Urquhart has first top-five finish in main event

After a spin sent Brad Urquhart to the back of the pack late in Barona Speedway’s Pure Stocks main event September 11, the Fallbrook driver wasn’t expecting a high finish. But he avoided a multi-car crash which brought an early checkered flag to the scheduled 20-lap race and gave Urquhart what the scorers determined to be a ninth-place finish, and when the top four finishers all failed the post-race tech inspection and were disqualified Urquhart ended the night with his first top-five finish.

“That’s just shocking. It’s not the way I envisioned getting my first top five. I couldn’t believe it when I found out,” Urquhart said.

A total of 27 Pure Stocks competed in one of three eight-lap heat races. Urquhart, who started the third heat on the inside of the second row, was in second place by the end of the first lap and held second until being passed by John Campos in the seventh lap. Urquhart’s third-place finish advanced him to the “A” main along with 19 other drivers who either finished in the top five during their heat race or in the top five in the “B” main.

Urquhart began the main event on the outside of the front row. Ken Rose, who had the pole position, got the jump on Urquhart. Richard Coulson soon passed both Urquhart and Rose to take the lead, although Rose regained the lead. Urquhart’s efforts to move alongside Coulson for the pass were unsuccessful and J.R. Trent threatened to take over third place.

September 11 is the anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attack on the United States and is usually commemorated with solemn remembrance rather than by airborne vehicles destroying the walls of facilities. Robert Hughes Sr. did not intend to take out part of the track wall between turns three and four, but his 1985 Oldsmobile Cutlass was launched during a second-lap crash which created a red flag. Trent was initially sent to the back before being placed sixth, Campos went to the infield hot pits before returning in the back prior to the green flag, and Hughes’ car exited the track on a tow truck.

Coulson and Rose were involved in a subsequent incident which caused a yellow, sent Coulson to the back and Rose to the pits, and put Urquhart in the lead.

A lap after the restart Trent took over the lead. After another yellow flag and restart, Urquhart was overtaken first by Patti Rebello and then by Cory Evangelou.

Urquhart noted that previous contact during the heat race broke a right spring on his 1970 Monte Carlo. “It was getting a little loose on me,” Urquhart said.

“To lead it for the whole main event, you’ve got to have a car that’s running sound,” Urquhart said. “It was just too rough of a track this late in the day for it to hold.”

The Pure Stocks main event was the final race of the night, so other classes had slightly reshaped the surface of the quarter-mile dirt oval.

Urquhart was in fourth place when he was spun to cause another yellow flag. He was placed in the back of the 14 remaining cars. Urquhart avoided contact when Randy Aldridge spun. He also avoided a four-car incident which caused an early checkered flag.

“It was kind of like a demolition derby out there,” Urquhart said. “It was like survival of the fittest.”

The Barona Speedway rules prohibit removing the choke from the carburetor. The disqualifications of Trent, Evangelou, Rebello, and Nanci Harper for that offense gave Urquhart four additional positions for a fifth-place finish in his seventh career race.

“Turned out to be a good comeback from getting put in the back,” Urquhart said. “It’s very hard to get back into the fifth position at that point.”

Urquhart’s previous best finish was a ninth-place result July 3.

“I’m happy,” Urquhart said. “I’m officially a rookie and I suspect I’m running ahead of the curve for a rookie, so I’m pleased.”

Urquhart and his brother Scott purchased the Monte Carlo from Jim Ramsey prior to the start of this season. Scott Urquhart wasn’t in the pits September 11 but helped with the setup of the car prior to the race. The Urquharts’ car is sponsored by Eagle Eye Fabrication, Fallbrook Fertilizer Feed and Farm Supply, and Master Tech Auto Specialists.

“I’m pleased that I came away with four tires full of air,” Urquhart said. “I’m very happy to have a top five, my first top five.”

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