WALKER CAN'T LIGHT UP AFTER LATEST VICTORY.

Byline: Tim Haddock Auto Racing

Ben Walker gave race fans at Irwindale Speedway a taste of what he's capable of by winning three straight main events to close out the 1999 season.

On Saturday, the Canyon Country driver made it back to victory lane in the NASCAR Super Late Model division, the first time this season for the 18-year-old.

``The car was absolutely perfect,'' Walker said of his Ford Taurus. ``It was a bullet right out of the box.''

In taking the checkered flag, Walker became the third driver in as many events to win a Super Late Model race this season at Irwindale. Greg Voigt of Goleta won the opening-night feature. Charles Utts of Camarillo won the following main.

For Walker, the win meant that he had to give up smoking, a deal he made with his team at the start of the season. It also led to his crew chief, Brett Barnett, shaving his head, another preseason deal. Both said they were more than willing to make the sacrifices in exchange for a victory.

Walker trails series leader Voigt by two points in the standings. But Walker said it's too early to start talking about winning the points title, even though he believes Voigt and Dan Holtz will be his strongest competitors all season long.

--First victory: After narrowly missing an opening-night victory in the NASCAR Grand American Modified division at Irwindale Speedway, Rip Michels of Mission Hills took the checkered flag Saturday night, his first win of the 2000 season.

``If there is a sweet spot on a car, we're on it,'' Michels said. ``It's been awesome. I think everything on the car right now is bullet-proof.''

Michels dropped from first to ninth in the opening-night event because he blew an engine while crossing the finish line. That caused a red flag, which ended the race 12 laps prematurely. Because his blown engine led to the red flag and thus the end of the race, track officials dropped Michels to ninth, the last car on the lead lap, even though he was the first car across the finish line when the race ended.

Michels said Saturday night's victory gave him some redemption.

In other action at Irwindale Speedway, T.K. Karvasek won the NASCAR Super Stocks main event, Jon Zernikow of Monrovia won the Legends main event and Joe Herold of Poway won the Ultra Wheel Spec Trucks main event.

Racing continues Saturday at Irwindale Speedway with NASCAR Super Late Models Twin 40s, Super Stocks, Mini Stocks, USAC Three-Quarter Midgets and figure eights.

--Paying dues: Rolando Quintanilla of Calabasas certainly got his feet wet in the Dayton Indy Lights race at the Grand Prix of Long Beach on Sunday.

The Pepperdine student and Indy Lights rookie had to overcome several setbacks in qualifying just to make the field. He faced even more on race day, when he finished 14th.

In the opening day of practice, he broke a rod in the rear of the car. As a result, Quintanilla missed the first session of qualifying for the race. When he finally got on the track to qualify, Quintanilla got into an accident and ended up having to start from the 18th spot on the grid. His crew spent the rest of the day getting the car ready for race day.

Then during set-up on race day, his crew discovered a gear box problem that Quintanilla had to race with.

``We were going out there with just a car,'' Quintanilla said. ``We didn't know what to expect. But I learned a lot, especially patience.''

In addition to patience, Quintanilla said he learned that while he might not have been mentally prepared for the race at Long Beach, he was physically prepared.

The next race on the Indy Lights schedule is June 4 in Milwaukee.

--On to Vegas: The NASCAR Winston West Series picks up again Saturday with The Orleans 150 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Among local drivers expected to compete are Jerry Cain of Canyon Country and Bill Sedgwick of Acton.

But Las Vegas native Brendan Gaughan is the driver to watch. He is hoping his winning ways at Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield, the series' last event, will continue at his home track.

Gaughan won the Winston West race at Mesa Marin and was fourth at the season opener in Phoenix, making him the only driver in the series with two top-five finishes this season.

The Orleans 150 is part of this weekend's events, which will include an Indy Racing Northern Light Series race and a concert by Smash Mouth.

The Winston West race will begin at 4:45 p.m. and be televised on tape- delay on May 13 at 5 p.m. on Speedvision.

--Conrad wins: Steven Conrad of Agua Dulce won the Sprint car feature at Ventura Raceway on Saturday night. Conrad's victory snapped a two-race winning streak by Clark Templeman III of Santa Clarita.

In other action at Ventura Raceway, Steve Greenland of Reseda won the IMCA Modified feature.

DRIVER STANDINGS

NASCAR WINSTON CUP

1. Mark Martin 1,370

2. Bobby Labonte 1,346

3. Ward Burton 1,293

4. Dale Earnhardt 1,272

5. Jeff Burton 1,236

CART

1. Paul Tracy 34

2. Jimmy Vasser 26

3. Max Papis 20

3. Roberto Moreno 20

5. Gil de Ferran 18

FORMULA 1

1. Michael Schumacher 30

2. Rubens Barrichello 9

3. Giancarlo Fisichella 8

4. Mika Hakkinen 6

4. Ralf Schumacher 6

IRL 

1. Buddy Lazier 90

2. Robbie Buhl 78

3. Scott Goodyear 72

4. Donnie Beechler 63

5. Eliseo Salazar 62

CAPTION(S):

Box

Box: Driver Standings (see text)