Bakersfield, CA There was a wild evening of racing and celebration for "Marion's Birthday Bash" at Mesa Marin Raceway on Saturday Night. The excitement during the Late Model Twin 50's had the fans on their feet for a good part of the night. There was side by side racing going on during both races all over the track.
   In the first race 2003 Mesa Marin Late Model Champion Brian Richardson started 3rd on the grid with teammate Eric Richardson starting in the 4th position. There was a lot of close door to door racing going on the earlier stages of the race. Eric Richardson's Richland Chevrolet Monte Carlo was damaged and had to retire from the race so the team could repair it for the second 40 lapper. In the late stages of the race Brian Richardson made a dash to catch the leader and closed the gap considerably to 4 car lengths but couldn't make a more. Brian Richardson finished 2nd.
   In the second race Eric Richardson started the race in the back of the field. Eric had to weave his way through the field on his mission to pass 17 cars. Eric Richardson flew through the field passing 4 cars in 1 lap. He picked his way through the field very carefully and ran out of laps to catch the leader Richardson's crew chief said, " If we would have had 10 more laps we could have caught the leader." Eric Richardson finished the race in 3rd place after passing 14 cars.