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Ventura, CA.....June 7......Pole
starter Luis Espinoza chased fellow front row starter Clark Templeman III for
the first 16 laps of the main event, then raced out front for the final 14
rounds to score his first career $1,000 VRA Unwinged 360 Sprint Car feature win
Saturday night at Ventura Raceway. Espinoza moved up through the mini stock
ranks and has been chasing a sprint car win for four seasons. Templeman finished
a $750 second and Greg Taylor improved his point lead by racing to a $500 third
from 11th starting spot. The 21 year old Taylor is leading the point race
despite missing events to race on the USAC circuit. Taylor will miss the June 14
race to compete in Tucson, AZ. Gaining ground on season point leader Ron Bach,
defending Senior Sprint champion Wiley Miller won their feature Saturday night.
W Miller started 2nd and race runnerup Jim Porter came from sixth. Bach started
and finished 3rd to hold a 190 point lead on W Miller. With a fifth place finish
behind Richard Terry, Russell DeBlauw is just 20 points back of W Miller. Pony
stock point leader James Brown won their main event ahead of Ed Cutler and
second ranked point racer Mike Frazier. Frazier was the 2002 champion.
The VRA sprint cars split
a 29 car turnout into the customary four qualifying heat races with the top four
finishers in each advancing into the main event. Templeman won the first heat
ahead of Tony Dighera and Jeremy Ellertson. Steve Conrad beat point title
contenders Tom Stansberry and Mike Knopf in heat 2. Rob Kershaw beat newcomer
Alex Pruett and Bill Welch in heat 3. Espinoza enjoyed a perfect night as he won
heat 4 ahead of Richard McCormick and Taylor. There were four transfers from a
13 car B Main with former track champion Kevin Kierce winning ahead of Cory
Witherill, Jake Ford and Brett Butler. The rimriding Templeman brushed the fence
several times as he paced the first 16 laps of the 30 lap A Main from his
outside front row starting spot. Espinoza chased him, then paced the final 14
laps for the win. Taylor battled forward from 11th to place third ahead of
Kershaw, Conrad, 13th starter Chris Wakim, Dighera, Chris Tramel, Kyle Hancock
and Pruett. With 2000 points available each night, Taylor holds just a 510 point
lead on Kershaw going into the June 14th race where he will be absent. Knopf is
270 behind Kershaw and 115 ahead of Stansberry. Wakim is the final driver in
point title contention as he stands 1090 behind Taylor. Espinoza has climbed
into sixth in points.
The senior sprint
division races identical unwinged 360 sprint cars, but the drivers have to be at
least 45 years old. The 21 car field was split into three heat races. Steve
Stasa won the first heat ahead of Tim Moon and Danny Miller. Former champion Jim
Porter won heat 2 with John Woodward second. Terry captured heat 3 ahead of Bach
and W Miller. W Miller won his third feature of 2003 ahead of Porter, 3 time
winner Bach, Terry, DeBlauw, Mark Chulahoff, Moon, Mike Cook and Rick Lewis. The
three point leaders have opened a large gap on 4th ranked Stasa.
On June 14th, the two sprint
car classes will be joined by the new VRA Dwarf Cars.
Summary
Senior Sprint Cars
Heat 1-Steve Stasa, Tim Moon, Danny Miller, Ron Butler, Rick Lewis.
Heat 2-Jim Porter, John Woodward, Mark Chulahoff, Bruce Douglas, Mike
Cook.
Heat 3-Richard Terry, Ron Bach, Wiley Miller, Russell DeBlauw, Curtis Richards.
Main-W Miller, Porter, Bach, Terry, DeBlauw, Chulahoff, Moon, Cook, Lewis, C
Richards, D Miller, Stasa, Bob Hedlund, Dave Marini, Dale Harwood, Bill Leonard,
Woodward, Butler, Douglas, John Richards, George Tuttle Jr.
VRA Unwinged 360 Sprint Cars
Heat 1-Clark Templeman III, Tony Dighera, Jeremy Ellertson, Chris Tramel, Kevin
Kierce.
Heat 2-Steve Conrad, Tom Stansberry, Mike Knopf, Chris Wakim, Ryan Devitt.
Heat 3-Rob Kershaw, Alex Pruett, Bill Welch, Kyle Hancock, Bill Camarillo.
Heat 4-Luis Espinoza, Richard McCormick, Greg Taylor, Jonas Reynolds, Joe
Henderson.
B Main-Kierce, Cory Witherill, Jake Ford, Brett Butler, Devitt, Steve Chulahoff,
Guy Woodward, Camarillo, Randy Moody, Blake Miller.
A Main-Espinoza, Templeman, Taylor, Kershaw, Conrad, Wakim, Dighera, Tramel,
Hancock, Pruett, Welch, Ford, Reynolds, Butler, Witherill, Knopf, Kierce,
McCormick, Ellertson, Stansberry.
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