Mixed results at VAR

VICTORVILLE • As the 2008 season at Victorville Auto Raceway races toward its conclusion, points races tighten up, and the racing in every division becomes more intense. Fans in the stands on Saturday night witnessed some of the best racing all season.

The night's feature racing program got underway with the 360/410 Non-Winged Sprints, and it was Norwalk's Brandon Thomson who held off both Simi Valley's Chris Walkim and San Clemente's Seth Wilson to grab the win.

For the most part the race was fairly uneventful, with the exception of an incident coming out of Turn 1 when Menifee's Robert Ellis got flipped around and brought out the red flag. To the delight of the crowd, Ellis climbed out of his car and was taken for a checkup by track EMT personnel.

Next out on the track were the Street Stocks and by the looks of the way most of the feature race was progressing, fans were probably figuring that Hesperia's JR Steele would end up the eventual winner.

That's not to say that fellow Hesperian Ruben Malaguarnero and Yucaipa's young Jesse Gordon weren't making a race of it, that is until Gordon got a little bit too friendly with the wall at Turn 4 and that set him off the pace.

Norco's Chris Tooley made a charge to the front but broke a camshaft, letting Apple Valley's Keith Prischman, and Steele blow by for first and second.

Sport Compacts rolled out onto the track next, and it was all about Scott "Scooter" Black, racing out of Tehachapi, as he finished up the winner in both the overall and the Senior divisions. Early in the race, though, it was Victorville's Charlie Wenzel looking like he was going to repeat his performance with a second-in-a-row win, but it wasn't to be as Black proved to be just too much on this night.

In the Junior division, Hesperia's Devon Myrick continued his winning ways, with fellow Hesperian Jaret Stauffacher in second place. Wilmington's Steven Parra and Apple Valley's Nathan Tornero completed the top four spots in Sport Compact Junior.

The evening's short program finished up with the 4-Cylinder Figure 8's and, although eight cars were originally signed up to start this race, only four were able to answer the bell at race's start.

It was more like a three-car race since Tim Timmerman II turned out to be a spectator, watching the antics of the other three, having broken his mom, Anita's car early in the race.

The remainder of the cars left on the track found a way to complete the race and it was Hesperia's Jim Burnett who drove away with the checkered flag, followed by Victorville's Andy Moreton and Oak Hills' Brad Bennett.

Victorville Auto Raceway Results
September 27, 2008



DRIVER        CAR # CITY
360/410 SPRINTS
1. Brandon Thomson       19 Norwalk
2. Chris Walkim        9W Simi Valley
3. Seth Wilson        17 San Clemente
4. John Aden        12 Apple Valley
5. Matt Shedarowich       8 Lake Forest

STREET STOCK
1. Keith Prischman        43 Apple Valley
2. JR Steele        3 Hesperia
3. Chris Tooley        24 Norco
4. Kevin Andrews        33A Apple Valley
5. Ruben Malaguarnero       84 Hesperia

SPORT COMPACT SENIOR
1. Scott Black        5 Tehachapi
2. Charlie Wenzel        46 Victorville
3. Dennis Houses        00 Apple Valley                    
4. Kristlyn Queener        9 Torrance
5. Jacob Fincher        99 Moreno Valley

SPORT COMPACT JUNIOR

1. Mike Malcolm 55x Trona

2. Devon Myrick        29 Hesperia
3. Jaret Stauffacher        86 Hesperia
4. Steven Parra        42 Wilmington
5. Nathan Tornero        7 Apple Valley


4-CYLINDER FIGURE 8's
1. Jim Burnett        95 Hesperia
2. Andy Moreton        07 Victorville
3. Brad Bennett        84 Oak Hills
*only cars finishing race