Sigman Takes Saugus Feature Wire to Wire

If Gary Sigman of Carson draws the pole position in the 40-lap Sportsman main event at Saugus Speedway, you can pretty much go ahead and Pick Six.

Sigman, of course, drives the No. 06 car at Saugus and, bequeathed the No. 1 spot in a 24-car field Saturday night, he never relinquished the lead, winning his second main event of the season before a crowd of 4,760. Sigman’s other main-event win was also wire to wire.

“Having the pole is like winning a lottery ticket,” Sigman said. “There’s no way you’re gonna throw it away.”

Just to make sure, Sigman took four brand new tires off a friend’s car and put them on his.

But Sigman still had to contend with Will Harper of Tarzana, who rode on Sigman’s bumper all night, eventually settling for second place. But Harper’s finish was a boon to the points leader.

Harper, who has experienced some hard luck the past month, started third on the grid Saturday and went quickly to work, passing Craig Rayburn of Simi Valley and then holding the position to strengthen his points lead..

Unfortunately for Hobby Stock driver J.R. Ybarra of Monrovia, few fans took note of his impressive runaway win in the oval main event. Ybarra started on the pole and led for all 25 laps, often leading by almost half a lap.

But most eyes were locked on Gerald Gledhill of Reseda and A.R. Allert of Canyon Country, as the two waged a magnificent battle for second place.

From Lap 15 on, Gledhill and Allert traded second and third spots five times with some daring and eye-opening driving.

Adding to the intrigue was the fact that Gledhill was driving with no brakes for the last five laps, accounting for the repeated wide turns that allowed Allert to sneak back into second place.

Gledhill, however, whipped past Allert at the finish line in what amounted to a photo finish.

“I worked hard for that one,” Gledhill said. “I wasn’t about to lose the position, though. That’s about as close as I’ve come and the most work I’ve ever done.”

The 20-lap Outlaw Mini Stock main-event drew fewer gasps, but Larry Mansfield of Ontario didn’t mind. He started third and took the lead on Lap 7. Mansfield never trailed in the main-event win.

Richard Smith of Reseda won the 15-lap Jalopy main event.

In fast heat races, Harper sped around Rodney Peacher of Sepulveda on the back straightaway of Lap 1 and raced uncontested to a six-lap win.

The Hobby Stock figure-eight dash had another exciting finish, with Oliver Aguilar of Sun Valley taking the win after apparent winner Mike McAtee of North Hollywood was bumped back by the judges. Pat Garrett of Burbank and Jim Gunnarson of Reseda, leaders through most of the six-lap race, spun out together in the intersection of Lap 4.

Other fast-heat winners included Oscar Sevilla of Mission Hills (Jalopy), Lancaster’s Ron Cerven (Hobby Stock oval) and Larry Mansfield of Ontario (Outlaw Minis).