MOTOR SPORTS : Calczynski Loses by Matter of Inches

Wins and losses in auto races aren’t normally decided by inches. Occasionally, a race comes down to the wire, with the margin of victory of a few yards or a couple of feet. But down to the inch?

Roman Calczynski of Sepulveda knows an inch can make all the difference. And in one instance, an extra inch cost Calczynski a mile in the standings.

Calczynski finished second in a NASCAR 200-mile race at Riverside International Raceway last weekend, but was disqualified when a post-race inspection determined his engine exceeded maximum allowances.

Rules allow a 358 cubic-inch engine. His was measured at 359.

“One cubic inch,” Calczynski said. “That’s all.”

Finishing second would have earned him $2,800 and 170 points. The disqualification dropped him from first to third in the Southwest Tour standings.

Approximately two hours after the event, following routine post-race measurements, officials notified him of the decision.

“When the engine heats up, it expands,” said Calczynski, 36. “When it cools off, it contracts. Sometimes it just doesn’t cool fast enough.”

It took the ruling by tour officials to cool off the red-hot driver. In his second year on the circuit, Calczynski has run circles around opponents, moving to the top of the Southwest standings.

“It was an honest mistake,” said Owen Kearns, the tour publicist. “The motor was just a hair larger, but we don’t allow any tolerances. It’s too bad. If he would have had a couple more laps, he probably would have won the thing, and then we would have had a real mess.”

The ruling has made a mess of the standings, as least as far as Calczynski is concerned. Instead of leading the tour with 1,144 points, he’s in third with 974, behind Mike Chase of Bakersfield (1,026) and Ron Esau of Lakeside (980).

“It’s pretty disheartening,” Calczynski said. “But when you build an engine that’s this close to the maximum tolerance, it happens.

“Heck, if we were going to cheat, we’d cheat by more than one cubic inch.”

Key number: Whether he thinks it’s a lucky number or not, Erik Kehoe of Granada Hills is probably getting used to the number seven.

After finishing seventh in the American Motorcycle Assn. National Motocross championships this month in Denver, Kehoe moved into seventh place in the overall points standings of the 125cc class.

Kehoe and the rest of the circuit riders were deprived of a chance to move up in the standings. The AMA cancelled the the final tour stop, scheduled for Sept. 19 in Sacramento, giving the points title to Jeff Ward of El Cajon.