Caldwell wins; Young bags title

MANILA, Philippines - Retired US serviceman Steve Caldwell of Garage Power held off tough rivals to rule the Expert class at the close of the 2010 Magnolia Purewater National Drag Racing Championship Series recently at the Clark International Speedway.

Caldwell, a crowd favorite with his classic Chevy and unusually large tires, bagged his first win by upsetting defending champion Jonathan Young of JCT Blanche Racing.

The series is sanctioned by the Automobile Association Philippines and supported by Yokohama Tires, San Miguel Corp., Pagcor Sports, Aeromed, Chequered Flag and Stoplight TV.

He beat Alex Llanes of H3 Motorsports-Pit21 to move to the semis where he turned back Victor de Benito of RSL to gain a finals seat.

Young, on the other hand, ousted last leg’s winner Renier Lanuza of Mohspeed and later prevailed over another tough contender Allan Ararao of Vannitec to earn the other finals slot.

Both Caldwell and Young were even at the start but the former got the needed push going into the finish for the win, clocking 12.715 seconds, 0.179 of a second ahead of Young. De Benito outduelled Ararao to claim third place.

Still, Young bagged the overall crown with a 55 points.

Winning the other divisions are Sherwin Esguerra of SE Racing and Macky Baquiran of KAP Shop.

Esguerra, using all Yokohama tires. ruled the Sportsman class via a breakout over Omar Wycoco of Cabspeed to win a Yokohama gift certificate with Martin Manalo claiming third place honors.

Baquiran upstaged strong contender Boy Francisco of Team Ready for the Hotstreet title with former champion Jeannette Go checking in third place.

For full results and other details, interested parties may log on at www.batangasracingcircuit.com or contact the Batangas Racing Circuit c/o Nelson Gayola or Rodini Rivera at (632) 817-2241, 729-5365 or fax 844-7766.