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Mann is the NSRA's man at South Sound
Andrew Kunas
TENINO, Wash. – It was one doozy of a show for fans Saturday night at South Sound Speedway, but at the front of the field it was no contest once Jake Mann took the lead.
This time for Mann, the win counted also.
The Monroe, Wash. star scored his first career ASA-sanctioned Northwest Sprintcar Racing Association event in dominating fashion and following the race he was thrilled to know for sure his car was legal. Two years ago, Mann thought he'd won at Ephrata Raceway Park in eastern Washington only to find out his car was too light at the scales in post-race inspection.
"It's surreal. I don't even know what to say," an ecstatic Mann said at first while he was being congratulated by his fellow drivers. The win came on a good night also, as most of his family was in attendance.
"The whole family was here. To do it front of everyone here was great."
It was also special for car owner Ken Waller, whose No. 51 Waller & Son Motorsports machine was also driven by Mann that same night at Ephrata when they had a victory taken away. Mann can add his name to the list of drivers who have won races for Waller, a long-time owner who has fielded sprint cars on both dirt and pavement.
Mann, whose previous career high with the NSRA was a third place effort at Evergreen Speedway in March, seemed to think a win was coming soon.
"I was telling everyone I had this weird feeling before here before the races tonight," Mann later said. "I had that same feeling at Ephrata."
Unlike Ephrata, however, Mann didn't leave the track a disappointed man.
Mann, who was fifth fastest in qualifying, started the 35-lap main event eighth as the result of a 12-car inversion. Including Mann's run to the front, what race fans saw over the first 21 laps of racing, especially laps 14 through 17, was nothing short of fun.
Behind the early lead cars of Ralph Deaver, Mike Basher and Robert Beck, drivers from the fourth position back to 12th sliced and diced for position around the high-banked, 3/8-mile asphalt oval. On lap 13 the group of cars, including former five-time NSRA champion Rick Brown of Springfield, Ore. and current point leader Andy Alberding of Roseburg, Ore. reached a pair of slower cars, and mayhem ensued over the next few laps.
All eight or so cars raced three-wide, at times maybe less than a foot apart, and slide jobs were being pulled. Brown drove like a man possessed as his left front wheel was lifting high on the Jim Diemert-owner No. 99d. On a least one instance, he looked like he about to lift the front end completely off the ground exiting turn four.
It was virtually impossible to keep track of everything as it happened as cars were passing each other back and forth. Most pleasantly surprising, no accidents occurred despite close quarters and near misses. The only stop to racing came on lap 22 when the yellow flag came out for the stalled car of former NSRA champion Pat Bliss, who sat on the grass just inside of the track in turn one.
The group finally separated to an extent on lap 18. When it was over, seventh starting Brown was running fourth and fourth-starting R.J. Fronsman was shuffled back to ninth. The tenth-starting Matt Hein, who made it to sixth before the scramble, managed to find himself fifth and the 12th-starting Alberding was sixth.
In the meantime, Mann was clearly the fastest car on the track as he had moved up to fourth place on lap eight after passing Fronsman. Three laps later, he got by Basher for third. On lap 13, he passed Beck for the second position on the high side exiting turn two. The very next lap, Mann passed Deaver for the lead in same manner in the same part of the track.
Mann was gone from there, as he was never threatened the top spot the rest of the way. On the lap 22 restart, Mann motored away and cruised to the victory.
"It was unbelievable how well that car ran," Mann said his winged 360 sprint car. "It was perfect. It ran high. It ran low. It could go anywhere. It was perfect. It was fun."
Ralph Deaver, out of Edgewood, Wash. and driving his own No. 27, led the first 13 laps before yielding the top spot to Mann. He then lost second place to Beck on the lap 22 restart. Beck, who calls Redmond, Wash. home, was unable to catch Mann, but still posted his best finish of the season aboard the No. 3 Millennium Motorsports entry.
Hein, out of Roseburg, passed Brown for fourth exiting turn two on lap 32 and would finish there ahead of Brown in the Hein Racing No. 98h. Alberding, who came into the evening with a 17-point lead over Coleville, Wash.'s Monte Zema Jr. finished sixth in the Dar-Dan Racing No. 76 and padded his lead as he bested or matched Zema in all points-paying events. Zema experienced apparent brake problems at the end of the feature and finished 11th.
Fronsman, third place points driver Justin Mack, former NSRA champion Craig Deaver and Basher rounded out the top ten. Portland's Tim Alberding, driving the L&D Racing No. 52, finished 13th with a limited motor after starting on the pole as the result of the invert.
