Nick Joanides has written or contributed in several articles regarding safety in racing

Nick Joanides has written or contributed in several articles regarding safety in racing. Below are a few of them.

I pray to God for the family of John Baker as well as the three other drivers who have lost their lives at Irwindale Speedway.

It's truly sad to lose a life under any circumstance. But when the same circumstance has taken four lives in such a short period of time, I can only hope that changes will be made. Irwindale Speedway is a state of the art facility, but the entrances and exits onto the racetrack may be the worst of any racetrack. Not only are the locations of them horrible, but also the designs are even worse.

On a normal racetrack with a solid wall all the way around the track, it is very difficult for a car to take a head on hit at full speed. 99% of the time, a car will hit at some sort of an angle and help reduce the blow of the impact. However at Irwindale, there are not one, not two, but three deadly spots on this racetrack. Both entrances on the back straight have openings in the wall, with an angled wall just beyond.

The problem is, if a car gets turned sideways, it heads, head first into these portions of the wall, with no angle to send the car bouncing off. It's just a sudden stop from 130+ to zero instantly. The exit at the end of the front straight has a wall sticking almost into the straight away. If you get turned slightly on the straight away, it's the same thing, an instant stop. I know, I hit that opening last night and thank God I am still here to write this. Sadly, John Baker is not.

I pray to God that Irwindale will have finally learned something needs to be done. They (Irwindale Speedway) have installed a barrier at the exit of the track, which may have saved my life, but the possibility still remains that a car can go from the fastest part of the racetrack to zero instantly.

Changes not only need to be made, but must be made. I believe the best change is to relocate the track entrance and exit entirely. But I realize cost is always a factor at short tracks. At the very least, soft wall barriers, foam or even the simple installation of gates at each of these openings would solve the problem. Many cars have been destroyed, but the cars can be replaced. There are now four lives that cannot be replaced.

I plead to Irwindale Speedway to follow NASCAR’s footsteps in learning from these horrible tragedies and make the appropriate changes. I know that this race is the last I will run at the track until something changes. My life and the lives of every other driver are worth so much more than the cost to make this awesome facility safer.

follow up: The track was closed the following week. One of the backstretch openings was permanently closed off. The walls were relocated at the entrance and exit with heaving impact reducing barriers and foam at the track exit.

This last Monday, SPEED was scheduled to run the third of several Featherlite Southwest races in their Monday night time slot directly after Inside Winston Cup. Instead the network trotted out the Goody’s Dash from Daytona of this year, at least the third time they’ve brought that piece out for observation. The reason for the switch was not announced, and that’s odd because their website up through Monday afternoon was promising the K & N Filters 150 from Irwindale, California. But there is only one reasonable explanation for the switch—the K & N Filters 150 was the last race ever for a Winston West and Featherlite Southwest driver by the name of John Baker.

To the general NASCAR public, John Baker was pretty much as anonymous as his name sounds. Not one of the young pretty boys, like Brendan Gaughn, or Austin Cameron, who might be suspected to follow Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick up the western ladder of success into Winston Cup, John Baker was an old style racer—a man with his own trucking company, who raced for one simple reason. He loved it. And he was reasonably good at it. Not a full time competitor in FSW, he still managed to make decent points finishes out of part time racing. He had recently added a few attempts at Winston West, making one race last year for an eight-place finish, and making one qualifying attempt this year for the season opener, which he missed. But the bottom line was that for John Baker, racing was a passionate hobby. The meager winnings from the touring series never offset the costs of the self-sponsored Mid-States Truck and Rigging Chevrolet.

But this year was apparently going to be different. Baker had made all five of the current FSW starts in 2002, was eleventh in points, and probably hoping for that top five final standing he didn’t get in 2001. A couple of accidents had marred some decent finishes, but after starting fifteen at Phoenix International Raceway for the Winter Heat event, he had wracked up starting positions of second, fourth, a pole at Stockton, and another fourth at Pikes Peak. On Saturday, June 8, the night John Baker died, he was sitting on his second pole of the year.

To say that details of the accident are sketchy is a gross understatement. Aside from a byline on Totally NASCAR, and some brief three-paragraph blurbs on the newswires, this incident never happened. Some of the cut-down Associated Press versions of the story even lacked coherency. Some reports stated that his car was hit from behind by another car. Some stated that he was slowing out of Turn 2 when he was hit. But the general consensus said that John Baker died at a hospital after his ‘car went headlong into an exit’. And that this was the fourth death, total, at this particular track. For the rest of the world, end of story. This is the first member of NASCAR’s touring series to perish after the mandating of the head and neck restraints for all NASCAR divisions. Any black box data on this? Whatever happened to that singular obsession with safety? Was that just a 2001 issue, or does it have to be somebody ‘important’ who dies before any interest is generated?

For the answer to that question, you need a diagram of Irwindale Speedway. The track is two tracks combined. There’s the half-mile track, which comprises the main area of Irwindale Speedway, and which is a pretty standard short track length, and then there’s the one-third mile bullring in the center. Irwindale’s not the only track to have a track within a track, but most tracks with a bullring are bigger than Irwindale’s outer shell. That’s the problem right there.

