BLAKENSHIP DOES IT AGAIN.Byline: TIM TIM Timothy TIM Technical Interchange Meeting TIM Transient Intermodulation Distortion TIM Time Is Money TIM The Invisible Man (movie) TIM Telecom Italia Mobile (Italian cellular provider) HADDOCK Motor Sports Winning championships is nothing new to Dave Blakenship. The Ultra Wheel Super Trucks driver from Stevenson Ranch Stevenson Ranch, California (in the 91381 ZIP Code) is a Los Angeles County, USA, unincorporated community west of Santa Clarita a few miles south of Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park. The Stevenson Ranch fountain was redone in 2007. won his second truck title in three years last Saturday night at Irwindale Speedway Irwindale Speedway is a motorsports facility located in Irwindale, California. It features banked, paved 1/2 and 1/3 mile oval tracks. It is mainly used for USAC sprint car and regional NASCAR races. . Add that to his Hobby Stock, Street Stock, Pro Stock and Grand American For sports car racing association formed in 1999, see . Grand American was a NASCAR sanctioned series of pony car stock cars. The series ran from 1968 until 1971. The series was sometimes called the Baby Grand series. Modified titles he's won over the nearly 20 years of stock-car racing stock-car racing Form of automobile racing. Popular in the U.S., it features cars that conform externally to standard U.S. commercial models and are raced usually on oval, paved tracks. , and winning championships might seem to get a little old. ``Why would it?'' Blakenship asked when posed with the question. Going back to his days of running Hobby Stocks at Saugus Speedway, Blakenship has been racing out front with the top drivers. He doesn't have much of an explanation for his success. He never has had the biggest sponsors or the most money to run a top-financed operation, so he relies on his skills as a driver and mechanic to run up front. Winning championships on wits and wisdom carries a certain satisfaction, especially at Irwindale Speedway. ``It's the driver that makes a car good usually,'' Blakenship said. ``A good driver can make adjustments to the car to make it better. That's where I've been good at it. I've been able to do both. I've been driving cars that never had the most dollars. That's the way it's always been with me. I've always been on a budget.'' It doesn't seem to matter for Blakenship. He won two races and finished second in four others in a division that runs evenly matched trucks. For all its equalizers, the championship chase came down to three: Blakenship, Ryan Arciero and Carson Woods. ``Arciero was my toughest competition,'' Blakenship said. ``The other guys don't have it figured out. It took me a year and a half to figure it out. The motors make no difference. It's all in the handling. Most of those guys are pretty darn good drivers.'' In the last points race of the season, Blakenship said he was able to race up front with the leaders. But a caution flag midway through the race hurt his truck's performance. After the restart and after battling with the leaders, his truck faded to a disappointing fifth. ``I got loose and I'm not really sure why,'' Blakenship said. ``I was pretty good early on. Apparently, I overheated o·ver·heat v. o·ver·heat·ed, o·ver·heat·ing, o·ver·heats v.tr. 1. To heat too much. 2. To cause to become excited, agitated, or overstimulated. v.intr. the tires and the tires went away. That happens in the trucks: They are susceptible to the set-up. I was perfect right off the bat, and I knew I was in trouble.'' Even though he ended up with enough points to win the championship, Blakenship wanted to win the race. ``I don't go there to points race,'' Blakenship said. ``It's how I got here, winning races. I was disappointed. I wanted to go out in style.'' The season is far from over for Blakenship. There are three more Trucks Series races at Irwindale. He also is planning on entering a Truck Series race at Mesa Marin Raceway Mesa Marin Raceway was a high banked half mile racetrack in Bakersfield, California that was demolished following the 2005 racing season to make way for housing developments in the foothills of northeast Bakersfield. in Bakersfield in October. The track announced Thursday that the final three races will be the Ultra Short 3-Race Second Series. At stake, a set of Ultra Wheels, valued at more than $500, a $250 gift certificate for D & H Tools and an Irwindale Speedway jacket. In other action at Irwindale, David Gilliland David Gilliland (born on April 1, 1976 in Riverside, California) is a NASCAR driver. He currently drives the #38 M&M's Ford for Robert Yates in Nextel Cup Series and the #25 FreeCreditReport.com in the Busch Series for Team Rensi. of Chino Chino (chē`nō), city (1990 pop. 59,682), San Bernardino co., S Calif.; founded 1887, inc. 1910. It is the business and processing center of a diversified farming (notably dairying) area. won NASCAR NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing), organization that sanctions American stock-car races, est. 1948. It held its first race in Daytona Beach, Fla. Featherlite Southwest Series Advantage Ford 150. Ben Walker of Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, was 24th and Bob Lyon Bob Lyon, an American politician, is a former Kansas State Senator from the city of Winchester. A civil engineer, Lyon is a graduate of the University of Virginia and George Washington University. of Agua Dulce Agua Dulce is Spanish for "sweet water". It also refers to various locations: In Mexico:
Rip Michels of Mission Hills won the NASCAR Super Late Model main. Rod Johnson For the former soccer player, see Rod Johnson (footballer) Rod Johnson is an American public address announcer for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association. of Canyon Country was fourth and Greg Pursley of Canyon Country was fifth. Racing continues tonight with the NASCAR Late Models, Ultra Wheel Super Trucks, Super Stocks, Legend Cars and Figure 8s. Races start at 6 p.m. --Indy Racing League: Bryan Herta's experience at Chicagoland Speedway Chicagoland Speedway is a speedway in Joliet, Illinois, USA, southwest of Chicago. The speedway is actually located several miles south of Joliet proper, just off Illinois Route 53 between Joliet and Wilmington, Illinois. It currently has a capacity of 75,000 people. , site of Sunday's Indy Racing League The Indy Racing League, better known as IRL, is the sanctioning body of a predominantly American based open-wheel racing series. The League consists of two series, the premiere IndyCar Series Delphi Indy 300, consists of one day of testing last week. No matter. The Andretti Green Racing Andretti Green Racing is an auto racing team that competes in the IRL IndyCar Series and the American Le Mans Series. Early years in CART Founded in 1993 by Barry Green and Gerry Forsythe as Forsythe Green Racing driver from Valencia has thrived on tracks where he has little or no experience. Still, Herta said he would like a little more time to get familiar with the track. ``This is a tough series and any time you don't have experience on a race track, it makes it even tougher,'' said Herta, a Hart High of Newhall graduate. ``The Archipelago/Motorola crew has been excellent the last couple of weeks, and we are really working hard to get another win. I'm glad the Chicago event is a three-day weekend. That will help me because I haven't been there yet other than one day of testing, and the more track time I can get the better.'' After posting back-to-back podium finishes, his team is looking forward to getting back on the track. But Herta's team is faced with the challenging task of learning a in a short amount of time. ``Chicagoland Speedway is a difficult track,'' said Kyle Moyer, Herta's team manager. ``When we tested there last week, we learned a lot of things, but we still have some more to learn.'' IRWINDALE SPEEDWAY STANDINGS A list of the top 10 drivers in each division in the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series at Irwindale Speedway. Drivers are listed by name, city and points: NASCAR Super Late Models 1. Rip Michels, Mission Hills, 746 2. Tony Bruncati, Glendora, 704 3. Greg Pursley, Canyon Country, 690 4. Dan Moore, Burbank, 614 5. Brandon Loverock, Norwalk, 548 6. Russell White, Corona, 544 7. Stephen Sadler, Brea, 480 7. Nathan Wulff, San Marcos San Marcos (săn mär`kəs). 