Eric Holmes qualified sixth at Irwindale but started from the pole when Greg Pursley drew a 6-car invert. Jim Pettit started next to Eric in the front row. In the opening laps Rip Michels and Pettit battled over the lead, while Eric found himself back in fifth by lap 6. By lap 36 Eric had moved up to third and never gave up that position. Rounding out the top five positions were Rip Michels, followed by Greg Pursley, Eric Holmes, Thomas Martin and Eddy McKean. Eric now moves into second place in the point standings, only 21 points out of first with Eddy McKean dropping to third, nine points behind Eric.

The next event for the Southwest Series is this coming Saturday August 19th at Colorado National Speedway in a special combination event with the Midwest Series. This is the annual running of the United Power/Touchtone Energy “150”.