Budd gets double bang for his bucks

Al Budd makes his living as a general manager in the landscape construction business. He spends his life racing.

Justin Johnson drove Budd's Super Late Model to his second consecutive victory Saturday night at Las Vegas Motor Speedway's Bullring. The win was Johnson's fifth in seven races.

Charlie Wahl drove a car sponsored by Budd and owned by Stoney Gray to victory in the IMCA Modifieds feature race. The win was Wahl's second in five races this season.

"Everybody says you have to go back east to race, but no one out here can afford to do that," said Budd, 42, a former racer who moved to Southern Nevada when he was 15. "I want to create a pipeline for the talent we have out here. And we have a lot of talent."

Johnson, 22, has been the dominant driver in Super Late Models, while Wahl is showing what he can do now that he has significant financial support from Gray and Budd.

"I just like Charlie. He has a good personality and can drive," Budd said. "I'm just trying to promote these guys."

Budd said he spent around $150,000 last year by fielding a car for Johnson. He guesses it's cost him about two-thirds that amount since adding a Super Late Model for Jeff Connor, a 22-year-old who finished ninth Saturday.

Most, but not all, of Budd's funds come from sponsors. Money invested in Wahl has helped him return to racing after a couple of years off because of limited funding.

"The help from Stoney and Al Budd has been the difference," said Wahl, 27, who owns Counterfeit Ink clothing and works in the silkscreen business.

"We had been struggling,'' Wahl said. ''Now we have great equipment and a great crew."

Wahl dominated his 30-lap race. He took the lead on the second lap and held it to the end when he beat runner-up and points leader Craig Stewart by 0.920 seconds to claim the $1,000 first-place prize.

The finish wasn't nearly as close in Super Late Models, where Johnson beat Tom Lovelady by more two seconds. The race was the first in Super Late Models completed without a yellow flag for several years.

Johnson started on the pole and lost the lead six laps into the race when Lovelady, who has won twice this season, drove under him in the second turn.

Lovelady drove hard to stay in front of Johnson, who patiently waited for an opportunity to retake the lead. That came with 22 laps left in the 40-lap feature, and Johnson wasn't challenged from there.

As dominant as Johnson has been in his division, Doug Hamm has been stronger in Late Models. Hamm won for the fourth time in five races when he finished a little less than half a second ahead of Doug Matter.

Other winners were Darren Rollins (Chargers) and Larry Dittman (Bombers.)

Racing returns to the Bullring on May 26.

* FORMULA ONE -- At Barcelona, Spain, Felipe Massa won the Spanish Grand Prix for his second straight Formula One victory, and Lewis Hamilton finished second to move into sole possession of first place in the driver's standings.

Fernando Alonso, the two-time defending world champion and last year's winner in Barcelona, was third.

Massa, driving a Ferrari, led from the start to beat Hamilton -- the first rookie driver to reach the podium in his first four races -- by 6.7 seconds. Alonso finished 17.4 seconds behind Massa.