PALMDALE DRIVER SAYS PATIENCE CAN WAIT.

Byline: Tim Haddock Auto Racing

Bobby Boone of Palmdale knows the key to winning USAC Midget races on pavement is tire conservation and patience. But patience never has been of his better traits.

When he was 14, Boone became the youngest driver to win a Gold Coast Kart state championship but only because he lied about his age and was able to compete against 16-year-olds.

In Saturday night's USAC Midget main event at Irwindale Speedway, Boone threw patience aside again and it proved to be a good move. The 19-year-old Littlerock High School graduate, who qualified with the fastest time of the night, blew past Ryan Newman and sprinted to his first USAC victory on pavement in his two-year career on the Midget circuit.

Boone passed leader Newman on the first lap and built a seemingly insurmountable lead in the 30-lap feature. But his stategy almost backfired as his car suffered tire damage near the end of the race.

Boone held on and won for the first time this season and the second time in his USAC Midget career. His other victory was on a dirt track.

``The right-front tire had a cord come loose and I had a bad push toward the end of the race,'' Boone said. ``The car got real tight and we won by about half a car length. But it ended up good. I don't think we could've won if we didn't pass (Newman) when we did.''

USAC Midgets race again Saturday night at Bakersfield Speedway.

In other action at Irwindale Speedway Saturday night, Indy Racing League driver Davey Hamilton of Las Vegas won the USAC Western States Sprint main event, Charles Utts of Camarillo won the NASCAR Super Late Models main event and Rick Veenstra of Emmitt, Idaho, won the SRL Super Modifieds main event.

--Grand Prix of Long Beach: Don Simons of Glendale has spent the past year preparing for his chance to race during the Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 15.

Simons, who owns Telsoft Communications in Glendale, made a bid of $110,000 during a charity auction to win a seat in a Toyota Celica and compete in the pro/celebrity race during the weekend events that make up the Grand Prix of Long Beach. In addition to the pro/celebrity race, the CART FedEX Series will be a highlight of the weekend races.

Simons has gone to great lengths to ensure that he finishes well. He leased an SCCA Formula Mazda Series car and practiced at Las Vegas Motor Speedway recently. He went so far as to purchase a Toyota Celica Super GTS, the exact type of car that he will be driving in the pro/celebrity race.

He said going from the Formula Mazda Series car to the Celica is like driving in slow motion. But during Tuesday's practice on the temporary road course on the streets of Long Beach, Simons wasn't going slow enough to avoid crashing with George Lucas, director of the ``Star Wars'' movies.

``He and I went out in the same corner,'' Simons said. ``But we were laughing about it afterward.''

While sharing a race course with Lucas proved to be a challenge, Simons said he expects his biggest competition to come from actor Josh Brolin and former Denver Bronco quarterback John Elway.

--Ventura Raceway: IMCA Modified driver Rick Wolfe of Studio City won for the second time this season at Ventura Raceway on Saturday night. In addition to reaching victory lane for the second time this season, it was also Wolfe's third top-five finish in as many races.

In other action at Ventura Raceway, Clark Templeton III of Santa Clarita won the sprint car feature, Tom Stephens of Ventura won the street stocks feature and Jack Fullerton of Santa Paula won the pony stocks feature.

--Busch: NASCAR Busch Grand National Series driver Kevin Harvick of Bakersfield closed in on rookie points leader Ron Hornaday Jr. with a top-10 showing at the Albertson's 300 at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday.

Harvick posted a ninth-place finish in his AC Delco Chevrolet and closed to within 21 points of Hornaday, from Palmdale.

Hornaday finished 17th in his NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet at Texas. Hornaday also dropped to seventh in the overall points race. NASCAR Winston Cup Series regular Mark Martin won for the fourth time this season on the Busch series and for the 44th time in his career on the Grand National circuit. Matt Kenseth, the series points leader, was second at Texas. The series moves on to Nashville Speedway for the Bell South Mobility 320 on Saturday.

--CART: Bryan Herta of Valencia had another setback as his CART FedEx Series career remains in limbo with Forsythe Championship Racing.

Swift Engineering Inc., maker of the Swift chassis for Herta's Panasonic Swift Honda team, announced Wednesday that it is severing its ties with the Gerald Forsythe-owned team.

Swift cited several breaches in confidence and in the terms of its contract with Forsythe, capped with the decision not to run Herta's team in the Miami Grand Prix, that led to the break between the manufacturer and the CART team.

Forsythe, who owns the Player's teams with Patrick Carpentier and Alex Tagliani as drivers, applied for a third team for Herta but was denied his request, effectively ending Herta's season before it got started.

As Herta and his team wait for CART officials to reconsider Forsythe's request, the two-time Monterey Grand Prix winner has been testing and preparing for their season to start. Meanwhile, the CART FedEx Series will proceed with its second race, the Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix in Nazareth, Pa., Sunday.