2012

Simon | April 30, 2012

pr04-25-12_1 Corona, Calif. (April 25th, 2012)

WISSOTA Modifieds
Kevin ´Buzzy´ Adams Returns to Rice Lake Speedway Victory Lane RICE LAKE, WI (April 14, 2012) — Kevin ´Buzzy´ Adams proved he has not lost his ´Will to Win´ over the off-season, as the defending WISSOTA Modified National Champion added another victory to his already impressive list of accomplishments during the season opener at the Rice Lake Speedway. Mike Anderson sat on the pole for the Modified feature event, but it was Tim McMann who edged in front of Anderson to take the early lead. Anderson fought back and they were running nearly side by side for the lead until Anderson clipped a corner tire in turn two and spun, ending his evening and triggering the first yellow flag of the event. On the restart, McMann continued to hold the lead but Adams quickly moved up from the third row, and after sweeping past Myers on the high side on the restart, he matched that move within two laps to drive past McMann and take over the lead. Once in front, ´Buzzy´ started to stretch his advantage and remained unchallenged until a late race caution set up a three lap sprint to the finish. Adams pulled away again, and continued on for his first win of the 2012 season.

British Touring Car Championship
Shedden Scores Three Podium Finishes at Donington Park DONINGTON (April 15, 2012) – Gordon Shedden was victorious in two of the three highly-charged Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship races at Leicestershire´s Donington Park circuit. In the first race, the Team Honda Civics of Shedden and team-mate Matt Neal finished second and third on the podium. Shedden then led home Neal in race two for a dream 1-2 result for the factory Honda squad in the second of three races. In the final event, Jackson crossed the line in first ahead of Plato and Shedden, but officials then demoted Plato to third with a time penalty after they judged he had unfairly bumped Shedden off the track at the final bend. Officials also later excluded Jackson from the results after it was discovered his car had exceeded the permitted turbo boost limits, meaning the Warwickshire driver had to be content with just the one win on home ground. His exclusion also meant Shedden inherited the victory and a jubilant Tony Gilham who, in his Team HARD Honda Civic, had achieved a maiden top three result as well as his first maximum score in the Independent Drivers Trophy.

Pirelli World Challenge
Baldwin and Bell Give Eibach Springs 1-2 Finish in Long Beach LONG BEACH, CA (April 16, 2012) — Jack Baldwin earned his first World Challenge victory ever in the GTS class at Sunday´s Pirelli World Challenge Long Beach Grand Prix presented by StopTech. Baldwin commented prior to the race that he didn´t believe he would be able to beat pole sitter Peter Cunningham, who also chooses Eibach Springs, into Turn 1, owing to what he believed was a horsepower advantage Cunningham´s Acura had over his No. 68 Hot Wheels/Invoice Prep Porsche Cayman S. It´s possible, then, that Baldwin may have even surprised himself when he found himself at the head of the class field in Turn 1 on Lap 1. His start was so good that it won him the Kia Turning Point of the Race award. Baldwin stretched his advantage slightly over the closing laps to come out on top, finishing ahead of Eibach sponsored Mustang of Justin Bell. It was Baldwin´s first career World Challenge victory and came in just his third series start.

RealTime Racing weathered the highs and lows of race week at the Pirelli World Challenge Long Beach Grand Prix presented by StopTech. Peter Cunningham kicked things off with the pole position, but a brake line issue while running in the top three resulted in a seventh-place finish. Meanwhile, Nick Esayian stormed from eighth on the grid to fourth.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Crafton and Sauter Score Top Five Finishes in the Inaugural Race at ´The Rock´ ROCKINGHAM, NC (April 16, 2012) – Matt Crafton was a force to be reckoned with in the inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Rockingham Speedway, leading 40 laps in his 275th career start. After starting in the eighth position, Crafton´s No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door Toyota Tundra never left the top 10, ultimately earning his first top-five finish of the season when he crossed the finish line third. Crafton gained 12 spots in the NCWTS point standings, advancing to the 11th position, 38 points behind leader Timothy Peters and one point outside the top 10.

