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(Ventura, CA....March 23)
Leading just the final 3 laps after Tony Dighera jumped the cushion leading, Chris Wakim posted a $1,000 win in the VRA Unwinged 360 sprint car feature Saturday night at Ventura Raceway. Wakim dedicated the win to the memory of his father who died earlier in the month. Earlier, Greg Taylor tangled with a lapped car leading and defending champion Gary Howard spun out of the lead. Dighera did salvage a $750 second ahead of Jimmy Crawford, who won $500. Looking for a second straight win, Wiley Miller was being pressed for the Senior Sprint Car feature win by Ron Bach when Bach had to pit on a yellow flag. Mike Frith-Smith finished second behind the two time winner with Ron Butler second. Joe Henderson raced to wins in both his heat and the 20 lap feature for the VRA Modifieds with Mark Gallimore second over defending champion George Kreider IV. Mike Frazier duplicated Henderson’s effort in the pony stock action and was followed to his feature win by James Brown. Early leader Tom Burroughs placed third.
The regular unwinged 360 sprint action drew the year’s smallest field, 28 cars. They were again divided into four qualifying heat races. Wakim came from fifth starting to win the first heat over Larry Lloyd. Front row starter Ronnie Case won heat 2 over Howard. Crawford won heat 3 from third starting with 4th starter Dighera second. Front row starters Taylor and Bill Welch were 1-2 in heat 4. During the week, the Taylor team announced that they have dropped plans to switch their racing to the SCRA unwinged 410 action in 2002 as their quick start at Ventura has them thinking track title on the 1/4 mile clay oval. The final 4 A Main slots were determined in a small B Main where rookie Chris Tramel won ahead of Steve Stasa. The inversion for the 30 lap feature was a 6 that put Wakim in that sixth spot as Dighera started outside front row. Howard built a huge lead early in the 30 lapper, but a yellow flag closed the pack. Taylor was riding second behind Howard when Howard got sideways and drove through the infield. Taylor raced into the top spot only to get collected in an accident between some of the lapped cars. Luis Espinoza took a wild ride off turn 3 on lap 12 when his throttle stuck. He suffered minor bumps and bruises and his car was heavily damaged. Dighera was leading when he jumped the cushion just 3 laps from the end and Wakim posted the win over Dighera, Crawford, Lloyd, Jeff Heaton, Rob Kershaw, Taylor, Howard, Josh Ford and Welch.
The Senior division races the same unwinged 360 sprint cars and is for drivers 45 years old or older. They had an 18 car turnout. Miller won the first heat over Butler and John Richards. Dwarf Car graduate Bach won heat 2 with Preiss Movius second over Jim Porter. Dayle Henry took heat 3 ahead of Frith-Smith and Sparky Edmonston. Miller had the pole for the feature and he was being challenged for the top spot by Bach when Oren Prosser Sr flipped. Bach pitted and Miller led all the way with Frith-Smith second over Butler, Henry, Edmonston, Porter, Bach and Richards. Eddie Wirth joined the action, but had night long engine woes.
There were 12 VRA Modifieds. Fresh off a feature win, Rick Rodarte won heat 1 over Marty McLaughlin and Kreider. Henderson beat Gallimore in heat 2. Henderson then won the 20 lap feature in front of Gallimore, Kreider, Rick Bronson, Rodarte, Ray Martinez and David Lidren. The Pony Stock field was done to 22 cars. Heat winners were Brown, Frazier and Cliff Ashlock. Jim Nakashima won the B Main in front of John Mikkelsen and Ed Graham. Burroughs led early in the feature, but settled for a third place run behind winner Frazier and runnerup Brown. Ashlock ran fourth ahead of Gary Yeates, Steven Klingberg, John Duque and David Peterson.
Summary
Pony Stocks
Heat 1-James Brown, Gary Yeates, Joel Chavez, Jack Fullerton, Jon Mortensen.
Heat 2-Mike Frazier, Tom Burroughs, John Duque, David Peterson, Steve Klingberg.
Heat 3-Cliff Ashlock, Eric Chambers, Bruce Blackman Jr, Dave Revard, Julie Masters.
B Main-Jim Nakashima, John Mikkelsen, Ed Graham, Karen Klingberg, Rabecka Zenner, Tim Moir, Scott McNichols.
A Main-Frazier, Brown, Burroughs, Ashlock, Yeates, S Klingberg, Duque, Peterson, Fullerton, Chambers, Revard, Nakashima, Masters, Mikkelsen, Graham, K Klingberg, Zenner, Chavez, Blackman.
VRA Modifieds
Heat 1-Rick Rodarte, Marty McLaughlin, George Kreider IV, Ray Martinez, Rick Bronson.
Heat 2-Joe Henderson, Mark Gallimore, David Lidren, Dino Delao, Andy Frank.
Main-Henderson, Gallimore, Kreider, Bronson, Rodarte, Martinez, Lidren, Delao, Frank, Mike McCurdy, McLaughlin, Jody Davis.
Senior Sprints
Heat 1-Wiley Miller, Ron Butler, John Richards, Mike Cook, Mike Chuhaloff.
Heat 2-Ron Bach, Preiss Movius, Jim Porter, John Woodward, Rick Lewis.
Heat 3-Dayle Henry, Mike Frith-Smith, Sparky Edmonston, Curtis Richards, Eddie Wirth. Main-Miller, Frith-Smith, Butler, Henry, Edmonston, Porter, Bach, Richards, Woodward, Lewis, Movius, Larry Otani, Larry Lee, Richards, Cook, Chuhaloff, Oren Prosser Sr.
Unwinged 360 Sprint Cars
Heat 1-Chris Wakim, Larry Lloyd, Rob Kershaw, Sean Buckley, Steve Stasa.
Heat 2-Ronnie Case, Gary Howard, Jeff Heaton, Luis Espinoza, Jim Thomson.
Heat 3-Jimmy Crawford, Tony Dighera, Russell DeBlauw, Jeff Wilson, Chris Tramel.
Heat 4-Greg Taylor, Bill Welch, Josh Ford, Bill Camarillo, Jimmy Thompson.
B Main-Tramel, Stasa, Chuhaloff, Mike McNutt, Allan Ballard, Renee Boudreau, Jake Ford.
A Main-Wakim, Dighera, Crawford, Lloyd, Heaton, Kershaw, Taylor, Howard, Josh Ford, Welch, Tramel, Stasa, Buckley, DeBlauw, McNutt, Camarillo, Case, Chuhaloff, Wilson, Espinoza.
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