GREAT OUT OF THE GATE PURSLEY HAS EARNED WINS IN TWO OF FIRST THREE EVENTS.

Byline: TIM HADDOCK Motor Sports

NASCAR Super Late Model driver Greg Pursley says he's off to the best start of his career. The Canyon Country driver has won the two of the first three races of the Irwindale Speedway Super Late Model season, the latest coming in a rare Sunday afternoon race.

Rain washed out the regular Saturday night races last weekend. As a result, track officials asked the drivers to come back Sunday afternoon to get the scheduled races in.

``It was like racing on an ice skating rink,'' Pursley said. ``I was driving with an egg under the throttle.''

The rain combined with hot, sunny weather the next day at the track made for slippery conditions.

``It was a huge difference between Sunday and Saturday,'' Pursley said. ``It turned out real good. You still have to deal with the heat inside the car. I had a feeling the track was going to be hard to get a hold of.''

Pursley said his crew set up his car the same way it does for practice and qualifying, which normally occurs during the day at Irwindale Speedway. They didn't make many changes to the car for the race, keeping it with a tight set-up.

``This is the best start of any season I've had so far,'' said Pursley, who also drives on the NASCAR Elite Division, Southwest Series. ``I'd like to win more races this year than last year. We're off to a good start.''

Dan O'Donnell of Castaic was 13th and Rod Johnson of Canyon Country was 19th in the Super Late Models race.

A pair of track champions got off to winning starts at Irwindale Speedway on Sunday.

Aaron Staudinger of Stevenson Ranch won the season opener in the West Coast Pro Trucks Series. Andrew Phipps of Simi Valley won the season opener in the NASCAR Grand American Modifieds.

John Watkinson of Canyon Country, the 2002 division champ, was second in the Grand Am race. Travis Thirkettle of Newhall was fourth, and Michael Trottochau of Acton was 10th.

The NASCAR Auto Club Late Models, Vista Super Stocks, Mechanix Wear Speed Trucks and figure 8s are scheduled to race tonight at Irwindale Speedway. Races start at 6 p.m.

--NASCAR Elite Division, Southwest Series: M.K. Kanke of Frazier Park turned in his first top-10 finish of the season and Ben Walker of Santa Clarita added another solid finish to stay in the top-10 in points in the NASCAR Elite Division, Southwest Series race at Cajon Speedway last Saturday.

Kanke finished eighth and Walker was ninth in the Coors Light 125 won by Jeff Seifert of Jamul, Calif. It was Seifert's first career win on the Southwest Series.

Seifert started on the pole and led every lap, holding off a charge by San Diego favorite Joe Herold, who posted his best finish in three years of racing on the Southwest Series.

Walker claimed a $750 bonus for making up the most positions during the race. He started 21st and finished ninth.

Bob Lyon of Acton finished 14th.

The next race on the Southwest Series is May 8 at Stockton 99 Speedway.

--NASCAR Busch Series: Ron Hornaday Jr. is off to a bumpy start in the NASCAR Busch Series season. He has only one top-10 finish in four starts and is 13th in points heading into today's race at Nashville Speedway.

Compared to last year, Hornaday was third in points entering the Nashville race.

``It's been bad luck really,'' said Hornaday, a former Saugus Speedway champ and driver of the No. 2 Chevy for Richard Childress Racing. ``We didn't race that good last year in the first couple of races, but we managed to scramble and get good finishes. We used a lot of track position and pit strategy to get up front and hang on to decent runs.

``This year we have had better cars and I feel like everything is better. But, we haven't finished well. It's kind of like when you play golf and hit every fairway and green, but then three-putt every green. We're racing well. We just aren't scoring right now.''

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(1) IRWINDALE SPEEDWAY STANDINGS

(2) NASCAR BUSCH SERIES Pepsi 300