Central Arizona Raceway
Engine swap? No problem for red-hot Mars
By Todd Turner
DirtonDirt.com chief writer
Jimmy Mars raced to a $5,000 victory. (DirtonDirt.com)
CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (Jan. 13) — With yet another victory in a Jess Anderson-owned car, Jimmy Mars is having no problems taming the Wild West.
The Menomonie, Wis., polesitter dominated all 35 laps at Central Arizona Raceway for a $5,000 Wild West Shootout payday and his second victory in as many nights at the 3/8-mile oval. Going back to three races last season in Las Vegas, Nev., Mars has won five consecutive races in the No. H2 of Anderson, a driver from Gillette, Wyo. | Slideshow
Even an engine swap between Sunday's heat-race victory and the feature didn't slow Mars, who built leads of nearly a straightaway on Terry Phillips midway through the second leg of the unsanctioned five-race miniseries at the track between Phoenix and Tucson.
"The car has been awesome," said Mars, who drives a car built in his MasterSbilt from Mars shop that hasn't been driven by anyone else since he debuted at Central Arizona last January. "There's no doubt about that, that the car has been making me look pretty good. Yeah, we did have some trouble there with the motor stuff and really didn't know which way to go, if we were going to take a motor out and how much time we were going to have, and there were some different oil lines and stuff (but) the motor race excellent. Everything was good, we're just real happy.
"It was really kind of trying there for a little bit, but once we got the motors swapped out, we were able to slow down and check everything out and do a good job, and then I felt relieved. But at first, really I didn't know which direction to go, but like I say, I can't tell you how much I appreciate what Jess did here."
It turned out the engine swap was the only drama of the night. Mars started on the front row with Mike Stadel of Rapid City, S.D., and quickly shot into the lead. Third-starting Brad Looney of Republic, Mo., a winner last year at Central Arizona, briefly challenged Mars, but by the time the seventh-starting Phillips was up to second on lap seven, Mars had a straightaway lead.
The track surface was a bit of a surprise to drivers who expected strict single-groove conditions.
"When Looney got on the inside of me in the traction there, and it was like 'Whoa,' it looks like we're going to have some traction here a little bit before it takes rubber," Mars said. "And actually tonight the lanes changed quite a bit. I started taking rubber actually up on the high side in (turns) three and four and then going into one up on the high side, but I was able to turn the car and be able to pass the lapped cars coming out of (turn) two low."
As Mars smoothly moved past lapped cars, Phillips fell further and further behind. By the 20th lap, Mars was threatening to stretch his lead to a half-track margin. Phillips cut that back down to a straightaway with five laps remaining, but Mars edged away in the waning laps to complete his domination.
"He was really running good," said the second-finishing Phillips, a three-time winner at Central Arizona in 2007. "I felt out in the open I was catching him. I could see I was gaining on him. ... he just must've been able to work traffic better than me.
"The track was pretty good tonight, the car's getting better, so we're pretty excited about it."
Jack Sullivan of Greenbrier, Ark., was third while Trevor Glaser of Tangent, Ore., who led 16 laps in the previous night's 30-lapper before giving way to Mars, looked strong again while racing from 10th to fourth. Stadel hung tough through the first half of the race but ended up eighth.
Mars used a powerplant that was originally in the No. H20 piloted by Anderson. After Mars lost a cylinder in the final laps of his heat race, the team plotted their plans, knowing that switching to a backup car would've cost Mars his pole position.
"I really didn't know what to do, and Jess Anderson, he let me take the motor out of his car that he was running," Mars said. "We worked our trails off and I can't say how much I appreciate all their help and Jess letting me drive this. This is just awesome."
Notebook
The winning MasterSbilt from Mars is sponsored by ESSI, Deppe Enterprises, Jimmy's Pub, Dagwood Lettering and Graphics. ... Mars plans to skip Wednesday's $3,000-to-win event but return for the following weekend's Saturday ($3,000) and Sunday ($7,500) events. ... Four-time SWDRA champion Lonnie Parker Jr. drove his father's No. 48 for the second straight night after having engine problems in his regular No. 8 during Friday night practice. ... Among drivers failing to make Sunday's feature: Dave Murray, Joey Moriarty, Steve Ricehouse, Mike McCord, Brad Williams, Jeremy Petrell, Paul Guglielmoni, Mike Keeley, John Dowson, Wes Hall, Andrew McKay, Jimmy Whisler, Mark Voigt, Nick Bartels, Bill Bartels and Butch Reid. ... Greg Walters was among drivers competing with a crate engine, but he missed the feature. ... Eric Mass of Rapid City, S.D., also missed the feature and was swapping engines following the prelims. ... An intermission and lengthy super stock feature (which was reduced by five laps) was among delays making it a long afternoon and evening for fans. Racing started about 2 p.m. and ended about 7:45 p.m. as temperatures ranged from the mid-60s to the low-50s.
