MOTOR RACING / VINCE KOWALICK : Drivers Leave Trail of Records

The times, they are a-changin’ at Saugus Speedway.

No sooner, it seems, does a driver set a track record for the fastest one-lap qualifying time on the track’s one-third-mile oval than another driver--or the same one--shatters it.

Cases in point:

* At the season’s halfway point, a qualifying record has been set 10 times, with a track record having been set in five divisions.

* Rich Ocheltree of Van Nuys has lowered the Hobby Stock division qualifying mark three times this season, most recently with a 19.49-second lap June 20.

* Points leader Dave Phipps of Simi Valley has lowered the Grand American Modified qualifying standard three times this season, most recently with a 16.56-second lap June 20. On one occasion, Dave Blankenship of Reseda broke Phipps’ mark, only to watch Phipps break Blankenship’s mark later that night.

* On opening night in April, Pat Mintey Jr. of Quartz Hill set a Sportsman division qualifying record (16.51) that was broken by Ken Sapper of Glendale (16.41) on June 27.

* On May 30, during the NASCAR Winston West Series’ only appearance at Saugus in 1992, former Saugus champion Ron Hornaday Jr. of Palmdale navigated a 16.175-second lap to set a series record at Saugus.

Hornaday’s mark broke Bill Sedgwick’s Winston West record of 16.446 seconds, set in 1990. However, Hornaday wasn’t the only one to break Sedgwick’s mark. Sedgwick, of Granada Hills, the series defending champion, Bill Schmitt of Redding, Calif., and Rick Carelli of Denver also clocked in under the previous track mark.

Why such speed?

“We just keep making little, mini adjustments to the suspension every week,” said Ocheltree, the Hobby Stock division points leader. “The more laps I do, the better I get.”

Phipps, a three-time Saugus Sportsman division champion and defending Grand Am champion, has long been the master of going faster on Saugus’ unforgiving flat surface. But he is no longer alone.

“Mostly, everyone’s just getting smarter with their technology and their mechanics,” Phipps said. “They’re still coming up with ways to generate a few more horsepower. Everyone’s just a year smarter and a year faster.”

Add Saugus: Ocheltree, 35, finished ninth last season in the Jalopy division, which was renamed Hobby Stock this season.

This season, however, Ocheltree has won one main event among four top-five finishes and holds a seven-point lead over Chuck Berry of Canoga Park.

Where did he buy his car?

“I got it from my friend’s 84-year-old grandmother,” he said.

Spangler returns: Three years ago, Keith Spangler of Northridge appeared to be one of the Sportsman division’s top drivers at Saugus, finishing second to track champion Will Harper of Tarzana by a point.

However, with the exception of an appearance with the NASCAR Southwest Tour in April, Spangler has not raced at Saugus since he was involved in a crash in June, 1991. Tonight, Spangler plans to make his return in a 1992 Ford Thunderbird.

“It’s been a really slow process,” said Spangler, who began racing at Saugus while a senior at Granada Hills High. “We’ve spent five or six months on this car, at least. But that’s how the money is right now.”

Add Sportsman: Defending champion Lance Hooper will be driving the car of John Redmond of Canyon Country tonight. Last week, during a Sportsman bye at Saugus, Hooper, 25, was involved in a crash during a 100-lap race at Las Vegas International Raceway.

Hooper was unhurt, but his car sustained about $3,000 damage, he said.

“I got airborne four or five feet and hit a wall at 70-80 m.p.h.,” said Hooper, who ranks fourth in points at Saugus. “It bent the frame. But it’s gonna get fixed.”

Miscellany: Mike Kiedrowski of Acton is fourth in points entering today’s American Motorcycle Assn. Camel Supercross season finale at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Kiedrowski won the series last race, Sunday in Buchanan, Mich.. . . .

Doug George of Atwater, Calif., is the new leader of the NASCAR Southwest Tour, which is in the second week of a midseason, four-week break. George moved into the lead with a victory June 27 at Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield. Ron Hornaday Jr. of Palmdale is second, and Carelli third. The series resumes July 25 at Redwood Acres Raceway in Eureka, Calif.. . . .

The NASCAR Winston West Series resumes tonight at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Wash., with the sixth of 10 scheduled races. Sedgwick is the series’ points leader. . . .

Doug Renno of Canoga Park is 21st in the NASCAR Sunbelt Region points standings.