Murgoitio wins USAC Western Sprint Car feature
at Shasta Raceway Park - By Bobby Gerould - July 9, 2005 - Anderson,
CA. …Mike Murgoitio started inside row-two of the USAC Western Sprint
Car 40-lap feature event at Shasta Raceway Park Saturday evening. At the drop
of the green flag, pole-sitter Tim Barber assumed the lead but somehow Murgoitio
nudged his #80 into contention with a nifty maneuver in turn one. Barber,
and Murgoitio battled side by side down the back straightaway with Murgoitio
edging in front on the inside of turn four. As it turned out - that was the
winning pass. "It was awesome. The car hasn't rotated like that all-day",
said the Meridian Idaho driver who was the 2004 series Rookie of the Year.
"We made several changes to the car after the heat race and we hit it right
just in time for the feature."
Murgoitio was never challenged once in front
in the non-stop event that lasted all of ten minutes. He became the sixth
winner in six 2005 races for the entertaining series. The event was finished
by 9:15 PM in warm, breezy weather.
The best racing for the fans was reserved for
fourth place in a race-long contest between Brian McClish, and rookie Kody
Swanson. While Barber and 2004 USAC Western Sprint Car Champion Tony Hunt
were running nose to-tail for second place, Swanson was trying various racing
lines to find a way by McClish. On lap 32, Swanson scooted to the inside of
the front chute and pulled even with McClish before beating him to the inside
of turn one to complete the pass.
Hunt meanwhile raced hard with Barber for the
runner-up spot but never could get around the Ken Pierson owned #14. Barber
wound up second at the checkered flag with Hunt in-tow. Swanson was fourth,
and McClish fifth. Sixth through tenth fell to Cody Veenstra, Michael Trimble,
Brad Bumgarner, Scott Hansen, and Chris Petersen. Trimble was the Weld Racing
Hard Charger of the night for starting 12th and finishing seventh.
Veenstra, and Trimble were heat race winners.
Swanson captured Earl's quick-qualifying honors by turning the fast paved
1/3-mile oval in 14.884 seconds. The USAC Western Sprint Car series continues
July 23, 2005 at Rocky Mountain Raceways in Salt Lake City, Utah.
VALVOLINE USAC WESTERN SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE
RESULTS: July 9, 2005 - Anderson, California - Shasta Speedway
QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Kody Swanson, 75, Swanson-14.884;
2. Brian McClish, 04, McClish-15.030; 3. Tony Hunt, 94, Kaiser-15.052; 4.
Mike Murgoitio, 80, Murgoitio-15.212; 5. Cody Veenstra, 07, Veenstra-15.276;
6. Tim Barber, 14, Pierson-15.326; 7. Brian Geiszler, 44, Geiszler-15.423;
8. Brad Bumgarner, 88, Bumgarner-15.442; 9. Chris Peterson, 18, Petersen-15.538;
10. Chuck Maddox, 23, Maddox-15.548; 11. Scott Hansen, 3F, Finkenbinder-15.650;
12. Michael Trimble, 15, CTR-15.697; 13. Peter Gobel, 27, Gobel-NT.
FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Veenstra, 2. Petersen,
3. Hunt, 4. Swanson, 5. Geiszler, 6. Hansen. NT
SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Trimble, 2. Bumgarner,
3. Barber, 4. McClish, 5. Maddox, 6. Murgoitio. NT
FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Mike Murgoitio, 2. Tim
Barber, 3. Tony Hunt, 4. Kody Swanson, 5. Brian McClish, 6. Cody Veenstra,
7. Michael Trimble, 8. Brad Bumgarner, 9. Scott Hansen, 10. Chris Petersen,
11. Brian Geiszler, 12. Chuck Maddox. ------------------------
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-40 Murgoitio.
NEW USAC WESTERN SPRINT CAR STANDINGS: 1-Hunt-363;
2-Swanson-352; 3-Barber-349; 4-Murgoitio-312; 5-Bumgarner-292; 6-Brian McClish-281;
7-Michael Trimble-264; 8-Cody Veenstra-262; 9-Chris Petersen-201; 10-Shauna
Hogg-197.
NEXT USAC WESTERN SPRINT CAR RACE: July 23 -
Salt Lake City, UT - Rocky Mountain Raceways
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