Veenstra Wins Main Event; Regier Sets Track Record

Rick Veenstra of Emmett, Idaho, swooped under race leader Lonnie Adamson on the lap 25 restart to win the 30-lap Supermodified Racing League event in front of 5,920 at Irwindale Speedway on Saturday night.

Some wondered if Veenstra had jumped the restart as he got by Adamson as they entered Turn 4, but track officials deemed it a fair start.

Troy Regier of Dinuba, Calif., finished second, with Adamson third. Earlier, Regier set a track record with a lap of 15.154 seconds during qualifying. That surpassed Mark Ekberg’s record of 15.1999, set in November.

In the 75-lap NASCAR super late model race, Charles Utts of Camarillo got his first victory at the speedway by shutting the door on last week’s winner Greg Voigt in both Turns 2 and 4 on the final lap and won by a car length.

Utts, who qualified sixth but started on the pole because of a six-car inversion, lost the lead to Brian Kelley on the first lap of the race. He took it back from Kelley on lap 14.

“My wife is my only crew member and she set the air pressure in the tires so they’d come in when I needed them to,” Utts said.

In the 30-lap USAC Western states midgets race, Bobby Boone of Palmdale, after swapping the lead with Ryan Newman several times, took the lead for good on lap 16 and went on to win. It was Boone’s second win in the series and his first on pavement. His first victory came last year, on the dirt, at Ventura Raceway.

Davey Hamilton of Las Vegas took the lead on lap 27 and won the 40-lap USAC Western states sprint car race.