Mike Griffith: Competition fuels this expensive Hobby
| Wednesday, Jun 17 2009 10:46 PM
Last Updated Wednesday, Jun 17 2009 10:46 PM
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Kevin Johnson
Eight races, seven different winners and a total of 62 different drivers.
Those are the numbers heading to the halfway point of the season in the Hobby Stock division at Bakersfield Speedway.
"They're a lot cheaper than a Super Street, more of a race car than an American Stock and real competitive," said Kevin Johnson, who won the division championship in 2007, took most of last year off, and is leading the point standings after eight of 18 events this season.
As for the competitiveness of the class, Johnson has yet to race his way to victory lane. Of course the rules don't make it easy on him. As points leader he is slated to start features in the 12th slot due to an invert designed to foster better competition.
It appears to be working as it took eight races before Richie McGowan emerged as the first repeat winner in the division.
Not surprisingly, Johnson, who will be seeking his first win of the season on Saturday night, isn't a huge fan of the inverts.
"I honestly don't like inverts," he said. "They say it's to make for a better show but I think if (the races) started straight up it would still be good. All the fast guys would be up front."
Even with a 12-car invert, there are still plenty of fast cars up front, which makes it difficult for those starting in the middle of the field to make it to the front in a 25-lap race.
"I wish we'd run 30 laps," said Johnson, who has finished second twice and has been in the top five in six of the eight races. "There's so many fast guys and track conditions often make it hard to pass."
But Johnson isn't really complaining. After all, his smooth driving style and ability to finish races has him holding a sizeable 46-point advantage over one-time winner Devan Jones in the championship race.
"I've had one flat tire all year and stopped once to have some sheet metal pulled off," Johnson said of his consistency. "We still pass cars and put on a good show and it's a lot of fun. I enjoy every week and look forward to it."
With a half season of racing left, Johnson says there could be several more winners this season.
"I think there could be three-to-five more winners and hopefully I'm one of them," he said.
Also in action Saturday night at Bakersfield Speedway will be Super Streets, American Stocks and Mini Dwarfs. Racing starts at 6.
Quick shifts
David Mayhew of Bakersfield, third in the NASCAR Camping World West points race, will be somewhat at home Saturday when the series heads to the Infineon Raceway road course. "I've run quite a bit at Sonoma," he said. "I won a bunch of scholarships through karting to the Jim Russell School there. I ran the school series they have there for a year. We were there all the time, testing and such. So, I've got quite a bit of road-racing experience at Sonoma." Mayhew trails point leader Eric Holmes by 64 points.
The American Nostalgia Racing Association Spring Nationals will be held Saturday and Sunday at Auto Club Famoso Raceway. Competition takes place in a variety of sportsman nostalgia classes, the quickest running through the quarter mile in 7.6 seconds. Qualifying takes place all day Saturday starting at 9 a.m. Eliminations begin at 8 a.m. on Sunday.
Bakersfield's Buddy Shepherd raced to a Junior Sprint victory Friday night at Plaza Raceway Park in Visalia ... Bakersfield drivers Brandon Toy and Ryan Reed finished second and third, respectively Saturday night in Legends competition at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale.
