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CHUCK WEST WINS VENTURA TQ MAIN – By Tim Kennedy
Ventura, CA., Jul 11 – Eleven NMRA -TQ midget team raced Saturday in a multi-division program topped by VRA 360 sprint cars. It was the third TQ event of the season at Jim Naylor's fifth-mile clay Ventura Raceway and the second 20-lap feature triumph this season for Chuck West, from Clovis, at the oceanfront speedway. The five-time NMRA driving champion (2002, 06, 08, 11 and 12) now has won four of the nine TQ main events this season. He was not present for one race. His other victories came at tracks in Bakersfield and Santa Maria.
West started fourth in the West Evans Motor-sports No. 38 Stealth/Kawasaki. He moved up a position from third to second in current points and trails his car owner/first cousin West Evans by only seven points. Bruce Hiroshima, the point leader after seven events, missed race eight at Bakersfield and fell to fourth place in driver points. He returned to action in Ventura and drove from eighth starting spot to second place in his No. 5 Stewart chassis with a Clerc Honda engine.
Point leader Evans started seventh in his No. 38 Spike/Bob Wirth Suzuki and finished third. Chris Thomas started second and finished fourth. Scott Niven, the ninth starter, crossed the finish line fifth. Rookies Kevin Kale and his first-time car owner father Ace Kale started fifth and third. They finished sixth and seventh respectively.
Scott Dobson came home eighth after starting sixth. Dave Lambert started last (11th) and completed all 20 laps. Pole starter Doyle Mosley, brother of the late Indianapolis 500 driver Mike Mosley, logged 18 laps for P. 10. Rookie Paul Sanders started outside row five and ran 15 laps.
West started third and won the first eight lap heat race. Pole starter Thomas led all eight laps to win the second heat race. The next NMRA-TQ event will be held Saturday, July 25 at Bakersfield Speedway. The final six TQ races will be conducted at the Bakersfield and Santa Maria tracks. Each speedway will host three race dates.
SUMMARY:
Heat 1 – Chuck West, Bruce Hiroshima, Doyle Mosley, Kevin Kale, Scott Niven, Paul Sanders.
Heat 2 – Chris Thomas, West Evans, Scott Dobson, Ace kale, Dave Lambert.
Main – West, Hiroshima, Evans, Thomas, Niven, K. Kale, A. Kale, Dobson, Lambert, Mosley, Sanders.
POINTS:
Driver Car Owners
1 West Evans 545 1 No. 36 West Evans 572
2 Chuck West 538 2 No. 18 Scott Dobson 548
3 Scott Dobson 421 3 No. 5 Bruce Hiroshima 514
4 Bruce Hiroshima 490 4 No. 77 Ace Kale 442
5 Ace Kale ® 415 5 No. 07 Ace Kale 405
6 Kevin Kale ® 378 6 No. 38 West Evans 371
7 Dave Lambert 321 7 No. 55 Dave Lambert 342
8 Ted Dann ® 311 8 No. 40 Chris Thomas 228
9 Chris Thomas 213 9 No. 7 Ace Kale 194
10 Doyle Mosley 175 10 No. 87 Doyle Mosley 190
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