Darrell Wallace Jr. wins NASCAR East Series race at Columbus Motor Speedway

Darrell Wallace Jr. won the inaugural NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at Columbus Motor Speedway in Ohio in dominating fashion.
Wallace took the lead on lap 35 of the Jegs 150 and never looked back. It was the second win of the season for Wallace.
Max Gresham finished seventh and saw his lead in the East Series standings trimmed a bit. Brett Moffitt was third in the race and is second in the East Series standings, 80 points behind Gresham.
Wallace is third in the East Series standings and 100 points behind Gresham.
Go to the K&N website for more on the East Series race from Columbus.

Photo: Darrell Wallace Jr. won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at Columbus Motor Speedway. It was his second East Series win of the season. (Credit: Jamie Sabau/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Luis Martinez Jr. wins NASCAR West Series race at Portland

Luis Martinez Jr., a driver from Long Beach, won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race at Portland International Raceway in Oregon, becoming one of the few drivers to beat Greg Pursley this year.
Martinez won the first race of his West Series career. He was the 2010 Sunoco Rookie of the Year in the West Series.
Martinez won the pole foe the Bi-Mart Salute to the Troops 125, but had to rally through the field late in the race. He led the first three laps, but started dropping back. He passed David Mayhew for the lead on the last lap of the race.
Pursley, who has won six of the nine races in the West Series, led the most laps in the race, but blew his motor and finished in 26th place.
Go to the K&N website for more on the West Series race from Portland.

Photo: Luis Martinez Jr. won the first race of his NASCAR K&N Pro Series West career at Portland International Raceway. (Credit: Jonathon Ferrey/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Max Gresham wins NASCAR East Series race at New Hampshire

Max Gresham won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and took a commanding lead in the East Series standings.
Gresham won the pole and was out front for the first part of the race. But he missed pit road and put his car back in the pack midway through the race.
Gresham worked his way through the field and passed Brett Moffitt on lap 112 of the New Hampshire 125. Gresham pulled away over the final 12 laps of the race. He won his second race of the season and the fourth of his East Series career.
Gresham has a 94-point lead over Moffitt in the East Series with four races to go.
Go to the K&N website for more on the East Series race from New Hampshire.

Photo: Max Gresham won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and extended his lead in the East Series standings. (Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR)

Brandon Davis wins NASCAR Late Model race at Irwindale

Brandon Davis of Huntington Beach won the NASCAR Late Models race, his seventh of the season and his second in a row at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale on Saturday night.
Davis extended his lead in the Late Model standings at the track. He is 56 points ahead of Nik Romano of Wilton after 12 races.
"It feels great to get back into victory lane for the second week in a row,” Davis said. “We have just a good a chance to win the next one as anybody else. Hopefully we can come back and win a third one in a row.”
Romano was second in the race, followed by Chris Holloway of Bakersfield in third. Holloway took over third place when Dylan Lupton spun out on the last lap of the race. Lupton was running in third when he spun and crossed the finish line in fifth place.
Luis Martinez Jr. of Long Beach, a regular on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, was eighth.
In other races, Ryan Partridge of Rancho Cucamonga was back to his winning ways in the NASCAR Super Trucks. He won his fifth race of the season. Two weeks ago, he had his worst finish of the season, 17th place, and lost his lead in the Super Trucks standings.
Todd Cameron of Monrovia was second, followed by Jeff Peterson of Riverside in third.
Connor Cantrell of Valencia, the leader in the Super Trucks standings, was fourth.
Brent Scheidemantle of Alta Loma won the Legends Cars race. It was his second win of the season.
Chad Schug of Oak Hills, the leader in the Legends Cars standings, was second, followed by Mark Borchetta of Valencia in third.
Robby Hornsby of Yucaipa won the Mini Stocks race in his season debut in the series. Daryl Scoggins of Sunland, the leader in the Mini Stocks standings, was second, followed by Ryan Bragdon of Beaumont in third.
Rod Proctor of Riverside won the figure 8s race. He was followed by Jay Henson in second and Steve Stewart in third.

Alex Bowman makes jump from USAC to NASCAR's Next 9

Alex Bowman started out racing quarter midgets in California and Arizona when he was 7 years old. He was a regular at Ventura Raceway and competed in his share of races in the Turkey Night Grand Prix at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale.
He made the switch to stock cars last year and is leading the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East rookie standings. The 18-year-old Bowman is one of three young drivers for the newly formed X Team Racing. His teammates have combined for one win and two poles, but Bowman is still in search of his first win and pole in NASCAR.
He is one of the up-and-coming drivers in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and selected as one of the Next 9 by NASCAR.
Go to the K&N website for more on Bowman and his rookie season in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.

Photo: Alex Bowman leads the rookie standings in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and is one of the Next 9 drivers selected by NASCAR. (Kate Gardiner Photography/NASCAR)

Greg Pursley wins again in the NASCAR West Series

Greg Pursley has been tough to beat all year in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. Not even a flat tire could keep him from taking the checkered flag at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Wash., on Sunday.
He won the Evergreen 200 after running over some debris and cutting a tire early in the race. He rallied through the field, took over lead with 12 laps to go, and won his sixth race of the year.
He has won six of the eight West Series races so far. He has won two in a row, taking the West Series race at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale on July 2.
Go to the K&N website for more on Pursley's win at Evergreen Speedway.

Photo: Greg Pursley had to pit early in the race at Evergreen Speedway to repair a flat tire. He returned to the race and won for the sixth time this season in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. (Credit: Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images for NASCAR)

RJ Johnson moves to top of Super Late Model standings at Irwindale

IRWINDALE – RJ Johnson of Canyon Country won the NASCAR Super Late Models race and took over the lead in the Super Late Model standings at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale on Saturday night.

Kevin Thompson from Conroe, Texas, who entered the race as the leader in the Super Late Model standings, crashed into the backstretch wall on the first lap of the race. He did not return.

Jason Patison from Corona, who was third in the Super Late Model standings, was collected in a crash on the second lap of the race with Dennis Schlarbaum of La Habra. Neither driver returned to the race.

Ryan Partridge of Rancho Cucamonga held the lead for the first half of the race. Johnson was the fast qualifier but had to work his way to the front after an inverted start put him 13^th.

It was Johnson’s fourth win in five Super Late Model starts. Partridge finished second, followed by Race Liberante of Quartz Hill in third.

In other races, Gerrit Cromsigt of Saugus won the NASCAR Super Stocks race, his second of the season and his first since opening night.

Rich De Long III of Santa Clarita, the leader in the Super Stocks standings, was second. It was his second runner-up finish of the season. He leads the Super Stocks standings by eight points even though he has not won a race this year.

Curtis White of Norwalk, who is second in the Super Stocks standings, was third.

Andrew Anderson of Lancaster won the S2 stock car race and took over the lead in the standings at the track. It was his second win of the season. He has three runner-up finishes to go with his two wins.

Joe Anderson from Valencia was second followed by Nik Romano of Atherton in third. Andrew Porter from La Verne, who entered the night tied for first place with Anderson in the S2 standings, was fourth.

Riki Rachtman of Hollywood, of “Headbangers Ball” and “Loveline” fame, crashed into Trevor Huddleston in the S2 race and finished 10^th.

Frankie Muniz, who starred in the TV show “Malcolm in the Middle,” was at the track to watch the races. He is planning on racing in the S2 stock cars in two weeks.

Eric Gunderson of San Diego won the Legends Cars race, his first of the season. Brent Scheidemantle of Alta Loma was second, followed by Donny St. Ours of Upland in third.

Chad Schug of Oak Hills, the leader in the Legends Cars standings, was seventh.

Daniel Nikolai of Granada Hills won the Bandoleros race, his fifth of the season. Christian McGhee of La Verne, the leader in the Bandoleros standings, was second, followed by Mikael Lovas of Menifee in third.

Austin Grabowski of Uplan won the Open Comp race. He was followed by Craig Rayburn of Simi Valley in second and Jerry Toporek of Venice in third.

Greg Pursley tops NASCAR Hunter Index for July

Greg Pursley has won five of the seven races in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West this year. He is coming off a dominating performance in the West Series race at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale. He is running away with the West Series championship.
Pursley was voted as the top driver in the NASCAR Hunter Index for July.
The Hunter Index ranks the top drivers in the NASCAR developmental series.
Pursley was the only driver from the West Series ranked in the top 10.
Go to NASCAR Home Tracks for a look at the top 10 drivers in the Hunter Index for July.
Here is a look at how I voted:

1.Greg Pursley – Good fortune is following Pursley unlike last year when he couldn’t avoid trouble. He gave much of the credit to good luck after winning the race at Irwindale. He said he had seven flat tires that took him out of races last year. No such misfortune so far in 2011.

      2. Sergio Pena – Pena showed what he could do in a race car at the Toyota All Star Showdown two years ago. It took him a while, but he seems to have found his stride again. It’s nice to see him winning some races finally.

