Renno Hot On and Off Track in Saugus Main-Event Win

Slumped in a chair with a moist towel applied to his forehead, Doug Renno looked anything but a winner Saturday night at Saugus Speedway.

Wracked by a 103-degree fever and body flu, Renno might have been excused had he decided to sit out Saturday’s main event. Instead, he won it.

The rookie from Canoga Park drove to his second consecutive 40-lap main-event victory in front of 3,074 spectators.

“I’ve been eating aspirin all day,” said Renno, 31. “I barely survived.”

Glendale’s Ken Sapper finished second, Pat Mintey Jr. of Quartz Hill took third and John Redmond of Saugus finished fourth.

Renno took the lead on Lap 18 when pole-sitter Joe Heath of Northridge spun out, and he was never headed thereafter.

The win helps Renno’s bid for rookie-of-the-year honors. After misfortune marred his early season, Renno is gaining on rookie points leader Russ Beckers of Sepulveda.

“With as much bad luck as we had, we really needed these points,” Renno said. “We’re finally getting everything working.”

Sportsman points leader Lance Hooper of Palmdale finished ninth, continuing a season-long string of top 10 finishes.

For much of the 25-lap Street Stock oval main event, it appeared that the front four cars were hooked together by the bumper. Craig Rayburn of Simi Valley, Rip Michels of Arleta, Brian Kelley of Arleta and Dave Blankenship of Reseda tailed each other, in that order, from Lap 7 on.

And when they crossed the finish line 18 laps later, there wasn’t much change. Rayburn, the 1990 Street Stock points champion, went wire to wire for his first main-event win in the division in 1991 and earned an extra $50 by winning from the pole.

Michels took second, and current points leader Blankenship blew past Kelley at the wire for third.

Gary Sigman of Carson won the Sportsman eight-lap fast heat and other fast-heat winners included John Kirby of Ojai (Street Stock oval) and Jim Gunnarson of Reseda (Street Stock figure-eight).

Dave Phipps of Simi Valley, a three-time Sportsman champion; Ron Hornaday Jr. of Palmdale, current points leader in the Southwest Tour and former Saugus champion; and Bob Lyon of Newhall, current Southwest Tour racer and former Speedway regular, all raced in a Sportsman B main event, advancing to the final.

In the Street Stock oval B main, Oliver Aguilar of Sun Valley won with Larry Durm of Northridge, Richard Smith of Reseda and Kerry Mulligan of Granada Hills also qualifying.

And in the Street Stock figure eight B main, Garrett Cromsight, Mulligan, Glen Whitton of Lancaster and Thomas Coon of Canyon Country all advanced to the A main.