Because Irwindale is two tracks combined, there are no pits or garages on the interior of the track. They’re all outside. And to get to them, cars must use one of two entrance/exits on the backstretch. Which means that anyone pitting at Irwindale does not slow down to the inside out of Turn 3, they slow down to the outside of Turn 2 or to the outside of the back straight. And the exit/entrances do not follow the line of the track. Both breaks in the back straight wall extend to the right of the start/finish line, toward Turn 2 from that perspective. That means that to enter the track, cars enter a concrete bound lane that brings them into the back straight ready to turn left into Turn 3. To exit the track, cars need to slow to the outside of the track, and turn right at 180 degrees to head back to the pits. Not the easiest of maneuvers during a race. And it means that the back straight of Irwindale has four potentially dangerous spots—the two wall breaks where a car will spin and crash if it makes contact with the wall near the break points (for a demonstration of how that works, check out what happened to Matt Kenseth at the end of the Outback Steakhouse 200 Busch race last year at Phoenix), and the outside wall of the entrance/exit lanes just at the break points. It was the outside wall of the entrance/exit that killed John Baker. The backward slant of that wall to the racing area meant that when the 18 car made contact with the outside wall, it did not come in contact to the solid surface of the track wall at an angle, which it would have done on most tracks, but hit the exterior exit wall directly. A head-on collision. One he did not survive. Even with a head and neck restraint.

Rookie David Gilliland went on to win the race. At least that’s what the news sources tell us. There are the required photos and ‘In Memory Of’ notations on the NASCAR website, and other related Featherlite Southwest sites. Small consolation, I’m sure, to any one who’s experienced this kind of tragedy. Or witnessed it. But it is something to acknowledge the loss. And ask anyone associated with New Hampshire International Speedway how hard it is to live down one of these sad and inevitable days in racing.

So, what does Irwindale Speedway have to say about the tragedy? Well, not much. At least not on it’s official website. No requiem. No ‘In Memorial’, no mention of the incident at all. Just those all-important results from the K & N Filters 150. And a press release that racing is ready to begin there again on June 22. Begin again? When did it stop? Well, according to Jayski.com (truly, God’s gift to the NASCAR addict), it closed for “reconfiguring from Thursday, June 12 through Friday, June 21 and will reopen with its regularly-scheduled racing card on Saturday, June 22.” So if the tragedy never happened, at least in the world of Irwindale Speedway, why close down?

Probably in response to one of the most honest and heartfelt pleas even made by a racer, Nick Joanides, the other man involved in the accident with John Baker that night (and only available to my knowledge on the RacingWest website). In that piece, entitled ‘Irwindale Speedway Needs to Change’, the gentleman acknowledges that the track has made alterations for safety in the past, but that it’s not enough.

“I pray to God that Irwindale will have finally learned something needs to be done. They (Irwindale Speedway) have installed a barrier at the exit of the track, which may have saved my life, but the possibility is still there that a car can go from the fastest part of the racetrack to zero instantly.

Changes not only need to be made, but must be made. I believe the best change is to relocate the track entrance and exit entirely. But at the very least, soft wall barriers, foam or simply, gates at each of these openings should be installed. Many cars have been destroyed, but the cars can be replaced. There are now four lives that cannot be replaced.

In tragedy, someone finds the courage to speak out for the sake of others. What Irwindale did, or did not do to address its problems, is yet unknown. But whatever they did, it took only a few days. The reopening announcement came on June 17, just five days after they supposedly closed. Not long enough to change what really needed changing—the positioning of the exits. Or to ensure the safety of the series drivers scheduled to compete there this year. Irwindale was only dedicated in March of 1999. Four dead drivers in only three years is a record to rival track monsters like Daytona. Not something for a self-proclaimed “LA’s Half Mile Super Speedway” to be proud of.

One life. One accident. An entire human’s existence ends summed up in a byline, bypassed by the media dedicated to promoting the sport that cost a man his life. SPEED, and Fox are not interested in the details, and investigative journalism on their part ceased the day they contracted into ‘NASCAR TV’. And while every day, FOX is churning out trailers emphasizing the danger of racing and the risks the drivers take, with extra footage of those ‘good’ crashes, on the day someone paid the ultimate price, the camera people no longer want to show us the story. No one knew during the Stacker 2 200 at Nazareth last month, whether Jeff Purvis was alive or dead, while they were using the Jaws of Life to pry him out of the Timberwolf car (thankfully, he was). I saw it because I was there, but the cameras for that live coverage were trained elsewhere. Last Monday, SPEED turned a blind eye not only to the honest tragedy of what happened June 8, but to the story of how it could have been prevented. I personally would have liked to see if not the race itself, at least an acknowledgement of the events. A farewell of sorts, to someone who gave his life for his passion, leaving a widow and orphaned twin baby boys behind. A requiem, if you will, for a regional racer, accomplished at the national level.

