Dominc Portera, 13, of Morgan Hill, finished in first-place at
Altamont Raceway Park in his third race of the 2003 season on May
10.
Dominc Portera, 13, of Morgan Hill, finished in first-place at Altamont Raceway Park in his third race of the 2003 season on May 10.
Portera started third in the 13-car field and moved up to first place within the first three laps. He then maintained the lead, battling through lapped traffic and four restarts for the next 26 laps into victory lane.
Portera was the fourth fastest qualifer going into the main event. After the first six cars were inverted, Dominic ended up starting in third position. At the drop of the green flag, Portera quickly finessed his No. 12 Bid D Motorsports Monte Carlo to pass the leader on the outside of the turn two on the third lap.
Throughout the race, Portera was challenged by many of the same factors in a NASCAR Winston Cup race like lapped traffic, spinouts and a few minor wrecks.
It was Portera’s first win in a Mini Winston Cup car. The race was also a double points race. Out of the 16 cars, Portera moved from third to first in points in the National Valvoline Cup Series. Portera is tied with Martin McKeefery, last year’s track champion, in the Miniature Motorsports Racing Association (MMRA) in the West Coast Future Stars Division.
Portera was joined by life-long friend Anthony Della Maggiore. Della Maggiore, in his first race this year, finished in fifth place. The race was the second of four qualifying races for the MMRA National Series.
The MMRA Nationals of the West Coast will be held in Rochester, Wash on Aug. 9. Both racers plans on attending the event.
