Cajon Speedway results 2004-08-21

Ferguson and Hale End Droughts at Cajon

EL CAJON, Calif. (Aug. 21, 2004) -- Eric Ferguson and Ed Hale, a pair of drivers suffering through extended droughts, both found their way to the Cajon Speedway winner's circle in another week of exciting NASCAR Dodge Weekly Racing Series action.

Ferguson, who captured the opening pair of street stocks main events this season, snapped an 11-race, non- winning streak by outlasting Matt Arnold in an exciting duel.

Hale found similar results in pony stocks, taking home his first checkered flag since claiming the drivers title in 2002. In another one-on-one showdown, Hale was able to pass Earl Downing with four laps remaining for his first victory since retiring his old car two years ago.

Hale now owns 158 career main event victories -- the most in Cajon history.

Other winners over the famed 3/8-mile paved oval Saturday included Matthew Hicks of Santee in legend cars, while Ryan Gay of El Cajon extended his lead in the factory stock points standings with his fourth triumph of the season.

In both street stocks and pony stocks, the ability to overcome or avert tire problems proved decisive to determine which car would cross the finish line first. For Ferguson, who earlier lost the opening Trophy Dash by less than a car length to Richard Hinze of Lakeside, was able to find a line to move his Monte Carlo in front after starting the outside of the second row.

"Our car handled well on the bottom," noted Ferguson, a resident of El Cajon. "No. 29 (Neil Rodvold, the pole sitter) hasn't run well of late, but he ran us hard tonight and we couldn't pass him."

The caution-less race saw Rodvold lead for the opening 15 laps. But when lapped traffic faced the leaders, Rodvold became blocked behind Lakeside's Don Moore, as Ferguson and Arnold slipped in front along the back straightaway. From there, the pair raced side-by-side for several laps, but tire problems would doom Arnold, along with heavy body damage suffered in an early collision.

"Rich Green slammed into my fender pretty good, and after seeing the damage (after the race), they could've black flagged me, but didn't -- that was nice to see," noted Arnold, who lives in Allied Gardens. "Then Eric and I were battling pretty good, but when my tires heated up, I let him go to let them cool down. Then I just ran out of laps to try to pass him again."

According to track officials, Green was tapped from behind and turned into Arnold, who was left with a car with its right-front side panel partially peeling away. Rodvold finished a distant third, followed by Green and Rob Overman.

Hale, one of Cajon Speedway's charter drivers from its 1962 stock car debut campaign, followed a similar storyline to victory following five frustrating runner-up finishes this year.

"We're finally getting the car to work," declared Hale. "Dave Fox built this car from scratch after we retired our old car after we won the title two year ago. And we're finally getting the set-up we've always wanted."

Considering that Hale was already the pony points leader despite not possessing a victory, could his competition be worried now that the Cajon Speedway veteran finally discovered the right combination?

"I won't say that, but I am extremely happy with the way the car is working right now," he added.

Hale and Downing, following the street stocks lead, were also engaged in a side-by-side battle for several laps. However, Downing's car was slightly loose coming out of both turns because of tire instability, allowing Hale to force Downing to pull back when traffic came upon the leaders on Lap 12.

"Earl's car was definitely slipping and he had to make (steering) corrections," noted Hale. "So I was able to box him."

The move seemed surprisingly easy, but Downing, who entered the night in second place some 58 points behind Hale, knew about his car's potential problems prior to the race.

"We had to use a week-old tire, so we got loose a couple of times," noted the driver from Spring Valley. "And Ed's smart enough to do something with it."

The race required four tries (three re-starts) before finally officially starting, as a series of incidents diluted the opening field by nearly half from its original list of starters. Included was a four-car pileup in the third turn which removed three cars from the track, so after three tries, track stewards elected to re-start from a single-file formation.