I know I've preached this before many times, but it's apparent that it still needs to be preached as amazingly I still see drivers out there not wearing gloves, some with open face helmets, old oily suits, etc.. Unfortunately I seem to be the designated test dummy on how to improve safety when it comes to fire.

In 1995, I suffered severe burns to my hands in a racing accident and was forced to go through months of painful surgeries to replace the burned skin with several skin graft surgeries. I am the first to admit that back then, I hated to be restricted and hated the heat. I used to wear the lightest suit available (single layer), lightest gloves, I used to race with my visor open. I even hated the requirement for head and neck restraints when it came.

But I managed to learn a lot from my experiences, the first and simple lesson is that while safety items may be uncomfortable at first, just like anything else, you do get used to it and it becomes natural. Secondly, the small amount of comfort that may be sacrificed by these items is a million times less than the pain and suffering you will feel spending months in a hospital getting skin taken off of your legs to replace the skin that was burned because you chose poor safety equipment or none at all or having your head attached to a metal apparatus while your broken neck heals because your head and neck restraint was not properly adjusted.

Until Saturday, I thought I had all the safety equipment I needed, but unfortunately I learned that I did not! While I had my body protected, gloves on, fire resistant suit, full faced helmet with visor closed, the flames that came through the window from a broken oil line managed to find their way up the bottom of my helmet and caused second and possibly third degree burns to my lower chin, neck and portions of my face. And now according to doctors, I may be facing more skin graft surgeries.

Another lesson learned, while head socks can be very hot in a stock car, they are not as hot as 1,000+ degree flames. There are however other options as I know atlas Simpson makes a fire resistant "skirt" that attaches to the bottom of the helmet and tucks into the drivers suit to protect flames from coming up under the helmet. This sounds like a great option for stock car drivers as it accomplishes the same goal as a full head sock and I'm sure the other manufacturers of helmets make them too. I believe that with this, a full face helmet, multi-layer fire resistant suit, gloves, shoes, socks and underwear, that a driver should be fully protected from flames.

I know also that I have been guilty of this as are many other drivers, thinking that wearing a t-shirt or regular underwear under a fire resistant suit is ok, but it's not!. If oil or gas soaks the suit and gets through, while the suit may not burn, the t-shirts and underwear will, and the flames will be trapped inside the suit, so I highly recommend fire resistant underwear as well.

In conclusion, I've managed to be your test dummy when it comes to fire and others have when it comes to head and neck restraints. Please, prevent yourself from significant injury or even worse, by taking these simple safety precautions and prevent your friends and family from suffering from your loss as well. And while I personally recommend the Hans device, make absolutely sure that which ever head and neck restraint device you wear is properly adjusted to do it's job. If it's loose, it won't work!

Trust me, I know from experience, the small price you pay for the equipment and the slight discomfort is far, far, far less than the price you will pay if you don't take these precautions.

So please, be smart and spare yourself and your friends and family of future pain and suffering! It really is a simple thing to do!

I would also like to commend the safety crew at Phoenix International Raceway. Their response time was incredible. While I was still sliding to a stop, they were on the move and amazingly were at the car at virtually the same time the car came to a stop. Now if we can just get all of the short tracks to learn from the big tracks, we'll all be much better off.

Nick Joanides has one heck of a road trip this weekend.

Joanides, a NASCAR driver from Woodland Hills, will be entered in Friday night's Grand National Division, East Series, race at New Hampshire International Speedway. Then he will fly back to Los Angeles to compete at Irwindale Speedway in the Super Late Model division race Saturday night.

This will be the first East Series race for Joanides and his Borenstein Racing team. New Hampshire International Speedway is also hosting the NASCAR Busch Series and Nextel Cup Series this weekend.

"We are building toward next year and this will be a great opportunity for us to judge where we are and will allow us to better determine which direction we need to go with equipment for next year," Joanides said.

Borenstein Racing is preparing to enter the NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series, on a regular basis next year and is looking for a testing ground for some of its new cars and equipment. MacDonald/Barrett Motorsports, which has experience in the Craftsman Truck, Busch and Cup series, has provided Borenstein Racing will technical assistance for the New Hampshire race.

"We are looking to get the best equipment we can and this race allows us to get our feet wet and see how we stack up against the competition at the next level in building toward our goals for 2007," said Loren Borenstein, owner of the Joanides' team.

With the goal of moving up to the Grand National West Series full time in 2007, Borenstein Racing, with driver Nick Joanides is taking the first step toward building a competitive program. They will compete in the Nascar Grand National Busch East Series event at New Hampshire this weekend to see how they stack up against the competition.

Loren Borenstein started Borenstein Racing with the intentions of moving up the Nascar ladder. Loren at a very young age has already achieved success through multiple business ventures that most people can only dream of. He is applying the same strategy to racing, that has rewarded him with success in business. While most new owners and teams take years to build a competitive program, Loren has proven that when you do things right and put the right people in place, you can defy the odds. In just seven races this season, his team has already shown championship potential earning more points than any other team in the past four events in the Nascar Dodge Weekly Series with veteran driver Nick Joanides.

