Nick Joanides comments on Rip Michels and Travis Thirkettle

It wasn't that surprising to see Nick Joanides of Woodland Hills win the NASCAR Super Late Model season opener at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale.
The drivers who finished second and third were a little unexpected. Luis Martinez Jr. and Matt Hicks, a couple of youngsters in the Super Late Model division, overshadowed a couple Irwindale veterans on opening night.
They finished ahead of Rip Michels, a driver from San Fernando and the winningest driver in Irwindale history, and Travis Thirkettle, a driver from Newhall and the runner-up in the Super Late Model standings at the track last year.
Michels finished seventh and Thirkettle was 12th.
To hear what Joanides had to say about their race, click here.

Southern Cal drivers in the Showdown

Travis Thirkettle (at top), Logan Henson (middle) and R.J. Johnson (bottom) raced in the Toyota All-Star Showdown in Irwindale. Thirkettle, a driver from Newhall, won the NASCAR Super Late Model portion of the Showdown. Henson, a driver from Santa Clarita, was in the NASCAR Late Model Showdown race. Johnson, from Canyon Country, tried to qualify for the Camping World Series portion of the Showdown, but he did not make the 40-car starting field. Thirkettle will be racing regularly in the Super Late Model division at Irwindale. Henson will be in the Late Model division and Johnson will race in the Super Trucks division at Irwindale in 2009.

Thirkettle wins Super Late Model Showdown race

It was probably the easiest $10,000 Travis Thirkettle ever won. It was definitely the shortest race he's ever won.
The NASCAR Super Late Model portion of the Toyota All-Star Showdown was cut down to 15 laps. It was scheduled for 150 and ended at 12:15 a.m., way past the normal curfew for the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale.
And even though 15 laps were officially recorded, only about three were actually run. Thirkettle might have been the most disappointed driver at the track despite coming out the winner. He had a brand new car and said he was looking forward to actually getting a chance to race it.
The Super Late Model race also ended a frustrating night for Ron Hornaday Jr. The three-time NASCAR Truck Series champions was booed in the Camping World Series race after he and race leader Brian Ickler crashed. He ended his night with two tires on top of another car in the turn 2 grass during the Super Late Model race.

Rain washes out racing at Showdown

It looks like switching the Toyota All-Star Showdown from October to the middle of January might not have been such a good idea afterall.
Rain washed out a NASCAR Super Late Model race and a Showdown qualifying race on Friday night. That sets up a three-race schedule for Saturday night. The NASCAR Camping World Series race, a 75-lap Late Model race and a 150-lap Super Late Model race.
The rain led to some flared tempers in the pits, with drivers cussing and complaining about whether they would be able to practice, qualify or race. The Super Late Model drivers and the Camping World Series drivers were preparing to at least run some practice laps at around 9 p.m., but by then most of the fans had gone home and the only food booth open at the track was a single King Taco.
As much as I love burritos, it was not exactly on my mind while waiting to see if it would stop raining long enough to see some race cars on the track instead of ambulance and emergency vehicles dragging oversized white tires around in circles.
As frustrating as the rain was, it did give me a chance to catch up with some drivers.
It looks like Greg Pursley, who won a NASCAR Whelen All-American national championship while racing at Irwindale, will be competing in the NASCAR Camping World Series West for the entire 2009 season. He will be driving for Gene Price Motorsports. Price's son Mike has been a regular Toyota Speedway at Irwindale for years.
The cars Pursley will be racing all come from Richard Childress Racing. He will be racing one of Clint Bowyer's old cars in the Showdown. The team also has one of Jeff Burton's old cars and one of Kevin Harvick's road course cars.
Ron Hornaday Jr., the winningest drivers in NASCAR Truck Series history, will be racing in the Super Late Model and Camping World Series portions of the Showdown.

R.J. Johnson, the son of Rod Johnson who won the Super Late Model championship at Irwindale in 1999, will be attempting to qualify for the Camping World Series portion of the Showdown. The younger Johnson, who competed in the Super Trucks division at Irwindale last year, is driving a West Series car owned by Bob Farmer.
Travis Thirkettle is entered in the Super Late Model race in a car he describes as a prototype. It meets the Super Late Model specifications for Irwindale, but it can easily be modified to race in other divisions at other tracks. Thirkettle said he and his team wanted to make a car that would allow them to race at other tracks and possibly make a run at the NASCAR Whelen All-American national championship.