In the factory stock main, Gay, the only multiple winner in this classification this season, won for the fourth time this season to extend his lead in the points standings over Charles Nevin and David Liedke. Tony Cortes started the night by breaking his own one-lap track record and ended it with a top five finish in the main event. However he was disqualified for the night following a post-race inspection that uncovered a non-conforming engine. Cortes, who started the evening fourth in points, lost all points for the evening.

NASCAR DODGE WEEKLY SERIES RESULTS

STREET STOCK

Fast Time - Eric Ferguson, El Cajon; Time - :17.653.

Dash (4 laps) - 1. Richard Hinze, Lakeside; 2. Matt Arnold, San Diego; 3. Eric Ferguson, El Cajon; 4. Rick Hagen, Rancho SD; Time - no time.

1st Heat (8 laps) - 1. Neil Rodvold, Lakeside; 2. Rob Overman, San Diego; 3. Kenny Hall, El Cajon; 4. Dave Arce, Santee; 5. Ivan Harrison, Santee; 6. Josh Green, Lakeside; 7. Tom Jaggi, Campo; 8. Don Moore, Lakeside; Time - no time.

2nd Heat (8 laps) - 1. Rich Green Jr., El Cajon; 2. Matt Arnold, San Diego; 3. Brian Collins, Oceanside; 4. Eric Ferguson, El Cajon; 5. Richard Hinze, Lakeside; 6. Eric Sweetman, Santee; 7. Rick Hagen, Rancho SD; Time - no time.

Main (25 laps) - 1. Eric Ferguson, El Cajon; 2. Matt Arnold, San Diego; 3. Neil Rodvold, Lakeside; 4. Rich Green Jr., El Cajon; 5. Rob Overman, San Diego; 6. Rick Hagen, Rancho SD; 7. Richard Hinze, Lakeside; 8. Kenny Hall, El Cajon; 9. Eric Sweetman, Santee; 10. Dave Arce, Santee; 11. Ivan Harrison, Santee; 12. Josh Green, Lakeside; 13. Don Moore, Lakeside; 14. Brian Collins, Oceanside; 15. Tom Jaggi, Campo; Time - no time.

PONY STOCK

Fast Time - Danny Gay, Lakeside; Time - :18.432.

1st Heat (8 laps) - 1. Phil Griffin, Santee; 2. Marvin Chappell, El Cajon; 3. Rob Dinsmore, Ramona; 4. Shealynn Longwell, El Cajon; 5. Robert Odum, ; 6. Len Cartwright, Lemon Grove; 7. Robert Minnick, El Cajon; 8. Robert Parenteau, El Cajon; 9. Ken Wikoren, ; 10. David Pardo, Encinitas; Time - no time.

2nd Heat (8 laps) - 1. Russ Gregson, Santee; 2. Earl Downing, Spring Valley; 3. Danny Gay, Lakeside; 4. Darrell McKee Jr., San Diego; 5. Ed Hale, El Cajon; 6. Douglas Wright Jr., Santee; 7. Tim Beeney, Escondido; 8. Pete Franke, Lakeside; 9. George Behlman, Santee; 10. Steve Dickerson, El Cajon; Time - no time.

Main (20 laps) - 1. Ed Hale, El Cajon; 2. Earl Downing, Spring Valley; 3. George Behlman, Santee; 4. Steve Dickerson, El Cajon; 5. Tim Beeney, Escondido; 6. Ken Wikoren, ; 7. Pete Franke, Lakeside; 8. Phil Griffin, Santee; 9. Darrell McKee Jr., San Diego; 10. Len Cartwright, Lemon Grove; 11. Marvin Chappell, El Cajon; 12. Rob Dinsmore, Ramona; 13. Shealynn Longwell, El Cajon; 14. Robert Parenteau, El Cajon; 15. Douglas Wright Jr., Santee; 16. Robert Odum, ; 17. Danny Gay, Lakeside; 18. David Pardo, Encinitas; 19. Robert Minnick, El Cajon; 20. Russ Gregson, Santee; Time - no time.

FACTORY STOCK

Fast Time - Ryan Gay, El Cajon; Time - :21.120.

