Defending series champion wins for second year in a row at California track
Late Model Truck Series points leader Mark Allison kept his stellar 2019 season rolling with a big victory at The Speedway at Willow Springs on Saturday night.
The defending series champion crossed the line ahead of Gary Cheek and five other talented LMTS drivers in the 35-lap feature, which was part of Camp Out Inc./Reliable Banner Race Weekend for the series. Allison, of Las Vegas, won at Orange Show Speedway in late June, and he became the series’ first two-time race winner this season.
Saturday’s race was the fifth of seven LMTS events scheduled for 2019, and the season will culminate on Championship Night at The Bullring at LVMS on Nov. 23. The LMTS also will visit Havasu 95 Speedway in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., on Nov. 2.
“We had another great race, and Mark Allison just continues to shine in our series,” series co-manager Mike Riefler said. “He’s our defending champion for a reason, and he helped us put on a good show at a great track. Gary Wyatt and I are excited about the final two events of the season next month, and it will be interesting to see how everything plays out down the stretch.”
The region’s truck racing lineage dates back to the Speed Truck Series that originated in 1997 under the American Speed Association (ASA). MechanixWear gloves and Go Fast! energy drinks sponsored the class throughout the years, and the trucks raced at up to 10 different tracks in California, Arizona and Nevada before the ASA disbanded in 2013.
The series trucks feature a full-tube chassis, a 330-horsepower sealed V-8 spec engine and two-speed direct-drive transmission, with a clutch pedal dump valve, coupled to an aluminum quick-change rear end. The trucks sport replica fiberglass bodies of the Chevrolet S-10, Chevrolet Colorado, Dodge Dakota, Ford Ranger and Toyota Tacoma.
Series partners include the On Wheels Now online radio show – the longest-running motorsports radio show in Las Vegas – Melling Performance Racing, The Bomber Nation, KO Mechanical Services, Gary’s Trailer Repair, Nevada Pic-A-Part, The “Racer’s Rewards” Contingency Connection, Richmond Gear, Campout, ReliableBanner.com and Bearing King AZ.
Remaining 2019 Late Model Truck Series schedule
Nov. 2 Havasu 95 Speedway Lake Havasu City, Ariz.
Championship Night
Nov. 23 The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas
