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ROOKIE'S RULE SCRA OPENER
By Dan Fleisher

Despite all the 'hoopla' surrounding seasoned veterans Davey Pombo, Rusty Carlile, Richard Harvey Jr. and defending series champion Jonathan Logan, the rookies dominated the SCRA opening Sprint car race of the season at Kings Speedway in Hanford, Ca.

Ryan Kaplan, a standout USAC Midget driver, made his Sprint car debut a rousing success as he ran off with the evening's top honors, capturing the 30-lap main event and the Trophy Dash. Driving for owner Ricky Williams, Kaplan started from the pole and literally ran off and hid from the imposing field, lapping up to sixth-place finisher Dean 'Kiwi' Alexander. Veteran Pombo, whose success at Kings Speedway is legendary, finished a distant second, followed by Carlile, Peter Murphy, Jeff Gardner and Harvey Jr.

The best battle of the evening involved Harvey Jr., now behind the wheel of the former Chad Boespflug #98 machine, and Alexander (another rookie driver) who battle side-by-side for 10 exciting laps before the veteran Harvey prevailed.

Earlier in the evening, 16-year-old rookie sensation Justyne Hamlin shocked everyone when she recorded quick time with a clocking of 15.55 on the super-fast, smooth 3/8th-mile clay track. Heat winners included Murphy, Pombo and Daniel Hood.

Full Results to Follow

QUALIFYING:

1. # 8 Justyne Hamblin 15.53
2. #38 Davey Pombo 15.53
3. #33 Daniel Hood 15.75
4. #32 Jonathan Logan 15.79
5. #6 Ryan Kaplan 15.91
6. #51t Jeff Gardner 15.94
7. #59 Myles Bishop 15.94
8. #51 Rusty Carlile 15.97
9. #9 John Niggli 15.97
10. #11 Kiwi Alexander 16.06
11. #98 Richard Harvey Jr. 16.06
12. #1t Tony Thomas 16.09
13. #77s Brian Schuler 16.22
14. #71m Jesse Mack 16.25
15. #55 Tony Everhart 16.28
16. #21 Peter Murphy 16.43
17. #36 John Iturriria 16.44
18. #93 Steven Williams 16.63
19. Jimmy Riddell Blown engine

HEAT #1-10 Laps
Murphy
Alexander
Bishop
Schuler
Hamblin
Logan

HEAT #2-10 Laps
Pombo
Kaplan
Iturriria
Harvey Jr.
Niggli
Mack

HEAT #3-10 Laps
Hood
Everhart
Carlile
Gardner
Thomas
Williams

DASH- Six Laps
Kaplan
Carlile
Pombo
Gardner
Bishop
Hood

MAIN- 30 LAPS
Kaplan, Pombo, Carlile, Murphy, Gardner, Harvey Jr., Alexander, Mack, Schuler, Logan, Thomas, Niggli, Iturriria, Hamblin, Everhart, Hood, Williams, Bishop