The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 75, No. 158, Ed. 1 Monday, May 5, 1997 Page: 7 of 12
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Page 1-B<* THE BAYTOWN SUI?*> Monday, May 5,1997
...........................1 I .......... — .....................■ ■■«■■■■ ■■■■— I
GET THEM WHILE THEY’RE HOT
Tickets are still available for the Sterling sports barbeque
banquet being held at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the school cafete-
ria. The event will honor all fall sport athletes. Tickets are $5
and are available at the principal's office at Sterling.
FEEDBACK: To comment on this page, call Sports Editor Robert Geiger at 422-8302.
SCORES
and more
DRAG RACING
Lone Star Nationals results: Too Fuell.
Joe Amato, 97 McKinney; Reaction
Time, .509 seconds; Elapsed time,
4.638 seconds; 316.01 miles per hour;
2. Larry Dixon, 97 McKinney, .465,
4.806, 307.58; Funny Car 1. Randy
Anderson, 97 Firebird, .431, 5.056,
284.36; 2. John Force, 97 Mustang,
.481,5.054,299.10; Pro Stock 1. Wan,
ran Johnson, 97 Firebird, .441,
6.985,198.71; 2. Scott QoofMon,
97 Avenger, .449,7.042,196.37.
SWIMMING
The Baytown Barracudas swim
team is looking for new members,
ages5to18-years-old.
The season runs from May 5
through July 6, with swim practice at
the Baytown Sterling High School
pool. The goal is to swim fast, but also
to have a blast doing It
Registration Is today through May 9
from 5 p,m. : -si 6 p.m. at the Staling
pool. Fees are $65 for one child, $110
for two children and $146 for three or
more.
For more information, call 281-424-
SWIM, 281-573-1329 or 409-267-
3426.
Tuesday, May 6
Baseball
BH at Anahuac, 4:30 p.m.
Activities
Sterling sports barbeque banquet
'honoring fail sport athletes at the
cafeteria. Tickets are $5 and are avail-
able at the principal’s office. 7 p.m.
Wednesday, May 7
Racing
Trophy Night at Houston Raceway
Park, 5 p.m.
Friday. May 9
Baseball
BH vs. Hardin, 4:30 p.m.
Ganders bow out to Kingwood
Lee catcher
Manny
Sosa
applies the
tag to the
Mustang's
Mark
Mangum
during
game three
on Saturday
in King-
wood. Sosa
took the
throw from
Doug Cox
in center
field and
successfully
prevented a
run from
scoring.
Photo by
Alton Aohworth
Qy ROBERT GEIGER
HOUSTON — What a differ-
ence a day makes.
Brimming with confidence after
taking the first game of a best-of-
three playoff series against the
Kingwood Mustangs on Friday
night, the Lee Ganders had the
tables turned on them Saturday,
succumbing to the area’s fifth-
ranked team in consecutive games,
6-0 and 5-3.
Saturday’s misfortune for Lee
handed the series and a bi-district
championship to the Mustangs (22-
6) while abruptly ending the Gan-
der’s (16-12) season.
Things started well
The Maroon got their sole win
the same vfsy they made the post-
season party in the first place— on
Pat Holmes’ arm. The sophomore
pitching sensation dazzled the
Mustangs in a complete game per-
formance at Memorial Field on a
humid Friday night, winning 4-3.
Shift to Kingwood
In game two, it was the Ganders
who were dazed as Kingwood ace
Mark Mangum (11-2, 0.91 ERA),
in the familiar confines of his
home field, struck-out six of the
first seven batters he faced en route
to throwing a commanding, one-hit
shutout. Mangum faced only 26
batters and retired 10 men with
strikeouts. For all intents and pur-
poses, he was unhittable.
Lee did manage a face-saving
double by relief pitcher Matt Hol-
loway in the fifth frame, but found
little else to take out of this game.
Gander starter Doug Cox (4-2)
went two and a third innings, giv-
ing up five runs on eight hits while
striking out one. Holloway had a
solid relief appearance, fanning
three and allowing just one run on
four hits as he finished the game.
In support of Mangum, the Mus-
tangs pounded out 12 hits, includ-
ing a four-hit, four-run third that
gave them a seemingly insur-
mountable 5-0 lead.
The best news for Lee after game
two was the fact that the series with
Kingwood was tied at one win each
with both teams’ top pitchers
exhausted. The chance to advance
was definitely up for grabs as the
two teams took the field for the
decisive third game.
