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| October 14, 2006 News |
| Race Report: Manufacturer’s Cup West - Saturday Report |
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Round two of the George Kugler Manufacturers Cup West presented by ekartingnews.com kicked things off Saturday under partly cloudy skies and the threat of rain. The precipitation never materialized and we were left with beautiful Santa Maria skies to start the finals. Santa Maria has always been a great place for racers on and off the track. The Ramada has changed names a few times over the last ten years, but memories of junior drivers releasing 150 superballs from the fourth floor into the lobby are still fresh in my mind.
The normal race schedule was changed up a bit today so a few drivers could get back for an awards banquet later in the evening. The Masters drivers were the first race group to take a green flag in the final. Larry Fisher was the pole sitter and started the final from the same position. The final was a runaway win for Fisher. Right from the green he was shot from a canon. The field spread out quickly with Ian Campbell dropping into second and Phil Rockwell slotting into third. Glen Parsons ended his day with a fourth place finish.
HPV 1 Cadet was next out of the gate and as usual they put on quite a show. From the drop of the green it was the Raquel Martinez and Devin Jones show. These two seasoned veterans traded the lead back and fourth until Jones was able to keep the lead for the final few laps. Jack Freese ran a solid race in third place, but a tech infraction cost him his great effort and handed the final podium position over to Adrian Starrantino.
TaG and ICC were the third event of the day. Mike Mantel was the TaG pole sitter while Cameron Parsons again led the way in the ICC Prefinal. Early contact between Richard Conant and Mantel almost ruined the TaG race, but fortunately the onboard started came into play. Conant got a little excited heading into the narrow back section of the track and collected Mantel. Both spun off and they had to restart. Unfortunately that was not the only contact in this contact. Conant went wide coming onto the front straight and got out in the marbles. The result was the only incident of the day. Conant careened off the Scribner barriers and flew in the air. He was transported for pains in his arm, but came back to the track later, sore, but otherwise ok.
Joey Licata Jr. was the biggest winner of the day, picking up a pair of wins in Junior Super Sportsman Lite and in HPV Junior Lite. Licata had things pretty much go his way in both classes. He qualified on pole in both classes and finished where he started in the Prefinals. Licata was challenged during the HPV Prefinal by Dylan Coffey but after taking a bet in the final to not look over his shoulder he managed to pull out a 10 second gap back to second place runner Coffey. Super Sportsman was very similar in nature. Turn one was exciting, but after a few circuits around Santa Maria’s 7/10th of a mile track and Licata was running alone in the lead. Chris Crompe came away with second place, Grant Phillips was third, and Harley Owen capped things off in fourth place.
The Lowe brothers ruled HPV Senior. Travis Lowe set the pace in qualifying, but finished second in the heat race to his brother David. Turn one was exciting in this class too as both starts saw Matt Jones have an issue dropping him back into fourth. As the Lowe brothers took off with David leading Travis. Jones had his hands full getting around old man Jim Mulcahy. David managed to keep his brother at bay to take the HPV win. Jones eventually found his was around a tired Mulcahy, but it was too late to mount a charge to the front.
Peter the “bandit” Hearn and Ryan Priestman had a great fight in the 10-lap Prefinal, and that enthusiasm carried on into the final. Hearn and Priestman passed back and forth a few times and managed to go side by side in a few corners too. The good luck ended when contact between the leaders dropped Hearn back and out of contention for the win. Priestman showed up a bit late for the podium presentation, but we were still glad to have him hoist his first place cup into the air.
The best race of the day was once again Cadet Junior Sportsman. Five drivers battled for all 16 laps of the final before a clear winner was determined. Adrian Starrantino set the pace in qualifying, posting a blistering time of 55.378. Luis Tyrrell went on to win the Prefinal, but it was up for grabs in the final. After a solid run in the Prefinal Rocky Martinez made an engine swap and started from the back of the field. Within 2 laps she was in the hunt for the win. Luis Tyrrell sped out to an early lead, but at times he gave it up to Starrantino for a few laps. Devin Jones ran as high as second place, but he was not able to make it count in the last few laps. Kyle Blum ran a great race hanging onto the lead pack, waiting to make his move. Behind Tyrrell, drivers moved in and out of positions like the ebb and flow of the tides. With only two laps to go Martinez made her move to 3rd and that was all Starrantino and Tyrrell needed to make a clear run to the checkered flag. Tyrell raised his hands in victory, crossing the line a mere .860 of a second ahead of Starrantino, Martinez, Blum, and Jones.
The forecast for Sunday looks good, calling for partly sunny skies and no rain.
To follow the event updates, visit the official discussion thread HERE |
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