1st Heat (8 laps) - 1. Scott Denton, Fallbrook; 2. Pat Bradley, San Marcos; 3. Justin Schultze, San Diego; 4. Marv Evans, National City; 5. Mike Ellis, Lakeside; 6. Rich Crutchfield, Santee; 7. Paul Bethel, San Diego; 8. Kelly Krueger, Fallbrook; Time - no time.

2nd Heat (8 laps) - 1. Charles Nevin, El Cajon; 2. Martin Kepler, El Cajon; 3. Lee Harbin, El Cajon; 4. Ryan Gay, El Cajon; 5. David Liedike, El Cajon; 6. Curtis Reiter, El Cajon; 7. John Robinson, Ramona; Time - no time. Consy (10 laps) - 1. Eric Shockey, Santee; 2. Jeremy Amison, San Diego; 3. Tom McGinn, ; 4. Butch Johnston, San Diego; 5. Mischelle Bullen, El Cajon; 6. Chris Young, ; 7. Steven Cave, ; 8. Kyle Conley, Las Vegas; Time - no time.

Semi (20 laps) - 1. Matt Arnold, San Diego; 2. Mike Rumbaugh, Poway; 3. J.R. Trent, Jamul; 4. Scott Smith, Santee; 5. Joey Schneider, Escondido; 6. James Schneider, Escondido; 7. Chuck Irey, Spring Valley; 8. Steve Ybarra, ; 9. Lauri Wong, Santee; 10. Robert Baker, El Cajon; Time - no time.

Main (20 laps) - 1. Ryan Gay, El Cajon; 2. Pat Bradley, San Marcos; 3. Rich Crutchfield, Santee; 4. Charles Nevin, El Cajon; 5. Paul Bethel, San Diego; 6. David Liedike, El Cajon; 7. Lee Harbin, El Cajon; 8. Joey Schneider, Escondido; 9. Justin Schultze, San Diego; 10. Curtis Reiter, El Cajon; 11. Mike Ellis, Lakeside; 12. Mike Rumbaugh, Poway; 13. Scott Denton, Fallbrook; 14. John Robinson, Ramona; 15. Kelly Krueger, Fallbrook; 16. J.R. Trent, Jamul; 17. Scott Smith, Santee; 18. James Schneider, Escondido; 19. Matt Arnold, San Diego; 20. Martin Kepler, El Cajon; 21. Marv Evans, National City; Time - no time.

LEGEND

Fast Time - Matthew Hicks, Santee; Time - :19.103.

1st Heat (8 laps) - 1. Tom Skahill, Duarte; 2. Mitchell Thorpe, Sun City; 3. Larry Alsop, Fountain Valley; 4. Dave Riggs, Lakeside; 5. Papa Jim Pantier, Buena Park; 6. Lynn Sours, Costa Mesa; 7. Dennis O'Conner, Oceanside; Time - no time.

2nd Heat (8 laps) - 1. Mark Gaiser, Anaheim; 2. Fred Chavez, Santee; 3. Dan Shaffner, San Diego; 4. Gary Scheuerell, Murrieta; 5. Pete Sands, Temecula; 6. Matthew Hicks, Santee; 7. Donnie Akers, Anaheim; Time - no time.

Main (20 laps) - 1. Matthew Hicks, Santee; 2. Tom Skahill, Duarte; 3. Pete Sands, Temecula; 4. Donnie Akers, Anaheim; 5. Fred Chavez, Santee; 6. Mark Gaiser, Anaheim; 7. Dave Riggs, Lakeside; 8. Gary Scheuerell, Murrieta; 9. Larry Alsop, Fountain Valley; 10. Lynn Sours, Costa Mesa; 11. Dennis O'Conner, Oceanside; 12. Papa Jim Pantier, Buena Park; 13. Mitchell Thorpe, Sun City; 14. Dan Shaffner, San Diego; Time - no time.

By Nick Pellegrino
Courtesy East County Sports.com