Dinger, Mintey Win and Pile Up Some Points at Saugus

On a night in which points leaders seemed to spend more time in the pits than on the racetrack, Pat Mintey Jr. of Quartz Hill and Scott Dinger of Simi Valley gained some valuable ground before a crowd of 4,473 on Saturday night at Saugus Speedway.

Mintey, tied for second in the Sportsman division points standings, stole the lead from Gary Sigman of Carson with six laps to go and went on to win his second 40-lap main event of the season.

Dinger, second in points among Pro Stock drivers, outlasted Gerrit Cromsigt of Palmdale in an exciting 25-lap oval race to claim a division-high fifth main-event victory. Dinger, who won the oval trophy dash, also took the 15-lap figure-eight main event to unofficially move past Ed Horst of Reseda and into the division’s points lead.

The victories weighed heavily for both drivers, considering the poor showings of points leaders Sean Woodside of Saugus and Horst. Woodside spun out twice in the Sportsman main, leaving the track and returning at the rear of the grid.

Horst encountered mechanical trouble during practice and missed the oval main event, snapping a string of 26 consecutive top-10 finishes dating to last season.

“We just try to take it race by race and not think about the points,” said Mintey, who took the checkered flag in the Sportsman’s last appearance at Saugus on June 26. “The points chase is always in the back of your mind, but we try not to think about it. The more we think about it, the worse we do.”

Sigman, defending Sportsman champion and fifth in points, started on the pole and held the lead through much of a crash-filled race until Mintey made an inside pass on the second turn.

Tim Huddleston of North Hills and John Higgins of Simi Valley, who entered the evening tied with Mintey, also passed Sigman (who wound up fourth) and finished second and third.

Cromsigt, third in points, started on the pole with Dinger by his side. Cromsigt led until Lap 19 when Dinger negotiated a daring pass in heavy traffic on the back straightaway. Craig Rayburn of Simi Valley finished third and Richard Karvasek of Reseda took fourth.

Horst won the 12-lap semi-main event.