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RICHARD HARVEY JR WINS CRASH MARRED BAKERSFIELD FEATURE
by Gary Jacob & Don Low
Unwinged 360 Sprint Cars, Super Street Stocks and Hobby Stocks
Bakersfield, CA....July 6.......Car builder Richard Harvey Jr led the final 15 laps to win the crash-shortened 20 lap Bandit Unwinged 360 Sprint Car feature Saturday night at Bakersfield Speedway Park. Three flips in the first half of the race pushed the finish beyond 11 PM and the officials shortened the scheduled 30 lapper to 20 rounds with Bobby Elliott second ahead of Steve Conrad and Wade Griest. Derrick Hearron hit the wall and rolled onto his side leading on lap 5. The action drew a season high 30 car turnout for the Bandit Series. Super Street Stock point leader Brady Bell passed race long leader Jason Selvidge as they worked lapped traffic on the final round and Bell posted his sixth win of the season. Selvidge placed second ahead of Karl Noland Jr, who stayed within 26 points of Bell in their track title fight. Larry Hood led the final 8 laps to win the time shortened 17 lap feature for the hobby stocks. His second win snapped the three race winning streak for Bruce Johnson and left the teenager Hood just 13 points back of point leader M'Lissa Manzella. Mike Lee ran second over Tom Klamorick.
The 30 unwinged 360 Sprint Cars were paced in time trials by the 13.347 lap of Greg Porte. Winner of the previous week feature in Santa Maria, Gene Manhire was second at 13.402, Griest had a 13.426 and Tom Stansberry a 13.442. Usual Ventura Raceway regular Clark Templeman III was fifth at 13.446 and Josh Davis had a 13.457. Conrad ran a 13.458, then flipped on his second lap. Jason Yount was the final car in the 13.4 second bracket. Bakersfield car builder Larry Brown broke an engine in hot laps and John Burnett's car wouldn't fire for the time trial action. The large field was split into four qualifying heat races with an invert 4, take four lineups. Elliott won the first heat from an outside front row start with fellow front row starter Matt Day second over Templeman. Harvey won heat 2 from an outside front row start with Manhire second over pole starter A J Burgin. Former dirt late model racer Wade Griest won heat 3 from 4th starting with pole starter Sherman May second over fellow front row starter Hearron. Dwarf car graduate Stansberry won heat 4 from 4th starting with pole starter Steve DeMott second over last starting Jim Thomson. They then took six transfers from a 10 lap B Main. Sixteen year old Alan Ballard from Bakersfield is a regular at Ventura Raceway and this was his first chance to race at his hometown track. He took the lead from Dave Knott on lap 5 and won the B Main over dirt late model racer Buck Cox, Dick Stevens and dwarf car graduate Ron Bach.
The track checkered the hobby stock feature to give the Bandits just over 30 minutes to run their scheduled 30 lap feature. Harvey took an early lead over Hearron, Elliott, Conrad and Templeman. Griest gained fifth on lap 2 and the race was redflagged on lap 3 when May did a series of hard flips. He had to be transported to the hospital. Johnathan Logan, Bach and Ballard got together on the restart to force a lap 4 yellow with Eliott now second over Hearron and Conrad. Hearron managed to lead lap 5, but got into the fence and rolled onto his side a lap later. When lap 6 was scored, Harvey led Elliott, Conrad, Griest and Manhire. Just as he was being lapped by the leaders, Ventura Raceway regular David Sinsley flipped for a final red flag on lap 11. With the clock already after 11 PM, the drivers were informed that the race was shortened to 20 laps. The leaders ran in order to the checkered flag with Elliott second over Ventura Raceway's Conrad, Griest, Manhire, Stansberry, Templeman, Porte, Davis and Thomson.
