Irvin, Sapper Corral Winston Cup Victory

Ernie Irvin, a last-minute substitution for Derrick Cope on the Winston Cup Race of Champions tour that arrived at Saugus Speedway on Saturday night, wound up stealing the show before a packed house.

No, Irvin didn’t win a race. He finished second to Geoff Bodine in the 30-lap main event for Winston Cup drivers.

But Ken Sapper of La Crescenta--Irvin’s teammate and full-time driver of the car Irvin raced--breezed to victory in the 30-lap main event for Saugus’ Modified division drivers. On the basis of the one-two finish, the Irvin and Sapper team won the feature dual main event.

Bodine, a native of Chemung, N.Y., won the first race, narrowly holding off Irvin. Bodine grabbed the lead from Irvin, the pole-sitter, on the front stretch of Lap 20. From there, it was a two-man duel.

Irvin edged back into first one lap later and both drivers traded the lead until a spin-out by Michael Waltrip on Lap 24 forced a yellow flag.

When racing resumed, Bodine, who began in fourth position, held off Irvin in a trophy dash to the finish line. Willy T. Ribbs finished third and Rusty Wallace finished fourth.

In the second half of the dual main event, Sapper moved into the lead on Lap 8, passing Ron Hornaday Jr. of Palmdale. Dan Press of Frazier Park, Bodine’s teammate, climbed to third but was forced to leave the race because of a broken rear axle on Lap 11.

In the 20-lap Street Stock oval main event, points leader Dave Blankenship of Reseda swiped the lead from Craig Rayburn of Simi Valley on Lap 20 and went on to win.

Don Rogers Jr. of Palmdale and John Kirby of Ventura each won Street Stock oval eight-lap heat races. Johnson won the figure 8 heat race.