West Coast 360 Sprint Cars headlined the Fourth of July racing program Saturday night at Santa Maria Speedway. Papich Construction IMCA Modifieds, East vs. West Super Streets and Mini Dwarfs for kids 5-to-13 years old completed the program.
Richard VanderWeerd, of Visalia, edged Peter Murphy, of Clovis, for his first victory of the season in the 30-lap West Coast 360 Sprint Car feature event. Richard’s brother Jace, also from Visalia, placed third, followed by Justyne Hamblin, of Hanford, and Davey Pombo of Kerman. Bakersfield’s Rusty Carlile set fast time of 14.871 seconds. Eight-lap heat races fell to D. Pombo, San Martin’s Wes Gutierrez, and Atascadero’s Greg Porte.
Danny Lauer, of Santa Maria, bested a large 28-car field of IMCA Modifieds to score his first 25-lap “A” main event win of the season. Lauer out-dueled two hard charging fellow Santa Maria drivers — Doug Thornton, who finished second, and Josh Vogt, who came in third, to claim the top spot. Jason Papich, of Arroyo Grande, and Bryan Clark, of Bakersfield, filled out the top-five. Clark was joined by Mike Johnson, of Bakersfield; Kenny Kirkpatrick, of Nipomo; and Joey Claborn, of Santa Maria, in winning 8-lap heat races. The 12-lap “B” main event was won by Mike Johnson of Lompoc.
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