IHHil BUI
Ganders 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2
Mustangs 1 0 4 0 0 1 x 6 12 0
More of the same
The final game saw Lee start
fast-baller Jason Baggett (1-1)
while Kingwood countered with
Jake Casanova (3-0) who was fresh
off the injured list
Hoping to help Baggett with
some offense, the Birds tried to get
themselves involved in the first
inning. Designated hitter Holmes
drew a two-out walk and was
moved around to third when Dustin
Sherman reached second base on a
throwing error by Mustang third
baseman Mike Debes.
Unfortunately for Lee, the tone
of the day had already been set and
this encouraging start was quickly
ended. Unshaken by the base run-
ners, Casanova managed to strike
out Chad Irwin to get the third out
and end the threat
In the bottom of the frame, the
error bug — no stranger to the
Ganders this season — struck
again. Two straight fielding mis-
cues put Debes on third base before
he was able to score the game’s
first run when Mangum, who was
the Mustangs’s designated hitter in
this game, hit into a fielder’s
choice.
Still, the Ganders battled and
avoided another run being scored
when Cox, playing center field,
picked up a grounder and gunned
down Mangum at home plate to
end the inning with Kingwood up
by only a 1-0 margin.
As dose as they would get
Once again, the third inning was
a disaster for Lee. Another error
was followed by a double, three
singles and a hit batsman that saw
three Mustangs cross the pay sta-
tion. By the time closer Tommy
Moore relieved Baggett, the Gan-
ders were trailing 4-0.
Inheriting a bases-loaded situa-
tion, Moore did well to allow only
one additional run to score in the
frame. By the time the smoke
cleared, the Gandeis WHC trailing
5-0.
Attempting a come back, Sher-
man followed a Holmes walk with
a left-center home ran in the fourth
to give Lee a little hope. But
Casanova settled down and retired
10 of the next twelve batters to put
the Ganders’ backs firmly against
the wall.
By then, Lee was down to their
last two outs of the year.
Last chance
A pair of hits by Robert Foreman
and Ryan Cardona followed by a
fielder’s choice pushed another Lee
run across in the seventh but Lee
couldn’t avoid the inevitable.
Casanova forced a pop-up to end
the game with Kingwood up 5-3.
The Ganders, by reaching the
playoffs, kept alive a six-year-long
streak of post-season appearances.
1234311 B ■ 1
Ganders 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 3 4 4
Mustangs 1 0 4 0 0 0 x 552
Inaugural Lone Star Nationals proven to be NHRA worthy
that the Slick 50s receive each year, a spon-
sor (Mateo Tools) was signed and that
Slick 50
Champion
Joe Amato
smoked the
competition
again, cap-
turing his
third title of
the year at
the Lone
Star Nation-
als.
Photo by BH Geiger
By ROBERT GEIGER
The Baytown Sun
ENNIS—At the conclusion of the 1996
National Hot Rod Association season, the
powers that be decided that their sport was
so popular that they should add a couple of
dates to their yearly calendar.
Coming off of their most successful sea-
son ever, the numbers (1.8 million specta-
tors or an average of98,000 per event) sup-
ported their contention that expansion was
a great idea. The group, not wanting to do
too much at once, decided on adding three
races to the established 19-race slate. That
fact established, the discussion quickly
turned to the obvious question of where
these new races should be held.
One answer was a gimme. Year after
year, the top times are recorded right in our
own backyard at Houston Raceway Park
The site being so close to sea-level always
has the drivers drooling and the record-
book writers working into the wee hours
each night of the four-day event.
Almost to a man, the various teams
agreed that a chance to double their track
time at HRP each year sounded like a fan-
tastic idea.
Knowing the huge, nationwide exposure
Rookie
Randy
Anderson
used his
Western
Auto Funny
Car to beat
John Force
in the final
round for
the second
consecutive
race.
Photo by BH Geiger
sealed the October date in the line-up.
The second race went to St Louis, an
untapped Midwest market that has been
begging to get involved for some time.
The final race-site location went to
another special track, the all-concrete quar-
ter mile of the Texas Motorplex in Ennis.
The Motorplex, which already hosts the
Dallas Nationals each October, is another
driver-friendly stretch that has seen the
crowning of at least one Winston points
champion for the last six years in a row.