1 City (1990 pop. 38,974), San Diego co., S Calif., a northern suburb of San Diego; settled 1880s, inc. 1963. , 464 9. Kevin O'Neil, Long Beach, 454 10. Gary Jenkins Born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, Gary "Lil G" Jenkins" is the seventh child of seven children in his family. Gary began singing in church at the age of seven, which earned him a role as a featured soloist on BET's "The Bobby Jones Gospel Show" for many years. , El Cajon El Cajon (ĕl kähōn`), city (1990 pop. 88,693), San Diego co., S Calif.; inc. 1912. Electronic equipment, aircraft parts, irrigation equipment, furniture, and men's suits are among its manufactures. , 418 NASCAR Late Models 1. Todd Burns, Riverside, 640 2. Scott Youngren, Fallbrook, 570 3. Tim Huddleston, Agoura Hills, 504 4. Doug McComb, Thousand Oaks, 490 5. Mike Price, San Pedro, 486 6. Jess Flores Flores, town, Guatemala Flores (flōrəs), town (1990 est. pop. 2,200), capital of Petén department, N Guatemala. Flores was built on an island in the southern part of Lake Petén Itzá and on the site of the , Sylmar, 484 6. Dave Hessing, Canyon Country, 484 8. Tony Green, Oak Hills, 396 9. Mike Johnson, Covina, 394 10. Andrew Myers, Newport Beach, 384 NASCAR Grand American Modifieds 1. Rod Johnson, Canyon Country, 286 2. Andrew Phipps, Simi Valley, 284 3. Travis Thirkettle, Newhall, 262 4. John Watkinson, Canyon Country, 254 5. Roger Carufel Jr., Saugus, 226 6. Robert Rice, Hawthorne, 212 7. Tim Morse, North Hollywood, 200 8. Dennis Schlaurbaum, La Habra, 174 9. Wally Pettengill Jr., Pearblossom, 168 10. Eddie Ernst, Cathedral City, 162 NASCAR Super Stocks 1. Lee Ladd, Westlake Village, 514 2. Greg Benner, Whittier, 446 3. Chris Houwen, Canyon Country, 438 4. Brian Harrell, Bloomington, 434 5. Steve Gilmore, Van Nuys, 430 5. Danny Renko, Temple City, 424 7. Larry Sampson, Covina, 398 8. Ken Brown, Bermuda Dunes, 362 9. Greg Crutcher, Covina, 316 10. Robin Bourgeois, Costa Mesa, 312 NASCAR Modified 4s 1. Fred Adams, Fontana, 254 2. Tony Lawler, Palm Springs, 244 3. Kevin Bernhardt, Fontana, 228 4. Richard Boker, Fontana, 214 5. Greg Tucker, Ojai, 212 6. Michael Morales, Monrovia, 206 7. Robert Miller, Palm Springs, 192 8. Richard Garver, Torrance, 176 9. Tim Ross, Rancho Cucamonga, 170 10. Eric Reed, Riverside, 170 Ultra Wheel Super Trucks 1. Dave Blakenship, Stevenson Ranch, 464 2. Carson Woods, Yucca Valley, 412 3. Ryan Arciero, Foothill Ranch, 382 4. Jim McGill, Temecula, 364 5. Ron Peterson, San Bernardino, 358 6. Jim Kondziela, Yorba Linda, 340 7. Pat Mintey, Quartz Hill, 294 8. Frank Steiner, Colton, 282 9. Brian Harris, Torrance, 252 9. Dan Moore, Burbank, 258 West Coast Pro Truck Series 1. Aaron Staudinger, Stevenson Ranch, 236 2. Jeff Williams, Westlake Village, 216 3. Neil Conrad, Arcadia, 184 4. Craig Baker, Barstow, 182 5. Dave Lyons, Ontario, 156 6. Dale Cromwell, Ridgecrest, 154 7. Jim Satterfield, Tustin, 152 8. Michael Thomas, San Marcos,146 9. Dennis Bennett, Crestline, 138 10. Steve Dyer, Lomita, 136 INDY RACING LEAGUE Delphi Indy 300 Site: Joliet, Ill. Schedule: Today, qualifying, 2:30 p.m.; Sunday, race (Ch. 7, 11 a.m.) Track: Chicagoland Speedway (oval 1.5 miles, 18 degrees banking in turns) Race distance: 300 miles, 200 laps Last race: Helio Castroneves claimed the top spot in the IRL 1. (jargon, chat) IRL - In real life. Generally synonymous with f2f. 2. (language, robotics) IRL - Industrial Robot Language. standings and gave Toyota its first series championship with a victory at the Firestone Indy 225 at Nazareth Speedway on Aug. 24. Castroneves held off Sam Hornish Jr. by 0.169 seconds. Last year: Hornish moved a step closer to claiming his second consecutive IRL championship by holding off Al Unser Jr. by .0024 seconds to win the Delphi Indy 300. The pair swapped the lead nine times in the final 21 laps before Hornish recorded the closest finish in circuit history. Fast facts: Castroneves leads Gil de Ferran Gil de Ferran (born November 11, 1967) in Paris, France to Brazilian parents, is a former racing driver. De Ferran was the 2000 and 2001 Champ Car champion driving for the Penske Honda Team and the winner of the 2003 Indianapolis 500. by 25 points in the standings. The top nine drivers are eligible for the championship with three races remaining. ... Scott Dixon won his fifth pole of the season at Nazareth and joined Billy Boat and Greg Ray as the only drivers to win at least five poles in a season. Boat holds the record with six in 1998. Next race: Toyota Indy 400, Sept. 21, Fontana CAPTION(S): 2 boxes Box: (1) IRWINDALE SPEEDWAY STANDINGS (see text) (2) INDY RACING LEAGUE (see text) |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion