Reichenbach pushes way to SportMod victory
Chad Reichenbach pushed himself and his car to their limits and beyond in winning the 30-lap IMCA Sport Mod feature Saturday night at Bakersfield Speedway.
Reichenbach twice clipped the wall in the closing laps of the race but held on and led from wire to wire.
“I really tried keeping it off the wall but this turn here in three and four just kept getting higher and higher,” Reichenbach said. “Once I got into lap traffic it really screwed with my head.”
After an early caution, Reichenbauch quickly took off to a big lead on the ensuing restart. From there it was just a matter of being able to keep his car pointed in the right direction.
Levi Kiefer took second place. Jordan Hagar was third. Billy Simkins finished fourth and Lee Jensen placed fifth
Three-time series champion Bobby Michnowicz dominated the 20-lap California Lighting Sprint Car feature.
The Lomita driver led the final 17 laps and was the first driver checkered flag, 2.156 seconds quicker than runner-up Alec Bender.
James Heling took third. Pat Kelley was fourth and Bruce Douglass came home in fifth.
Alex Grigoreas, the winner of the CLS season opener at Imperial Valley Speedway on March 8th was running second when he clipped the wall on Lap 17 and had to pull into the infield.
Once Grigoreas was out of the picture Michnowicz wasn’t seriously challenged for the lead the remainder of the race.
“Alex runs pretty hard,” Michnowicz said. “He’s going to wing it or crash it.”
Grigoreas ended up placing 11th in the 17 car field.
Despite losing his powering steering midway through the race, Brian Childress won the 20-lap American Stock A-main event.
Pole sitter Tyler Johnson led the first nine laps before he was black flagged after heavy smoke started billowing from the rear of his car.
Childress inherited the lead when Johnson was forced to pull off the track and cruised to his first victory of the year.
Nicholas Johnson was second followed by Trevor Baker, Cody Johnson, and Dakota Brown.
“I lost a power steering belt on Lap 10,” an emotional Childress said. “It wore me out.”
A dry, slick track made for an exciting 30-lap USAC West Coast Sprint Car feature.
The challenging racing conditions led to six cautions but didn’t deter from Troy Rutherford, who led all but one lap in earning a hard-fought victory over Jace Vander Weer.
Vander Weer briefly took the lead away from Rutherford on Lap 21, but Rutherford quickly regained first place.
The race was eventually decided during a two-lap shootout after a caution on Lap 28.
Action continues at the Bakersfield Speedway this Saturday night, March 26th, featuring the IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars, Hobby Stocks, Mini Stocks and the Mini Dwarfs.
Bakersfield Speedway would like to thank its major marketing partners: Budweiser, Advance Beverage, Coca-Cola, Monster Energy, Motor City GMC, Melo’s Gas and Gear, West Air Gases, H&S Body Works, Diamond IT, Central Valley Tanks, RealFast.tv, Mid-Cal Fabrication, Hungry Hunter Restaurant, Del Taco and Cowboy Bail Bonds.
For more information, you can visit Bakersfield speedway online at www.bakersfieldspeedway.com or call the event info line at (661) 393-3373. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instgram for race updates all season.