Johnny Sauter overcame handling issues and a pit road miscue to score a top-five finish in the inaugural race at the historic speedway. After several adjustments and a fueling issue late in the race, Sauter fought his way to the front of the pack to finish fourth at “The Rock,” shooting up 14 spots in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver points. Sauter took over the fourth spot as the race reached halfway on lap 100, and maintained his position until the yellow flag waved on lap 122 for a two-truck incident. Sauter was the third truck to exit pit road under caution, but the team was unable to get enough gas into the truck for a full fuel run. Forced to return to pit road for a second pit stop, Sauter was the last truck on the lead lap when the field went green on lap 131. The miscue couldn´t stop the Eibach equipped machine, however, and Sauter shot to the eighth spot within 10 laps. With 35 laps to go, Sauter earned seventh place, and with 25 laps remaining, the field saw the final yellow flag of the day. He returned to pit road for four tires and fuel, and the No. 13 took the green flag from sixth on lap 181. Sauter moved quickly into the fourth position, where he remained until the checkered flag waved.

Midwest Late Model Racing Association (MLRA)
Anderson Repels Stovall for MLRA Victory in Wheatland WHEATLAND, MO (April 14, 2012) – Reigning series champion John Anderson of Omaha, Nebraska fought off the furious challenge of Jesse Stovall at the Lucas Oil Speedway for a $3,000 victory on the Lucas Oil MLRA tour. Anderson battled his way to the lead after starting fourth on the way to his first victory of the 2012 season. A late caution set up a green-white-checkered finish in the 30-lapper, and Stovall nearly pulled alongside at the white flag. Stovall took another shot at Anderson entering turn three, but Anderson stayed in command in his Eibach Springs adorned Mastersbilt Chassis to take the checkers for his 25th career series victory.

UMP Late Models
Henry Wins First Race of 2012 at Attica Raceway Park ATTICA, OH (April 13, 2012) — John Henry got his first taste of victory for 2012 at the Attica Raceway Park in Attica, Ohio. The team struggled in their brand new 2012 orange front-end Rocket Chassis in practice. After suffering from a vibration during the heat race, Henry started sixth in the feature and quickly made his move to the front. The Ada, Ohio native was in charge of the lead by lap three. On the 22nd circuit, Matt Miller began putting pressure on Henry for the lead. The challenge was unsuccessful, and instead Henry took the checkered flag in his first race of the season.

SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour
Jacob Gomez Leads JRC to Victory in SRL SPEARS Manufacturing 125 BAKERSFIELD, CA (April 9, 2012) — JRC Motorsports, Inc. driver Jacob Gomes of Manteca scored a clean sweep in Saturday´s SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour opener at his home Stockton 99 Speedway by taking fast-time in qualifying and winning the SPEARS 125. The victory puts JRC in the driver´s seat of the 2012 points standings as Gomes will lead the series to Madera Speedway in two weeks. Nearly a dozen caution flags slowed action on the historic quarter-mile asphalt oval, but Gomes kept his #16 Sunny Valley Meats #16 ahead of the competition on each and every one of them. A critical late-race restart on lap 117 saw Gomes again pull away from rival Derek Thorn and take the race win.

AMA Supercross
Roczen Finished Fifth in New Orleans NEW ORLEANS, LA (April 15, 2012) – Red Bull/KTM rider Ken Roczen rounded off a good ride in the penultimate round of the AMA East Supercross Lites Series in the Louisiana Superdome New Orleans but arm pump let him slip from third to fifth in the closing stages of the race. The young German teenager breezed through the day at the top of the leader board during the afternoon practice sessions to clock fastest qualifying time. He went on to grab the holeshot and led every lap for a comfortable heat win. Around the mid-way point in the main event, Roczen was able to capitalize on a mistake to take over third position. He held on to the position for two laps before a mistake cost him two positions. He was able to hang on to finish inside the top five at the end of the fifteenth lap main.

IMCA Modifieds
Cayden Carter Captures IMCA Modified Victory at the Southern Iowa Speedway OSKALOOSA, IA (April 11, 2012) — Local driver Cayden Carter opened the 2012 season strong during the first points night of racing action at the Southern Iowa Fairgrounds, as he outdueled veterans Scott Dickey and Corey Dripps for a victory in the IMCA Modified division. After winning the B-Modified track championship in 2011, Carter made the jump into the IMCA Modified ranks this season, and lead all 15 laps of the season opener en route to victory lane.