Showing that they deserved a second
date, the inaugural Lone Star Nationals
provided a solid four days of racing over
the weekend.
Slick 50 ’97 Champion Joe Amato
grabbed his third win of the year in the Top
Fuel category. Rookie Randy Anderson
nudged fen-favorite and birthday-boy John
Force with a better reaction time in the
Funny Car bracket and “the Professor”
Warren Johnson schooled the opposition in
Pro Stock
Fumy Car
The most incredible happening of the
weekend occurred Sunday during elimina-
tion round two when driver Ray Higley
took his Red Line Oil Dodge Avenger air-
borne during his race against Force.
The flight occurred when one of the
front latch keys that holds the fiberglass
body shell to the frame of Higley’s car
came loose halfway down the strip. With
the aerodynamics out of kilter, the car —
moving at an estimated speed of237 mph
— caught enough air to literally take off
from the track and fly 300 feet down the
track at a height of five feet
The frame (and driver) returned to earth
when the body finally broke loose and shot
100-plus feet into the air before floating
back to earth.
While the crowd watched in stunned
silence, Higley, who was knocked uncon-
scious when his car slammed to the track
surface, then ran up the rear end of an
unsuspecting and chutes-deployed Force.
That collision knocked the Force cars’
■ body off and put both drivers into the
' retaining wall.
■ Force was checked out at the track and
continued on to the finals while Higley
was transported by helicopter to Methodist
Hospital in Dallas for a full check-up.
Thankfully, all reports stated that Higley
was shaken, but otherwise unhurt
If you weren’t there to witness this heart-
stopping crash, don’t worry, this one will
be on the highlight reels for many years.
Surviving the crash, Force, who was cel-
ebrating his 48th birthday, was the senti-
mental favorite to take the division. But
Anderson was able to hole-shot the crafty
veteran and steal the win. Both men bad
identical 5.05 elapsed times with Anderson
winning on a .431 to .481 reaction-time
differential.
It was the second consecutive time these
two met in the finals of a national event,
with Anderson winning both races in his
Western Auto/Texaco Havoline Firebird.
“Thanks for ruining my birthday,” Force
said with a smile when the two passed each
other in the interview room. “What did you
do, fell asleep and hit the throttle?”
If the truth be known, Forces’ chassis
was damaged in the wreck with Higley and
he drove the last two races “with a car that
felt like it didn’t have power steering.”
Force, however, dismissed that excuse.
“Randy beat me straight up,” Force said.
Top Fuel
Although race organizers were hoping
for the first-ever 320 mph pass, the hot
temperatures nixed that idea in the NHRA’s
fastest bracket.
The red-hot Amato beat Larry Dixon in
the finals to capture his third win of the
year (out of six events run).
“This year is a dream for Joe Amato and
the Keystone/Valvoline/Dynomax Drag-
ster,” Amato said after the finals. “I’m glad
that this old man was able to hold off the
youngsters and win again.”
Amato tripped the timers at 316.01 mph
with a 4.63 ET.
Pro Stock
A spectacular crash highlighted the first
elimination round when Mike Bells’ car let
go just before the finish line, flipped over
and slid on its roof for several hundred feet
before coming to a stop. Despite the scare,
Bell escaped the wreckage unscathed.
Not agreeing with the concrete track, this
bracket was less competitive than normal
with GM Performance Parts driver John-
son winning with a ho-hum 6.98 ET at
198.71 mph over Scott Geoffrion.
“The racetrack was our biggest enemy,”
Johnson said. “Bell’s wreck proved that.
He’s a great driver and his car just let go.
We were fighting the wheel all weekend.”
PIT ROW
Local amateur racers Ken Howell of
Baytown and Crosby’s Dale Hulquist
and Lee Bannister were competing at
the track over the weekend All three
men reached the elimination brackets in
their respective divisions.
■ ■■
The track held a moment of silence
for Super Stock driver Phil Webb of
Vidor who suffered a fatal heart attack
early Sunday morning in his motor
home. Paramedics at the track were
unable to revive Webb, 50,' a regular
competitor at Houston Raceway Park.
Local race fans will remember
Webbs’ Super Stock class runner-up
finish at the 1995 Slick 50 Nationals as
one ofthe high points in his career.
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Dobbs, Gary. The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 75, No. 158, Ed. 1 Monday, May 5, 1997, newspaper, May 5, 1997; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1176246/m1/7/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.