Minden’s Gimple takes 15th at Laguna Seca

The Western States Dwarf Car Association descended on Fernley 95A Speedway last Friday and Saturday night for a Regional event with entrants from California, Oregon, Utah, and Colorado, and Nevada. Reno’s Joe Frock finished second in the Pro division on Friday night and took the win on Saturday. Roy Peterson of Yerington was third Friday and fourth Saturday in the Sportsman division. Bobby Wilson of Carson City was 15th in the Pro division Friday and 12th on Saturday. Fernley’s Calvin Ryle (Pro division) took 11th on Friday and 15th on Saturday. Other Nevada runners were Glen Sciarani of Yerington (Veteran division), and Pro competitors Rodney Sweet of Winnemucca and Derek Rosse of Henderson. The Super Stock 4 and Pure Stock divisions also raced on Saturday with Rich Innis of Reno recovering from an early incident to beat Jim Paulk and Trevor Quell to the checker. The SS4 win went to Reno’s Dennis Crook, with Fernley’s Justin Busch second. Kenny Martin of Reno took third, Carson City’s Danielle Paine was fourth, and Aaron McIlvaine rounded out the top five. Tonight the track will hold the fifth points race of the season for all track racing divisions: IMCA Modified, Pro Stock, Street Stock, Dwarf, Super Stock 4, and Pure Stock divisions will race. Gates open at 3 p.m., racing begins at 6 p.m.

...

Minden resident Kyle Gimple raced in the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge series at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca last Saturday. After losing a practice session due to a broken part on their Audi S3 and battling handling issues in the race, Gimple and teammate Paul Holton advanced from their 22nd starting spot to finish 15th. The team will race next at Watkins Glen June 25-27.

...

This is a busy race weekend both nationally and internationally. The NASCAR Sprint Cup series and Camping World Trucks will be at Kansas, the IndyCar series races on the road course at Indianapolis, and Formula One is in Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix. Check the Appeal TV listings for airtimes and channels.

...

Last Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Talladega resulted in jubilation for fans of Dale Earnhardt Jr., but complaints from a lot of fans about the parade-like final laps. Accusations teammate Jimmie Johnson let Junior win have been flying around since the checker fell. Johnson vehemently denied the allegations, noting debris on Junior’s grill gave his car enough extra speed that Johnson was unable to pass.

Earnhardt becomes the eighth driver to score a win and a provisional spot in the 2015 Chase for the Championship. What’s the likelihood of more than 16 drivers winning a race this season? Pretty unlikely, in my estimation . . . meaning some drivers will get in on points, just as they did last year.

So although wins are highly desirable, so are good finishes. For example, Martin Truex Jr. stands second in points, and if he keeps piling up good finishes he’ll qualify whether he wins or not.

...

The Formula One race in Barcelona on Sunday is being picked by most of the pundits as defending champion Lewis Hamilton benefit, as the Mercedes driver has won three of the four races already run this year.

Barcelona has had eight different winners in the last eight races, so Hamilton could be the first repeat winner in a while.

He’s currently 27 points ahead of teammate Nico Rosberg in the championship standings, with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel only a single point behind Rosberg in third.

...

The IndyCar drivers are expected to set a new track record in qualifying for the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, and maybe see a new winner. So far this season there have been no repeat winners in IndyCar, with Juan Pablo Montoya, James Hinchcliffe, Dixon, and Josef Newgarden each visiting the winner’s circle once.

...

Speaking of the Indy 500, Jeff Gordon will be getting some extra track time in before this year’s Brickyard 400. Gordon has been chosen to drive the pace car for the Indy 500, coming up in 2 weeks. I’m afraid the tough part is going to be getting him to pull into the pits at the end of the pace lap!