The goal for Borenstein Racing is to compete in the Grand National West Series full time in 2007. The team has been in search of obtaining equipment and cars for the future and this season was laid out to be a building year toward putting together a program that will allow them to achieve the same early season success they have experienced this year. This weekend, Borenstein Racing will take their second step toward achieving those goals.

Looking to obtain cars and equipment, Borenstein Racing with technical help from established Cup/Busch/Craftsman Truck Series team MacDonald/Barrett Motorsports will enter their first race in the Busch East Grand National Division at New Hampshire International Speedway this weekend. “We are looking to get the best equipment we can and this race allows us to get our feet wet and see how we stack up against the competition at the next level in building toward our goals for 2007” said Loren Borenstein.

While driver Nick Joanides has not competed at New Hampshire, he has experienced success at tracks with similar layouts in the Grand National and Elite Divisions and looks forward to the opportunity to compete in this prestigious event. “We are building toward next year and this will be a great opportunity for us to judge where we are and will allow us to better determine which direction we need to go with equipment for next year” said Joanides.

New Hampshire is a 1.058 mile paved oval and this event will be held in conjunction with the Nascar Nextel Cup and Busch Series races. The 125 lap race will be televised live on HDNET, Friday at 5:00 EST/2:00 PST. Immediately following the event, Nick Joanides will fly back to California to compete in his regularly scheduled event on Saturday at Irwindale Speedway.

Joanides is no stranger to traveling long distances for racing and running multiple races on the same weekend. In 2005, he traveled more than 40,000 miles from his California home to run the full season in the Nascar Autozone Elite Midwest Series. His efforts paid off as he qualified for the All-Star Showdown which was held at his home track in Irwindale, California. In the last month of the season in 2004, he competed in 9 races in 4 weeks between the Nascar Grand National West Series and the Autozone Elite Southwest Series.

Veteran Driver Makes Grand National Division Debuts at New Hampshire

Nascar Southwest Series veteran, Nick Joanides is poised to make an impressive debut in the NASCAR Grand National Busch East Series tonight at New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon for the New England 125. Combining the resources of his weekly team, Borenstein Racing, and the expertise of NASCAR Busch Series team MacDonald Motorsports, the fifteen year racing veteran's weekend is looking promising.

Juggling numerous logistical delays due to weather in the northeast, the 35-year-old native of Woodland Hills, CA posted 25th in the first practice. Having just enough time for just twelve practice laps, Joanides flew around the track at 120.019 mph with a time of 31.735. His qualifying effort proved even more promising. The 2005 Chevrolet Monte Carlo was able to knock more than two-tenths of a second off the practice time, qualifying 19 th for the Friday evening race.

Joanides, who has raced against Nextel Cup and Busch Series drivers Kevin Harvick and Burney Lamar throughout his driving career in Calfornia, is hopeful for his chances this eveing. "We're making pretty radical changes to the car to improve it for the race," says Joanides. "Qualifying where we did with as little time in the car as we had is pretty decent."

Joanides is going for a top ten finish this evening. "I'm really appreciative of the effort the MacDonald [Motorsports] team is putting into this weekend. I really think we can get a good run out of this car."

Loren Borenstein, owner of Joanides' weekly team in California, sees this weekend as a building block for their future. "This race is about getting our feet wet," he says. "We're using this opportunity to help us focus on the bigger picture we have for our team and getting ready for next year. We'll use this race to help us build up to full [Grand National West Series] schedule next year. The most important thing we'll take away is the experience. But, we are here to race. We're going to give it everything we can tonight."

Borenstein, a successful 24-year old entrepreneur, has already exceeded the expectations given to most young, start-up team. Determined to bring together the right elements for a competitive race team, in just seven races this season, his team has already shown championship potential. With Joanides behind the wheel, Borenstein Racing has earned more points in the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series than any other team in the past four events at Irwindale.

by Tim Kennedy

Irwindale, CA., Aug. 18 - Versatile Nick Joanides learned two days before the NASCAR Auto Club Late Model event at Irwindale Speedway that he had his first ride this season in the fan-popular series. The 36-year old veteran of the now defunct NASCAR Elite Division made the most of his opportunity. Joanides set third fastest qualifying time in a 28-car field, started on the pole and led every lap to win the second ACLM feature of his career. Last year he drove the No. 10 Loren Bornstein Racing Chevy to a victory on the IS half-mile. That car was sold following the 2006 season. An estimated 5,500 spectators watched the Whelen All-American Series action on Auto Club and King Taco Family Night.

ACLM: Joanides, from Woodland Hills, received a telephone call Thursday from a Jackson Racing principal asking him to sub-drive the No. 77 Mr. Crane/J & M Construction Chevy. The car had won two Irwindale features this year with Aaron Staudinger, from Canyon Country, driving. At the last ACLM race (August 4) Staudinger, 33, drew the ire of track officials for two on-track incidents with other drivers during the main event. They black-flagged him for rough driving. As he exited the track, angry Staudinger drove over orange cones and took a short cut to his pit stall. Race director Lester Boyer posted a ruling that suspended Staudinger for one month to September 2 (two ACLM races) and fined him $250. His car owner, Loyd McGhee wanted to race and put Joanides in his No. 77 for the rest of the season.

