Come-From-Behind Titles Catching at Ventura Track

Last year’s season points championships at Ventura Raceway were all determined on the last night of racing except in one division.

However, the 1990 version of the Coors Light Stock Car Series was a case of a driver in each division overtaking the early-season leader after the first three months of competition and running away with the title.

Jim Powell Jr., a 17-year-old senior at Cypress High, became the youngest season points champion at Ventura Raceway as the stock car racing series ended Friday night.

Powell started six weeks late on the Ventura schedule because of racing commitments elsewhere, but he overtook leader Don Keeter of Ventura in August to win the Street Stock oval title by 395 points over Jim Firsich of Port Hueneme.

Powell led division drivers with eight main-event wins and excelled in qualifying with 13 quick times.

“I set out to win a championship this year and I ended up on top thanks to a lot of hard work and help from my ‘old man,’ ” Powell said. “I’m going to move up to NASCAR Pro Stock racers next year.”

Firsich, 54, won his first points championship in the Street Stock figure-eight division.

Firsich overtook leader John Csorba of Oxnard after the first two months of action en route to a 360-point victory over Ventura’s Scott Olsen. Despite missing some action because he rebuilt his wrecked car midway through the season, Firsich drove to five figure-eight and five oval track main event victories. He also finished second to Powell in the oval-track division.

“I wanted to win both championships this year, but I’ll go fishing and think about giving it another try next year, or I’ll go fishing some more,” Firsich said.

Chris Raschke of Ventura opened up a sizable early-season lead in the Mini Stock oval-track division, but no one at Ventura was more dominating after the first six weeks of the season than Ventura’s Marty Desbrow.

In his third year of racing at Ventura, Desbrow, who had won only one main event before this season, led drivers in all divisions this year with 10 main-event wins. He also posted 12 fast qualifying times this season.

Raschke had six main-event wins and finished second by 700 points.

The only driver among this year’s champions to previously have won a title is veteran Richard Webster of Camarillo, who won the 1988 Mini Stock oval-track title but won his 1990 title in the Mini Stock figure-eight division--although not in a conventional manner. He sold his car, then borrowed four cars from different owners throughout the season.

Webster, the only two-time champion in Ventura history, maneuvered past Ventura’s Cory Kruseman and Port Hueneme’s Joe Silva after the first four weeks, then defeated Silva by a 260-point margin. Webster recorded eight figure-eight main-event wins.