Phipps Wins Race and Season Title

Andrew Phipps needed only a 19th-place finish Saturday night to assure himself of the season-long NASCAR Lucas Oil Super Late Models championship at Irwindale Speedway, then did better and recorded a wire-to-wire victory in the finale of the 18-race series.

Rod Johnson, the only driver with a realistic chance of passing Phipps, finished second.

Johnson, who needed to finish 20 places ahead of Phipps to win the championship, was second throughout the 75-lap race on the half-mile track.

Phipps finished 0.413 of a second ahead for his sixth victory of the season.

The NASCAR Auto Club Late Models race was temporarily halted because of a medical emergency in the stands involving a a 70-year-old woman. The woman was hospitalized, according to an Irwindale Police Department dispatcher. Further information about her condition wasn’t available.

-- Steven Herbert