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Four Champions Crowned at Hollywood Hills Speedway @ Casino Hollywood
9-20-2008
Bob & Karen Ingram
Hollywood Hills Speedway @ Casino Hollywood, San Felipe Pueblo, New Mexico. On the final night of the regular season four drivers were crowned champion. In the Non-Winged Sprint Cars, the #45X of Johnny Herrera won the crown even though he was racing at Aztec Speedway in a Winged Sprint. In the Street Stock division the #72 of Jeff Whyman took the championship by going out in style and winning the final Main-Event of the year. In the Hobby Stock division the two top drivers both had some problems and did not have their usual top finishes. The #1 of Phil York who began the night with a slim lead over the #7T of Thomas Hayes had a worse heat race finish than Hayes and finished 3 positions behind Hayes in the Main-Event, giving the division title to Hayes by a single point. In the Mini-Sprints there were three drivers with a mathematical shot at winning the title. Second place driver #95 Aaron Wheeler suffered mechanical problems early in the Main-Event and was eliminated from the title chase. That left the #9X of Eric Smith with a slim chance to take the title from current points leader #51 Brian Perea. Smith did all he could do by rocketing to the lead and taking the victory, but Perea in finished in 4th position to secure the 2008 Mini-Sprint Crown. Joining these four drivers last weekend in their final appearance of the regular season as division champions were the #619 of Lalo Saenz in the Cruiser division and the only double division winner of the year, Butch Reid. Reid took the title in both the Late Model and the Modifieds in his #5 Coaches Chassis car. Reid had also taken the Late Model title last year.
The Sprints had the smallest field of the year with only 14 cars as several of the local drivers elected to race a ASCS Rocky Mountain Winged race at Aztec Speedway. However the cars that did come out put on some great racing. In heat #1 the #11W of Tim West who took second place in the season championship took off like a shot out of a cannon and took the win over the #73 of Nick Rael with the #26 of Randy Smith coming home in third. Heat #2 saw Rick Johnson who just recently took over the driving duties in the Bill Richards #7 take the win over rookie Jordan Mattson in the #24 with the #93 of Jon Taylor filling out the top three spots. The 20 lap Main-Event saw several early caution flags but once the racing settled down there was side-by-side racing with many battle for position throughout the field. At the checkered flag it was the #73 of Nick Rael who was making only his third start of the year taking the win over the #93 of Jon Taylor. Chasing Rael and Taylor to the stripe were the #52NM of David Burns, #4X Cody Mansfield and the #11W of Tim West rounding out the top five spots. Burns in the #52NM was making a great comeback after being involved in a hard rollover just two weeks ago that saw him spend a night in the hospital after suffering a brain concussion.
The Street Stocks who have suffered very low car counts all year actually had a few more cars than usual with 13 cars to run two heat races and a 15 lap Main-Event. Heat #1 had the #5X of Rick Boelter take the win over the #72 of Jeff Whyman and the #76 of Mike Ford Jr. Heat #2 saw the #M7 of Cameron Martin taking the win over the #28 of Jon Barron with the #97 of Dan Jimenez coming home in third. The Main-Event was a race of attrition as only 5 of the original 13 starters were still around at the checkered flag. Jeff Whyman in the #72 close out the year in style by taking the victory and the season championship. Chasing Whyman home were the #5X of Boelter, #39 Dave Carrell, #36 Joey Pierce and the #03 of Glenn Jaramillo who was making his first start of the year.
