Drake wins late model feature on his birthday

Steve Drake celebrated his 48th birthday in style Saturday night at Bakersfield Speedway.

The San Luis Obispo driver out-dueled Rob Sanders of Bakersfield to win the 30-lap Late Model feature on the high-banked, third-mile clay oval.

Drake chased Sanders from the runner-up position for more than half the race before sliding inside and past his younger counterpart on Lap 18.

After that Drake pulled away beating Sanders, who finished second, to the finish line by 4.309 seconds.

“I started getting better on the bottom and he (Sanders) had a problem,” Drake said.

Sanders said afterward that his left shock broke part-way through the race.

“It was a handful there toward the end,” Sanders said.

Ron Bartels, Clay Daly and Larry Childress rounded out the top five.

Chris Settlemire won a wild 25-lap Hobby Stock main event.

Settlemire’s victory came after Aaron Stewart and Robert Swearengin’s were both knocked out of the lead after separate on-track run-ins with Don Mead.

Stewart and Swearengin and swapped the lead back and forth several times during the first 15 laps of the 25-lap Hobby Stock main event.

But on Lap 17 Mead and Swearengin made contact breaking something in Swearengin’s car that caused him to lose control of his ability to steer.

Later Stewart and Meade got together in Turn 3, causing Stewart to get way loose and slow down.

Stewart hung on and finished third. Perry Alderman was second.

Brad Pounds made it wo in a row by grabbing the IMCA Modifieds feature. Pounds driving for Bill Henderson Racing, works his way from the fourth starting spot to take the win over his team mate Rob Sanders followed by Robby Sawyer and Ricky Childress.

John Isabella of Santee led the final 15 laps of the 20-lap California Dwarf Car Racing Association (CDCRA) main event after using a inside slide-job in Turn 3 to pass early leader Stephen Brunn.

Isabella, the series’ 2003 champion, later held off a late-race charge by Frank Politelli to ensure the victory, his fourth in a row.

“I just kept waiting and found a groove on the track and got by him (Brunn),” Isabella said.

Isabella crossed the finish line .859 seconds ahead of Politelli, the second-place finisher.

Brunn was third followed by Tony Martin and Ira Henry.

Kercie Jung won a highly-competitive 15-lap Senior Mini Dwarf feature.

Jung took over the lead for good on Lap 13 after quickly swapping the top spot back and forth with Jakob Carey.

Jung first took the lead 11 laps into the race, when Seth Wise suddenly slowed down due to an apparent mechanical problem.

Wise led for six laps and looked to be on his way to his second feature win of the year before he was his car failed him.

Instead, Jung took advantage of his bad luck and claimed her first feature win of the year.

Carey ended up in second. Lane McDonald, who came into the race tied with Jung for second place in the points standings finished the race in third. Chloe Jones, the points leader entering the night, took fourth. Gavyn Manning was fifth.

Bakersfield’s Jett Yantis passed Adam Nohl of Santa Maria for the lead on Lap 6 of the 12-lap Junior Mini Dwarf main event and went on to his division-leading fourth feature win of the year.

Yantis, a six-year old, came into the night second place in the standings four points behind Mason Ratcliff, who finished the caution-filled race in third.

Nohl finished in the runner-up position. Stryker Conley was fourth and Nathaniel Edwards took fifth.