Byrd is Back at Altamont Motorsports Park

Tracy, Calif., July 21, 2007 -  A full slate of local racing was on tap for race fans at Altamont Motorsports Park on Saturday night as all five local divisions took to the track just outside of Tracy, Calif.

A 100 lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Western Late Model shootout was the main feature of the evening and did not disappoint a large turnout of fans as 2006 Late Model Champion Dave Byrd showed up to take on the current points leader and hot foot out of Tracy, Ryan Philpott. 

Philpott showed his mettle coming from the back of the pack and into the top three but in the end Monterey's Dave Byrd found his way to the finish line in his first Western Late Model appearance at Altamont Motorsports Park this season.

"It was great running with these guys," said Byrd.  "They had me on the restarts.  Something is up with our gearing but once we got going we were fine."

Philpott took his #52 Red Rocket to the pits in the waning stages of the race after tire problems ended Ryan's evening early.

Brentwood's Doff Cooksey did not let Byrd off easy, shadowing Byrd throughout the final laps of the race to take home a second place finish. 

"We burned the right rear off or we might have had something for him at the end." said Cooksey after the race.

Cooksey earned his first victory of the season in the last Western Late Model race at the track, also a 100 lapper, on June 30th.

The tone of the evening was set early in the afternoon when Philpott nailed the fastest qualifying time of 18.326 seconds followed closely by Byrd with a differential of just 0.15 seconds.

After starting fifth Byrd made his way to the front of the field by lap four.

Philpott and Byrd ran in the top three spots until a spin and some contact sent Philpott to the back of the pack on lap 30.

Dallas Green, who started on the pole after a six car inversion, finished in the third position with Ryan Mock putting his #13 "lucky" racer in the fourth position. 

San Ramon's Brian Koski finished fifth after starting from the rear of the field.

A wild night of bumping and banging took place as a 15 car field of American Limited Stock Cars packed the 1/4-mile oval for a 30 lap event that paid $650 to win. 

Some heavy beating by lap 14 thinned out the field to 9 cars and allowed Chad Holman to secure his third victory of the season.

"It was a wreck filled race that's for sure," said Holman after the event. "I avoided a big one down the frontstretch and I think that was probably the key to this race."

"I was right in the middle of it and somehow squeezed through it." said Holman.

Joe Allen took the second position.  Allen, racing in just his second race at Altamont Motorsports Park this season, has a first and second place finish to  his credit.

Zach Huffman, Jim Earl and Don McLaren rounded out the top five.

Pete Anderson Sr., Rich Harper and points leader Jim Dulla who all brought fast cars to the track did not survive the early carnage on the 1/4-mile oval.  Anderson Sr won the ALSC Trophy Dash earlier in the afternoon.

Grand American Modified driver Todd Lynch nailed his first win of the season passing points leader Tony Noceti on lap 10 and holding on for the win of the 30 lap event on the half mile oval.

"The car has been good the last couple weeks," said Lynch in victory lane.  "It gets pretty easy to drive so it has been fun."

Lynch, who ran the quickest qualifying time, made use of the outside groove to pass Noceti who had led the first nine laps of the race.

Lynch was able to survive a lap 23 caution that bunched up the field and put Noceti on his outside on the restart. 

Jamie Jackson rounded out the top three cars of the eight Modifieds that qualified for the event.

In Pro-Truck action Ron Robeck crossed the stripe just ahead of Walt Bruegger to take the win in the 20 lap event on the 1/4 mile oval.  Bruegger, who ran the quickest qualifying time earlier in the afternoon, was able to close the gap on Robeck who had taken a half straightaway lead on the field halfway through the race.

Nathan McNeil, the points leader coming into the race, rounded out the top three in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Pro-Truck division.

"Queen Bee" Debbie Foreman took the checkers in the early 10 lap Formula Ford race on the road coarse holding off  strong pressure from the #23 of Richard Hull and the #16 of Rodney Lopez.  Debbie's husband, Doug Foreman, took the 10 lap Formula Ford nightcap.

Next weekend Altamont Motorsports Park hosts two days of "Big Bad Bike Weekend!" featuring the SuperMoto USA National Championship. The following weekend it is back to stock cars with an outstanding lineup featuring the SRL Wild West Shoot-Out and El Dorado Hotel and Casino WestCar Series in a race sponsored by sponsored by Mike Marchant Mid-Valley Iron and Metals.


Source: Jeff Downey/Altamont Motorsports Park


   2006 NASCAR Best Facility Improvement Award as a Premier Short Track
   2006 USAC the Race Organizer of the Year Award

For complete results see:
http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=231323


ABOUT ALTAMONT MOTORSPORTS PARK

Located in Alameda County, between Tracy and Livermore, Calif., Altamont Motorsports Park (www.AltamontRacing.com.) is a NASCAR-sanctioned motorsports facility featuring a 1/2-mile, high-banked paved oval that is the only 1/2-mile paved oval between Redding and Los Angeles. The facility also features a 1/4-mile paved oval, a 1.1-mile road course, Figure 8 track, Drifting course, and Kart course. An operating short-track in Northern California since 1963, the facility was acquired and refurbished in 2006, by Riverside Motorsports Park, LLC (www.RMPracing.com) of Atwater, Calif. Altamont Motorsports Park features the NASCAR Whelen All-American Weekly Racing Series, USAC-CASA-BCRA sprint car competitions, and a variety of automobile and motorcycle motorsports events. In 2006, Altamont Motorsports Park was awarded the Race Organizer of the Year Award by the United States Automobile Club (USAC) racing organization, and the Best Facility Improvement Award, as a Premier Short Track,
 by NASCAR.