Joanides has assisted the Speed Wong Racing team all year with set-ups and advice to its young drivers in the fleet of 16 racing cars and trucks in the super late model, late model, super trucks and legend car series. In fact, Joanides has raced a super late model, super truck and legend car this year for Speed Wong Racing. Driving for Speed Wong, he finished second in three consecutive main events this season to AC Delco SLM point leader Rip Michels. Joanides ranked 15th in SLM points, despite skipping six of the 13 races. His feature victory in the No. 77 ride Saturday made Joanides the seventh different ACLM main event winner this season in the 12th of 15 scheduled races. He set the third fastest qualifying time after getting settled into his new ride during two early afternoon practice sessions.

Dan DiGiacomo started his Monte Carlo fourth and took second place from Scott Jenkins in traffic on the front straight during lap 35. DiGiacomo trailed Joanides by 0.972. Rookie/fastest qualifier/third starter Jenkins, from Portland, OR, finished third, 2.059-seconds behind the winner. Jenkins' Justice Bros. High-Point Distributing teammates Chris Carmody, from second on the grid, and leading rookie Jace Meier, from fifth, followed. Meier, an 18-year old from Las Vegas, had flown in from North Carolina after enrolling in Belmont Abbey College where he will begin classes Tuesday. Meier's 42-points for fifth place moved him into a first-place tie in ACLM 2007 point standings. His car owner, Tim Huddleston-the 2005 ACLM series champion-entered the race with a 24-point cushion (426-402) over his protege Meier. Huddleston started 27th in the 28-car field and could only race up to 17th position, giving him 18-points. Meier and Huddleston are now deadlocked at 444 points in a series in which 51 drivers have scored points.

A unique reason caused Huddleston's rare last row starting position. His first lap qualifying time during single car qualifying from 4:00-4:20 was a slow 23.078 (77.996 mph) because of mishandling. His time was well-below his 19.575 (92.237 mph) and 19.453 (92.531 mph) best laps during the two early afternoon practice sessions in which he ranked in the top five drivers in each session. In his pit stall, Huddleston's crew discovered the pin had come out of his left front shock absorber, causing the mishandling during his only qualifying lap. He had the slowest qualifying lap and had to start 27th. Huddleston's stated goal was to earn the hard charger award for himself and have his three other blue cars finish 1-2-3, putting all four of his cars at the finish line for post-race interviews. He did earn the $100 gift certificate award from Jeff Schrader's Racecar Factory for hard charger honors. His three other team cars finished 3-4-5.

HARD CHARGERS: Recipients of $100 gift certificates were: (Bandoleros)-Eric Sloan - P 9 to P6; (WCPT)- Dustin Vandermooren - P 10 to P6; (Legends)- Austin Grabowski - P 21 to P 11; (ACLM)- Huddleston - P 27 to P 17. The six-lap ACLM trophy dash for the third through tenth quickest qualifiers went to second starter Altman, who led all the way. Joanides, Meier, DiGiacomo, Wright and 18-year old rookie Brian Wong, the son of Speed Wong Racing owner Darryl Wong, followed. Fastest qualifiers were (Bandoleros)-Andrew Anderson - 18.924 (63.348 mph); (Legends)- Landreth - 16.955 (70.705 mph); (Figure 8)- S. Stewart - 18.868 (71.931 mph); (WCPT)- Williams - 20.674 (87.066 mph), and (ACLM)- Jenkins - 19.011 (94.682 mph).

Photos by Marv Keller

It looks as if Nick Joanides will end the saga of the No. 77 NASCAR Late Model car at Irwindale Speedway.

At least for this season.

The car, its driver, owner, crew, engine provider and sponsors have been through a lot this year.

They've been disqualified, suspended, fined and managed to win a couple races amidst the chaos.

The latest chapter saw Aaron Staudinger, the driver of the No. 77 car, get fined and suspended for his actions on the track Aug.4.

In steps Joanides, a last-minute replacement for Staudinger in Saturday night's race. Joanides, who didn't know he was driving the No. 77 car until three days before the race, won. In the words of Joanides, it was "quite surprising."

With Staudinger serving his suspension, Joanides was tapped to finish the season. There are three races left for the Late Models at Irwindale Speedway. The next race is Sept.1.

Joanides has been racing off and on in the Super Late Model division at the track, but in just eight races, he has posted seven top fives, including four second-place finishes this year.

The win in the Late Model race was his first of the year. It's not the way he wanted to get his first win, having to drive for a suspended driver, but he said he's happy for the opportunity to finish the year in the car owned by Loyd McGhee and prepared by Jackson Racing.

"It was one of those perfect days," said Joanides, a driver from Woodland Hills. "They're so rare."

