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STOCKCARS AND TRUCKS
RETURN TO WILLOW SPRINGS RACEWAY
By David Huang
Rosamond, CA. The sight and sound of over 20 ASC cars and Protrucks
(PT) screaming down the front straightaway was
enough to stop all pitside activity throughout
Willow Springs Raceway on the weekend of February 8th and 9th. For
weeks leading up to this first round of the 2003 ASC/PT
Race Schedule, competitors and spectators alike
had been anxiously waiting for the close on-track
battles that has become a trademark of this series. And judging by the
reactions of those in the grandstands, they weren't disappointed.
Saturday February 8th: Testing on Friday paid off for Arizona's
Sundance Racing as two of their cars took the top
podium spots in ASC. Ken Stinnett (Tucson, AZ- #43
ASC Sundance Racing Chevy Monte Carlo) easily had the ASC field
covered and started on the pole with a qualifying time of 1:25:330. But
early in the race, Donn Cross (#41 PT) who started on the
outside front row, jumped into the lead and ran
away from the pack. Cross appeared to have the race
in the bag until a mid race spin enabled the hard charging Stinnett to
retake the lead. Finishing second overall was Mike Kasser
(#4 ASC-X Chevy Monte Carlo), followed by Jim
Swartzbaugh (#57 PT) who won Protruck. Elsewhere
in the field, Bill Blauvelt (New Jersey- #44 RealRide.com Racing Chevy
Monte Carlo) driving his first ASC race climbed from 16th to 11th until
a steering component failure causing him to exit Turn One
at nearly 100mph. While re-entering the track, the
car suffered additional damage causing it to retire
for the weekend, but not without first showing it's potential in only
it's second ASC race.
Race A (Feb 8) Finishing Order
1) #43/ASC Ken Stinnett, Best Race Lap: 1:26:620
2) #4/ASC-X Mike Kasser, Best Race Lap: 1:26:681
3) #57/PT (1st) Jim Swartzbaugh, Best Race Lap: 1:26:507
4) #33/PT (2nd) Mark Cross, Best Race Lap: 1:27:785
5) #00/PT (3rd) Edward Fernandez, Best Race Lap: 1:27:486
6) #99/ASC (2nd) Steve Carvajal, Best Race Lap: 1:27:967
7) #33/ASC (3rd) Dave Arnheiter, Best Race Lap: 1:28:504
8) #57/ASC-X Nelson Garrisol, Best Race Lap: 1:28:722
9) #54/PT Nathan Swartzbaugh, Best Race Lap: 1:29:346
10) #27/PT Franz Klarer, Best Race Lap: 1:29:346
11) #03/ASC Michael Arnheiter, Best Race Lap: 1:28:799
12) #15X/ASC-X Al Balding Jr., Best Race Lap: 1:29:578
13) #5/ASC Alan Huston, Best Race Lap: 1:30:944
14) #27/ASC Manuel Gil Del Rios, Best Race Lap: 1:29:288
15) #15/ASC Scott Rueschenberg, Best Race Lap: 1:30:034
16) #25/PT Gary Fenn, Best Race Lap: 1:37:599
17) #44/ASC Bill Blauvelt, Best Race Lap: 1:23:970
18) #41/PT Donn Cross, Best Race Lap: 1:27:948
19) #22/ASC Jerry Brown, Best Race Lap: 1:30:393
20) #7/PT Tim Wright, Best Race Lap: 1:31:382
Sunday February 9th: The great "Truck Massacre" took place
as ProTrucks stomped on the ASC cars. Despite
starting from the pole, Stinnett's tires corded
early and by lap five, had fallen victim to Ed Fernandez (#00 PT). The
ASC spec Goodyear tires seemed to be a problem as the
cars slowly fell victim to the trucks which run on
Hoosiers. The pack soon split into two separate groups
with the trucks in the first led by Fernandez, Mark Cross (#33 PT),
Jim Swartzbaugh (#57 PT) and Don Cross (#41). The only
car to break into this Protruck stranglehold was
Al Balding Jr (#15X) in his ASC-X Ford Mustang. Spectators
were treated to an exciting show as the cars and trucks battled each
other through every corner of the 2.5 mile road course. At mid-race, a
very high speed incident at Turn Nine involving Nathan
Swartzbaugh (#54 PT) had everybody holding their
breath until the dust settled and he emerged unhurt,
once again a testament to the safety of these tube-frame racers. Leading
in the ASC battle was Scott Rueschenberg (Mesa, AZ- #15 ASC Chevy
Monte Carlo) followed by Steve Carvajal (Anthony, NM- #99
ASC Sundance Racing Chevy Monte Carlo), Nelson
Garrison (AZ- #57 ASC-X Chevy Monte Carlo) and Manuel
Gil Del Real (AZ- #27 ASC Ford Taurus) who were all busy in a pack
battling tooth and nail throughout the entire race. A
second behind, the Arnheiter brothers demonstrated
sibling rivalry at it's best on the race track.
