Motor Racing : Saugus Points Races Fuel Heated Battles

They’re speeding through Turn 4, heading for the front straightaway.

Door handles are rubbing against door handles. Tires are rubbing against tires.

The crowd is coming to its collective feet. Beer and soft drinks are being spilled.

If it’s August, this must be the homestretch of the Saugus Speedway divisional points races.

With only six Sportsman, five Hobby Stock and four Street Stock dates remaining on the schedule, the red-hot divisional races are redefining the phrase “heat race.”

In the Sportsman class, Saugus’ top racing division, only 22 points separate the top four competitors. Only 15 points separate the top four Street Stock drivers. And although Brian Kelley of Arleta holds a 34-point lead in the Hobby Stock standings, eight points separate the next three drivers.

In these trying times, there is little room for error. An oil leak, blown tire or gasket woes could mean the difference between a track title and fourth place.

Case in point:

For Gary Sigman of Carson, a twist of fate led to a twisted front fender during last Saturday night’s 40-lap Sportsman main event. Sigman, 50, who entered the evening second in the points standings, just three points behind leader Keith Spangler of Northridge, was speeding along in fourth place on Lap 29.

A broken rear-suspension piece, however, caused Sigman’s car to swerve and slam into the back-straight wall, simultaneously knocking him out of the race and into fourth place in the points standings--22 points behind the leader.

“Some nights, things just don’t fall your way,” said Sigman, who was not hurt in the crash. “It’s pretty tough for us now with so few races remaining. We’re virtually out of it.”

Meanwhile, Dave Phipps of Simi Valley is finally making his move. Phipps, a man who never met a points race he . . . Actually, Phipps had never met a points race until this season. The 41-year-old two-time defending champion has won three Sportsman titles in the past five years--all by at least 100 points.

On Saturday night, Phipps, who admittedly yearns for a third consecutive title, cruised to a division-high fifth main-event win to move from third to second in the standings--three points behind Spangler, who finished third.

“I feel that we have momentum,” said Phipps, who has yet to lead the points race this year. “The car is running excellent. I have confidence in the car and that momentum is mine.

“But it’s not over yet. There are still a lot of points to be had.”

Add points: Phipps has not raced without misfortune. He has failed to finish three races because of mechanical failure and completed one race (which he won) with the front end of his car scraping against the pavement during the final 10 laps.

But Phipps also has had good fortune. Four weeks ago, in the the Winston 100, the division’s traditional 100-lap double-points race, Phipps was in second place behind leader Will Harper of Tarzana when Harper spun out with seven laps remaining.

Phipps easily roared on to victory; Harper was sent to the rear of the pack for making an illegal pass immediately after the spin.

Harper began the race as the points leader--a position he held for more than a month. But he finished 11th in the Winston 100 and is now fourth in the standings.

Harper, 34, was stripped of a victory earlier in the season for a similar infraction. But, remarkably, he has reremained in contention and trails Spangler by nine points.

“I just go out with a positive attitude every time and try and stay consistent and not get wrapped up in the points too much,” Harper said. “The idea is to have fun. Sometimes, people get so caught up in the points that they don’t have any fun.”

Add points: A sprained back likely won’t stop Shannon Flavin of West Hills from making a charge at the Hobby Stock leaders. Flavin, 28, fourth in the standings and only eight points out of second place, injured his back last week in his job as a shipping clerk and has been unable to work.

Second place belongs to Scott Wade of Burbank. Thad Friday of Reseda is six points behind Wade in third.

Flavin wouldn’t think of missing the division’s next main event Aug. 26--bad back or no.

“I would race no matter what,” said Flavin, who has five main-event wins and nine top-five finishes. “If I have to put myself in a body cast, I’ll be out there. I don’t want to lose points.”

Variety at the top: Saugus’ Street Stock division points race, typically the most competitive of the track’s three main divisions, has become hotter than a Rolls-Royce at a swap meet.

Four drivers have held the points lead this season. Steve Nickolai of Simi Valley holds a three-point lead over fellow Simi Valley resident Craig Rayburn. Russ Beckers of Sepulveda trails Rayburn by eight points.

Extra point: All of the above might seem pointless without an explanation of Saugus’ scoring system.

Under NASCAR short-track scoring rules, the winner of a main event is awarded 26 points. Second place is good for 24 points, third place earns 22 and so on. Drivers who finish eighth or lower receive 12 points.

Heat-race winners are awarded three points. Second place earns two, third place earns one.

Driver OK: Jim Morrill of Lancaster, who was involved in the spinning crash with Sigman in last Saturday’s 40-lap Sportsman main event, was taken away in an ambulance and treated for a whiplash injury but was not hospitalized.

Morrill, 27, said paramedics insisted on taking him to a hospital as a precautionary measure.

“They just wanted to check me out,” Morrill said. “You could have a fractured neck and not know it and wind up paralyzed.

“I’m in pretty good shape. I’m better off than my car is.”

Morrill, whose vehicle sustained severe front-end damage, estimated the cost of repairs at between $2,000 and $2,500 and said that he is likely to miss three races.

Back on track: One of the all-time greats of Winston West and Saugus Speedway history made an impressive return to action Saturday night on the undercard of the first Winston West Series event at Saugus in 12 years.

Jimmy Insolo, 46, a former Saugus and Winston West champion, drove to a second-place finish in a Sportsman division heat race and a ninth-place finish in the 40-lap main event. Insolo challenged for the lead of the main event and was in fourth place when he was forced to pit under a red flag because of mechanical difficulty.

Insolo, who piloted the car of Saugus regular Michael Ayers of Camarillo, was a Winston West competitor from 1971-81 and is fourth in series history with 25 career wins. Insolo was Winston West champion in 1978 and track champion at Saugus in 1968.