SARALE SCORES TOUGH MIDGET WIN AT MADERA

MADERA, CA., AUGUST 20: John Sarale took control on the 11th lap and fought off several challenges to take the 50-lap Bay Cities Racing Association midget feature at the Madera Speedway. This marked the third win of the season for the veteran as he attempts to secure his recently acquired point lead and win the '05 championship with only three races remaining.

David Prickett led off the feature on the quarter-mile paved oval from the outside of the front row with Steve Roza slipping into second and sixth-starting Eric Mostin gaining third on the first round. Mostin's Beast/Gaerte quickly grabbed second on the next circuit and Greg Dennett, from eighth, nabbed third one lap later. At this point the Sarale Farms Beast Chevy had moved from 10th to hold sixth behind Pete Davis' Beast/Esslinger.

On the fourth lap Davis charged by Dennett to run third as Roza dropped back to sixth. Scott Pierovich, experiencing an elusive fuel problem all night, dropped out.

On the fifth lap Dan Gundo spun his Stealth/Gaerte in the second turn to bring out the first caution flag.

At the resumption Davis and Dennett races side-by-side for third as Sarale moved in to join the fray. Mostin, Dennett, Davis and Sarale began a serious challenge to the leading Prickett until another yellow flag was unfurled as Carley Lawrence spun into the turn-two infield with a small engine fire that was quickly extinguished by the track safety crew.

At the green Mostin and the front-running group enveloped the leading rookie. Sarale jumped by Dennett to nose in behind Mostin and both dropped Prickett to third on the seventh lap. At this point Bobby Dalton became a key factor, racing up to take fifth. One lap later he charged his Beast/Ed Pink Ford into third.
On the ninth circuit, Prickett, holding fourth, was challenged on the high side by Dennett as they entered the first turn. Prickett's car shot up-track and struck Dennett's 3D Racing Beast/Ed Pink Chevy, sending both to the wall. Dennett's mount received extreme damage as Prickett's car bounded further down the track to a halt against the wall. The yellow flag was supplemented several laps later with the red to aid in cleanup of spilled liquids from both cars. Sixteenth-starting fast qualifier Ben Petter, up to 11th, required work on his car during this period and was relegated to restart last.

At the resumption with eight laps completed, Mostin continued his lead over a pressing Sarale. Dalton held a close third over Davis with defending BCRA champion Thomas Meseraull climbing to fifth as he was experiencing a leaking bleeder valve on his right rear tire that would see him finish the race with six pounds of tire pressure.

On the 11th lap Sarale nosed into the lead as Davis and Dalton battled behind Mostin. Into this hated battle among the front runners emerged Garratt Boyden. Boyden, and then Ryan Kaplan, dropped Meseraull's ailing machine back two spots on the 12th round to hold fifth and sixth. Boyden's Beast/Esslinger displaced Dalton on the 14th circuit.

The caution was shown on the 16th lap when Gundo spun exiting the second turn and was eliminated with the two-spin rule.

At the green it was Sarale over Mostin and Davis with Dalton moving back around Boyden for fourth, only to lose the spot back on the next lap. Boyden began pressuring Davis for third with the pair running side-by-side. Boyden laid claim to third on the 21st marker with the leaders maintaining their positions through the next five laps. On the 27th round Boyden nudged by Mostin for second. On the 29th lap the caution was flown when eighth-running Shannon McQueen spun her Stealth/Esslinger.

As the action at the front was unfolding, the WMRA's '04 rookie of the year Petter was quietly moving forward, having taken over sixth on the 26th lap after having been sent to the rear during the ninth-lap red. Kaplan displaced Davis for fourth on the 32nd lap with Petter moving by to gain fifth. Kaplan moved into third on the 34th round, then Petter moved in to challenge Mostin, dropping the early leader to fifth on the 35th lap.

