. Heat race winners – Jeremiah Wagner, Las
Vegas , ’34 Chevrolet sedan; Nevill; Amidon. Trophy dash winner
– Schug. Fast qualifier – Amidon.
BANDOLEROS
Main event (15 laps) – 1. Eric Sloan, Alta
Loma; 2. Tyler Fabozzi, Anaheim ; 3. Aaron Anderson, Lancaster; 4. Andrew
Anderson, Lancaster.
Heat race winner – Andrew Anderson. Trophy
dash winner – Sloan. Fast qualifier – Andrew Anderson.
For further information, contact Jim Short at 951-203-2649
or jimshort65@sbcglobal.net, call Orange Show Speedway at 909-888-6788,
X438, or visit the web site at www.nosevents.com.
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