Two-time points champ Allison wins Late Model Truck Series 2022 season-opener in Irwindale

By |

Las Vegas veteran driver claims fourth career series victory

Two-time Late Model Truck Series points champion Mark Allison earned the winner’s trophy after taking the 35-lap feature at Irwindale Speedway and Event Center on Saturday night. (Photo by Sal Sigala Jr. Photography)

Two-time Late Model Truck Series points champion Mark Allison of Las Vegas wheeled his way to victory in the 2022 season-opener at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway and Event Center on Saturday night.

Allison, who won LMTS championships in 2018 and 2019, earned his first trip to victory lane since October 2019 after holding off Tucson, Arizona, driver Michael Egurola in the 35-lap feature. LMTS co-manager Gary Wyatt was third, rookie Chloe Lynch finished fourth, series co-manager Mike Riefler took fifth, Arlie Daniel crossed the line sixth and Tucson’s Gary Cheeks was limited to a seventh-place finish after battling a wheel bearing issue.

Mark Allison drove his No. 3 truck to victory lane on the 1/3-mile setup at Irwindale Speedway and Event Center at the Late Model Truck Series’ season-opener on Saturday, March 12. (Photo by Sal Sigala Jr. Photography)

The victory was Allison’s fourth career LMTS win, extending his series record, and came on the California track’s 1/3-mile layout. Lynch—a 17-year-old, Las Vegas-based Legend car driver—earned the top-five finish in her first career start behind the wheel of a full-size ride.

“This was a great way to kick off the 2022 Late Model Truck Series season, and our first trip to Irwindale was a memorable one,” Riefler said. “Gary Wyatt and I couldn’t be more excited for the season to begin, and we are going to have seven great races for fans to enjoy this year. Congratulations to Mark, who held off some tough challengers, and we are excited for the future of our series.”

The LMTS returns to action at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on April 9 and will re-visit Irwindale two more times this year—May 14 and Sept. 10.

The Late Model Truck Series had seven entries in its 2022 season-opener and expects an active an competitive season this year at its seven races. (Photo by Sal Sigala Jr. Photography)

The region’s truck racing lineage dates 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 – Campout and ReliableBanner.com.

March 12 race results
Irwindale Speedway and Event Center (1/3-mile setup)
35 laps

1. Mark Allison; 2. Michael Egurola; 3. Gary Wyatt; 4. Chloe Lynch; 5. Michael Riefler; 6. Arlie Daniel; 7. Gary Cheeks.