BUZZ SODEMAN MORE COLUMNS SPECIAL TO THE PVT Jimmy Mars, above, and Eddie Martin, below, were the feature winners at the Duel in the Desert, at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway recently. Advertisement

Not only were the five Pahrump modified drivers shut out at the Duel in the Desert at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, so were another 18 drivers who call Nevada home.

The most notable and highly touted non-qualifier was Dan Fitzgerald.

It looked like the young grade school teacher would be a cinch to win as he started on the pole in his last chance heat race but at the drop of the green he was drilled in the rear by the over-zealous driving of Mike Villanueva from Atwater, Calif.

This contact precipitated a nine-car pile-up that left cars scurrying to the pits for various repairs; Fitzgerald was no exception and never returned to the fray. Jason Pike also was caught up in the carnage and he too, failed to return to the action.

Also in this particular race was Bryan Wulfenstein, who managed to worm his way through the spinning modifieds.

A spin put him at the back of the field before halfway but again he used the opportunity to do some things that he normally wouldn't have time to work on - like experimenting with different grooves of the track and the idiosyncrasies of working the cushion.

He ran as fast, if not faster, than the leaders who were never able to overtake him and put him a lap down.

Eric Shenberger deserves recognition, as well. The young rookie was able to keep five modifieds in his rear-view mirror throughout his last chance race.

Shenberger showed that he is serious about learning as much as possible about wheeling an ancient modified around the track. Perhaps his endurance will be rewarded with a new ride, at least one that wasn't driven by Christopher Columbus.

Leland Hibdon's handling issues sprung up in his heat and he hung around just outside of the top 10. The hopes of Levi Kiefer making the show were dashed as he struggled with an ill-handling and temperamental modified.

Fitzgerald seemed always to finish a position shy of transferring. Saturday was no exception, Fitzgerald finished second in his last chance race in which only the first place winner advanced into the A-Main. Any consolation for the hard luck driver was a $3,000 to win in what was billed as the IMCA Modified Wild West Shootout.

Participants earned points at various tracks throughout the country. Nineteen of the top 20 were on hand for the 15-lap shootout. When Fitzgerald came out on the pole, any semblance of body damage had been repaired so speculation in the scoring tower was that $3,000 was better than nothing over the three-day survival course.

B-mains were completed to round out the field of dirt late models and the field was set when Billy Griffin, Chris Shannon, Trevor Glaser and Mike Marlar earned transfer positions.

With both A-mains filled, it was only a matter of time before there would be new winners in both divisions.

Jimmy Mars made it look very easy in winning the dirt late model crown from the outside pole position. Mars outraced pole-sitter Andy Obertello to turn one and was never seriously challenged.

The rather subdued Menomonie, Wis., native said in victory circle that, "I loved it - it's been a good season for us. It's a pleasure to come out here - a good time - and I can't say enough about the way the car worked. The thing was just awesome.

"I was babying my tires because I wanted to make sure we had enough rubber at the end, but the last few laps I just opened her up," said Mars, who is the third Wisconsin driver in as many years to win the race.

A week earlier, the soft-spoken Mars nailed down a $30,000 to win event in Mississippi.

Kelly Boen, a former Duel in the Desert Modified winner, finished up in the runner-up position, a position the Colorado driver has become accustomed to having in his past couple of races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Kevin Wright of Rock Springs, Wyo. rounded out the podium. The victory was Mars' third victory at the LVMS half-mile dirt oval in 2007.

Unlike the dirt late model feature which was virtually yellow free, the IMCA modified A-main was mired by one yellow after another.

Some occurred without getting a complete lap completed.

Kellen Chadwick (Oakley, Calif.) was the early pacesetter with Eddie Martin (Stillwell, Okla.) and Steve Arpin (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) in hot pursuit.

Two other prominent pursuers were four-time national champion David Murray, Jr. of Oberlin, Kan., and Bobby Hogge IV (Salinas, Calif.) who all had shots at the lead at one point or another.

Jeremy Payne (Cave City, Ark.) who has won the last two Duels was never a factor as he resigned himself to a position at the back of the field after spinning out.

Arpin ended any chance for getting his hands on the big trophy and large check when he tangled with Paul Stone (Winton, Calif.) and dropped from second to eighth.

As he was regaining his composure, four-time national champion, Johnny Saathoff (Beatrice, Neb.,) and Murray blew by him. Arpin would only be able to make up one position, finishing seventh.

Hogge brought out the last yellow after hitting the turn two wall with about 10 laps to go. This set the stage for the dash to the cash.

Martin, who began the race from the outside pole, survived seven restarts necessitated by caution periods and made one serious challenge for the lead.

He was chased to the finish by Murray, Saathoff, Alan Sharpensteen (Amarillo, Texas) and Chadwick.

Martin summed it up best, "This feels great! This is a real prestigious event. I'm just tickled to death to have our name on the (winner's) list. Some great racers have won this thing in the past."

Crowd favorite and torch bearer for seniors everywhere, 72-year young Sherman Barnett made the Show but lost fire prior to the drop of the green flag and was pushed to the pits.

Barnett and his wife, Christy Georges own the largest Harley-Davidson dealership in the United States and it would be a safe bet that they moved their hauler over towards the LVMS drag strip where Harley Davidson drags were being held.