Consistency Put Harper in Driver’s Seat in ’89

It wasn’t easy, but Will Harper of Tarzana finally supplanted Dave Phipps of Simi Valley this season as the master of Saugus Speedway’s Sportsman division.

Harper, 34, a four-year track veteran, overcame disqualifications, mechanical difficulty and Phipps to win his first track championship on Sept. 23, the final night of the most competitive season in the track’s 50-year history.

In the past two years and in three of the past five, Phipps, 41, had dominated the Sportsman class, easily winning division titles. But Harper, with a division-high 13 top-five finishes, outpointed Phipps with consistency.

“I worked hard for it,� Harper said. “That probably makes it even more special.�

The track’s golden anniversary season was indeed a special one as 96,918 spectators--a nightly average of 3,342--witnessed the tightest points races in the history of Saugus’ top three divisions.

A review of each divisional race:

Sportsman: Harper’s triumph was improbable from every perspective. For openers, Phipps, master of the outside pass on Saugus’ pancake-flat, one-third-mile paved oval, seemed unbeatable at the start of the season.

Phipps had won three track titles, each by no less than 100 points. This season, he traded his 1985 Buick Regal for a division-standard 1989 IROC Camaro and won a division-high six main events. Harper, who won two, and Keith Spangler of Northridge, who won three, couldn’t touch Phipps when he was in top form.

But three non-finishes because of mechanical failure and a pivotal crash in the final month of the season doomed Phipps’ chance for an unprecedented third consecutive division title.

“If I had any one of those non-finishes back, I probably would have won the championship,� Phipps said. “But there are a lot of ifs in life. I don’t feel bad about being beat by the guy I got beat by.�

Secondly, Harper battled against misfortune and track officials. Twice, he was stripped of main-event wins because of violations. In the 100-lap double-points Winston 100, Harper was coasting to an apparent victory on Lap 93 when he was involved in a spin and placed in the rear of the pack by track officials. That slip-up cost Harper 40 points.

Entering the final race of the season, Harper trailed Spangler, 19, the division’s leader, by three points. He needed to finish at least two positions ahead of Spangler to pass him for the title. Seven laps into the 40-lap race, however, Harper was forced from the pits because of a broken fuel cell.

“I got sort of a feeling that I couldn’t believe this had happened,� Harper said. “I was almost kind of admitting defeat for a moment.�

While track officials waved a yellow flag, Harper’s pit crew needed only a moment to repair the car and return Harper to the track on the lead lap. From there, Harper roared from the rear to finish fifth. Spangler finished seventh, a half-car length behind Phipps.

Spangler finished a point behind Harper in the standings. Phipps finished third, 17 points behind Harper.

Three times, Harper set a one-lap track qualifying record, finally lowering the track standard to 16.77 seconds. For added financial reward, Harper won Saugus’ Sportsman Clash for Cash, a postseason exhibition involving the track’s top 15 drivers. Harper’s 20-lap victory earned him $1,500, increasing his season earnings to about $10,000.

Street Stock: Door handle to door handle is the best way to describe the fiercest of the track’s points battles this season. And, like Harper, Simi Valley’s Steve Nickolai also proved that consistency was the best route to victory lane.

Nickolai, 35, posted only three main-event wins, but had a division-high 23 top-five finishes in 30 mains to edge Russ Beckers of Sepulveda (seven wins) and Dale White Jr. of Simi Valley (four wins) by six points.

Craig Rayburn of Simi Valley, who won six main events, finished two points behind in fourth. All were within striking distance entering the final night of the season.

“Most of the season, it was within five points the whole way,� Nickolai said. “I figured I’d be third. We’re not really a strong car. I’m just a consistent driver.�

Nickolai, who held the points lead for 28 of the division’s 30 weeks, won five trophy dashes and posted three top qualifying marks. He estimated his season earnings at $5,500.

Rayburn and White also held the points lead. But the season proved to be the biggest disappointment for Beckers, who, for the second consecutive year, lost his bid for the title on the season’s final night.

Beckers won a division-high seven main events and tied Nickolai with 23 top-five finishes.

Hobby Stock: Brian Kelley of Arleta, a 23-year-old track sophomore, had the easiest route to a track title, winning by a 25-point margin over Scott Wade of Burbank. Three times Kelley lowered the division’s oval qualifying record and twice lowered the figure 8 mark.

He posted nine top qualifying marks and won a division-high seven main events.

Still, Kelley needed to finish at least eighth in the final oval main event of the season to maintain his lead. He erased any doubts with a victory.