IRWINDALE, CA – Not the weekend Darrell Midgley and Team NPP wanted in Southern California. Midgley drove the Northern Provincial Pipelines Ltd./Alien Chassis #81 Dodge to a 16th place finish at Irwindale Speedway Saturday night. “We got a little faster as the night went on but it was too little too late,” sighs the Sidney, British Columbia driver, “the good news is that the car is in one piece.” The Friday and Saturday afternoon practice sessions were an exercise in frustration for Midgley. “We couldn’t get better with our lap times at all. We did all sorts of changes to the car (chassis and shocks) but it just didn’t make any major differences on the track.” Things went from bad to worse for Midgley rolling through inspection prior to qualifying. “We failed tech. The car was too low.” Ironically it was failing the inspection that led them to the reason for their ill handling race car. “We wasted two-days of practice here running around the track on a bad spring.” Midgley qualified 21st out of 23 cars entered into the 2017 season opener of the SPEARS Southwest Tour Series. “We changed the right front spring and then immediately went out and qualified.”

At the drop of the green Midgley dropped from his 21st starting position to 22nd. “The car was just awful at the beginning of the race. We didn’t have time to make any major changes.” On Lap 47 of the caution free race, Midgley decided to pit for a quick chassis adjustment. “At this point I really wasn’t worried about track position.” As Midgley returned to the track the yellow flag was being displayed for a multi-car crash. “I probably would have been in that one,” admits Midgley, “it was near the back of the pack.” The yellow flag was then replaced by a red flag to allow crews to clean-up all the debris on the race track. Midgley would be scored in the 17th position for the restart. The Sidney, British Columbia driver would be stuck in this spot until lap 97. With just three laps to go, San Diego, California’s Matthew Meech, the driver Midgley had been chasing for more than 20 laps spun down the back straight. This was the final caution of the race. Midgley crossed the finish line 16th. Bobby Hodges of Carson City, Nevada was the race winner.

SPEARS MANUFACTURING 100
> SATURDAY, MARCH 25th
1. #89 Bobby Hodges – Carson City, Nevada
2. #43 Derek Thorn – Bakersfield, California
3. # 4 Willie Allen – Bon Aqua, Tennessee
4. # 2 Craig Raudman – Cottonwood, California
5. #21 Blaine Rocha – Oakdale, California
6. #90 Toni McCray – Highland, California
7. #48 Ricky Schlick – Claremont, California
8. #05 Eric Schmidt – Roseville, California
9. #54 Donny St. Ours – Upland, California
10.#16 Jacob Gomes – Manteca, California
11.#77 Toby Becker – Highland, Washington
12.#66 Jeff Bischofberger – Long Beach, California
13.#50 Trevor Huddleston – Agoura Hills, California
14.#37 Keith Spangler – Porter Ranch, California
15.#51 Carlos Viera – Livingston, California
16.#81 Darrell Midgley – Victoria, British Columbia
17.#64 Matthew Meech – San Diego, California
18.#33 Cale Kanke – Frazier Park, California
19.#26 Christian McGhee – Claremont, California
20.#18 Jack Wood – Loomis, California
21.#36 Luke Hall – Eureka, California
22.#24 Scott Sanchez – Bakersfield, California
23.#14 Chris Clyne – Las Vegas, Nevada