      3. Max Gresham – He has been the most consistent racer in the K&N Pro Series East all year.

      4. Homero Richards

      5. DJ Kennington

      6. Scott Steckly

      7. Keith Rocco

      8. Todd Szegedy

      9. LV Miller

     10. Dylan Lupton

1   11. Lee Pulliam

1   12. Jimmy Zacharias

1   13. Adam Royle

1   14. Ron Quesnelle

1   15. Matt Scott

Monrovia's Todd Cameron engineering break-out season

Todd Cameron, a driver from Monrovia, has won two NASCAR Super Trucks races at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale.
He started racing in the Super Trucks in 2006 and won his first race in April. He said it was amazing to finally win a race after so many years.
Cameron is also a mechanical engineer. Having an engineering background gives him a bit of an edge when it comes to preparing his truck for races.
Go to the Monrovia Patch site for more on Cameron and the Super Trucks.

Photo: Todd Cameron has won two races and is in fourth place in the NASCAR Super Trucks standings at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale.

More from Greg Pursley's win at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale

Gene Price Motorsports teammates Greg Pursley and Dylan Kwasniewski posted podium finishes in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale.
For Pursley, it was his fifth win of the season and the eighth of his West Series career. It was also his first West Series win at Irwindale. He won the pole, led a race-high 164 laps and was barely challenged in the second half of the race.
Kwasniewski, the 16-year-old from Las Vegas, finished third.
Go to the K&N website for more on the West Series race at Irwindale.

IndyCar Series returns to Auto Club Speedway

A lot has changed since the last time Indy cars raced at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. For one, the track was known simply as California Speedway. Another difference was that there were two open-wheel racing series in America, the Indy Racing League and CART.
The series is unified under the Izod IndyCar Series. The track's name is changed. The racing might be some of the best the track has seen in a while.
The IndyCar Series will return to Fontana in September of 2012 for a night race. It is the first time in seven years that open-wheel race cars will be on the track.
Dario Franchitti won the last open-wheel race at Auto Club Speedway in 2005. The track is home to some of the more impressive speed records in the history of open-wheel racing, including the fastest lap ever recorded on a closed course. Gil de Ferran clocked a lap at 241 mph in qualifying in 2000.
Go to ESPN Los Angeles for more on the return of the IndyCar Series to Auto Club Speedway.

Photo: Dario Franchitti won the IndyCar Series race at Auto Club Speedway in 2005. It was the last IndyCar Series race at the Fontana track. (Photo by Chris Jones)

Greg Pursley wins NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race at Irwindale

Greg Pursley has been tough to beat all year in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. He was especially tough to beat at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale on Saturday night.
Pursley won the pole and the Southern California Toyota Dealers 200. He extended his lead in the West Series standings and won for the fifth time in seven races.
“When you’re on a roll like this, you gotta ride it as long as you can because everyone knows in racing it can end like that,” Pursley said.
In a way, Pursley, a driver for Gene Price Motorsports, finished what he started last year. He won the pole and led the first 41 laps of the West Series race at Irwindale in 2010. But he cut a tire and had to withdraw from the race.
Pursley made it through the race on Saturday night without incident to capture his eighth career West Series win.
“They give me an awesome car to drive and it makes it look easy,” Pursley said.
Pursley is one of the more successful drivers to come out of Irwindale. He won the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national championship in 2004 racing Super Late Models at Toyota Speedway.
Derek Thorn of Lakeport was second followed by rookie Dylan Kwasniewski of Las Vegas in third.
Michael Self led at the halfway point of the race on lap 101. The cars pitted for mandatory stops.
Jeff Peterson of Riverside won the NASCAR Super Trucks race, his first of the season. He missed the first three races of the year, but has finished no worse than third in his past four races.
Todd Cameron of Monrovia was second followed by RJ Johnson of Canyon Country in third. Johnson has won three NASCAR Super Late Model races at the track and is second in the Super Late Model standings. He won the Super Trucks championship at the track in 2009.
Ryan Partridge of Ranch Cucamonga, the leader in the Super Trucks standings and winner of the previous two races, was 19th and completed 32 of the 40 laps.
Devon Ostheimer of Morgan Hill won the S2 stock car race in only second start in the series. The 17-year-old Ostheimer races regularly in the Late Models and has five top-five and one runner-up finish. It was his first win at the track.
Andrew Anderson of Lancastrer, the leader in the S2 standings, was second, followed by Andrew Porter of La Verne in third.
Riki Rachtman, who once co-hosted “Loveline” on KROQ and “Headbangers Ball” on MTV, finished 10th in the 11-car field.