Twenty-six ground pounding West Coast Shootout Late Models invaded Santa Maria Speedway Saturday night for the Burke & Pace Lumber, Mega 97.1, Hyundai of Santa Maria sponsored event. MMI Factory Stocks, augmented by Bakersfield Hobby Stocks, and Toste Grading & Paving Mini Stocks completed the program.
Steve Drake, of San Luis Obispo, grabbed the lead at the start of the 30-lap West Coast Shootout “A” feature event and held it for the first 16 laps before being overtaken in traffic by Mike Kirby of Torrance. Kirby, the Shootout points leader, held the lead for the remainder of the event, coming home in front of Drake, El Segundo’s Nick Bartels, Watsonville’s Clay Daly and Castroville’s A.J. Kirkpatrick. The event went flag-to-flag. Brian Wirtz, of Santa Barbara, won the 12-lap “B” main event while 8-lap heat races were won by Kirby, Daly, Ron Bartels, of El Segundo, and Chris Shannon of Merced.
Factory Stocks also had enough cars to warrant a 12-lap “B” main event which was won by Brian Terry of Bakersfield. Eric Cimental, of Bakersfield, set fast time of 20.005 seconds and captured the “Last Man Standing” trophy dash, which starts with the four fastest qualifiers, runs of 4 laps, 3 laps and 2 laps, eliminating the last place car each time, until the winner is “left standing.” Eight-lap heat races went to Bobby Boone, of Bakersfield; Gary Rayburn, Jr., of Grover Beach; Chuck Barfoot, of Pismo Beach; and Kirk Morgan of Santa Maria. Kyle Camperud, of Watsonville, outlasted Rayburn in the 25-lap “A” main event. Boone was third, Cimental fourth, and Brian Puckett, of Bakersfield, fifth.
| 
|