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Herrera Wins at Hollywood Hills Speedway
5-19-2007
Bob Ingram / Beth Hazlewood
San Felipe Pueblo, New Mexico. In spite of bad weather in the area there was a great turnout of cars and fans at Hollywood Hills Speedway tonight. There had been rain and hail nearby but none hit the speedway and it turned out to be a great night to be at the track to see the Non-Winged Sprints along with the Street Stocks, Hobby Stocks and Cruisers put on a fantastic show.
The Cruisers made their first appearance of the year and had the smallest field with only 8 cars on hand. This class is sure to grow once more folks learn how inexpensive it can be to get started in racing. The heat race was won by John Chester over Mike Ford and Bill Bonahoom. Bonahoom was driving with his dad as his co-pilot. Ford took the main event win over Perry Held with youngster Ronnie Cain coming home in the third spot. Although most of these drivers had little if any driving experience they managed to run both of their races without a yellow flag.
The Hobby Stocks had 16 cars to run their 2 heat races, a $200.00 Dash For Cash and a Main Event. Heat #1 saw a great battle between the #5X of Rick Boelter and the #54 of Shawn Dutcher who ran lap after lap side by side until the last lap when they came together on the backstretch and spun into the infield, collecting the #7T of Doug Burson along the way. None of these 3 cars were able to finish the race, giving the win to #63 Bob Scribner with #74 Curt Neff in second and #16 Randy Carter in third. Heat #2 got off to a rough start as the cars of #8 Danny Bullard ran into the back of #58 Mike Mendoza on the initial start that punctured the radiator on the Bullard car ending his race early. Once the race got going it was caution free with the #91X of Dan Harmon taking the win over #28 Skimmer Leathem and #34 of Kenny Wheeler taking home the 3rd position. The $200 Dash for Cash was won by Leathem over Harmon. A $200.00 payday for a 4 lap race is pretty darn good for a Hobby Stock driver. The Hobby Stock Main Event had only one yellow flag as the car of #7 Kevin McDonald lost a fender in a skirmish with another car. The fender was promptly run over by the #74 of Curt Neff, ending both drivers night. Mike Mendoza in the #58 took off from his outside front row start and was never seriously challenged for the win. The battle for 2nd place was a dogfight between 6 or 8 cars changing positions on every lap, with some cars going from 2nd to 5th or 6th and then fighting their way back into the fray. In the end the #28 of Skimmer Leathem held on for 2nd over the #91X of Dan Harmon with #54 Shawn Dutcher and #16 Randy Carter filling out the top 5 spots.
The Street Stocks had a smaller than expected field with only 13 cars but put on some of the best racing seen tonight. Heat #1 went green to checkered with the #1 of Ronnie Bell taking the win over #54 Shawn Dutcher and the #24 of Cooder Frazier. These 3 cars were within a few feet of each other at the stripe. Heat #2 saw a great battle among 3 cars for the win. As in the first heat the top 3 could have been covered by a blanket. The #96 of Joe Smithburger took the win with #66 Clay Moseley and #72 Jeff Whyman hot on his heels as they crossed the finish line side by side. The 20 lap main event was one of the closest races seen at Hollywood Hills Speedway this year. Several drivers were running in a pack at the beginning of the race with the #24 of Cooder Frazier taking a small lead. Lap 3 saw disaster strike the Frazier car as he lost a right front wheel entering turn 1 and flipped his car a couple of times. After the car came to a rest Frazier exited his disabled mount and did a small dance on the roof to let the fans know that he was OK. Once the racing resumed it settled down to a VERY close race between 4 or 5 cars. The #72 of Jeff Whyman was able to hold off all challengers until the final lap when the #96 of Joe Smithburger was able to squeeze by for the win. Following Smithburger and Whyman to the stripe were #3 Josh Cain ( an asphalt driver who is taking to the dirt in a hurry ), #43 Dan Gross and #69 John Aragon.
The Non-Winged Sprints had another great turnout of 25 cars tonight with a couple of newcomers and a couple of regulars missing the show. Several local drivers have stepped up their program and are giving World of Outlaws driver Johnny Herrea a real run for his money. Heat #1 saw the #73 of Nick Rael who was out for the first time this year take the hard earned victory over the #9X of Kelly Denison with the #45X of Herrera coming home in 3rd position. The top 4 or 5 cars in this race were lifting the left front wheel about 2 feet off the ground in every turn. The top four cars which also included the #16 of Tom Ball were literally nose to tail at the checkered flag. Heat #2 was another very close race with Peralta New Mexico’s #29 Ronnie Smith taking the victory over #21 Paul Whitehead with past Champion #93 Jon Taylor finishing 3rd. Early in this heat race the familiar Black & Orange #22 of Grant’s New Mexico’s Jessie Baker ran a bit too high in turn 1 and hit the wall which resulted in a rollover. Baker was able to make repairs to his car and finish a very respectable 8th in the Main Event from his 22nd starting spot. Heat #2 was another very close race with the winner not being decided until the very end. The #11W of Tim West took the win over #7X Robert Marfia and the #61X of Bo Baker bring home the 3rd place spot. Bo Baker is the dad of Jessie Baker. The Main Event saw all 25 cars make the call as J. Baker and a few others who had problems in their heats were able to make repairs in time to start the Main. This race saw one of the best 4 wide salutes ever seen as all cars were in perfect alignment for the parade lap. #45X Johnny Herrera started on the pole and may have been expected to run away with this race, but due to a few caution flags and the fact that some of the local drivers have really been coming on strong this year it turned out to be a very close race all the way. There were 5 or 6 drivers hounding Herrera in the early going that saw the #9X of Kelly Denison spin while running 2nd and the #35 of 16 year old Derrik Ortega spin as he was battling the #61X of Bo Baker for 2nd place. At the end it was Herrera taking the win over #29 Ronnie Smith with #61X Bo Baker, #7 Jason Tanner and the #65 of Rick Johnson coming home in the 5th position. These guys were running 2, 3 and even 4 wide nearly the entire race. Racing just doesn’t get any better than this.