Mike Arnheiter (Los Alamitos, CA- #03 ASC Buick Regal) spent most of
the race hounding younger brother Dave (Los Alamitos, CA-
#33 ASC Ford Thunderbird) until the second last
lap when they came upon Stinnett's struggling car.
Coming out of Turn Nine, the ASC cars drag raced three abreast
into Turn One where the older Arnheiter was able to use momentum and
traffic to emerge in front. As a final payback, younger
brother Dave was reinstated in third as Mike was
disqualified at the post-race impound scales. But
perhaps the most telling sign of how close the racing was came at the
checquered flag when almost all the cars finished on the
same lap, still tightly bunched. In the end, it
was Scott Rueschenberg (Mesa, AZ- #15 ASC Chevy
Monte Carlo) who crossed the finish line first in ASC, with Steve
Carvajal a close second. However, in post race impound,
Rueschenberg was disqualified for running on
unmarked tires, giving Carvajal his first ASC win.
Race B (Feb 9) Finishing Order
1) #00/PT Edward Fernandez, Best Race Lap: 1:26:952
2) #33/PT (2nd) Mark Cross, Best Race Lap: 1:26:885
3) #57/PT (3rd) Jim Swartzbaugh, Best Race Lap: 1:27:135
4) #41/PT Donn Cross, Best Race Lap: 1:26:417
5) #15X/ASC-X Al Balding Jr., Best Race Lap: 1:26:874
6) #7/PT Tim Wright, Best Race Lap: 1:27:412
7) #4/ASC-X Mike Kasser, Best Race Lap: 1:26:489
8) #99/ASC (1st) Steve Carvajal, Best Race Lap: 1:27:024
9) #57/ASC-X Nelson Garrisol, Best Race Lap: 1:27:882
10) #27/ASC (2nd) Manuel Gil Del Real, Best Race Lap: 1:28:097
11) #33/ASC (3rd) David Arnheiter, Best Race Lap: 1:28:936
12) #27/PT Franz Klarer, Best Race Lap: 1:30:507
13) #43/ASC Ken Stinnett, Best Race Lap: 1:26:894
14) #5/ASC Alan Huston, Best Race Lap: 1:31:714
15) #25/PT Gary Fenn, Best Race Lap: 1:33:541
16) #54/PT Nathan Swartzbaugh, Best Race Lap: 1:27:792
17) #22/ASC Jerry Brown, Best Race Lap: 3:07:944
DQ #15/ASC Scott Rueschenberg, Best Race Lap: 1:25:642
DQ #03/ASC Michael Arnheiter, Best Race Lap: 1:29:016
Round two of the "ASC/PT Wars" will be on March 7-9 at
California Speedway in Fontana, CA where the
trucks and cars will be running the professional sportscar
oval/infield circuit. For more information about ASC, visit the website
at: http://www.ascracing.com
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