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By Robert Haugh
Piloting the #25 Dan Press Beast/Esslinger, 19-year-old Brea
Lopez of Vader, Washington captured the DMS Race Products BCRA Midgets series
checkered flags at the lightning-fast 3/8-mile Redwood Acres Raceway on
Saturday, May 19 in Eureka.
Starting from twelfth with the inversion, Lopez soared toward the front after
early-race frontrunners came together dropping them to the rear of the field.
Pressuring Cortez for several laps, Lopez made contact with Cortez’ right-rear
wheel, dropping her back to fifth place, eventually recovering and passing
Cortez for the lead on Lap 26, leading the final five circuits en route to
winning the 30-lap BCRA Midget feature.
Following Lopez the line was 16-year-old BCRA points leader Justin Grant in the
#30 Tim Grant Beast/Esslinger who overtook Cortez for second after Lopez made
her move around Cortez and Sacramento's Ralphie “The Racer” Cortez charging to a
third-place finish in the #31 Shores/Cortez pavement Beast/Sesco-Mopar.
Rounding out the Top Five was 17-year-old Michael Faccinto wheeling the #41 Gary
Scelzi Motorsports Beast/Mopar and Santa Rosa’s Gary Dickenson in his #8
Stealth/Pontiac.
Following the Top Five to the checkers was “Lakeport Lightning” Eric Mostin in
the #12 Mike Mostin Beast/Mopar, Rick Faeth in his #3 Stealth/Chevy V4 and 2002
third-place driver and car owner champion Bill Lindsey of San Carlos
chauffeuring the #61 Jim Fowler Beast/Esslinger as the last car on the lead lap
finishing eighth.
Starting in the rear of the pack, Faeth cautiously averted many rough-driving
incidents of the incident-plagued race, eluding several tangles, climbing 11
positions in the race, culminating in a seventh place finish.
17-year-old Evan Funk, the early-race leader, piloted the #23 Lindsey
Motorsports Beast/Esslinger to a respectable ninth-place finish, one lap down.
Funk led 12 laps of the incident-marred feature. Battling fuel pickup problems,
Funk slowly dropped positions before spinning late in the race.
Hoping to duplicate his 2006 Redwood Acres triumph, Travis Berryhill drove the
Berryhill Racing #11 Stealth/Esslinger to Top Ten run, taking tenth, one lap
down.
Vying to capture an unprecedented eighth BCRA championship in his #18 Champion
Automotive Stealth/Van Dyne, 7-time BCRA champion “Ageless Wonder” Floyd Alvis
finished 11th.
Piloting the Walker Motorsports #10 Beast/Esslinger, BCRA rookie Shane Golobic
experienced a roller-coaster ride of emotion, driving to an outstanding 4th
place finish, however, upon failing post-race tech inspection for being too
wide, he was disqualified and relegated to the rear of the finishing order.
Several Washington Midget Racing Association competitors competed with BCRA on
Saturday, including Lopez, Snake Livernash, Funk and Dallas Melby.
Cortez claimed the First ten-lap Heat race, triumphing over Funk, Dickenson,
3-time BCRA champion Glenn Carson in the #26 Doug Bock Stealth/Esslinger and
Fresno’s David Prickett in the #15 Neverlift Motorsports Hawk/Van Dyne.
Faccinto won the second ten-lap Heat race over BCRA rookie Kevin Morris
chauffeuring father Del’s #17k Beast/Esslinger, Grant, Michael Binswanger in the
#63 Beast/Mopar and Melby.
Berryhill triumphed in the four-lap Trophy Dash, leading wire-to-wire over
Lopez, Melby and 2006 WMRA Rookie of the year Livernash piloting the #55 Beast/Esslinger.
Melby outpaced the stellar 19-car field with a fast time of 14.977, the only
driver breaking the 15-second barrier in qualifying.
Lopez joins fellow 19-year-old WMRA competitor Melby as 2007 DMS Race Products
BCRA Midget feature winners. Melby claimed the winner’s accolades earlier this
season at Shasta Speedway in the #9 Chris Melby Blue Dot/Gaerte.
Grant, leading the DMS Race Products BCRA Midgets series points coming into the
Redwood Acres race cushioned his points lead, extending distance on Alvis,
Prickett, Morris, Cortez and Lindsey. Grant now leads second-place Alvis by 75
points, with Prickett and Morris another 24 tallies back tied for third. Cortez
rests fifth, just 13 markers behind Prickett and Morris. Berryhill vaulted from
14th to 7th in points, now trailing sixth-place Lindsey by 60 points.
The 2007 DMS Race Products BCRA Midget series resumes competition in two weeks,
with a stop at Lakeport Speedway on June 2, then June 9 at Ukiah Speedway, both
fast ¼-mile paved ovals.
Visit www.bcraracing.com for more information on the BCRA Midgets.
Summary:
Main Event (30 laps)
1. Brea Lopez
2. Justin Grant
3. Ralph Cortez
4. Michael Faccinto
5. Gary Dickenson
6. Eric Mostin
7. Rick Faeth
8. Bill Lindsey
9. Evan Funk
10. Travis Berryhill
11. Floyd Alvis
12. Dallas Melby
13. David Prickett
14. Glenn Carson
15. Kevin Morris
16. Michael Binswanger
17. Snake Livernash
18. Shane Golobic (DQ)
19. Joe Lindsey (NS)
Heat 2 (10 laps):
1. Michael Faccinto
2. Kevin Morris
3. Justin Grant
4. Michael Binswanger
5. Dallas Melby
6. Snake Livernash
7. Shane Golobic
8. Brea Lopez
9. Travis Berryhill
10. Eric Mostin
Heat 1 (10 laps):
1. Ralph Cortez
2. Evan Funk
3. Gary Dickenson
4. Glenn Carson
5. David Prickett
6. Rick Faeth
7. Bill Lindsey
8. Joe Lindsey
9. Floyd Alvis
Dash (4 laps):
1. Travis Berryhill
2. Brea Lopez
3. Dallas Melby
4. Snake Livernash
Qualifications:
1. Dallas Melby 14.977
2. Snake Livernash 15.071
3. Brea Lopez 15.081
4. Travis Berryhill 15.193
5. Eric Mostin 15.213
6. Michael Binswanger 15.318
7. Justin Grant 15.339
8. Michael Faccinto 15.371
9. Shane Golobic 15.413
10. Kevin Morris 15.573
11. Gary Dickenson 15.580
12. David Prickett 15.687
13. Evan Funk 15.704
14. Ralph Cortez 15.807
15. Glenn Carson 15.896
16. Bill Lindsey 16.169
17. Floyd Alvis 16.329
18. Rick Faeth 16.377
19. Joe Lindsey 16.925
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