Daly, Laney end Hogge’s reign at Bakersfield Speedway
BY MIKE GRIFFITH mgriffith@bakersfield.com
Bobby Hogge IV’s luck finally ran out at Bakersfield Speedway.
Hogge, of Salinas, was two-for-two in Late Model races at the third-mile clay oval this year, so when he rolled into the pits on Saturday night he became the immediate favorite.
But he was a non-factor in the 30-lap feature, as Clay Daly outdueled Cody Laney to win a feature that ran caution free.
Just seven cars took the green flag as Laney thundered into the lead with Daly right behind. The two ran nose-to-tail at first, then Daly dropped low and they were side-by-side until Daly edged ahead on the 17th lap.
Once in the lead, Daly started to pull away, finishing far ahead of Laney. Rob Sanders, who won the last Late Model race, was third, the only other car on the lead lap.
Hogge was running third when he pulled into the infield two-thirds of the way into the race.
“It was definitely fun,” Daly said. “Only in the Late Model deal can you run side-by-side like that. We did what we came here to do.”
Daly is the fifth winner in six races.
Laney jumped into an IMCA Modified car after the Late Model race and led all but the first six laps of the 25-lap race to get the win.
“I knew after Late Model race I wanted to be on the bottom,” Laney said.
Roger Holder finished second, several car lengths behind.
Hogge, who was also two-for-two in IMCA races at the track this year, came on strong in the final few laps to take third, edging ahead of Brad Pounds at the finish line.
A week ago, Kevin Collier saw his Hobby Stock points lead evaporate as his bumper came off on the first lap, an automatic disqualification which left him with a last place finish.
His bumper remained intact on Saturday night and he led all but the first lap in the 20-lap feature for his ninth win of the season.
That, coupled with a fifth-place finish by Robert Lawler who came into the race 10 points up on Collier, left the two tied for the points lead.
“This is awesome, I really needed it,” Collier said of the win. “I had a lot of luck at the beginning of the season, then it went away. Hopefully it’s on its way back up.”
Mike Hill Jr. made a late-race pass to finish second with Raymond Noland third and Perry Alderman fourth.
Jared Plumee of Porterville held off Tina Bell and Doug Shepherd for his first Mini Stock victory at Bakersfield Speedway.
Plumee saw a nearly half-track lead evaporate due to a caution on the 12th lap, allowing the field to close. But he held his own after the restart and Bell finished two car lengths back, with Shepherd right behind her.
“This one means a lot,” Plumee said. “We worked really, really hard for this. You come here you know you have to beat (Bell) and Shepherd.”
Tom Dugan won the 20-lap Hart Top feature with James Bradburn second and Bobby Courtney third.
Kaden Cochrun raced to victory in the 15-lap Senior Mini Dwarf feature, leading from start to finish Cheyenne Flippo was second and Troy Morris III third. The race was halted for several minutes after the sixth lap after Madison Myers stalled in turn 4 and was hit by Vaden Aldridge. Myers was complaining of some pain and taken to a local hospital for observation. She was reportedly OK, suffering just mild whiplash.
Mason Ratcliff bounced back from his first loss of the season a week ago to win the 12-lap Junior Mini Dwarf feature. It was his sixth win in seven outings. Jett Yantis edged out Ethan Johnson for second.
