Blankenship Places 10th to Finish Season in 1st

Last year at Saugus Speedway, race veteran Dave Blankenship of Reseda nearly won the Street Stock points championship, finishing 13 points behind champion Craig Rayburn. Blankenship paid dearly by not finishing two races due to mechanical trouble.

This summer at Saugus, it all changed, culminating in Blankenship’s unofficial 10th place finish in the Street Stock 25-lap oval main event Saturday night before 4,018, which clinched Blankenship’s second Street Stock points championship and fourth overall at Saugus.

This year, Blankenship, who held off rookie Scott Dinger of Simi Valley in the points standings, finished an amazing 460 of 462 laps.

“I was bulletproof,” Blankenship said with a grin. “I hung in there every race and kept plugging away.”

Rip Michels of Arleta won the oval main after passing Brian Kelley of Arleta on Lap 11. Ed Horst of Reseda took second.

Blankenship said that he and racing teammate Ken Maler of Castaic are looking to land a deal in which both will drive in the Grand American Modified class next year.

The 40-lap Sportsman main was without suspense in the points standings--Lance Hooper of Palmdale had sewed up the title last week. Hooper, who started on the pole Saturday night, took a wire-to-wire victory for his seventh main-event win on the final night of points competition in the Sportsman division.

John Watkinson of Canyon Country raced second behind Hooper, with Saugus’ John Redmond taking third.

In the six-lap Sportsman trophy dash, Redmond of Saugus took the checkered flag. Rayburn, who has moved to Santa Clarita, won the six-lap Street Stock figure-eight dash and Gerrit Cromsigt of Palmdale won the Street Stock oval dash.

In fast-heat action, rookie Doug Renno of Canoga Park won the Sportsman eight-lapper, helping his bid for Rookie of the Year.

Renno is battling with Russ Beckers of Sepulveda and Joe Heath of Northridge, among others, for the honor that will be officially voted later this year.

Other fast heat winners included Ed Horst of Reseda (Street Stock figure eight) and Scott Dinger of Simi Valley (Street Stock oval).