Empringham, Galles Win Indy Lights, Sedan Races

Canadian Dave Empringham and Jamie Galles of Albuquerque won supporting races Sunday at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Empringham, up from the Formula Atlantic series--he won that race here last year--won his and the series’ second race of the season in Indy Lights, a race cut from 47 to 44 laps over the 1.59-mile course because of numerous crashes.

There were five full-course yellow flags.

Empringham jumped ahead of pole-sitter Gualter Salles of Brazil on the first lap, then held off a race-long challenge by another Brazilian, Tony Kanaan, averaging 77.308 mph.

“Tony was a little quicker in some of the corners but we had a bullet on the straightaways,” Empringham said.

Kanaan was second, 1.6 seconds behind Empringham, and Salles finished third in the race for Lola chassis powered by Buick V-6 engines.

Galles, son of Indy car owner Rick Galles and a probable Indy car driver before season’s end, won the Sports Car Club of America Trans-Am sedan race.

Galles, driving a Chevrolet Camaro, out-braked Tom Kendall’s Ford Mustang for the lead in turn 1 on the 55th lap of the 58-lap race, then won easily when a spate of late accidents brought out the yellow flag.

Kendall, of Manhattan Beach, lost out altogether when his car’s engine blew in the late going.

Scott Sharp of Danville finished second in a Camaro, and Dorsey Schroeder of Osage Beach, Mo., was third in a Mustang.