Sarale, Boyden, Kaplan, Petter and Mostin ran nose-to-tail over the next few laps until the 43rd round when the first of three incidents changed the complexion of the race. Diving into the third turn as they began to mingle with two cars they were lapping, Boyden made an inside move on the leader. Midway through the turn, the two cars came together with Boyden spinning a full 360-degrees, keeping his car under control for the first Lap-40 yellow flag. At the caution he was put to the rear. Boyden would later state they he was hit from behind by one of the lapped cars.

At the green, Petter, having passed Kaplan for second, challenged Sarale. He too found the task insurmountable as the two cars came together and he spun in the same location as Boyden before him for the second lap-40 caution. All of the cars managed to avoid Petter's stalled car, except for Roza who braked and slid lightly into Petter.

The third time was not the "charm". This time it was Mostin bringing out the caution when a rear panhard broke, sending the car into a long spin down the backstretch. As the cars behind began evasive actions, the opening closed for Dalton as Mostin's car careered across the track. Dalton tagged the rear of Mostin, sending him into the turn-four wall with extensive car damage and sore knees.

From this point it was clear sailing for Sarale, having staved off the serious challenges. Sarale took the win over Kaplan and a struggling Meseraull, followed by a rebounding McQueen over Boyden and Davis.

Petter put the Mark Kenworthy Beast/Gaerte into the fast time slot over the 20-car field in qualifying.

McQueen drove to her first BCRA trophy dash win over Meseraull, Kaplan and Petter. Mostin scored the first heat race win over Davis and Prickett with Sarale taking the second ten-lapper ahead of Dennett and Dallen McKinney.

Three races remain on the BCRA midget schedule: Aug. 27 Reno-Fernley; Sept. 24 Shasta Raceway Park (Round-4 Pacific Northwest Midget Championship Series with WMRA); October 8 Santa Maria (3rd Annual Johnny Baldwin Classic).

The BCRA vintage division put 11 cars onto the track for practice and two demonstration races with the famed Shanoian Offy highlighting the events.

SUMMARY:
QUAL.: 1. Ben Petter, #58 Kenworthy 14.20; 2. Rayan Kaplan, #21 Kaplan 14.25; 3. Thomas Meseraull, #69 Ferrari 14.30; 4. Shannon McQueen, #7 McQueen 14.35; 5. Garratt Boyden, #42 Boyden 14.42; 6. Dallen McKinnery, McKinney 14.44; 7. John Sarale, #32 Sarale 14.55; 8. Bobby Dalton, #36 Dalton 14.61; 9. Greg Dennett, #46 Dennett 14.62; 10. Dan Gundo, #6 Gundo 14.64; 11. Eric Mostin, #12 Mostin 14.65; 12. Pete Davis, #00 Davis 14.75; 13. Steve Roza, #20 Roza 14.77; 14. Gary Dickenson, #20X Roza 14.90; 15. David Prickett, #15 Prickett 14.94; 16. Carley Lawrence, #18 Lawrence 14.99; 17. Danny Parker, #38 Parker 15.11; 18. Mike Donaldson, #87 Donaldson 15.33; 19. Scott Pierovich, #35 Pierovich 19.12; 20. Joe Lindsey, #23X Lindsey N/T.

DASH: McQueen, Meseraull, Kaplan, Petter.

HEAT-1: Mostin, Davis, Prickett, Parker, Roza, Lindsey, Dickenson, Davidson, Lawrence, Pierovich.
HEAT-2: Sarale, Dennett, McKinney, Petter, Kaplan, Meseraull, Boyden, Gundo, McQueen, Dalton.

MAIN: 1. John Sarale, 2. Ryan Kaplan, 3. Thomas Meseraull, 4. Shannon McQueen, 5. Garratt Boyden, 6. Pete Davis, 7.Steve Roza, 8. Gary Dickenson, 9. Ben Petter, 10. Eric Mostin, 11. Bobby Dalton, 12. Dallen McKinney, 13. Danny Parker, 14. Joe Lindsey, 15. Carley Lawrence, 16. Dan Gundo, 17. David Prickett, 18. Greg Dennett, 19. Scott Pierovich, 20 Mike Donaldson N/S.

LAP LEADERS: Prickett 1-6, Mostin 7-10, Sarale 11-50.