This morning saw the last race before The Chase to the Championship begins, and the points were close going in. The top 10 cars were set, it was just a matter of where they would finish for the day. Because of summer heat the race was again moved inside, although that did nothing to cool the competetion. This was the first race of a double-header for this weekend, the Sunday race is a non-points cash race that won't change the standings.

As with the last event the #2 Miller Ford dominated, set fast time and won the main. What was different was some of the more distant finishers finished strong this event. As a result the points from position 5 back to 10th changed. here's how it all shook out for The Chase:

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z262/FresnoPete/MVC-039S-1.jpg

1. #2 Miller Ford Taurus (Pete)
2. #88 UPS Ford (Pete)
3. #1 Pennzoil Chevy (Yoshi)
4. #15 NAPA Chevy (J. Hicks)
5. #5 Kelloggs Chevy (D. Hicks)
6. #17 DeWalt Ford (Pete)
7. #20 Home Depot Chevy (Yoshi)
8. #24 Dupont Chevy (Yoshi)
9. #48 Lowes Chevy (D. Hicks)
10. #6 Valvoine Ford (J. Hicks)

Several great first time drivers were eliminated including Chuck Munford and pre-teen sensation Andre Ramos, but they will be back for the Summer Sizzler starting in August with new T-Chassis cars.

The final 4 races will all be double points, the season will end on July 26th.

How did Sequoia go?

Racing is Saturday evening. Only the top 10 cars will be fielded from this point on, with one car in the go-or-go-home slot each event. Points will be awarded to each car including the one that will not qualify, that car will just be in last place for the evening.

Race 1 of 4 for The Chase, a double points event saw the standings scrambled somewhat. Personally I was disappointed because one of my cars was the go-or-go home qualifyer, and Matt Kenseth failed to qualify for this event. This dropped the #17 car from 6th place back to 9th. Another of my cars, the current track record holder #88 UPS Ford also had handling problems and is now in a tie for first with the #2 Miller Genuine Draft Ford. Here are the standings for race 1 or 4.

1T. #2 Miller Ford
1T. #88 UPS Ford (+1)
3. #15 NAPA Chevy (+1)
4. #1 Pennzoil Chevy (-1)
5T. #5 Kelloggs Chevy
5T. #20 Home Depot Chevy (+1)
5T. #48 Lowes Chevy (+2)
8. #6 Valvoline Ford (+2)
9. #17 DeWalt Ford (-3)
10 #24 Dupont Chevy (-2)

The #24 Dupont car suffered from handling problems all evening, dropping 2 places in the points, and the heat on the track was blamed by more than one driver. The big winners were the #48 Lowes car, who moved up 2 places, as did the #6 Valvoline car.

I want to say that I wasn't aware of the Scott Kalitta accident until just about half an hour ago. I'm not a big drag racing fan but of the autographs I do have from Pomona, Scott's was one that I have on several items. Scott was the continuation of a legacy from his father Connie, whom I also saw race as a kid. His loss has sort of set me back a bit, sometimes when you shake someone's hand several times over the course of a few years you can think you have a sort of personal/fan relationship with him. My own personal prayers go out to the Kalitta family.

Matt Kenseth's problems continued as for the second weekend in a row he failed to qualify at Sequoia Speedway for the Chase to the Championship. Kenseth is now eliminated from any chance of finishing better than 6th place in the series. The rest of this weekends competetion was fairly straight forward, some winners and some losers firmed up the points and placement of those that made the show.

The big winners were the #88 car, who once again won the A Main, the #20 car who came from way back to finish 3rd on the day, and the #6 who moved way up in the mains and made a great showing. The #24 car moved up by virtue of the fact Kenseth didn't qualify but continued to have handling problems and finished last of the qualified cars.

In just two races the Valvoline Ford has moved from last place up to 7th place, a great effort by driver James Hicks. When asked about the #24 cars handling problems Yoshi Nagura stated that the car needed to be thrown out in traffic and run over by a city bus. He did not allude to how that would improve the handling but many other drivers were left scratching their heads about the set up, especially yours truly who is considering just such an adjustment on the #17 Dewalt Tools Ford.

Here are how they shook out after round two was completed:

1. #88 UPS Ford (+1)
2. #2 Miller Genuine Draft Ford (-1)
3. #15 NAPA Chevrolet
4. #1 Pennzoil Chevrolet
5. #20 Home Depot Chevrolet (+1)
6. #5 Kellogg's Chevrolet (-1)
7. #6 Valvoline Ford (+1)
8. #48 Lowe's Chevrolet (-1)
9. #24 Dupont Chevrolet (+1)
10. #17 DeWalt Ford (-1) DNQ for second week.

Next weeks race will be held on Sunday, July 6th because many of the racers will be out of town over the holiday weekend. Round 3 will also be held outside the Jamba Juice on Kings Canyon at Clovis Avenue at 7PM.

Round Three continued the trends from Round Two, except for the first time the #88 did not make the A Main due to qualifying problems. Instead it was the #15 car, who took the win for the event, the #48 car was top qualifyer and finishing second and the #6 car finishing third. The #24 car was disqualified from the event after it was found to have illegal tires after qualifying. This allowed the #17, who originally had not qualified into the field, although it only managed an 8th place overall. Here are the current points:

1. #88
1T. #15 (+1)
3. #2 (-1)
4. #20
5. #48 (+3)
6. #1 (-2)
7. #6 (+1)
8. #5 (-2)
9. #24
10. #17

The final race of Sequoia Speedway's LifeLike NASCAR season will be held this coming Friday, July 11th due to my being out of town on the weekend. This will also wrap up the first season for my track, more on a replacement series this coming Friday after the final race.

The final race was delayed until Saturday night because of a power black out. Below is the final standings with the name of the person who owns the car first, then the name of the person who drove the car in the final. The last race was pretty uneventful, except for 1st place all of the other places were pretty much set going into this event. Here are the final standings:

1. #88 UPS Ford driven by Peter McKay
2. #2 Miller Ford owned by Peter McKay, driven by Yoshi Nagura
3. #15 NAPA Chevy driven by James Hicks
4. #20 Home Depot Chevy owned by Yoshi Nagura, driven by James Hicks
5. #48 Lowes Chevy driven by David Hicks
6. #1 Pennzoil Chevy driven by Yoshi Nagura
7. #6 Valvoline Ford owned by James Hicks, driven by Peter McKay
8. #5 Kellogg's Chevy driven by David Hicks
9. #24 Dupont Chevy driven by Yoshi Nagura
10. #17 DeWalt Tools Ford driven by Peter McKay

This is the last race of the opening season for Sequoia Speedway. This fall another series will begin with a few rules changes; drivers may field only two cars each instead of the 4 from this series. Also, all drivers will be required to supply their own cars, as most of the cars in this series were owned by the speedway. Rental cars will be available to be raced, costs have not yet been announced.