Welcome to the McCluskey
Classic!
Pictures by Gaye Allen
Here's your
top three finishers of the feature. From left to right, Charles Davis Jr. took
the 3rd spot, Jesse Hockett came in second, and the winner Johnny Herrera.
Herrera was strong all day with the #45 car. The open sprints put on a great
show, but the track was tricky. There were ruts in the surface from all of the
moisture, but the USA Staff did a great job preparing it considering the
circumstances. It was a sunny warm day. Any who missed this event should really
consider being there next year to see some great racing and good times.
Heat 1
1st 5M Brian O'Donnell 2nd O2 Matthew Rossi
3rd 11W Tim West 4th 42 Mike Rux JR 5th 27H Jeremy
Huebner 6th 97 Chris Bonneau 7th 16
Mike Martin 8th 20Z Rick Ziehl 9th 29 Don Grabble
Brian O'Donnell's #5 Mopar looked good early on
in the heat race. The track was heavy early, and everyone was hooked up. That
didn't slight the heavy competition, with some pretty fast competitors in his
heat.
Heat 2
1st 50 Charles Davis JR 2nd 2A Robert Ballou 3rd 22 Koby Barksdale
4th 2AZ Jesse Hockett 5th 51 Jimmy Crawford 6th 30 Chad Boat
7th 7D Rick Boughan 8th 61 Chuck Buckman 9th 1 Kevin Swindell
The Davis -
Hockett Duo fielded by The Masseys put on a great show all weekend. Charles
looked strong as usual. Jesse Hockett put some color in the afternoon by putting
that #2 car where no one else would venture to go. Hockett didn't make the show
on his first attempt, but wow, what a crowd pleaser in the B main!
Heat 3
1st 12 Nathan High 2nd 20 Shon Deskins 3rd 30X Josh Ford 4th
19 Andrew Reinbold 5th 26AZ Bobby Taylor 6th 74 Derek Williams
7th 77S Brian Schuler 8th 96 Carson Ditch 9th xxx Zach Sawyers
10th 77M RJ Johnson
Nathan High backin'
his new Maxim into turn 3. Nathan was on a rail all weekend, and would be the
fastest 360 of the event finishing 4th in the feature. Nathan chose the 360 over
the 410 for the weekend to shake her down for next year. "We had a blast!"
Nathan said. The ABC Team will be trying the Maxim Chassis for 2009.
Heat 4
1st 5H Josh Pelkey 2nd 6 Ronnie Clark 3rd 45X Johnny Herrera
4th 94T Cody Cambensy 5th 34 Colby Copeland 6th 29X Kaylene Verville
7th 98 Leland Fuller 8th F2 LC Kesterson 9th 99 Chuck Jackson
Josh Pelkey looked
great in the Krob owned #5
2nd place
finisher Ronnie Clark kept the car running strong for a transfer spot. Here he
is shown with Robert Ballou in pursuit.
B Main #1
1st 19 Andrew Reinbold 2nd 26AZ Bobby Taylor 3rd 20Z Rick Ziehl
4th 42 Mike Rux Jr 5th 16 Mike Martin 6th 77M RJ Johnson
7th 97 Chris Bonneau 8th 96 Carson Ditch 9th XXX Zach Sawyers
10th 74 Derek Williams 11th 77S Brian Schuler 12th 27H Jeremy
Huebner
Andy Reinbold
topped the field for the first B Main. Andy battled hard in his new Ellis #19
all weekend and his finish was respectable. Andy had to run the "B" after
missing the transfer spot by only one car. He would earn a top ten finish in the
feature, taking the checker in the 9th spot.
B Main #2
1st 2AZ Jesse Hockett 2nd 51 Jimmy Crawford 3rd 30 Chad Boat
4th 34 Colby Copeland 5th 94T Cody Cambensy 6th 29X Kaylene Verville
7th 99J James Aragon 8th F2 Lc Kesterson 9th 99 Chuck Jackson
10th 98 Leland Fuller
Hockett the
Rocket, or Rockett Hockett, well anyway, he's fast. This guy is fun to watch!
There is just something cool about watching Jesse run a B Main!
Main Event
1st 45X Johnny Herrera 2nd 2AZ Jesse Hockett 3rd 50 Charles Davis Jr
4th 12 Nathan High 5th 30 Chad Boat 6th 51 Jimmy Crawford
7th 2A Robert Ballou 8th 34 Colby Copeland 9th 19 Andrew
Reinbold 10th 5H Josh Pelkey 11th O2 Matthew Rossi 12th 26AZ Bobby
Taylor
13th 20Z Rick Ziehl 14th 22 Koby Barksdale 15th 42 Mike Rux JR
16th 30X Josh Ford 17th 6 Ronnie Clark 18th 20 Shon Deskins
19th 11W Tim West 20th 5M Brian O'Donnell
Another shot of the
45 car driven by Johnny Herrera
Here are more really cool shots from the day's event by
Gaye Allen below.....
Kayleen Verville
had her troubles with a broken car. Kayleen would finish 6th in her heat and 6th
in the B Main.
Carson Ditch
would finish the day with the 8th spot in the B Main. here he's shown taking the
inside of Bobby Taylor. Taylor would best him for the transfer spot.
Ballou
looking for the "Bear Necessities" on the Low side cushion of the Tucson 1/2
mile in his #2 car. The track stayed somewhat narrow early on. Robert put on a
great show and would finish the day with a 7th in the feature. Mr. Ballou would
spin and have to work his way back up from the back in the last ten laps, making
the feature just that much more interesting for the fans.
Chad Boat found a good
groove in the last laps of the Main Event, but would settle for a top five
finish behind Nathan High. Keep your eye Chad as he moves up through the ranks
of the USAC National Sprints. Chad completed the 2008 season as USAC National's
Rookie of the Year. I have a feeling it won't stop there.
Cris Bonneau Shoed
the 97 car to a 7th place finish in the B Main. Shown here taking the low side
to Matt Rossi.
Shon Deskins
and RJ Johnson making their way in heat race #3 RJ had a rough day, with what
appeared to be mechanical problems.
Hockett
and Davis compare notes after the race
Hockett
passes Josh Ford in the feature. Josh Ford is a regular at the Perris Auto
Speedway USAC shows.
Heat one
started off with a bang when Mike Martin got tangled with Rick Ziehl on the
first lap.
Another shot
of Martin midway through his stellar voyage to planet Brokencar.
And back
into Earth's atmosphere for the turn 2 landing. Mike would get his car ready for
the B Main and finish only one position out of the final transfer spot after
sweeping the 16 car up with a broom after this mishap. Our hats off to his
crew chief Mickey for getting the car fixed in time to remain in contention.
Zach Sawyers
finished 9th in the B Main.
One more of Jesse
Hockett
One more of Nathan
High
We hope you enjoyed the show, and if you didn't make
it, at least you can get a glimpse with the help of ABC Motorsports.
