 California Speedway proves to be high-speed excitement for
American Stockcar Challenge competitors
Sixteen ASC competitors showed up at California Speedway to race their stockcars on the fast Grand Am course on March 11th through the 13th. The series regulars were joined by 2 ASC-X cars, (cars that do not meet the specifications of ASC), and 8 Protrucks, plus 3 historic Winston Cup cars, making a whopping 29 cars on the grid for the races. The course record for the series fell to Ken Stinnett, driving the # 43 Sundance Carpentry Chevy Monte Carlo during Sunday’s race. The old track record of 1:46.341, held by Mike Carson, fell to Stinnett in the race. Ken bested the old time by 2.3 seconds, putting on a show running the fastest lap of 1:44.016, and consistent laps in between 1:44.1 and 1:44.2 for several laps. Six of the competitors in Sunday’s race broke the old track record, including 2 of the new ZZ4 Fast Burn motors, one Dodge, one Ford, and two of the original 355 hp ZZ4 motors. No one motor showed any advantage over the others on the high-speed oval or on the in-field section. Nelson Garrison in the # 4 ASC-X car posted the fastest time of the weekend, a 1:43.975, 0.041 seconds faster than Stinnett’s ASC time.
Friday’s test day saw several sessions, which was partly responsible for the fast times logged by everyone. Teams tested various set ups and gear selections, as well as, learning the track configurations and grip conditions. Friday was clear and warm.
Conditions on Saturday began with fog preventing the early sessions from practicing. The ASC qualifying session, however, was able to be held on time, in cloudy, cool weather. This contributed to several teams and competitors bettering their previous Friday lap times. The ASC pole was earned by Manuel Gil del Real, in the # 27 Symbolic Ford Taurus, at 1:46.193. He was followed by Kevin Culver, Ed Ochylski, Ken Stinnett, and Steve R. Carvajal for the fast five, all within 1.1 seconds. Garrison took the overall pole, being the only car on the grid faster than the top seven ASC cars. Nathan Swartzbaugh was the fastest of the Protrucks, posting a 1:47.476. Of the top fifteen fastest qualifiers, 10 were ASC cars, 2 were ASC-X cars, 2 were Protrucks, and 1 Historic Cup car. Ed Ochylski smacked the wall during qualifying and was unable to continue, despite a good qualifying time.
The race began with Garrison bringing the field up to the green and everyone getting a clean start, except for the 41 Protruck of Donn Cross, who had contact with one of the Cup cars. Everyone made it through NASCAR turns 1 & 2, and through the rest of the first lap without incident. A lead group of Garrison, Stinnett, Gil del Real, Scott Ivie, (last year’s champion), Chris Evans, Culver, and Carvajal pulled a couple of seconds away from the rest of the field by lap three. Carvajal was dropped from the lead group, developing a slight mechanical problem, leaving the rest to battle for the lead. Garrison spun and was out of contention for the overall win. Gil del Real suffered a mechanical problem that took him out of the race. Jamie Dick, driving the Carvajal Motorsports # 99 car, had an engine failure that brought out the full course yellow on lap 15, just as the front group started to lap the first cars on the end of the lead lap. Culver, driving the # 96 Evans Metal Fabrication Monte Carlo, held the lead, followed by Scott Ivie, in the # 47 American Mortgage Dodge, Chris Evans in the # 10 EMF Ford Taurus, Stinnett in the # 43 Sundance Carpentry Monte Carlo, and Carvajal in the # 90 CMI Monte Carlo, (Chevy, Dodge, Ford, Chevy, Chevy). After two laps behind the pace car, the green and white flags dropped again for a one-lap sprint to the finish. Ivie challenged Culver for the lead several times as Evans made stabs for second. Stinnett and Carvajal had a lapped Cup car between them and the lead group, upon which Stinnett made a clean pass in the infield kink. The startled Cup car pilot reacted poorly and spun off the track, eliminating Carvajal’s attempt to pass Stinnett. Culver held on for the win, followed by Ivie and Evans respectively on the podium.
Top Five
Kevin Culver
Scott Ivie
Chris Evans
Ken Stinnett
Steve Carvajal
Sunday began cold and dreary with a mist falling for most of the day. Practice was held and the cool air allowed the cars to gain horsepower in the oval. Qualifying saw the times drop again, with Ken Stinnett taking fast time with a scorching 1:44.962. This time the fastest 12 times were 11 ASC cars, and Garrison being third quick. On the outside pole was Kevin O’Connell in the # 59 Monte Carlo in his first ASC race. Culver, Ochylski, and Evans made of the top five. Ochylski’s crew chief, Ralph Byars, worked through the night to repair the # 55 Pontiac, and get it ready to race again.
Stinnett took the lead at the green flag and never relinquished control of the race, posting the fastest time of the weekend and the new lap record for ASC in the process. He continued to extend his lead during the race and eventually won by a 12.7 second margin. Culver, O’Connell, and Ochylski, battled relentlessly for the rest of the podium positions, while Carvajal, Dave Arnheiter, Jeff Glowniak, and Mike Arnheiter, raced hard a couple seconds behind the lead group. Chris Evans and Al Balding, Jr. hit hard on lap one, entering turn three, and were out for the race. Gil Del Real suffered a flat left rear tire half way through the race and mechanical problems also affected Carvajal and Mike Arnheiter, during the race. Other than the incident in turn three at the start, the race was clean. At the end, Stinnett won by a commanding margin, followed by Culver, and in his first race, a podium finish for newcomer Kevin O’Connell.
Top Five
Ken Stinnett
Kevin Culver
Kevin O’Connell
Ed Ochylski
Jeff Glowniak
The American Stockcar Challenge series continues April 9-10, at Buttonwillow Raceway Park. This promises to be another record breaker for the series with as many as 25 ASC cars entering, making the series the fastest growing stockcar series in the west. Come out and enjoy the hardest fought road racing battles in the country! For more info, visit www.ASCRacing.com.
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