Kings Speedway
Buckley crowned with $3,000 for Kings victory
By K.C. Rooney
DirtonDirt.com correspondent
Chet Buckley earned $3,000. (K.C. Rooney)
HANFORD, Calif. (March 29) — Chet Buckley's first 2008 starts in his Pete Van Iderstine-owned No. 32B weren't very special. He flipped in the opener at Perris Auto Speedway. The throttle hung in the Bakersfield Speedway opener. And even during a practice night, the car suffered engine damage. But everything came together just right for the Lompoc, Calif., driver in the Western Allstars visit to Kings Speedway. | Slideshow
The ninth-starting Buckley took the lead from Bobby Hogge IV of Salinas, Calif., on the 11th lap and led the rest of the 30-lapper for a $3,000 victory, his first-ever with the Western Allstars. Hogge, who caught a rut in turn two that allowed Buckley to make his winning move, settled for second with Steve Drake of San Luis Obispo, Calif., third. Chris Shannon of Merced, Calif., and Robert Sanders of Bakersfield, Calif., rounded out the top five in the season's fourth event.
Notes: The reconfigured track was rough and rutty. ... Zack Forster's car flipped four times in his heat race, but he wasn't injured. He drove Chris Shannon's backup car the remainder of the night. ... Winner Chet Buckley was lucky to have an engine to race. After damaging the team's backup powerplant the previous week, team owner Pete Van Iderstine called Jack Cornett in Somerset, Ky., on Monday to put a rush on a set of heads being repaired. They arrived on Thursday. ... The was some controversy over the finish because the white flag and checkered flag was thrown for the No. 32 of Shannon instead of the No. 32 of Buckley, but Buckley completed the 30 laps first. ... The event drew 34 drivers from three states. ... Mike Johnson, piloting the Victory Circle house car, set fast time but was the first car out of the feature.
Western Allstars @ Kings: (1) Chet Buckley, (2) Bobby Hogge IV, (3) Steve Drake, (4) Chris Shannon, (5) Robert Sanders, (6) Ron Bartels, (7) Casey Vitale, (8) Jeff Decker, (9) Rob Mayea, (10) Billy Griffin, (11) John Duty, (12) Nick Bartels, (13) A.J. Kirkpatrick, (14) Dino Napier, (15) Randy Neal, (16) Zack Forster, (17) Devin Crockett, (18) Rick Wyatt, (19) John Crow, (20) Bill Pearson, (21) Jason Selvidge, (22) Bryan Burnes, (23) Richard Papenhausen, (24) Mike Johnson. Fast qualifier (among 34 cars): Johnson, 16.920 seconds. Heat race winners: Drake, Shannon, Bartels, Hogge. Dash winner: Hogge. Consolation winners; Napier, Sanders. Non-qualifiers' winner: Selvidge.
Correction: In an earlier version of this story, Bll Pearson of Reno, Nev. was listed as not starting the feature. He transferred through the non-qualifiers' race and finished 20th.
