MidValleySports.Com

(Irwindale) – An estimated crowd of 5,000 fans saw history when Nick Joanides won his second major racing series when he took the Auto Club Late Model division.

The fans were also treated to Mike Johnson getting back into the winner’s circle in the Late Model division, while Rod Johnson has tied Pat Mintey for the lead in the King Taco Super Trucks.

It was also free Ladies Night for Breast Cancer Awareness and the night concluded with a “all-female” Demolition Derby.

AUTO CLUB LATE MODEL – 40 LAPS

After a rough race night two weeks ago, Mike Johnson was able to get the lead from Tim Huddleston on the 29^th lap to win the opening night race.

Johnson has won five of the last seven races in the Auto Club Late Model division.

The race for the title tightened up just a bit as Huddleston gained four points on eventual fourth-place finisher Nick Joanides who still leads by 30 points with on final race later in the night.

Huddleston was leading early on, but couldn’t shake Johnson off his bumper.

A caution flag brought out on the 13^th lap couldn’t have come at a worse time for Huddleston who appeared to be establishing a large lead on Johnson as his tires were beginning to wear out. The yellow-flag helped cool the tires and enabled Johnson to get back within a car length lead.

Travis Irving rounded out the top three.

Results:

1. Mike Johnson

2. Tim Huddleston

3. Travis Irving

4. Nick Joanides

5. Travis Motley

SOUTHWEST TOUR TRUCKS – 40 LAPS

Dalton Kuhn won his sixth race in seven attempts at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale in the Southwest Tour Trucks.

Kuhn led all but five laps and at one time led by 20 car lengths before Christian Copley was able to run him down to a 0.483 second loss.

The beginning of the race saw five cars battling side by side for the opening two laps that saw Jeff Williams come out on the lead for five laps.

Copley still leads the Southwest Tour Trucks season lead, while Kuhn is on pace to win the Toyota Speedway series championship.

Williams closed out the podium by falling back to third.

Results:

1. Dalton Kuhn

2. Christian Copley

3. Jeff Williams

KING TACO SUPER TRUCKS – 40 LAPS

Rod Johnson Jr. led all the way for 40 laps and was able to get himself into a two-way tie for first place for the King Taco Super Truck title.

Johnson has now won three of the last four races in the series and it was his seventh of the season.

Coming into the night, Pat Mintey Jr. needed to finish fifth or better to take a lead going into the final the final race of the night. Mintey would finish sixth to setup a final race showdown with Johnson and Ronald Peterson who is only 20 points behind in third.

Matt Kimball was able to get his best finish of the season in second position. Kimball was 2.713 seconds behind Johnson.

Peterson made up six points on Mintey by finishing third.

The final race of the season will be for the title on October 24^th.

Results:

1. Rod Johnson Jr.

2. Matt Kimball

3. Ronald Peterson

AUTO CLUB LATE MODELS – 40 LAPS

History was made on the final points night of the Auto Club Late Model series when Nick Joanides picked the perfect time to win his third race of the season.

Joanides became the first driver in track history to win the AC Delco Super Late Models and the Auto Club Late Model series in the same racing season.

The race took a wild turn on the 23^rd lap re-start as Nick Joanides and Tim Huddleston battled for the lead. As Joanides lost the lead in out of turn two, Huddleston slid up high and nearly caused Joanides to spin him. Huddleston lost his momentum and fell back six spots and allowed Joanides to get clear of the other cars.

Joanides not only had to outlast 25 other cars, he was also getting worried as his car was beginning to make a noise that could have ended his night early and cost him the track title.

The season for Joanides has also seen him win the State and Track title’s to add to his trophy mantle.

The rest of the race saw the battle of Travis’s (Irving and Motley) as both battled for second and third. Irving was also making a late attempt at finishing second in the points as he made a valiant effort but could not make up enough points. Motley would eventually finish second.

The race involved three lead changes as Huddleston (laps 1-6, 8-20), Mike Johnson (lap 7), and Joanides (laps 21-40) were the only ones that got to the front.

RESULTS:

1. Nick Joanides

2. Travis Motley

3. Travis Irving

4. Mike Johnson

5. Tim Huddleston

DEMOLITION DERBY

The Thiebert Sisters both battled to the finish as last woman standing as Alisha outlasted Christine to win the Powderpuff Derby.

Alisha would be disqualified for a reinforced front end that gave her an advantage to win the event. Christine was awarded the title.

Tammy Kalb finished second and Shayla Zins was third.

Results:

1. Christine Thiebert

2. Tammy Kalb

3. Shayla Zins