The final round of the American Iron West 2005 Championship took place at Thunderhill Raceway on October 29-30, 2005. The big stories coming into the weekend were whether Ryan Walton could usurp Gary Umphenour’s position on the AI throne and whether Ernesto “The Janitor” Roco could crush Tim Nichols’ 2003 lap record. Racers in attendance included Guy Cunningham, Ernesto Roco, Jonathan Witherow, Gary Umphenour, Bryan MacMillan, and Hal Massey.

Both questions were well on their way to being answered when Walton failed to make the tow north and Roco began smoking out 1:55 lap times that were well below the lap record. Saturday qualifying saw Guy Cunningham in the Team Massey entry on the AI pole with Roco on the AIX pole as the lone cowboy in the class. At the green, Cunningham and Roco checked to leave a fierce battle for the next spots among MacMillan, Umphenour, and Witherow. At the first turn, Witherow and MacMillan were side-by-side with neither racer wanting to give an inch. MacMillan lost the battle and ended up in the weeds while Witherow continued to chase down Umphenour and the rapidly vanishing Cunningham. The race ended with Cunningham coming within nine thousandths of eclipsing his own lap record with Umphenour and Witherow in the next two spots. The Janitor again swept the tarmac clean with a new AIX lap record of 1:55.689 well below the 1:58.900 mark set by Nichols in 2003. There was also more action when Bryan “Iron Man” MacMillan saddled up and ran another three-hour enduro on his own and placed in the top ten of all finishers.

Sunday saw the racers head to the grid for the final set of sessions for the year. Umphenour now had the title in the bag but was not about to slack off in the final yards. As such, Umphenour took the AI pole in style with the rest of the field just behind. Roco was going to try and sink the ball even deeper in the race, but steadily dropping oil pressure had him worried that he would even last for a lap after the green. As the flag flew to start the last race of the 2005 season, Hal Massey cut a perfect flag to head to the front of the pack. Umphenour soon took the lead with Massey, Witherow, and MacMillan just behind. Roco saw acceptable numbers on the gages and laid the wood to ol’ #2 to try and get below the 1:55 mark. It was not to be, however, as The Janitor’s broom gave out a few laps in with his oil pressure hovering at the ten pound mark at the top end of the tach. Witherow, MacMillan, and Massey continued to chase down Umphenour, but it was not to be as the Cordova Truck Dismantling Special took the checker and the 2005 AI title running away at the finish. Roco managed to secure the AIX win for the year with his whirlwind sweep through the last three weekends that left jaws hanging open and shattered track records in his wake.

The 2006 American Iron West series will kick off early in the year at the traditional California Speedway season opener with other dates to be announced soon. Will The Janitor keep melting pavement on a quest to preserve his perfect track record tour? Will some of the old guard rise up to knock the new King of AI Gary Umphenour from his tower? Only time will tell as the West Coast AI crowd heads toward the new season and the first-ever AI National Championship Race to take place at Mid-Ohio in September 2006. Watch www.americanironracing.com for more news and updates.