The Hobby Stock had the largest field of the night with 20 cars to run three heat races and 20 lap Main-Event. Heat #1 saw the #14 of Benny Chavez take the win over the #24 of Junior Bustillos and the #66 of Paul Jenicek. Heat #2 had the #12X of Dale Lovato take the win over the #94 of rookie driver Jeff Warren coming home in second with the #75 of Kenny Ford filling out the top three spots. Heat #3 saw the #74 of Curt Neff take the win over the #7T of Thomas Hayes with the #2 of Kitty McKeown coming home in the third position. The schedules 25 lap Main-Event was cut to 20 laps due to several spins and crashes in the early going that eliminated several cars. In the end the #86 of Dan Harmon took the win over the #00 of Steve Bonesteel with the #2 of Kitty McKeown , #24 Junior Bustillos and the #7T of Thomas Hayes filling out the top five spots. McKeown in the #2 who had recently relocated to New Mexico from Alaska had struggled with the track all year and had finished both the heat and the Main-Event for the first time just a week ago and came back this week to finish a very strong third in both races. Look for McKeown to be a force to reckon with next year.
The Mini-Sprints had a nice field of 17 cars to run two heat races and a 15 lap Main-Event. Heat #1 had the #9X of Eric Smith take the win over the #44 of James Hatch with the #51 of Brian Perea taking third. Heat #2 had the 7H of Jory Higgenbotham taking the win over the #57 of 12 year old Austin Mansfield with the #95 of Aaron Wheeler coming home in the third spot. Higgenbotham in the 7H was doing some great wheelies coming out of turn four, looking more like a full size sprinter than a Mini-Sprint. The Main-Event was the #9X of Eric Smith do all that he could do to win the championship by taking an easy win but still came up a few points short of the crown as the #51 of Brian Perea finished 4th and took home the season championship. Chasing Smith home were the #24X of Kelly Denison, #44 James Hatch, #51 Brian Perea and the #68 of Chris Perea. Denison was making his first start in any kind of racecar since a VERY hard crash early in the year that saw him completely destroy his full sized Non-Winged Sprinter.
The Dwarf Cars made their third and final appearance of year with a field of 12 cars to run two heats and a 15 lap Main-Event. These small cars with motorcycle engines put on some great racing. The field was pretty evenly divided between cars from New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona. Heat #1 saw the mother and daughter duo of Helen Henesey from Flagstaff Arizona take the win over here daughter Heather in the #11 with the #4 of Fred Snyder filling out the top three. Heat #2 saw another of the Henesey clan take a win as father Pat in the #12 took the win over the #X14 of Ren Johnsen and the #17 of Ryan Gilleland. The Main-Event saw the Henesey clan again running at the front of the pack but a couple of tangles with spinning cars took them out of the hunt for the win. In the end the #17 of Ryan Gilleland took the win over the #X1 of J.C. Gilleland, #4 Fred Snyder, #10X Helen Henesey and the #12 of pat Henesey.
With the regular season coming to an end, there is still two more BIG weekends of racing, with a two day Modified show next weekend the 26th & 27th with over 40 Modifieds being joined by the Street Stocks and the Cruisers. Then the HUGE season finale will have the World of Outlaws and the Modifieds closing out the year at HHS on the 11th & 12th of October.
