Rich DeLong III makes it two wins in a row at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale

Rich DeLong III finally got a dose of good luck on opening night at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale.
DeLong, a driver from Santa Clarita, inherited a win in the NASCAR Super Stocks opener at Irwindale after Garrett Cromsigt was disqualified for having unapproved shocks on his car. DeLong was awarded the win in the March 27 race.

He won his second Super Stocks race in a row on Saturday night at Irwindale.
DeLong said he’s usually cursed at Irwindae on opening night adding it was a little strange to be leading the Super Stocks standings after the first race of the season.
A number of rules have been changed in the Super Stocks. One is a shock rule. A couple others involve tires and the removal of the spoiler from the Super Stock cars.
Driving the cars with no spoiler has been the most challenging rule to adapt to, DeLong said. Without a spoiler, the cars do not generate nearly the same amount of downforce. It makes the cars a little more difficult to handle in the corners and takes away about 0.20 seconds off of lap times.

DeLong snaps Cerquettini's winning streak in NASCAR Super Stocks at Irwindale

Rich De Long III of Santa Clarita snapped the seven-race winning streak of Larry Cerquettini of Redlands in the NASCAR Super Stocks division at Toyota Speedway on Saturday night. Cerquettini’s winning streak matched the longest in the history of the division at Irwindale. Cerquettini won the first seven races of the Super Stocks season.
De Long had four runner-up finishes in the first seven races of the Super Stocks season. He was followed by Ken Brown of Cherry Valley in second and Cerquettini, the leader in the Super Stocks standings, in third.
Tyler Rogers of Riverside won the NASCAR Mini Stocks race. It was his fourth of the season and his second in a row. Daryl Scoggins of Sunland, the leader in the Mini Stocks standings, was second. He was followed by Jacob Rogers of Riverside in third.
Ryan Reed of Bakersfield picked a good night to win his first Legends Cars race of the season. With the win, Reed also qualified for the INEX Legends national race.
Reed took over the lead in the Legends Cars standings at the track. He has an eight-point lead over Brandon Toy of Bakersfield. Toy finished sixth in the race.
Brent Scheidemantle of Alta Loma was second, followed by Donny St. Ours of Upland in third.
Randel King of Riverside made a last-lap pass on Andrew Anderson of Lancaster and won his second S2 stock car race in a row. King won the S2 race on July 11, the track debut for the new stock cars.
Anderson, who was also in the Bandeleros race, finished second. He was followed by Kyle Longmore of Camarillo. R.J. Johnson of Canyon Country, winner of four races in the NASCAR Super Trucks division at the track, was fourth.
There were six cars in the S2 race. It was the third time the S2 stock cars have raced at the track.
Christian McGhee of La Verne won the Bandoleros race, his second of the season. McGhee is the son of Lloyd McGhee, the owner of the NASCAR Super Late and Late Model cars driven by Nick Joanides. Joanides leads the Super Late Model standings at the track.
Ryan Carsdale of Menifee, the leader in the Bandoleros standings, was fourth in the race.
Blake Dunkleberger of Simi Valley was second, followed by Anderson in third.

Only eight Super Stocks start race at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale

Rich DeLong III of Santa Clarita was one of only eight cars to start the NASCAR Super Stocks race. A combination of factors, poor economy and the impending debut of the S2 stock car among them, have led to the diminished car count.
The Super Stocks once started 45 cars in a race. It happened twice in 2001. DeLong and his dad maintain three of the cars in the Super Stocks division. DeLong said he is doing what he can to keep the series alive, but it looks like the days are numbered for the Super Stocks division.
For his comments, click here.
Logan Henson, a driver from Valencia in the NASCAR Late Models, made a number of changes to his car since opening night. He overhauled his engine after finishing seventh in the opening night race. The changes paid off somewhat in qualifying. He was fourth fastest. Another change is on his car's hood. He is carrying the Dream Center as a sponsor.
To hear Henson's comments about the changes to his car, click here.

Rich DeLong III tackles two divisions at Irwindale

Rich DeLong III of Santa Clarita is going to be a busy driver at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale this year.
His plan is to race in the NASCAR Super Stocks and the Super Trucks divisions, plus, budget-willing, mix in a couple Late Model races too.
He started his stock car racing campaign on Saturday night at the track in Irwindale in the Super Trucks season opener. He finished 14th, but said he felt like his team is making progress and was happy with the result.
“It was a big improvement from last year where we were with the truck,” DeLong said. “Last year we were a second off the pace. Now we’re two-tenths, three-tenths off where we should be. We’re not in the way anymore. We’re getting where we can be competitive.”
The Super Stocks season opens Saturday night. Last year, DeLong finished second in the Super Stocks standings at the track. He wants to run for a championship this year and he has a car to do it. DeLong is driving the same car that Jimmy Sloan won the Super Stocks championship with in 2005.
“It’s a good car,” DeLong said. “We’re getting it figured out pretty good. Last year, we came up a little short.”

DeLong, Herta and Hornaday

Rich DeLong III of Santa Clarita has big plans for racing at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale. Valencia's Bryan Herta lands a sponsor for his newly formed Indy Lights team. Ron Hornaday Jr., the winningest driver in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series history, is 0-for-13 at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia, site of Saturday's race.

Read more in The Signal.

Rich DeLong III from Toyota Speedway at Irwindale

Rich DeLong III of Santa Clarita said before the NASCAR Super Trucks race at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale that thought he had a top-10 truck. Turns out he had a 14th-place truck.
All things considered, it was not a bad opening night for DeLong, a rookie in the Super Trucks division.
He will be racing in the Super Stocks division at the track this year and might even enter a few Late Model races. The Super Stocks season opens Saturday night at Irwindale. He was second in the Super Stocks standings last year.
For video of DeLong talking about opening night at Irwindale and racing in the Super Trucks division, click here.