Desert Rose win to Perry
By Rhonda costa-landers
Appeal Staff Writer
Round two of the four-part Desert Rose 100 race series at Champion Speedway was very exciting on a Saturday night when several drivers showed power and patience in a race slowed by several cautions.
Mark Welch from Orangevale, Calif., took the early lead followed closely by Chet "The Jet" Danburg and Randy Hedrick of Reno. South Lake Tahoe's Jeff Tillman spun coming out of turn 2 on the back stretch, bringing out the first caution on lap 3.
On lap 9, Hedrick made a move inside Danburg for the second spot bringing with him Gary Glenn of Orangevale and Phil Perry, a familiar face on the Carson City race track who now resides in Lincoln, Calif. Hedrick would challenge Welch for the lead, pulling even for several laps, finally taking the spot on lap 19.
Several minor cautions followed, slowing the pace of the race. On lap 46, Perry moved in to challenge Hedrick for the lead. The two drivers battled side-by-side, even and clean for five laps until Perry gained the top position on lap 51.
The second through sixth positions of Welch, Hedrick, Glenn, Danburg and Dave Sciarroni were nose-to-tail for 28 laps until the left rear tire went down on Welch after contact with Danburg, with Welch slowing dramatically on the front stretch.
Hedrick wasn't aware of the cut tire and through incidental contact put Welch into the wall on the front stretch with Glenn and Sciarroni also making serious contact. Welch ended up in the pits, Glenn and Sciarroni were able to continue.
Several cars escaped serious contact throughout the race, pulling the "patience" factor which led to solid finishes. They were Byron Gonzales of Carmichael, Calif., Henry Hodges Jr. of Carson City, Dan Farrington of Orangevale and Dave Sciarroni of Spanish Springs.
At the drop of the checkered flag, Perry picked up win No. 2 in the Desert Rose 100 series with Glenn taking second and Danburg third. Rounding out the field were Hodges, Farrington, Gonzales, Sciarroni, Tillman, Chuck Glick of Citrus Heights, Calif., Hedrick, Welch, Jay Bradley of Carson City and Jason Lloyd of Woodland, Calif.
Danburg won the trophy dash, which netted him $100 cash.
"Everybody raced me clean," Parry said after the race. "The motor was good, the car was good. And I like these McCreary tires, they work well for us.
"The $1,000 in silver coins (for the championship) is a nice incentive."
Two cars not taking the green flag were Rich Lawlor of Reno and Dean Heller of Carson City. Lawlor lost a motor and Heller was not able to correct a weight problem.
In the Legends division, Robert Humphreys of Sun Valley picked up his first trophy dash win of the year over Wayne Estes of Patterson, Calif., Denny Hadler Jr. of Reno and Richard Malugani of Dayton.
Hadler won the first heat race followed by Jack Randall in second and Katie Crome in third. Malugani won the second heat with Johnny Morrissey taking second and Estes third.
In just her second season of racing, Crome has moved into her own groove, putting up a great driving defense with several of the best drivers in this division.
The main even started out with George Weeks of Carson City taking the lead with Randall running second and Crome third. Randall grabbed the lead from Weeks on lap 2, then as Weeks was driving hard out of turn 2 on lap 3, he got loose just enough to pull the car straight, then lose it again on the back stretch.
As Weeks was sideways on the back stretch, Hadler, in a full charge right behind him, hit Weeks hard on the front left of Weeks' car. Malugani, also running hard behind Hadler, had nowhere to go with no time to get there, and also hit Weeks in the front end. Though Malugani had the wind knocked out of him, each driver was deemed OK.
At the restart, Randall had the lead with Crome running second and Bill Brown of Carson City third. Randall built a commanding lead by lap 17 of the 30-lap feature, and Estes had worked his way from the rear of the field to the No. 2 position, passing Crome for the spot.
At the checkered flag, it was Randall with the win, Estes in second and Crome holding her own for the third spot. Rounding out the field were: Brown, Morrissey, Bill Cose of Sparks, Humphreys, Gary Hale of Sparks, Terry Madjeski of Incline Village, Charly Baron of Carson City, Bobby Hodges, Weeks, Hadler and Malugani.
Racing Saturday continues with Western Modifieds, Late Model Sportsman, Legends, Street Stocks, Hornets, Junior Hornets, Queen Beez, Bandoleros plus Bombers. Visit www.champion-speedway.com or call 888-9777.
Contact Rhonda Costa-Landers at rcosta-landers@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1223.
