Whelchel Loses One but Wins Another

Jerry Whelchel of Rancho Santa Margarita fell short in his bid to win the two featured events Saturday at the U.S. Off-Road Championships in Anaheim.

Whelchel finished second in Super Modified Buggies, then won the Premier Stadium Sport Trucks in front of 30,295 at Edison Field.

Whelchel started from the pole in the sport trucks and took the lead, but the race was red-flagged after one lap when trucks driven by Kevin Husman of Riverside and Randy Eller of Taylorville, Ill., collided.

The race started from scratch and Whelchel again jumped to an early lead, began lapping traffic midway through the race and held on for the easy victory.

In the Super Modified Buggies, Whelchel got hung up with another car in the first turn while Larry Foddrill of Glendale, Ariz., took the early lead. Whelchel dropped to third, but overtook Gary Gall of Fontana to finish second.

Other winners Saturday included Kory Ellis in the 12-lap Pro Quad finish, Mike Healy in 12-lap Thunder Bikes. Bob Briggs in the Stadium Lites and Jeff Hoskins in the exhibition Thunder Trucks, a race in which Larry Plank of La Habra escaped serious injury in a spectacular crash.