The ten car super street turnout included Santa Maria Speedway star Larry Mickey and the debut for Vernon Wagner in the former Joe Porche car. Bill Little borrowed the Keith Heaslet car to stay in the point race. Ed Barrett won the first heat from an outside front row start with Joe Wilson Jr second in the former Joey Claborn car. Bell won heat 2 from an outside front row start with defending champion Karl Noland Jr second over Selvidge, who was again in the Dave Bauer car. The 25 lap feature had a six car inversion and Selvidge raced into the lead over K Noland Jr, Bell and Wilson. Barrett pitted early and Little stalled for a lap 8 caution. Mickey started last after missing the heat action and raced into fourth with an inside pass of K Noland Jr on lap 11. Bell was now second over Wilson. Mickey had to pit with a flat tire on lap 12 and K Noland Jr sat in fourth over R Noland. Mike Allen gained fifth when R Noland slowed. K Noland Jr passed Wilson for third on lap 19 and Bell got leader Selvidge with just a few laps remaining. On that final round, they had to negotiate the slower car of Allen. Bell found an opening down low while Selvidge made his pass on the outside. The drag race to the checkered flag left Bell in front of Selvidge by a bumper. It was Bell's sixth win and he ended the night 26 poitns ahead of K Noland Jr. Wilson is third in points ahead of Little and R Noland. K Noland Jr ran third in front of Wilson, Allen, Little and Barrett.
The 21 hobby stocks were split into three heat races. Hood came from fifth to win heat 1 over Ted Rogers and point leader M'Lissa Manzella. With a pole start, paraplegic Jacky Wood won heat 2 ahead of sixth starter Brian Puckett. Lou Wolfe won heat 3 from 4th with red hot Bruce Johnson second from a sixth start. Chett Reeves and Wood shared the front row for their scheduled 20 lap feature. Reeves led the first 2 laps over Wood and Jeffrey Barrett. On lap 3, Wood and Barrett both got around Reeves before Johnson, Manzella, David Hayder, Robby Sawyer and Puckett tangled for a yellow flag. Barrett pitted on a lap 5 yellow to move Hood into second over Pittsburg's Lee and Reeves. Rogers pitted from fifth and a smoking Jake Brush was blackflagged. Hood got the lead from Wood on lap 10 and Lee got around Wood for second on lap 14. Wood stalled for a yellow flag on lap 15. The race was checkered after 17 rounds with Hood leading Lee, Klamorick and Robert Sanders. Brush was disqualified from his finish for ignoring the black flag and Sawyer was penalized from 5th to 7th for not taking the right spot on the final restart order. This gave fifth to Steve Cimental ahead of Puckett, Sawyer and John Fenton. The tight point race has Manzella with a 13 point lead on Hood, 17 ahead of Puckett and 28 ahead of Johnson. Lee moved around Wolfe into fifth in points.
Summary
Hobby Stocks
Heat 1-Larry Hood, Ted Rogers, M'Lissa Manzella, Chad Huffmon, Ross Spillman.
Heat 2-Jacky Wood, Brian Puckett, Jeff Barrett, Robby Sawyer, Frank Farris.
Heat 3-Lou Wolfe, Bruce Johnson, Mike Lee, Chett Reeves, Tom Klamorick.
Main-Hood, Lee, Klamorick, Robert Sanders, Steve Cimental, Puckett, Sawyer, John Fenton, Manzella, Spillman, Johnson, Wood, Reeves, Rogers, Barrett, F Farris, Eric Farris, Huffmon, David Hayder, Wolfe.
Super Street Stocks
Heat 1-Ed Barrett, Joe Wilson Jr, Bill Little, Mike Allen, Vernon Wagner.
Heat 2-Brady Bell, Karl Noland Jr, Jason Selvidge, Raymond Noland.
Main-Bell, Selvidge, K Noland Jr, Wilson, Allen, Little, Barrett, R Noland, Larry Mickey, Wagner.
Bandit Unwinged 360 Sprint Cars
Fast Time-Greg Porte 13.347
Heat 1-Bobby Elliott, Matt Day, Clark Templeman III, Porte, Buck Cox.
Heat 2-Richard Harvey Jr, Gene Manhire, A J Burgin, Josh Davis, Aaron Altaffer.
Heat 3-Wade Griest, Sherman May, Derrick Hearon, Steve Conrad, Alan Ballard.
Heat 4-Tom Stansberry, Steve DeMott, Jim Thomson, Patrick Frisco, Bobby Davis Jr.
B Main-Ballard, Cox, Dick Stevens, Ron Bach, Johnathan Logan, David Sinsley, Dave Knott, Ray Knight, Altaffer, Jeremy Ellertson.
A Main-Harvey, Elliott, Conrad, Griest, Manhire, Stansberry, Templeman, Porte, Davis, Thomson, Ballard, Burgin, Cox, Day, DeMott, Stevens, Frisco, Hearron, Sinsley, Logan, Bach, May.
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