Matt Scott of Pine Grove and several other northern California drivers competed in the Toyota All-Star Showdown at the Irwindale Speedway last Friday and Saturday. Nineteen year old Matt was the 2010 Late Model Champion at the All American Speedway in Roseville, CA. He raced in a field of 25 in the Late Model division with four other northern California drivers, including: Dylan Lupton, Glen Cook, Dylan Hutchison and John Moore. Matt qualified 16th but then raced his way to an 8th place finish. The only top ten finisher from northern California in the 50-lap Late Model race.
The Super Late Model race was held Friday night. The lone competitor from northern California was Eric Schmidt of Roseville, CA. He quailified 18th with a time of 18.166 at 99.086 mph on the 1/2 mile track. In a field of 25, Eric finished in 10th place in this 75 lap event.
The biggest race of the weekend was the K&N Pro Series 225 lap race. It is considered the “Daytona 500 of short track racing”.
The race featured guaranteed starting positions for the champions of each of NASCAR’s touring series: NASCAR K&N Pro Series (East and West), NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour, NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, NASCAR Mexico Series and the weekly NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.
In addition to series champions, individual race winners from the 2010 NASCAR K&N Pro Series (East and West) also had guaranteed starting positions. The remainder of the starting lineup was determined through time trials, limited provisionals for NASCAR K&N Pro Series regulars, and the last-chance “Open” race that provided drivers one final chance to make the final starting grid. The top six drivers from the Open started in the 35th to the 40th positions in the main race.
Derek Thorn of Lakeport talking about winning the Pole.
Two of the six from the Open race were from northern California, Ryan Philpott of Tracy and Cole Cabrera from Exeter. One driver, veteran racer Jack Sellers of Sacramento had engine problems and didn’t finish the Open. There were five other drivers in the main race from northern CA including 24 year old Derek Thorn from Lakeport, California who won the Pole.
Here are their results:
| Name | From | Started | Finished | Status |
| Derek Thorn | Lakeport | 1 | 7 | Running |
| Ryan Philpott | Tracy | 38 | 17 | 1 lap down |
| Troy Ermish | Fremont | 31 | 25 | Accident |
| Cole Cabrera | Exeter | 40 | 26 | Accident |
| Jason Fensler | Wilton | 7 | 28 | Accident |
| Eric Holmes | Escalon | 11 | 35 | Accident |
| Greg Rayl | Roseville | 34 | 36 | Engine |