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KIRBY WINS McWHORTER MEMORIAL
by
Robert Mayson |
Wichita, Kansas…(June 12, 2001)
The Non-Winged World Championship (NWWC) / Sprint Car Racing Association (SCRA) tour made a stop at the 81 Speedway Tuesday night for the running of the 5th Annual Walt McWhorter Memorial. California's Mike Kirby drove the Mark Alexander-Brad Geurin / Statewide Towing No. 5 to a hard fought 30 lap victory. "This is good for Mark, he's been doing this for a long time and now he has a little better budget to work with," Kirby said, referring to the off-season merger with the Alexander Trucking Team. "This Stinger car is pretty awesome and I'm excited about the rest of the year." One year ago, Kirby was running fourth during this event when he became the first tire casualty just 13 laps into the race. With hot sunlight and heavy winds punishing the 81 Speedway throughout the day, it was feared by most that tire wear might once again become an issue. As it turned out, the track was in remarkably good condition considering the elements. "Last year, I don't think we made it halfway through the race before we blew a tire," Kirby said. "The track didn't take rubber until about the 15th lap tonight, by then we had gotten by a few cars and we were okay. We ran a different compound than most people. I guess we just picked the right tire tonight. Rusty McClure came over and gave us some suggestions that helped us because running a track like this is right up his alley."
John Scott elected to restart the race on the bottom, while Rickie Gaunt decisively went to the top. Gaunt's choice proved to be the better one and he quickly darted around Scott to take the lead. The pass had to be particularly satisfying for Gaunt, who led last year's 81 Speedway event until he spun on the final lap of the race giving the victory to Scott. Lost in the moment was Kirby's masterful restart that saw him move from sixth to fourth. Much like he did the year before, Gaunt controlled the race until the caution flag flew on lap eight. Kirby made the most of that restart as well, passing Griffin for the third position. Prior to the restart, Gaunt was pulling away from Scott. After the restart, Scott was able to stay glued to the leader's tail tank. Scott continued to pressure Gaunt for several laps on the cushion until Gaunt slid over the turn one cushion and fell off the back of the banking on lap 15. Gaunt was quick to regroup and only lost three positions before returning to the racing surface.
Scott was far from being home-free once in the lead. Instantly, Kirby pressured Scott in much the same manner that he had been badgering Gaunt. That pressure intensified once Gaunt reached lapped traffic on the 18th circuit. With ten laps to go, Griffin had the Ron Chaffin / Arizona Race Mart No. 50 Jon Boy in a position to challenge for the lead. Scott hesitated briefly in lapped traffic on lap 22 and received a solid tap on the rear bumper from Kirby. Thanks to some aggressive driving, all three men managed to free themselves from lapped traffic one lap later. Scott had been trying a variety of lines throughout the race, but when he dropped to the bottom of turn four on lap 24, Kirby was able to drive around him for the lead.
With a clear race track in front of him, Kirby was on his way to victory and preparing to take the white flag when Adam Mitchell flipped hard into the catch fence exiting turn four. Mitchell climbed from his car without injury as Kirby sat hoping that he wouldn't get passed on a restart while leading for a second straight race. As if that wasn't weighing heavily enough on his mind, Kirby still had tire concerns. "Brett Roa (Kirby's crew chief) told me that the car was all mine and that I couldn't hurt the tires in three laps," Kirby laughed, happy that the disappointment he suffered at Eagle Raceway had now been avenged. "We've been pretty bad on restarts lately and I was thinking about the other night at Eagle, that's for sure. Brett told me to calm down and if I kept doing what I've been doing that I'd be fine." Kirby applied Roa's advice and maintained his line and his composure even when Griffin stuck a wheel under him entering the last set of corners. With smoke streaming from his right rear tire, Kirby reached the checkered flag first for the 35th time in SCRA competition.
FEATURE: (30 laps – With Starting Positions)
1. Mike Kirby (11th), 2. Richard Griffin (4th), 3. John Scott (1st), 4. Cory Kruseman (7th), 5. Bob Ream Jr. (6th), 6. Rip Williams (10th), 7. Charles Davis Jr. (9th), 8. Rickie Gaunt (3rd), 9. Kevin Doty (21st), 10. Danny Sheridan (14th), 11. Troy Cline (2nd), 12. Mike English (8th), 13. Steve Ostling (5th), 14. George Gervais (12th), 15. Troy Rutherford (22nd), 16. Casey Shuman (18th), 17. Hank Winter (19th), 18. Mike Spencer (17th), 19. Ronnie Clark (16th), 20. Glenn Crossno (20th), 21. Adam Mitchell (15th), 22. Lance Gremett (13th).
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS:
Laps 1-2 John Scott, Laps 3-14 Rickie Gaunt, Laps 15-23 John Scott,
Laps 24-30 Mike Kirby. |
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