SAUGUS SPEEDWAY : Kelley Places 4th to Clinch Pro Stock Title

SAUGUS —  Brian Kelley might not have been the fastest driver in the second half of the Saugus Speedway season.

That distinction belongs to fellow Pro Stock driver Gerrit Cromsigt of Pine Mountain Club, who closed with 11 main-event wins.

But Kelley might have been the smartest. In the wake of an incredible surge by Cromsigt, Kelley, a 27-year-old Arleta resident, was more concerned with consistency.

It paid off. Kelley’s fourth-place finish in the 25-lap oval main event Saturday night enabled him to clinch the Pro Stock title.

“We knew about four or five races ago (Cromsigt) was going to win all the main events,” said Kelley, who won the Hobby Stock championship in 1989. “We just tried to avoid any big mistakes.”

Kelley did just that, finishing in the top five in 21 of 24 races in his fourth season in Pro Stock.

Cromsigt’s streak of 11 consecutive wins came to end when he was involved in an accident on the 10th lap of the figure-8 main event.

In other races, Jeff McCall of Gardena clinched the Mini Stock points championship with a third-place finish in the 20-lap main event. McCall, with 265 points, finished the season 23 ahead of his nearest competitor, Carl Edginton of Glendora, who finished fourth in the final race of the season.