Motor Racing : Zabinski Offers New Challenge in Sprint Series

Since May 21, when Stan Atherton won, no driver other than Lealand McSpadden, Ron Shuman or Mike Sweeney has been in the winner’s circle in the Parnelli Jones Firestone-California Racing Assn. sprint car series at Ascot Park.

In that 10-race span, McSpadden and Shuman, have each won four times and Sweeney twice.

Veteran Walt Kennedy, 51, has come the closest with four runner-up finishes in that span. In one race, he led for 29 1/2 laps before being passed by McSpadden.

But in the last Ascot race, Aug. 13, another challenger came out of the blue.

He is Charlie Zabinski, 29, who is rapidly becoming a force.

In his fourth season, the Torrance driver has competed in 17 of 18 feature races this year but until two weeks ago had never led a main event.

In that one, Zabinski, who complained of not feeling well before the start, roared past early leader Bob Meli on the sixth lap and managed to hold off the pack until the 21st circuit, when Shuman got past him on the backstretch.

Often, a first-time leader fades quickly after he has been passed. Not Zabinski, who was dropped to third by Kennedy but came roaring back and finished second.

It was by far his best finish--he had never been higher than seventh.

So Saturday night, Zabinski will be back in his Shrike sprinter, armed with the knowledge that he has the ability to contend.

A sometime member of the Jack Gardner work force--the group that guided Brad Noffsinger to two CRA championships--Zabinski began his racing career in 1984, driving in only 10 races.

He sat out the next year, then in 1986 qualified for 6 main events in 21 tries. He improved that to 18 of 25 in 1987. His best finishes were a 12th in ’86 and an 8th in ’87.

Shuman and McSpadden, the 1-2 punch from Tempe, Ariz., have each won nine races this season, and Sweeney, who trails Shuman by 89 points in the season standings, has won seven.

Despite his victories, McSpadden is sixth in the series standings because has not competed in all of the CRA events, choosing instead to visit other tracks. In fact, he missed the last two, at Hanford and Ascot, while competing in the U.S. Nationals for winged cars at Knoxville, Iowa.

CRA standings: 1. Ron Shuman, 2,755 points; 2. Mike Sweeney, 2,666; 3. Stan Atherton, 2,546; 4. Jerry Meyer, 2,500; 5. Rip Williams, 2,384; 6. Lealand McSpadden, 1,996; 7. Walt Kennedy, 1,967; 8. Mike Kirby, 1,756; 9. Bob Meli, 1,750; 10. Steve Ostling, 1,673.

MOTORCYCLES--Mike Faria will make his second appearance of the season at Ascot Park’s South Bay Speedway tonight, and Randy Green of Lake Stevens, Wash., who like Faria is on leave from the British Speedway League, will return after helping Team USA defeat a world team last weekend. Faria was the Ascot champion in both 1986 and 1987 before deciding to give the British Speedway League a try. Green, a former AMA Camel Pro Series rider, was fourth-high scorer for Team USA with 18 points on the long-track portion of the two-night challenge. Former U.S. champions Bobby Schwartz, 1986, and Brad Oxley, 1987, and England’s Phil Collins will challenge the invaders.

Friday night, most of the same group will be at Costa Mesa’s Orange County Fairgrounds, where the final event of the 1988 Nissan/7-Up series will be held with Schwartz, Dubb Ferrell and Alan Christian in a three-way battle for the title.

Sam Ermolenko, Shawn and Kelly Moran and Lance King have been named to represent the United States in the World Team Cup speedway competition that will be held Sept. 10 at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach. Denmark, winner of five consecutive team championships, is sending another strong team, headed by two-time world champion Hans Nielsen and Eric Gundersen and will be heavily favored against the Americans, British and Swedes. . . . Motocross racers of the Continental Motocross Club will compete Friday night at Ascot Park and at Carlsbad on Sunday afternoon.

Bubba Shobert of Carmel Valley, Calif., can wrap up his fourth straight Camel Pro championship and the $100,000 bonus that goes with it if he can finish third or better on the mile dirt track Saturday at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis. Should he win, Shobert will tie a record of winning four straight titles held by Carroll Resweber of Cedarburg, Wis., who was champion between 1958-61.

