[ AUTO RACING ]
Freitas teaches USAC
drivers a lesson
The drivers from the United States Auto Club's Southwest series were supposed to be holding a clinic for Hawaii's local shade-tree mechanics this weekend, but left with plenty of lessons learned.
Dean Freitas of Makakilo put to rest any questions about the quality of racing in Hawaii by winning the 40-lap feature of the Hawaii-USAC Sprint car Challenge yesterday at Hawaii Motor Speedway.
"I have always had that question mark by my name," Freitas said. "Always wondering if I could run with the guys from the mainland. I'm just happy they gave me a chance."
Freitas moved from third to first on the 17th and 18th laps to beat USAC Southwest Series leader Rick Ziehl and earn $2,000, doing so with a daring move nobody else had the guts or the knowledge of the track to attempt.
"It was a really nice move," said Bruce St. James, who was two spots behind Freitas at the time. "He got a great run off turn two and I thought he was going to lose a lot of position but he stuck it. It was track knowledge right there, everyone knew it was there, but nobody else tried it."
Freitas got his opportunity because 2002 USAC champion Mike Boat had the same idea but didn't execute it early enough. Boat spent his first 15 passes over that part of the track smoothing it out in case he needed it later. He never got the chance to use it.
"That was just the kind of race it was," Boat said. "I kind of think if I would have been in front I would have won. I was getting that top groove dusted off and almost had it swept off at one point but it was gone."
The race was postponed Saturday because of rain, completely changing the track. Unlike Friday's feature, which was delayed because of an end-over-end flip by Beau Binder and a fiery crash by local racer Brandon Ternora among many other cautions, yesterday's race featured few passes because only a thin line on the track was manageable.
But the visitors are still talking about the two passes that mattered.
Freitas moved outside of Brandon Lane on the 17th lap, passing him easily coming out of turn two. Just a quarter-mile later, he did the same to Ziehl and was never challenged afterward. Freitas was so quick that he opened a four-second lead on Ziehl on two occasions before yellow flags closed the gap. He said his car made him choose his spot.
"A lot of it was track knowledge," Freitas said. "They were braking going into the turns and my car wasn't real comfortable with that. I wanted to get out front where I could do my own thing."
Ron Clark, who won the Friday night feature, finished third followed by Lane and St. James. Shaun Ternora and Albert Ternora Jr. were the next Hawaii racers to finish, coming in sixth and seventh.
Freitas was not supposed to know anything about racing with 20 other cars on the track and doing so for 40 laps. Local races are much shorter and have never put more than 15 cars on the quarter-mile oval at one time. But Freitas managed his tires almost perfectly, driving a tight enough line around the track that his right rear tire was worn slick by the end of the race. He estimates that he had only about nine more laps before it would have blown. No other competitor cut it so close.
"If he (Freitas) races with us every week, he will be near the front every week," St. James said. "He is fast and he is clean."
It was the first time in Hawaii for the USAC, which is the breeding ground for such NASCAR talent as Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman, but negotiations have already started to make it an annual event.
"We are going to try to negotiate a deal to have the top 12 return next season," USAC Southwest Series steward Hal Burns said. "We got some great crowds, Friday and Saturday, and they came back today. I was really concerned about whether they would come back after the rain."
The initial night of racing drew 2,700, with most of them sticking around for the checkered flag at 1:18 a.m. Saturday. It was postponed the next night, but Apana opened the gates and allowed fans to watch the conclusion for free yesterday morning after turning away 3,000 fans Saturday night without refunding their tickets. An estimated 1,500 showed up to witness Freitas' win.
Apana is encouraged by the turnout and hopes it leads to a resurgence for his sport in Hawaii. He has three more local races, culminating with the series championship Dec. 6, before shutting down for the season.
"We saw some new faces," Apana said. "But I was more pleased to see the old ones. A lot of old timers who never came back to the track for a long time showed up and it was pretty nice to see."
