Hornaday Makes Early Impression in Saugus Qualifying

Ron Hornaday Jr. of Palmdale got off to a fast start Saturday night in the second of two seasonal runnings of the NASCAR Southwest Tour at Saugus Speedway.

Hornaday, 34, the tour’s points leader and winner of the past two Southwest Tour events at Saugus, fired his yellow Pontiac Trans Am around the one-third-mile paved oval in record time during qualifying, then drove to an eight-lap heat-race victory before a crowd of 5,630.

Hornaday started fourth in the 100-lap main event and was running in second position after 85 laps when this edition went to press. Dan Press of Vader, Wash., was in the lead. Keith Spangler, who led for the first 66 laps, was in third.

Hornaday moved past Rick Carelli of Denver and into third position on Lap 27.

“It’s (my) home track and it’s a lot of fun to come to,” Hornaday said. “We just got a little lucky qualifying.”

Hornaday’s one-lap qualifying time of 15.36 seconds (78.125 m.p.h.) shattered the track’s existing record for Southwest Tour cars set by Ray Hooper Jr. (15.52) in September, 1990.

Four other Southwest Tour competitors--Carelli (15.43), Press (15.43), Spangler (15.44) and Hooper of Palmdale (15.49)--clocked in under the existing qualifying standard.

Hornaday entered the evening in pursuit of his first tour championship in five years on the tour. Hornaday has two main-event wins this season among nine top-five finishes.

“It’s time to start looking at the points and try to finish every race in the top five,” Hornaday said.

On the undercard of the Southwest Tour, Saugus’ Pro Stock division ran its next-to-last program of the season. Mark Miller of Chatsworth won the crash-filled, 25-lap oval main event to post his third main-event victory of the season.

Brian Kelley of Arleta finished second, Rick Crow of Canyon Country third and Mike Stuart of Sylmar fourth.

In other races, Greg Scheidecker of Redlands won the 12-lap Southwest Tour semi-main event to advance to the main event. Al Sadler of Redlands, who finished second, also advanced. Sig Nelson of Highland finished third and Phil Greene of Aromas, Calif., finished fourth.

Albert Tester of Lancaster won the 12-lap Pro Stock oval semi-main event to lead four drivers who advanced to the main. Tim Huddleston of Sepulveda, Richard Sloan of Torrance, Dave Cato and Richard Smith of Reseda also advanced.

Southwest Tour heat race winners included Greene, Scheidecker, Doug George of Atwater, Calif., and Hornaday.