Murphy, who started on the pole by way of his Dash victory, kept a stellar field at bay by hugging the inside (and only groove) for the flag-to-flag victory. After hot laps, the track quickly dried and became slick despite the torrential rains during the preceding weeks, and the use of the water truck earlier in the day. Anyone venturing outside the inside groove found themselves in never-never land and the loss of position after position. Just ask Brent Kaeding, the 12-time King of California Champion, who battled Murphy for the lead throughout the 30-lapper.  Kaeding, an infrequent but welcomed SCRA visitor, was poised for a last-lap attempt for the lead entering turn one.  Unfortunately for him, a back-marker almost spun in the middle of the track, forcing him to take evasive action, meaning the high groove, and a loss of two positions and an eventual fourth-place finish.

Veteran winged racer Ricci Faria, who took the seat in Mark Flachman’s recognizable #55, dogged Kaeding for 29 laps, then took advantage of Kaeding’s misfortune to come home second just ahead of Evan Suggs, who also benefited from the “King’s” trouble. Rounding out the top-five was newcomer David Press, who impressed everyone with an earlier second-place finish in the Dash and a third-place heat race finish.

Murphy, who jumped into the lead from the get-go, lost most of his brakes midway through the race. To offset the problem, he slid his car into the turns in order to slow it down and the maneuver worked to perfection while Kaeding continued to “nerf” him in an effort to move him out of the groove.

Despite numerous “yellows” for minor spins, the only accident of the evening occurred when Steven Williams flipped his car into the pit area push-off section after brushing the backstretch wall. Williams’ car was destroyed and the Merced resident was taken to a nearby hospital where it was reported he might have suffered a broken collarbone in the mishap.

Earlier in the program, heat race event winners included Williams, Robert Ballou and Richard Harvey Jr.  Following Murphy to the checkers in the Dash were Press, Faria, Kaeding and Rick Williams.

QUALIFYING:
#51 Rusty Carlile 15.944, #69 Brent Kadeing 16,197, #11D Danny Olmstead 16.306, #6 Rick Williams 16.461, #92 Andy Forsberg 16.516, #55 Ricci Faria 16.625, #2r Richard Brace 16.708, #4 Peter Murphy 17.103, #41 David Press 17.152, #93 Steven Williams 17.166, #4j Andy Ferris 17.234, #59 Richard Harvey 17.383, #33 Evan Suggs 17.395, #9j Steve Osborne 17.917, #35x Albert Pombo 17.953, #32 Jonathan Logan 17.955, #12 Robert Ballou 18.019, #11 Brian Quilty 18.470, #51x Jeff Gardner 18.817, #77s Brian Schuler 19.710

HEAT #1 8-LAPS:
S. Williams, R. Williams, Logan, Carlile, Suggs, Brace, Gardner

HEAT #2 8-LAPS:
Ballou, Kaeding, Ferris, Osborne, Murphy, Schuler, Forsberg

HEAT #3 8-LAPS: Harvey, Faria, Press, Pombo, Quilty, Olmstead

DASH 6 LAPS: Murphy, Press, Faria, Kaeding, R. Williams, Carlile

MAIN EVENT 30 LAPS: 
Murphy, Faria, Suggs, Kaeding, Press, Osborne, Ferris, Forsberg, Harvey, Logan, Carlile, Olmstead, Schuler, Gardner, Pombo, S. Williams, Brace, Ballou, R. Williams, Quilty

POINT STANDINGS
Brent Kaeding 69, Peter Murphy 66, Ricci Faria 66, Evan Suggs 60, David Press 56, Andy Ferris 53, Steve Osborne 49, Rusty Carlile 48, Richard Harvey 46, Jonathan Logan 41, Andy Forsberg 39, Danny Olmstead 37, Steven Williams 31, Albert Pombo 30, Brian Schuler 27, Robert Ballou 27, Jeff Gardner 25, Rick Williams 22, Brian Quilty 19, Richard Brace 19