Cruisers
Heat #1 and only
#56 John Chester
#77 Mike Ford
#17 Bill Bonahoom
#11 Randy Hill
#57 (Rudy’s ?? ) Driver Unknown
#18 Alex Abeyta
#81 Ronnie Cain
#2 Perry Held
Main Event
#77 Mike Ford
#2 Perry Held
#81 Ronnie Cain
#57 Driver Unknown
#18 Alex Abeyta
#11 Randy Hill
#17 Bill Bonahoom
Hobby Stocks
Heat #1
#63 Bob Schribner
#73 Curt Neff
#16 Randy Carter
#7 Kevin McDonald
#98 Brian Haworth
#5X Rick Boelter
#54 April Dutcher Trujillo
#7T Doug Burson
Heat #2
#91X Dan Harmon
#28 Skimmer Leathem
#34 Kenny Wheeler
#58 Mike Mendoza
#14 Bennie Chavez
#85 John Hill
#82 Ann Leathem
#8 Danny Bullard
Dash for Cash
#28 Skimmer Leathem
#91X Dan Harmon
#74 Curt Neff
#63 Bob Scribner
Main Event
#58 Mike Mendoza
#28 Skimmer Leathem
#91X Dan Harmon
#54 April Dutcher Trujillo
#16 Randy Carter
#7T Doug Burson
#98 Brian Haworth
#85 John Hill
#14 Bennie Chavez – DNF
#34 Kenny Wheeler – DNF
#8 Danny Bullard – DNF
#5X Rick Boelter – DNF
#63 Bob Scribner – DNF
#82 Ann Leathem – DNF
#74 Curt Neff – DNF
#7 Kevin McDonald – DNF
Street Stocks
Heat #1
#1 Ronnie Bell
#54 Shawn Dutcher
#24 Cooder Frazier
#15Z Jennifer Zorn
#97 Skimmer Leathem
#Z9 David Zorn
Heat #2
#96 Joe Smithburger
#66 Clay Moseley
#72 Jeff Whyman
#43 Dan Gross
#69 John Aragon
#3 Josh Cain
#619 Lalo Saenz
Main Event
#96 Joe Smithburger
#72 Jeff Whyman
#3 Josh Cain
#43 Dan Gross
#69 John Aragon
#15Z Jennifer Zorn
#Z9 David Zorn
#619 Lalo Saenz – DNF
#54 Shawn Dutcher – DNF
#1 Ronnie Bell – DNF
#97 Skimmer Leathem – DNF
#66 Clay Moseley – DNF
#24 Cooder Frazier – DNF
Non-Winged Sprints
Heat #1
#73 Nick Rael
#9X Kelly Denison
#45X Johnny Herrera
#16 Tom Ball
#40X Scott Box
#52 David Burns
#5J Jeff Brumfield Jr.
#01 Larry Stoerkel
#26 Randy Smith
Heat #2
#29 Ronnie Smith
#21 Paul Whitehead
#93 Jon Taylor
#8 J. C. Powell
#35 Derrik Ortega
#19 Ted McAdams
#17 Chris Spiak
#22 Jessie Baker
Heat #3
#11W Tim West
#7X Robert Marfia
#61X Bo Baker
#7 Jason Tanner
#26 Bobby Taylor
#65 Rick Johnson
#77 Colt Treharn
#78 Jody Williams
Main Event
#45X Johnny Herrera
#29 Ronnie Smith
#61X Bo Baker
#7 Jason Tanner
#65 Rick Johnson
#11W Tim West
#93 Jon Taylor
#22 Jessie Baker
#26 Bobby Taylor
#21 Paul Whitehead
#77 Colt Treharn
#78 Jody Williams
#8 J. C. Powell
#9X Kelly Denison
#5J Jeff Brumfield Jr.
#35 Derrik Ortega
#52 David Burns
#17 Chris Spiak
#01 Larry Stoerkel
#73 Nick Rael
#7X Robert Marfia
#40X Scott Box
#16 Tom Ball
#26 Randy Smith
#19 Ted McAdams
These results are not official and we apologize for any errors. Thanks to everyone who came out to Hollywood Hill Speedway to support Dirt Track Racing in New Mexico. Come out next week to see the Modifieds, Late Models, Street Stocks and Cruisers. THE TRACK IS BACK
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