Motor Racing / Vince Kowalick : Hornaday Celebrates Return to Saugus With a Win

Ron Hornaday Jr. didn’t exactly need to get back on track, as the saying goes, but he certainly was happy to be back on one particular track Saturday--Saugus Speedway.

Hornaday, Saugus’ Modified Division defending champion, returned to the one-third-mile flat oval after a two-month absence, during which he competed on the NASCAR Southwest Tour. Hornaday, who lives in Palmdale, is currently 12th in the points standings.

“It was just like coming home again,” Hornaday said of Saugus.

He made himself at home, too, helping himself to a victory in the 40-lap Modified main event. Hornaday took the lead for good on Lap 33 after leader Dan Press of Frazier Park pulled out of the race because of an oil leak.

“It felt good to come back and race with the old boys,” said Hornaday, 29, who began racing at Saugus in 1979. “I needed to come back and get a win.”

Listening to Hornaday, one might think he had not seen a checkered flag in ages. Actually, the tour has been good to Hornaday, who currently is fifth in the points standings and worthy of rookie-of-the-year consideration.

On May 28, Hornaday won the Pepsi-Cola 100 at Shasta Speedway in Anderson, Calif. He started No. 2, assumed the lead on Lap 42 and held off 10-time Shasta Speedway NASCAR champion Roger Gannon of Redding to win by a length.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Hornaday said of the tour. “The track is wide enough for passing and it takes a lot more brains to handle all the shifting and stuff.”

After the Saugus win, Hornaday hit the road again. He will compete today in the Motocraft/Trak Auto 300 at Riverside International Raceway. Roman Calczynski of Sepulveda, who finished fourth in the Pepsi-Cola 100 and currently is second in points, also will race today.

Hornaday expects a battle from Calczynski on Riverside’s 2.62-mile oval. “He’s a very hard runner,” Hornaday said. “And very hard to pass.”

Motocross: Erik Kehoe of Granada Hills is currently second in points after six rounds of the 12-round American Motorcyclist Assn. RK Pro 125cc Motocross National Championship Series. Kehoe finished second behind series leader George Holland of Kerman, Calif., in the sixth round Sunday in San Antonio, Tex. Kehoe, Holland and Guy Cooper of Stillwater, Okla., each have won two rounds.

Jeff Leisk of Agoura Hills and Johnny O’Mara of Simi Valley finished sixth and seventh, respectively, in the AMA Bel-Ray 250cc Motocross National Championship Series, Sunday in San Antonio.

Rick Johnson of El Cajon finished first in the final round of the six-round series, but Mission Viejo’s Jeff Ward, who finished second in the final round, won the series championship.

O’Mara finished seventh in the final round and Leisk finished eighth.

Costly crash: Terry Stevens of Valley Center lost more than the race when his 1988 Camaro was towed from the Saugus track after a crash on Lap 3 of the 40-lap Modified Division main event Saturday night.

Stevens, who entered the race as the points leader, dropped to second behind Glen Cummings of Highland and sustained body, front suspension, frame and rear-end damage as the result of a tangle with an unidentified driver.

“He went wide and I went under him,” Stevens said. “After that, I don’t know what happened. All of a sudden, I was in a wall.”

Stevens estimated the damage at $1,000. “That’s just parts,” he said. “That’s not counting five days work. But that’s just racing.”

Stevens said he expects to return June 18, the date of the next scheduled Modified race at Saugus.

Over and out: Mike Branam of Lakeview Terrace suddenly found himself looking at things from a different perspective when his street stock Chevy flipped over and landed on its roof while he was trying to make a turn during the Figure 8 main event at Saugus on Saturday night.

Track workers, however, were on the scene quickly and flipped Branam’s car over like a pancake. Branam was unhurt but could not continue the race.