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9.24.07:
Beddow claims Eldorado Westcar Series championship
Mike Doss picks
up second win in Westcar
Steven Blakesley / Eldorado Westcar Series
Ukiah, CA -
Despite not finishing the event due to a hard crash, rookie Jarred
Beddow or Roseville, CA claimed the 2007 Eldorado Westcar Late Model
Series Tour of Champions championship Saturday night at Ukiah
Speedway.
Upperlake, CA's
Mike Doss scored the rich $1500 victory, making him two-for-two in
Westcar competition at Ukiah.
After a rookie performance that wowed race fans throughout
the series' seven-round campaign, Beddow finished with six top-fives
and seven top-tens.
“It’s not real yet,” Beddow said. “When I started doing
well in the beginning of the year, I thought it was just luck. It
was tough being just a normal guy out here trying to do this every
race.”
“Call me lucky, call me skilled, whatever you want to call
it,” Beddow said. “I’m sure there are some guys out here that are
better than me.”
Paul Hansen of
Richmond, CA led
the opening nine laps of the 75 lap contest. Meanwhile, 2005 Rookie
of the Year and 2007 series runner-up Bobby Butler worked through
the field from his sixth starting position.
The
Sacramento
teenager beat Hansen in a race back to the line on lap nine, when
the caution flag flew. John Dalerio of Ukiah made contact with Doss
and slid off the race track in turn one to draw the yellow.
Butler drove away
from Hansen on the restart. Beddow moved past Hansen on lap 12 and
began to chip away at Butler’s lead.
Doss, who was the fastest in qualifying, was up to fourth
place by lap 16 after starting tenth.
On lap 33, Beddow found his way to
Butler’s back
bumper, setting up a thrilling 13 lap duel. The top-two drivers in
Westcar competition battled closely, with
Butler
fighting a loose race car.
Butler stumbled
exiting turn four on lap 45, and Beddow pounced on the opening on
the inside. After some contact between the two, Beddow took the lead
into turn one.
Heading off of turn two, they suddenly made contact. Beddow
spun off the embankment and into the dirt wall outside the
backstretch, causing major damage to the left-front of the car. His
night was over.
“We had the car to beat,” Beddow explained while he iced an
injured foot. “I was sitting back, saving the tires, waiting for him
to make a mistake and he did.”
“I just wish he would have drove me clean.”
“We got together in turns one and two and I got loose
coming off,”
Butler
said. “It was a racing deal and I feel bad about it. We made an
adjustment after practice and made the car too loose.”
While still under caution, Hansen suddenly exited to the
pits with mechanical problems, which handed the lead to Doss.
Doss cruised over the final 30 laps to a commanding five
second win, with
Carson City,
NV Rookie Kris Keller coming home a career-best second.
Butler
was able to manage his loose Pontiac to third place. Brian Koski of
San Ramon, CA and teenager Bobby Hodges of Carson City, NV rounded
out the top-five.
“(Beddow & Butler) were definitely faster today,” Doss
said. “We had a third-place car, especially after the contact
earlier in the race. I’m not going to lie; we didn’t have a fast car
tonight.”
Keller was excited for the great finish, his first top-five
in Westcar.
“There was huge pressure and it was absolutely amazing to
get second,” Keller said. “We were loose all weekend and it was
weird; the car just worked (in the feature).”
Beddow finished a wild year that saw the 26 year-old win a
dash in just his first night out, a mid-season team change from Gary
Glenn’s to Mike Doss’, and the adversity of competing in as a rookie
in a touring Late Model series.
“I learned so much from the Glenn’s and Mike Doss,” Beddow
said. “I really wish
Gary
was here tonight.”
Beddow relied on support from his family and the racing
community to adjust to the mid-season team change.
“My whole family gave me money and we just barely made it,”
Beddow said.
The 2004 Bomber rookie turned Late Model rookie, turned
into a Late Model champion in an amazing run.
Beddow will celebrate his 2007 Eldorado Hotel Casino
Westcar Late Model Series title on
January 5th,
2008 at the Eldorado Hotel Casino in Reno, NV. More details to come.
The Eldorado Westcar Series is online at
www.westcarseries.com
Finish for the
Eldorado Westcar Late Model Series at Ukiah Speedway:
1. 11 Mike Doss
Upper Lake, CA Perry Race Cars Chevy $1700
2. 7 Kris Keller*
Carson City,
NV Wenkel Pontiac GMC Chevy $900
3. 56 Bobby
Butler
Sacramento,
CA AB&M Muffler Pontiac $850
4. 5 Brian
Koski San Ramon,
CA Groth Bros. Chevrolet Chevy $600
5. 89 Bobby
Hodges
Carson City,
NV NATC/Team Marines Chevy $550
6. 3x Chet
Danburg
Carson City,
NV
Carson Horseshoe
Club Chevy $500
7. 25 Randy
Reeves
Modesto,
CA Scenic & Mike's Towing Chevy $475
8. 16 Andy
Livengood Richmond, CA West Construction Chevy $450
9. 20 Paul Hansen
Point Richmond,
CA West Construction Chevy $425
10. 75 Jarred
Beddow Roseville,
CA Marina Grill Chevy $500
11. 34 John
Dalerio Ukiah,
CA Dalerio Construction Chevy $390
Performance Electric Fast Time Award – Mike Doss
Competition Carburetion Dash For Cash – Jarred Beddow
Jim Courage Pools Hard Charger Award – Mike Doss, 10
positions gained
California Door
Most Laps Led Award – Bobby Butler, 37 laps led
Westcar is supported by:
Eldorado
Hotel Casino Reno, Performance Electric, California Door and Frame,
Competition Carburetion, John L. Sullivan, Jim Courage Pools, Circle
Track Steering, Five Star Bodies, Sierra Racing Products, Fensler
Racing, DPI, F.R.E., JME, Cust-Tee-Mized Printing, and Perry Racing.
About Eldorado Hotel Casino
Reno:
The
award winning Eldorado Hotel Casino in
Reno,
NV is proud to support grassroots motorsports. The
Eldorado was named ‘Best Reno Rooms and Suites’ by Casino Player
Magazine. Visit
www.eldoradoreno.com
or call 1-800-879-8879.
About Westcar:
The Westcar Series was started in late 2004 in
Northern
California by Phil Perry of Perry Race Cars and Jeff Macey of JME,
who looked to create a solid touring series for weekly-type Western
Late Models. This series became the Eldorado Westcar Late Model
Series, which concluded its third season in 2007. |