Things happened so quickly for Joanides that he wasn't familiar with the team's sponsors. It is customary to thank the sponsors after a win, but Joanides said he didn't know who they were.

After winning the race, Joanides had to walk around his new race car and read the sponsors on the fenders and the hood, to make sure no one was forgotten.

This was the third time the car won a race at Irwindale Speedway. The scary part is that Joanides said the car can be better.

"There's still a lot left in it," Joanides said. "Actually the car could dominate if we could get it the way I want."

Joanides was the seventh different winner in 12 races in the Late Model division.

Tim Huddleston of Agoura Hills, who is tied with Jace Meier for the lead in the track's Late Model standings, has won a division-leading three races this year.

Chris Carmody of Valencia has two wins. Huddleston, Meier and Carmody race for High Point Racing, a four-car team owned and operated by Huddleston.

The High Point Racing team will expand to five cars for the final three races of the year. Jeremy McGrath, a seven-time AMA Supercross champion, will join High Point Racing in the team's No. 57 entry.

by Tim Kennedy

Double-barrel action was expected at Irwindale Speedway Saturday when the two top-tier Whelen All-American Series-AC Delco Super Late Models and Auto Club Late Models-were co-featured. More than 3,500 spectators on "Labor Unions Appreciation Night" attended the five division short-track racing program despite blazing 100-degree temperature earlier in the day. When racing began at 7:00 the temperature was 96 degrees, and when the final checkered flag flew at 10:12 p.m it was still 85. Irwindale competed from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m against live national television coverage of the NASCAR Busch Series 300-mile race at California Speedway in Fontana, about 40-miles east of Irwindale.

ALCM: Third starter Nick Joanides, a 36-year old versatile driver who has helmet and will race anything at any time, won his second consecutive ACLM main event as substitute driver in the No. 77 J & M Construction/Mr. Crane Monte Carlo. Double winner Aaron Staudinger had the ride until his recent 30-day suspension by the IS racing director for actions on the track August 4. Point leader Tim Huddleston started second with a six-car inversion and led the first 31 laps in a 27-car field. He held a 40-yard advantage over Joanides on lap 30 when the only yellow flag flew after Tommy Rizzo hit the wall in turn three and rode it to a stop in mid-track at the starting line. He was not hurt and a wrecker towed his car to the pits. Joanides, who passed Chris Carmody for second on lap 19, pressured Huddleston for two laps. On lap 32 exiting turn two the Joanides and Huddleston cars made contact, lifting the back of Huddleston's Chevy. Joanides backed off and allowed the leader to regain control. He then took the lead from Huddleston in the fourth turn and stayed in front for the final nine laps.

Kevin Callahan, a 19-year old Gary Collins-built Chevy driver from Bakersfield, charged from ninth grid position to second, which he took from Huddleston on lap 34. Callahan tied his ACLM career-best finish on June 23 and trailed Joanides by 15-yards (-0.822). Carmody finished third, 2.215-seconds back. Jimmy Sloabn, s super stock veteran and second-year ACLM driver, started seventh and finished his ACLM career-best fourth after he passed Huddleston on lap 38. Huddleston faded to fifth place, 2.659-seconds behind the winner. He said, " When the back of my car lifted off the ground (after contact by Joanides) the engine revved and was down on power bit to the finish." He also said his No. 57 Chevy was in the pits in a trailer for seven-time AMA moto-cross champion Jeremy McGrath to drive in the final two ACLM races on September 15 and 29. Fastest qualifier/sixth starter Scott Jenkins, a rookie from Portland, OR, finished sixth in a fourth High-Point Distributing Chevy. Michael Wright, pole-starter Lindsey King, a 19-year old ACLM rookie and Legends graduate, Mike Johnson and Brian Jones completed the top ten as 23 of the 27 starters finished, with 21 drivers on the lead lap.

The race started with three-time ACLM winner Huddleston and his 18-year old late model protg Jace Meier tied at 444 points. Huddleston's 42 points in the main gave him 486. Seventh place Wright's 38 points moved him into second place in series points with 472. After setting the quickest lap in the first ACLM practice session at 12:30, Meier slipped to tenth fastest in session two at 1:20 p.m. During 4:00 time trials, leading rookie Meier slipped to 15th best time among 27 qualifiers. The Las Vegas native who just started classes at Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina, flew into Los Angeles Friday to practice and race at IS. He got as high as 11th in the main event on lap 20 before he slipped to 13th in the final run-down. He flew back to college in N.C Sunday. Meier dropped to third in points, (470 to 472 for Wright) after 13 of 15 scheduled races. Callahan solidified his fourth place in points and trails leader Huddleston by 40-points and third place Meier by 24 points.

Woodland Hills driver Joanides wants to triple his pleasure

BY TIM HADDOCK, Columnist

Article Last Updated: 09/05/2007 10:20:36 PM PDT

Nick Joanides won his second NASCAR Late Model race in a row Saturday at Irwindale Speedway.

He said if he can win a Super Late Model race, he might have to break out his Super Truck and try to win one of those races, too, before the end of the season.

For a driver to win races in two divisions in the same year would be quite an accomplishment at Irwindale. To win three would be extremely unlikely because most drivers and teams don't have the resources to maintain cars in more than one division.

The season Joanides is having is a little different. He was given the opportunity to race in the Super Late Model, Late Model and Super Trucks divisions at the track. He has two Late Model wins, three second-place finishes in Super Late Model races and a third-place finish in a Super Trucks race.

Joanides will be entered in the Super Late Model race at Irwindale this Saturday night in a car for Speed Wong. It will be his ninth start of the year in the Super Late Model division.

"It's been a fun year bouncing around and making the most of it," said Joanides, a driver from Woodland Hills.

Rip Michels of San Fernando has pretty much dominated the Super Late Model division at the track. The three times Joanides finished second, it was to Michels.

But Michels, who leads the Super Late Model standings at the track, is beatable. Travis Thirkettle of Newhall won the most recent Super Late Model race. Michels was third.

But Joanides wasn't in that race. He was in the No. 77 car in the Late Model race that night.

Joanides was a late-season replacement driver for the No. 77 team. In his only two starts in the car, he has won both races.

Now he wants a shot at Michels in the Super Late Model division. If he can win one of those races, Joanides said he will test the Super Trucks and see if he can win races in three divisions at the track in the same season.

Michels has a 42-point lead over Thirkettle in the Super Late Model standings.

The NASCAR Super Trucks, Super Stocks and Mini Stocks are scheduled to race Saturday at Irwindale.

Pat Mintey Jr. of Quartz Hill leads the Super Trucks standings. He has a 22-point advantage over Matt Hicks of Santee.

Darren Cheek of San Bernardino tops the Super Stocks standings and has a 14-point lead over Bryan Harrell of Riverside.

Tyler Rogers of Riverside has a 40-point edge over Kevin Bernhardt of Fontana in the Mini Stocks standings.

Gates open at 4 p.m. Saturday, with races starting at 7 p.m.

By Tim Kennedy, 09/17/07

Jace "the Ace" Meier, an 18-year old Auto Club Late Model rookie from Las Vegas, fulfilled his season-long potential Saturday in a 50-lap ACLM main event at Irwindale Speedway. He started third as the second fastest qualifier in a 24-car field, took the lead on lap 19, and led the final 31 laps for his initial feature triumph on the IS half-mile. He won a feature in the same No. 55 High-Point Distributing Chevy Monte Carlo earlier this year at the three-eighths mile "Bullring" track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. About 4,800 spectators at IS witnessed the most exciting ACLM main event of the season on Firefighters Appreciation Night during NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.

Meier is a freshman in a management honors program on full scholarship at Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina. He has flown this month from Charlotte, N.C every other week to Las Vegas on Friday and driven from his hometown with his father and 15-year old sister so he could race at Irwindale. He has been the leading ACLM rookie and in the top three in overall series points most of the year. He and his family drive back to Las Vegas after Saturday races at IS and he flies to North Carolina Sunday for his Monday classes. This weekend the ambitious race driver/student had to fit in time for a college report. Meier said he has been making contacts with stock car owners at tracks near his college to obtain a ride for 2008 at Carolina tracks such as Concord or Hickory.

Meier a USAC California Ford Focus Midget Paved Track Series front runner and three-time main event winner finished sixth (2005) and fifth (2006) in USAC FF final point standings. He drove one of four Steallth midgets for the Ron Sutton driver development program His determined drive Saturday was his penultimate race at Irwindale in round 14 of the 15 race ACLM point season. He clinched 2007 series rookie of the year honors over his teammate Scott Jenkins, a 24-year old from Portland, OR who also flies in to Los Angeles to race at IS. Personable Meier entered the race third in points, two behind Michael Wright and 16-points behind series point leader Tim Huddleston, his High-Point team owner. At the checkered flag, Meier had reclaimed second spot in points; he now trails Huddleston by 10-points (530-520), with Wright third at 504. The three drivers will decide the series championship on September 29.

The 36-minute ACLM feature had three cautions and an intense, three-driver side-by-side, nose-to-tail duel involving Meier, 12th starter Nick Joanides-winner of the last two ACLM features-and 19-year old fifth-starter Kevin Callahan, from Bakersfield. Meier took third on the first lap by passing pole starter Lindsey King, 19, on the inside near turn three. He passed teammate Jenkins on lap 10 and tried to pass second-starter Wright from lap 15-18. Wright and Callahan ran high and Meier low in a tight three-car pack. On lap 18 Callahan tapped the back of Joanides car entering the third turn and Meier used the incident to dart into the lead with Callahan second and Wright third.

