MULHEARN, KOSTECKI EARN “BATTLE AT THE BEACH” FOCUS WINS

 


Thursday’s 71st “Turkey Night Grand Prix” at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale, Calif. showcases the USAC Western Ford Focuses, along with the USAC Mopar National/Western Midgets and the AMSOIL USAC Western/Western Classic Sprints. The Focuses, unlike the Midgets and Sprints, compete on Irwindale’s third-mile pavement.


 


No driver has been able to repeat as a winner in the nine previous “Turkey Night” Ford Focus races. This year, one driver could be looking at an impressive 23rd USAC feature victory this year!


 


Brodie Kostecki of Roseville, Calif. scored his 22nd USAC feature win of the season Saturday night in the 20-lap Focus Young Guns “Battle at the Beach: main event at Ventura (Calif.) Raceway. Only J.J. Yeley won more USAC features in a single season (26 in 2003).


 


Andrew Mulhearn of Whittier, Calif. and Kostecki scored feature victories in USAC Ford Focus action at Saturday night’s “Battle at the Beach” at Ventura Raceway. Mulhearn caught Collin Henry on lap 5 and led the final 16 laps to win the 20-lap Western Ford Focus main event, then Kostecki passed Parker Colston on lap four and led the final 17 laps to win the 20-lap Western Focus Young Guns feature. Tyler Dolacki, who finished sixth in the Ford Focus feature, edged Wally Pankratz, who was third Saturday, by 10 points for the Western Dirt Ford Focus title. Trailing Mulhearn, Henry and Pankratz in the 20-lap Ford Focus race were Casey Martinez and Kostecki. Kostecki beat Colston, Katlynn Leer, Brennan Rogers and Christine Breckenridge to the flag in the 20-lap Focus Young Guns race. Kostecki is the Western Focus Young Guns Champ, while Parker Colston is the Western Dirt Focus Young Guns titlist and Cole Custer ended up as the 2011 National Focus Young Guns titlist.


 


Nick Drake has already claimed the 2011 USAC National Ford Focus title, his second in a row. Jessica Clark has a 53-point lead in her bid to add the Southern California Ford Focus title to her Western Paved Ford Focus title.