Hoefer Wins SoCal Pro Gas Final and Series Championship at L.A. County Raceway

By Bob Johnson
L.A. County Raceway Palmdale, Calif. Oct. 1, 2005

Going into the final race of the 2005 Southern California Pro Gas Assoc., series final at L.A. County Raceway, Alan Hoefer was in seventh place in the series standings and had a very slim chance of winning the series championship and its grand prize of a trip to Hawaii. When points leader Pete Kinney lost in the second round, and others ahead of Hoefer lost in the early rounds, the door opened to the Yucaipa, Calif. racer. All he had to do was win the race--and that's exactly what he did, taking a 23 point advantage to win the championship.

Ray Cordeiro led qualifying for the Meziere Enterprises-sponsored event with a perfect 10.200 (10.20 index) with his Corvette. Race winner Alan Hoefer was second with a 10.201, and Jim Israel, Wayne Newman, Rick Gunther, and Brenden Herem all qualified with 10.202 times. Greg & Rosalie Martin sponsored the low qualifier award.

In the fourth round, Greg Martin defeated Ray Cordeiro, Hoefer cut a .004 light to beat Pete Bothe, and Rich Okerman used a .010 light and 10.18 to stop Autolite Nationals Super Gas Champion Jim Sowards.

Rich Okerman was still in the running for the championship, and would need to beat Hoefer in the semifinal. Hoefer won the round running 10.165 (.007 r.t.) to Okerman's second best of 10.129 (.026 r.t.). Greg Martin advanced to his first Pro Gas final of the year by defeating Doug Spencer's Corvette.

In the final, Hoefer took the series final and the series championship as Martin red lighted by .003 seconds. Hoefer’s winning time was 10.157, 139.87 with a .025 reaction time. Hoefer credits Continental Converters, Johnson Automotive & Machine, and Pick-A-Part Auto Salvage, with special thanks to Tom, Jeremy, Mary & Jennifer. Bill Ohmer Racing sponsored the event winner trophy.

The season-ending Pro Gas Shootout was won by Jim Israel, as Randy Balough red lighted in the final round. The shootout was sponsored by JE Pistons, Bill Welch Portable Welding, Pizazz Racing, Cordeiro Motorsports, DragTrans.com, Val Torres Construction, K.C. Custom Molding, Classic Auto Sales, and Tim & Donna Daniel.

The final standings shows Alan Hoefer with the championship with 3453 points, followed by Pete Kinney (3430), Rich Okerman (3424), Wayne Newman (3246), and Randy Fabbro (3235). Remaining top ten finishers included Doug Spencer, Steve Parsons, Ryan Herem, Paul Wiechmann, and Greg Martin.

Ray's Notes