Joanides, in the No. 77 Mr. Crane Chevy Monte Carlo, and Huddleston moved into the top five by lap 27 of the 50-lap race. Huddleston had run the fastest lap of 24 drivers during early afternoon practice laps. However, he slipped to 13th fastest qualifier at 4:00 time trials because of a bad right rear spring. He team changed the RR spring and he started the race not knowing how his car would handle. Sixth-place King, a Legends graduate and ACLM third-ranked rookie, got tapped by seventh place Dan DiGiacomo and spun out exiting turn two on lap 28. Both drivers had to restart at the back. During the caution, officials black-flagged fourth place Jenkins, who had started fourth as the quickest qualifier, because a side panel was flapping. He pitted and returned to the back at the green flag. He finished 14th with 18 cars running at the finish and all drivers on the lead lap.

NASCAR Elite Division veteran Joanides took second place from Callahan on lap 38, but a one car incident caused the third and final yellow flag, nullifying the Joanides pass and reverting the lineup to the prior lap order. The top five were nose-to-tail, with Meier, Callahan, Joanides, Huddleston and Wright running in that order. The top three drivers pulled away and staged a three-car dice during the final 13 laps. With Meier and Joanides on the outside and Callahan now attacking on the inside, Joanides shot past Callahan for second spot high in turn four on lap 43. The final outcome remained in doubt to the checkers. Huddleston and his other High-Point Distributing driver, Chris Carmody, made it a five-way contest in the closing laps. On lap 48 Joanides shot to the inside of Meier entering the first turn and pulled even with the leader in turn two. It appeared a pass was imminent. However, Meier was determined to win his first late model feature at IS and fought back as their cars "made minor side-to-side contact". Meier kept his foot on the go-pedal and pulled away as Joanides "backed off to avoid a crash". Meier won by 0.155 over Joanides. Callahan was 0.364 behind Meier. Huddleston was 0.779 behind his rookie protégé, with Carmody fifth, 1.126-seconds back.

Jubilant Meier told the crowd, "First off, I have to thank Nick Joanides so much, I'm only 18 and this is my first year in stock cars and he's like a God around here and he ran me clean and to beat him is really an honor. Thanks to High-Point for preparing my car. I just fly in from North Carolina on Friday for the races and they have the car ready. I was a little bit nervous having Nick Joanides behind me the last three laps. My family and friends are here tonight from Las Vegas." Meier said his mother was home in Las Vegas working to help pay for his racing. He telephoned her from the front straight to tell her he won. He earned $1,000 for his victory, which he gets to keep in his contract with High-Point Distributing. Meier related that he spun while qualifying at the last race and had to race on the flat-spotted tires, leading to his 13th place finish. His impressive rookie stock car season has now included a victory and three seconds among his seven top five finishes in 14 features of the tough ACLM series.

Meier and Joanides came to the press box for media interviews. Joanides has two feature victories and a second place in his three outings in the No. 77 Chevy since replacing suspended Aaron Staudinger. Meier said, "Knowing Nick was behind me had my heart really going. I knew I was going to win eventually. I thought it would be earlier this year. I led one 50 lap race at 40 laps (11 of the 14 races this year have been 40 laps) and I had a mechanical problem that caused my car to fall back. It feels so good to win. I feel lighter now (first IS victory got the weight of my shoulders)." The hoarse-voice Meier said, "I have a college report to do Sunday before I fly from Las Vegas to Charlotte." Joanides stated, "It was a heck of a race-three wide for the lead. Youve got to love it." Meier thanked Joanides again for not spinning him out. "I knew he wanted the first one real bad. I was not going to rough him up that way. But if he made a mistake, I'd have taken advantage of it," Joanides added.

SEE VIDEO OF RACE ON "VIDEO" PAGE

Studious Meier reaps rewards at Irwindale, holds off Joanides

By Keith Lair, Staff Writer

Article Last Updated: 09/16/2007 01:49:59 AM PDT

IRWINDALE - All that studying paid off.

College freshman Jace Meier has been poring over his school books on his way to Southern California from his North Carolina school every other week. He's been studying Irwindale Speedway's half-mile oval all season.

The on-the-track research finally paid off as the 18-year-old from Las Vegas broke through to win the 50-lap main event in front of 4,800 Saturday night.

It was wild, wooly and three-wide for the lead over the final three laps. Meier had to hold off Nick Joanides of Woodland Hills, who had won the past two races, and Kevin Callahan of Bakersfield.

"Knowing Nick Joanides was behind me had my heart really going," a hoarse Meier said. "I knew I was going to win eventually. I thought it would be earlier this year. It feels so good. I feel lighter now."

Meier took the lead on the 19th lap, and Joanides and Callahan moved up to make it three-wide for the final 26 laps.

"It was a heck of a race," Joanides said. "Three-wide for the lead.

"You've got to love it."

Joanides, who had the faster car late in the race, got into second with 13 laps to go, but a yellow flag put him back to third. He had to work by Callahan again and he gave it one last shot with three laps to go.

"I beat him and he's driven everything," Meier said. "I'm really honored. I feel indebted to him that he ran me clean."

"I knew he wanted the first one real bad," Joanides said. "I was not going to rough him up that way. But if he made a mistake, I'd have taken advantage of it."