Motor Racing / Pat Ray : McSpadden to Bring Sprint Car Streak to Ascot

A tornado watch has been posted for Ascot Park Saturday night. Lealand McSpadden, known as the Tempe Tornado on the sprint car tracks of the nation, will try to continue his hot streak in the Parnelli Jones Firestone/California Racing Assn. series.

The 42-year-old driver blew past Ron Shuman, his Arizona neighbor, and Walt Kennedy last Saturday night in posting his 10th victory of the season in the series.

It also was the 35th CRA victory of his career, which tied him for fifth place with Shuman on the CRA list. He will try to break that tie Saturday when he goes after his second 50-lap holiday weekend victory.

Although his yearly total is his best since his first CRA season in 1977, his success this year at Ascot is surprising. He has won on many of the top tracks in the West, but his 50-lap victory there last May in the salute to Indy was his first at Ascot since 1984. Since then, he has won there five times more.

For some reason, he has had his best seasons in even-numbered years.

In 1978, for example, his four CRA victories included two at Ascot as well as the Western World championship at Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix, his home track. He also was second in the U.S. Nationals at Knoxville, Iowa, that year.

In 1980, he had only one victory at Ascot but won all four of the Golden State Classic races at San Jose and Watsonville, Calif., against a star-studded national field.

He enjoyed another hot streak in 1984 when he won the Super Dirt Cup at Skagit, Wash., the Summer Nationals at Baylands in Fremont, Calif., and the two-day Labor Day Sweepstakes at Calistoga, Calif. Then in 1986, he won four of the seven races on the first Midwest swing of the CRA.

Because of his frequent absences to race at other tracks, McSpadden is only sixth in the standings. Shuman leads, holding a 96-point margin over Mike Sweeney of Carson.

STOCK CARS--NASCAR’s Southwest Tour will make the first of four Southern California starts Saturday night with a 100-lap event at Orange Show Speedway in San Bernardino. The $19,173 race on the quarter-mile paved oval will feature Roman Calczynski of Sepulveda, Troy Beebe of Modesto and Mike Chase of Bakersfield in their continuing battle for the season championship. Calczynski holds a slim lead over Beebe, with Chase a strong third. Ron Hornaday of Palmdale and Ken Pedersen of Sausalito, fourth and fifth in the standings, are also locked in a tight battle for rookie of the year. Mike Phipps, who has already clinched the season title, will go after his fifth straight win in Saturday night’s 40-lap sportsman feature Saugus Speedway. Also on the Saugus program will be the street stocks, competing on both the oval and the Figure-8 course. Friday racing at Saugus features oval and Figure-8 racing. . . . Mike Norris of Ramona will be crowned the 1988 champion when he leads the field of NASCAR super stocks in Saturday night’s races at Cajon Speedway. Norris clinched his third championship last weekend when he finished fourth, snapping his six-race winning streak. Joining the super stocks Saturday night will be the sportsman, pony and bomber machines.

Mini and hobby stock racing returns to Ventura Speedway Friday night after a three-week layoff for the Ventura County Fair. . . . Ascot Park will feature some of the most exotic four-cylinder machines around Sunday when the Outlaw Mini Stock Assn. joins forces with the Baylands Super Sedans and the Arizona Rear Engine Modified Assn. to determine the Western Regional Champion in these unrestricted cars. A 150-lap mini stock enduro is also scheduled Sunday night. On Monday night, the NASCAR pro stocks will compete, with Ron Meyer, Fred Estrada and Marcus Mallet leading the field. All three took their best shots at Dick Altman last week, but the Hawthorne driver held them off for his first win of the year.

MOTORCYCLES--Bobby Schwartz, whose major goal is regaining the U.S. speedway championship he lost last year to Brad Oxley, will try to keep his hot streak sizzling tonight at South Bay Speedway. Schwartz, who has 30 victories at South Bay since it opened in 1985, swept the board last week, winning the scratch mains at Inland Speedway, Ascot, Costa Mesa and Speedway USA in Victorville. . . . On Friday night, a Schwartz repeat may be a bit tougher as the Moran brothers, Shawn and Kelly, will make their only regular-season appearance of the year at the Orange County Fairgrounds oval. The pair will compete at the other tracks before the World Team Cup competition at Long Beach’s Veterans Stadium on Sept. 10. . . . The Continental Motocross Club will hold its weekly program Friday night at Ascot Park.

SPORTS CARS--The sixth race in the Toyota Superproduction Grand Prix series will be run Sunday on the Willow Springs road course in Rosamond. Rules allow unlimited engine size and chassis design, but the car’s body must be recognizable as that of a production automobile. Most popular has been the Chevrolet Camaro.