OFF-ROAD GRAN PRIX : Mears Takes Inside Route to Victory

Roger Mears used inside information to win the sports truck main event Saturday night in front of 46,347 fans at the Mickey Thompson Off-Road Championship Gran Prix in the Coliseum.

Mears won only his third stadium race in the past 3 1/2 years by taking the inside line up the peristyle jump on the opening lap and breezing to a 12-second victory over Danny Thompson.

Mears started on the pole along side crowd-favorite Ivan Stewart, but he left Stewart behind by taking the inside line up the hill. Stewart and Walker Evans elected to try the outside line and it proved to be a big mistake.

Mears had a commanding lead after only one lap in what proved to be a very uneventful main event. Evans finished third and Rod Millen was fourth.

For Mears, the victory was a long time coming after countless hours of testing and refining his Nissan truck at his shop in Bakersfield. Mears’ last victory was in September in Denver.

In the most exciting race of the night, Jimmy Nichols passed Frank Arciero on a series of double jumps in the 10th lap and went on to win the 1600cc dune buggy main event. Arciero battled Jerry Whelchel for the opening three laps of the 12-lap race, but Whelchel was forced to retire with a broken front axle after colliding with a barrier.

Arciero appeared to be headed for a victory, but Nichols made up ground going up the peristyle jump and then took the lead after sailing down the jump and heading into the double jumps. Arciero finished second and Wes Elrod was third.