Bliss, who has experienced motor problems throughout the season, did not time in during qualifying and struggled in his heat race before finishing 14th in the feature. Todd Coleman also did not register a time in qualifying as he had issues with a stuck throttle. Still having problems in the feature, Coleman pulled off the track after only a few laps and was credited with 15th.
Alberding thought he didn't do so well in qualifying and was surprised when he learned he broke his own track record from June 24, 2006 (a run of 11.87 seconds) with a time of 11.798 seconds. Along with Bliss and Coleman, Ray Jones of Delta, Brit. Col. did not post a time as his car spun on the back stretch entering turn three after his top wing collapsed on top of his car. His car also caught fire, and with damage from that his night was over.
Ralph Deaver won the B-Dash over Beck, Basher and Randy Anderson. The four-lap A-Dash, which featured the four fastest drivers in qualifying, was won by Hein over Mack, Andy Alberding, and Zema. Beck and Basher took checkered flags in the two eight-lap heat races.
The next event the ASA Northwest Sprintcar Racing Association is July 7 when the NSRA club makes its first ever visit to Spokane Raceway Park in eastern Washington. That event, it is believed, will be the first competitive open wheel event at the ½-mile asphalt oval since a USAC super modified event in 1986.
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ASA, Northwest Sprintcar Racing Association
South Sound Speedway
Tenino, WA
June 23, 2007
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
17 cars
Qualifying results: (Car number, driver, hometown, owner/team)
1. 76 Andy Alberding, Roseburg, OR; Dar-Dan Racing – 11.798 seconds, New Track Record
2. 25 Monte Zema Jr., Colville, WA; Team Zema Racing – 12.095
3. 98h Matt Hein, Roseburg, OR; Hein Racing – 12.105
4. 17 Justin Mack, Benton City, WA; Mel's Motorsports – 12.157
5. 51 Jake Mann, Monroe, WA; Waller & Son Motorsports – 12.233
6. 99d Rick Brown, Springfield, OR; Jim Diemert – 12.257
7. 82 R.J. Fronsman, Ephrata, WA; Fronsman Motorsports – 12.295
8. 15 Craig Deaver, Sumner, WA; Deaver Racing – 12.303
9. 13 Mike Basher, Tacoma, WA; Sonny Basher – 12.378
10. 3 Robert Beck, Redmond, WA; Millennium Motorsports – 12.439
11. 27 Ralph Deaver, Edgewood, WA; Ralph Deaver – 12.521
12. 52 Tim Alberding, Portland, OR; L&D Racing – 12.842
13. 7 Randy Anderson, Fife, WA; Ken Martin – 13.442
14. 46 Larry Davies, Burien, WA; Larry Davies – 14.146
44 Todd Coleman, Lynnwood, WA; TODCO Motorsports – No time
49 Pat Bliss, West Linn, OR; Helm Motorsports – No time
82j Ray Jones, Delta, B.C.; Ray Jones – No time
82j Ray Jones scratched for rest of program after qualifying.
B-Dash (4 laps): 1. 27 Ralph Deaver, 2. 3 Robert Beck, 3. 13 Mike Basher, 4. 7 Randy Anderson.
A-Dash (4 laps): 1. 98h Matt Hein, 2. 17 Justin Mack, 3. 76 Andy Alberding, 4. 25 Monte Zema Jr.
Heat 1 (8 laps): 1. 3 Robert Beck, 2. 99d Rick Brown, 3. 25 Monte Zema Jr., 4. 17 Justin Mack, 5. 52 Tim Alberding, 6. 15 Craig Deaver, DNS – 44 Todd Coleman, 46 Larry Davies.
Heat 2 (8 laps): 1. 13 Mike Basher, 2. 51 Jake Mann, 3. 76 Andy Alberding, 4. 27 Ralph Deaver, 5. 98h Matt Hein, 6. 82 R.J. Fronsman, 7. 49 Pat Bliss, 8. 7 Randy Anderson.
Feature (35 laps): 1. 51 Jake Mann, 2. 3 Robert Beck, 3. 27 Ralph Deaver, 4. 98h Matt Hein, 5. 99d Rick Brown, 6. 76 Andy Alberding, 7. 82 R.J. Fronsman, 8. 17 Justin Mack, 9. 15 Craig Deaver, 10. 13 Mike Basher, 11. 25 Monte Zema Jr., 12. 7 Randy Anderson, 13. 52 Tim Alberding, 14. 49 Pat Bliss, 15. 44 Todd Coleman, DNS – 46 Larry Davies.
Lap leaders: 1-13 Ralph Deaver, 14-35 Jake Mann.
NSRA: Northwest Sprintcar Racing Association
www.nsraracing.com
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