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 IRWINDALE,
CA (November 13) -- The NASCAR Elite Division contested the NASCAR
Toyota All-Star Showdown on Saturday where the top ten finishers in
its four regional touring series battled it out to determine an
overall winner. When the 125-lap race was over, NASCAR Southwest
Series driver Eric Holmes (photo) was the winner pocketing $13,350 for
his efforts. The annual race features the top ten point earners in the
four NASCAR Elite Divisions which includes the Southwest Series, Northwest
Series, Midwest Series and Southeast Series. All four series compete
exclusively on Hoosier tires during the regular season. All 40
attendees also rode on Hoosier tires during Saturday's special event.
Hoosier Late Model Asphalt Product Manager Terry Newton traveled from
Hoosier's corporate headquarters in Lakeville, IN to attend the event
at California's Irwindale Speedway.
Forty cars from the four NASCAR's Elite Divisions
converged on the 1/2-mile Irwindale oval with two 50-lap preliminary
races being contested to set the starting line-up for the feature
race. The 40 drivers were divided up with 20 of them competing in one
of the 50-lap preliminary races. The finish of each race set the
inside and outside lane for the start of the 125-lap feature
race.
Burney Lamar, winner of the Southwest Series race at
Irwindale back in May, won the first qualifier with Eric Holmes
capturing the win in the second qualifier. Both drivers compete in the
Southwest Series. As one would expect, the talent level was quite high
for the event with both races being run without a caution flag.
In the 125-lap feature, Burney Lamar took the race
lead with Holmes in tow. The race was halted after 75 laps and the
field inverted for the final 50 lap shoot out. A six-car invert put
Lamar and Holmes in the third row for the final sprint to the finish.
Holmes battled his way into the top spot with just six laps to go.
Holmes captured the win by less than a second over eighth starting Rip
Michels. Michels, who earned $10,125 for the runner-up finish, was
followed to the line by Burney Lamar in fourth and Craig Raudman in
fifth.
Interestingly, the top four finishers all compete in
the NASCAR Southwest Series--which races once on the Irwindale track
during the regular season.
Erik Darnell rounded out the top five after starting
back in the 27th starting spot. Darnell represented the Southeast
Series. Jeff Jefferson (Northwest Series) finished in sixth place
followed by Eddie Hoffman (Midwest Series), Kevin Prince
(Southeast Series), Jason Jefferson (Northwest Series) and Eddy McKean
(Southwest Series) in seventh through tenth, respectively.
With the Southwest Series claiming the top four spots
in the race, the Southwest Series also claimed the "team"
competition in which drivers split an additional $50,000 payout.
Amazingly, 32 of the 40 race starters finished the
race on the lead lap. All 40 cars raced on Hoosier 26.5/11.0-15
"2220" left-side and 27.0/11.0-15 "2240"
right-side tires which, at times, allowed four-wide racing. The tires
were the same codes that were used during the majority of races during
the year in all four of the series.
Hoosier Tire West, based in Fresno, CA, was the
servicing agent for the event.
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