Shobert is also closing in on another record--most victories. Jay Springsteen, an infrequent competitor in recent years, has won 40 races. Shobert has won 38 going into Saturday’s event.

STOCK CARS--The sportsman and street stocks will run and a destruction derby will round out Saturday night’s program at Saugus Speedway. With only two nights of racing left this season for the sportsman cars, defending champion Dave Phipps has wrapped up the championship again. In the street stock division, however, five drivers are within 31 points with Russ Becker holding a one-point edge over Dave Blankenship. There will be no racing at Saugus Friday night.

Sportsman cars also will be featured at Cajon Speedway Saturday night with point leader John Borneman trying to hold off challengers Mike Ferre and Tobin Whitt. Street, pony and bomber stocks also are on the program.

Two-time defending champion Ron Meyer will try to hold off Fred Estrada as they continue their battle for the 1988 pro stock championship at Ascot Park where Sunday night’s event will carry double points. Meyer, broke a five-race drought, winning his seventh of the year last Sunday night, but Estrada finished a close second and lost only two points to Meyer and trails only 392-386. Marcus Mallett, the season’s top winner with nine victories, lost some ground to the leaders when he finished fourth after having to start last when he missed his heat. He’s third in the standings with 350 points. Bomber, hobby and mini stocks also will compete in double-point events.

Despite an 11th-place finish when he encountered engine trouble last Saturday night at Carson City, Nev., Roman Calczynski of Sepulveda retained his NASCAR Southwest Tour lead over Troy Beebe of Modesto and Mike Chase of Bakersfield. Chase finished second and Beebe third behind surprise winner Jerry Bowers of Meridian, Ida. Calczynski has 2,073 points, Beebe 2,048 and Chase 2,010 heading into the series’ 15th event at the San Bernardino Orange Show Speedway on Sept. 3.

MIDGET CARS--Sleepy Tripp, who did not compete in last Saturday night’s United States Auto Club Western States series at Saugus Speedway, will carry a 230-point lead over Tommy Astone when the series moves to Kings Speedway in Hanford Saturday night. Darryl Haugh of Fresno is third. . . . Dennis Hart’s win over Gary Schroeder at Saugus cut Schroeder’s lead to 514-507 in the USAC three-quarter midget standings. The TQs will not race again until Sept. 10 at Ventura Raceway.

JET SKIING--The Kahuna Mid-Summer Jet Skier’s Dream, a two-day watercraft competition, will be held Saturday and Sunday at Marine Stadium in Long Beach. There will be closed-course, slalom, freestyle and drag racing. Racing starts at 10 a.m. each day.

SPORTS CARS--Geoff Brabham will wrap up the International Motor Sports Assn. Camel GTP driver’s championship if he can extend his winning streak in the Nissan GTP turbo to nine straight and runner-up John Nielsen of Denmark finishes no higher than fifth in the Nissan Grand Prix of San Antonio on Sept. 4. Even if Brabham pulls it off, however, he will not be the first 1988 IMSA champion. That honor goes to Parker Johnstone of Novato, Calif., who wrapped up the International Sedan Cup series with a narrow victory in his Acura at Sears Point.

SPEED TRIALS--The 40th running of the Bonneville National Speed Trials ended last Saturday with flying-mile records on the salt flats in Western Utah in 30 car and 29 motorcycles classes. Al Teague of San Gabriel recorded the fastest mark ever for speed week, 384 m.p.h., with a two-way average for the Chrysler-powered machine of 378.567.

Fifteen new members were inducted into the Bonneville 200-m.p.h. Club. Among them was drag racing legend Don (Big Daddy) Garlits, who clocked 213.348 in a streamliner powered by a 1948 Ford V-8. The traditional American hot rod, the Ford Model T, came close to 300 m.p.h. This one, powered by a supercharged Chrysler and driven by Fred Dannenfelzer of Santa Barbara, clocked 296 one way and 291.897 for a two-way run.

NEWSWORTHY--Chris Pook, president and chairman of the board of the Grand Prix Assn. of Long Beach, has appointed Mike Clark director of marketing and James Hyneman publicist-writer for his organization.