McGraw Gets Lucky at Ventura : Auto racing: Eight of 13 cars fail to finish as hometown driver wins Street Stock main.

The number 13 proved to be unlucky for the majority of entrants in the Street Stock 20-lap main event Friday night at Ventura Raceway.

Only five out of the 13 cars that started the feature race were around at the finish, and two of them weren’t on the lead lap.

Randy McGraw of Ventura was one of the survivors, taking his first victory of the season after inheriting the lead on Lap 11.

Pole-sitter Bill Bartels of Los Angeles had a half-lap lead when his car stalled in Turn 2, with a small flame coming from under his left fender.

Bartels encountered the same problem in his eight-lap heat race, which was eventually won by Adail Gayhart of Malibu.

James Weston of Santa Barbara and Paul Moore of Oak View, the two prior feature winners, both suffered blown tires in the early going after dueling for the first five laps.

Weston, Moore and Tom Stephens of Ventura all tangled for fourth place in Turn 1 on the fourth lap, with Weston coming out in front--only to pull off one lap later.

Moore went out with a flat tire on the sixth lap, as did Stephens.

All three drivers rejoined the race on the 12th lap, during the caution period brought on by Bartels, but Stephens lost a tire and flipped in Turn 4 when racing resumed, bringing out yet another caution flag.

Jim Firsich of Port Hueneme was second in the feature, Al Adam of Westlake Village was third, while Weston and Moore were fourth and fifth.

Scott Pounds of Santa Maria won the 20-lap IMCA Modified feature, in his first Ventura appearance this year, and Ryan Cole of Santa Maria was second.

Bruce Dunson of Santa Barbara won the 20-lap Mini Stock main event, and Scott Boucher of Oak View won his second 20-lap Pony Stock feature.