A Lyon’s Share of Persistence : Newhall Driver Seeks 1st Southwest Circuit Victory as Tour Visits Saugus

Had Bob Lyon known then what he knows now about Rick Carelli’s race car . . . he still would have bought it. Only maybe he would have studied a bit more how to make it run more efficiently.

Lyon chalked up his misfortune last weekend to experience after his 1991 Chevrolet Lumina sputtered and slowed during the climax of the 100-lap NASCAR Southwest Tour race at Las Vegas International Speedway.

After 90 laps, Lyon, a five-year Southwest Tour veteran from Newhall, was banging on the bumper of Ron Hornaday Jr. of Palmdale, who was doing the same to Carelli, the leader of the pack.

In his 65th career start, Lyon was within striking distance of his first tour victory when the car he bought in November from Carelli, a resident of Denver and the defending tour champion, developed ignition trouble. Lyon coasted across the finish line seventh--his best finish this season, but a bitter disappointment.

“It was Carelli, Ron Hornaday and myself,” Lyon said. “They both saw me in their mirrors and they both stepped up the pace. . . . It’s disappointing.”

Perhaps Lyon should have given the car a closer inspection before buying. Caveat emptor and all that stuff. Yet he insists the Lumina is no lemon.

“Short of getting into overalls and crawling all over it and measuring it, we knew it was a proven car,” Lyon said. “(Carelli) made the car work, not only last year but the year before.

“It was somewhat of an educated guess. You learn as you go. Racing is all a big learning process.”

And so has been the life of Lyon, 29, who will give it another try tonight at 7 in the Miller Genuine Draft 100 as the Southwest Tour makes the first of two visits to Saugus Speedway.

Lyon, who ranks 11th in the tour’s points standings after four of the season’s 17 events, has proved himself a persistent competitor. Off the track, he has proved a bit more.

Of the 50 drivers on the Southwest Tour, Lyon is one of only two with a college degree and, perhaps, a profile of the stock-car driver of the future.

“Stock-car racing, over the years, has been perceived as a blue-collar sport--truck drivers and owners of gas stations,” said Owen Kearns, a NASCAR West Coast promoter. “Now, the trend among the Winston Cup Series is a new breed of driver. Because of sponsorship considerations, he has to stress his education. He’s not only dealing with shocks and springs and parts, but also with budgets and finances.”

Lyon, a resident of Newhall since age 6, is a 1980 graduate of Canyon High. He attended College of the Canyons for two years before earning a bachelor’s degree in business management from Cal State Northridge in 1987. Today, he is part owner of an industrial general contracting firm in Valencia.

Not that a diploma makes much difference. Lyon’s hands are as calloused as the next guy’s, and he can talk torque with anyone in coveralls.

“I’ve never really thought that going to college necessarily makes you a good race-car driver or owner or whatever,” Lyon said. “Going to college specifically to benefit racing wasn’t my main objective. It was to better myself and what I wanted to do for a living.”

In high school, Lyon appeared closer to a career in athletics than auto racing. As a member of the Canyon basketball team, he averaged 15 points a game in his senior year and was named the Santa Clarita Valley’s player of the year by a local newspaper. Lyon also played three years for the varsity golf team, regularly shooting in the low 70s. He says he still shoots in the mid-80s.

“I wasn’t quite good enough for any scholarship,” Lyon said. “But I had a great time.”

Lyon decided to pursue auto racing in 1980 after a visit to Saugus Speedway sparked his interest. He entered the track’s Sportsman division the following year, skipping the Hobby Stock and Street Stock divisions in which drivers traditionally cut their teeth.

From there, it was not exactly Go to the Head of the Pack. After four years of moderate success in Sportsman, Lyon moved to Saugus’ now-defunct Modified division but never finished better than third in points in a season.

Lyon joined the Southwest Tour in 1988 and has found the going even more difficult. In 65 races, he has finished among the top five only seven times, including a second-place finish in 1990. Lyon’s best finish at Saugus was fifth in 1989.

Still racing, still learning. Still in search of his first checkered flag.

“I’ve always viewed racing as a test of perseverance,” Lyon said. “The guys who work the hardest and persevere through the most grief are the ones who are going to benefit by being a winner.”

All of which led Lyon, checkbook in hand, to Carelli’s garage last fall. Lyon watched closely as Carelli, who alternated between two cars last season, drove the model Lyon had his eye on to victories at El Cajon and Las Vegas.

“He talked to me all year about buying it,” Carelli said. “There were four or five guys interested. He was just the one who wanted it most.”

This season, Lyon has driven to two top-10 finishes and has earned $2,610. With 437 points, Lyon trails Carelli by 273. But the season is young.

“At least now we’ve given ourselves an opportunity to show that either we can run up front or we can’t,” Lyon said. “I feel very confident that we can win a race. The one positive thing that came out of Las Vegas is that we knew--and I think Rick Carelli and Ron Hornaday and all the competitors there at the top knew--that we were right there.”

Carelli knows. And he will have an eye on his rear-view mirror tonight.

“He’s capable,” Carelli said. “He’s got just as much ability as anyone else. And, this weekend, Saugus is his home track.”