Regier takes win at Altamont

TRACY, Calif. - Troy Regier, driver of the S&S Motorsports supermodified racecar, set a track record at Altamont Motorsports Park Saturday recording fast time on the sweeping half-mile with a 14.993-second run.

It was a true high for Regier who was all smiles hearing the news. The high was short lived though as co-owner Steve Shaw noticed both rotor clamps on the rear brake were broken. The discovery was made as the car was about to be pushed out for a heat race.

Shaw, co-owner Tom Silsby and crew immediately began to take apart the rear brake assembly to replace the clamps only to discovered they had no spares.

"We loaned them out more than a year ago and they weren't replaced," Shaw said."So we put on a single brake, one with not quite as much braking force as the broken one, but enough to get the job done."

Shaw said without the heat race to fine tune the car for the main event, they had to guess on the car's set-up.

The main event began with Minden's Eric Silsby taking an early lead over Pat Whittet, who started on the pole. Silsby was putting distance between himself and Whittet when a caution came out for a solo spin. On the restart, it was Silsby leading, Jim Birges in second, Jeff Russell third, Regier fourth and Whittet rounding out the top five.

On lap nine Silsby led the race and began to lap cars, as Regier was slowly picking cars off, one by one. It was on lap 23, just at the start-finish line, Regier passed Silsby for the lead.

The race was running smoothly and Barnes was making her way up to Silsby to vie for the third spot. As Silsby moved into turn 3, the car appeared to break loose and slammed into the wall in turn 4. Silsby exited the car unhurt.

"I'm not sure what happened," Silsby said after returning to the pits via ambulance. "I was coming through the shoot, saw the scoreboard at 45 laps and thought, 'Cool, about four laps left.' Then I saw Amy (Barnes) moving in on me, felt a vibration and - boom - hit the wall."

A broken axle was the cause of the accident.

Cars remaining in the race were allowed to add fuel to complete the five laps remaining. On the restart, it was Regier leading, Russell second, Barnes third, Kirk Wartman fourth and Bobby Dalton fifth.

The top five finished in that order at the drop of the checkered flag. Rounding out the field were Whittet, Silsby, Ernie Cobbs, Birges, A.J. Russell, Rick Veenstra, Rick Cameron, Dale Lamborn and Whitey Janssen.

"I used more front brake on the car during the race," Regier said. "I wasn't too sure of how they would work.

"I was a little concerned when Jeff Russell moved in on me, but Steve and Tom said to run it hard to the end and I did. It worked."

Barnes was pleased with her finish, noting a tight condition at the start of the race hindered her from advancing sooner.

"The car started to come in," Barnes said. "I'm surprised I did so well considering I don't has the horsepower some of these guys do, and horsepower is crucial. It really makes a difference.

"But my confidence is really coming up, especially knowing what this motor can do."

The American Speed Association/Western States Supermodified Racing League heads to Rocky Mountain Raceways in Salt Lake City for the 50-lap Copper Cup Classic race on Labor Day.

For information, visit www.wssrl.com.