Have A Great Day
God Bless Everybody
Non-Winged Sprints
Heat #1 #11W Tim West, #73 Nick Rael, #26 Randy Smith, #16 Ronnie Smith, #01 Larry Stoerkel, #76R Tom Stringfellow, #6L Leroy Apodaca
Heat #2 #7 Rick Johnson, #24 Jordan Mattson, #93 Jon Taylor, #52NM David Burns, #4X Cody Mansfield, #27K Tim Knight, #47 Jerry Higgenbotham
Main-Event #73 Nick Rael, #93 Jon Taylor, #52NM David Burns, #4X Cody Mansfield, #11W Tim West, #24 Jordan Mattson, #26 Randy Smith, #7 Rick Johnson, #01 Larry Stoerkel, #27K Tim Knight, #16 Ronnie Smith DNF, #6L Leroy Apodaca DNF, #76R Tom Stringfellow DNF, #47 Jerry Higgenbotham DNF
Street Stock
Heat #1 5X Rick Boelter, #72 Jeff Whyman, #76 Mike Ford Jr., #36 Joey Pierce, #02 David Wilcox DNF, #85 Loren Havland DNS
Heat #2 #M7 Cameron Martin, #28 Jon Barron, #97 Dan Jimenez, #21III Avie Chavez III, #39 Dave Carrell, #03 Glenn Jaramillo DNF, #00 Cotton Jarrell DNF
Main-Event #72 Jeff Whyman, #5X Rick Boelter, #39 Dave Carrell, #36 Joey Pierce, #03 Glenn Jaramillo, #21III Avie Chavez III DNF, #M7 Cameron Martin DNF, #28 Jon Barron DNF, #97 Dan Jimenez DNF, #76 Mike Ford Jr. DNF, #02 David Wilcox DNF, #85 Loren Havland DNF, #00 Cotton Jarrell DNF
Hobby Stocks
Heat #1 #14 Benny Chavez, #24 Junior Bustillos, #66 Paul Jenicek, #86 Dan Harmon, #15 Cooder Frazier, #26 Derek Dietz DNF
Heat #2 #12X Dale Lovato, #94 Jeff Warren, #75 Kenny Ford, #28 Skimmer Leathem, #1 Phil York, #00 Steve Bonesteel, #5T Mike Dempsey
Heat #3 #74 Curt Neff, #7T Thomas Hayes, #2 Kitty McKeown, #78 Gary Guinn, #20 Juliana Myers, #70 Daniel Smith, #36 Anthony Castillos
Main-Event #86 Dan Harmon, #00 Steve Bonesteel, #2 Kitty McKeown, #24 Junior Bustillos, #7T Thomas Hayes, #12X Dale Lovato, #20 Juliana Myers, #26 Derek Dietz, #1 Phil York DNF, #78 Gary Guinn DNF, #74 Curt Neff DNF, #66 Paul Jenicek DNF, #75 Kenny Ford DNF, #15 Cooder Frazier DNF, #14 Benny Chavez DNF, #28 Skimmer Leathem DNF, #36 Anthony Castillo DNF, #5T Mike Dempsey DNS
Mini-Sprints
Heat #1 #9X Eric Smith, #44 James Hatch, #51 Brian Perea, #24 Sean Guthrie, #68W Kenny Wheeler, #75 Charlene Hatten, #07 Patrick Hurtado DNF, #68 Chris Perea DNF, #61 Gary Saiz DNF
Heat #2 #7H Jory Higgenbotham, #57 Austin Mansfield, #95 Aaron Wheeler, #5 Jeremy Schofield, #23W Adam Mollenkopf, #91 Clint Miller, #16 Darin Hise, #24X Kelly Denison DNS
Main-Event #9X Eric Smith, #24X Kelly Denison, #44 James Hatch, #51 Brian Perea, #68 Chris Perea, #24 Sean Guthrie, #07 Patrick Hurtado, #16 Darin Hise DNF, #61 Gary Saiz DNF, #57 Austin Mansfield DNF, #23W Adam Mollenkopf DNF, #5 Jeremy Schofield DNF, #75 Charlene Hatten DNF, #95 Aaron Wheeler DNF, #91 Clint Miller DNF, #7H Jory Higgenbotham DNF, #68W Kenny Wheeler DNF
Dwarf Cars
Heat #1 #10X Helen Henesey, #11 Heather Henesey, #4 Fred Snyder, #X1 J.C. Gilleland, #19 Randy Haugen, #70 Sheldon Apgar
Heat #2 #12 Pat Henesey, #X14 Ren Johnsen, #17 Ryan Hilleland, #66 David Hand, #10 Renick Worley, #49 Greg Carlisle
Main-Event #17 Ryan Gilleland, #X1 J.C. Gilleland, #4 Fred Snyder, #10X Helen Henesey, #12 Pat Henesey, #66 David Hand, #11 Heather Henesey, #X14 Ren Johnsen, #19 Randy Haugen, #49 Greg Carlisle, #70 Sheldon Apgar, #10 Renick Worley DNF
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