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Ventura, CA....June 21......Making
a final lap pass on Chris Tramel who had jumped the cushion, Chris Wakim was the
$1,000 winner in the 30 lap VRA Unwinged 360 Sprint Car feature Saturday night
at Ventura Raceway. Wakim nearly moved into the season point lead as he came out
of the night trailing Rob Kershaw by just 50 points. Kershaw had spun on the
first lap of the feature, but charged back to finish third behind the
disappointed Tramel. Wakim drove from tenth for his second win of 2003. Tramel
won $750 and Kershaw $500. Having raced just two nights earlier in Madera, the
USAC Ford Focus Midgets made their Ventura debut. Madera winner Thomas Meseraull,
a veteran of the full midget action, added a win on the clay oval with Chris
Rahe second ahead of Ryan Kaplan. Meseraull took the lead from Bobby Owens on
lap 2 and never looked back. In a great race from 11th starting, Jack Parker won
the IMCA Modified main event ahead of fifth starter Bill Waltman and Damon
Redman. After earlier winning his heat race, Rick Rodarte charged forward from
fifth to win the VRA Modified main event. His second win of 2003 left the point
title fight close. Feature runnerup David Lidren paces defending champion George
Kreider IV by just 30 points. Rodarte is tied for third with Ric Bronson, 85
points back of the point leader.
The
unwinged VRA sprint cars had a great 38 car turnout. Kevin Kierce beat fellow
front row starter Ron Butler in heat 1. Mike Knopf from Santa Maria won heat 2
from fourth as Tramel ran second ahead of Clark Templeman III. Third starter
Kyle Hancock won heat 3 over Blake Miller. Fifth starter Luis Espinoza won heat
4 over 7th starting Jake Ford. The top four from each heat advanced into the 30
lap A Main while just two transfers moved up from a pair of B Mains. Greg Taylor
was pacing the point standings despite missing nights to race his pavement
sprint car. He failed to transfer out of his heat and had a pole for the first B
Main. he got tangled up with another car and then hopped a wheel and spun
on the restart. Taylor was called for two cautions and parked for the night.
Ryan Devitt beat Brett Butler in the first B Main. Bandit sprint car regular and
car builder Richard Harvey Jr won the second B Main over J J Ercse and Bill
Camarillo. With Taylor parked, Kershaw appeared in position to be the new point
leader. He spun on the first lap and had to restart in the rear. Tramel and Ford
battled for the top spot, but Kierce raced into second. When Kierce broke, it
triggered a tangle that involved Hancock, Ford, Knopf and Espinoza. Second year
sprint car racer Tramel and previous week winner Templeman dueled for the lead
until Templeman blew a tire. Tramel appeared headed to his first VRA sprint car
win when he jumped the cushion on the last lap. Wakim raced by for the win with
Tramel settling for second ahead of a fast closing Kershaw, Templeman, John
Wright, B Butler and Ercse. Kershaw emerged with just the 50 point lead on Wakim
as Taylor fell 895 points back in third. Knopf is 210 back of Taylor. Tom
Stansberry and Espinoza are nearly tied for fifth.
The new Ford Focus Midget group
brought 20 cars to the 1/4 mile clay oval in Ventura. Southern California point
leader Todd Hunsaker won the first heat over Bobby Michnowicz and Eric Pace.
Former California Lightning Sprint star Rahe won heat 2 over Meseraull and
Garrett Boyden. The teenaged Kaplan has turned heads in both his pavement and
dirt runs for the former outlaw kart star. He won heat 3 ahead of Owens and
Bobby McGowan. Owens paced just a single lap of the 20 lap feature before
Meseraull claimed the point. The Madera and Ventura wins were Meseraull's first
runs in the new division. Rahe ran to second ahead of Kaplan, E Pace, Boyden,
Owens, Michnowicz and McGowan. Hunsaker leads an absent Josh Lakatos by 54
points in the Southern California point standings. The class races June 28 at
Irwindale.
The IMCA Modifieds
fielded 19 cars with 2002 Western Region Champion Mark Allison from Las Vegas NV
making a rare Ventura visit. Waltman beat pole starter Will Smith in heat 1 and
veteran Paul Moore came from 4th to win heat 2 over Lyle Slater. Redman
outdueled fellow front row starter Brett Lynsky in heat 3. Parker was fourth in
his heat race and drove a great race from 11th to win the main event. Waltman
ran second ahead of Redman, Chris Tonoli, Kathy Pierson, 15th starter Allison,
19th starting Tom Topping and Moore. The VRA Modifieds had 11 cars and Bronson
charged from fourth to win heat 1 over pole starter Tommy Fowler and Kreider IV.
Rodarte came from third to take heat 2 over fourth starter Lidren. Fifth starter
Rodarte won the main with 8th starter Lidren second ahead of Kreider, Marty
McLaughlin, Bronson, Andy Frank and Fowler.
Summary
VRA Modifieds
Heat 1-Ric Bronson, Tommy Fowler, George Kreider IV, Andy Frank, Mike Frazier.
Heat 2-Rick Rodarte, Dave Lidren, Marty McLaughlin, Joel Chavez, Kimberly Rice.
Main-Rodarte, Lidren, Kreider, McLaughlin, Bronson, Frank, Fowler, Frazier, Jeff
Goddard, Rice, Chavez.
IMCA Modifieds
Heat 1-Bill Waltman, Will Smith, Gary Curtis, Jack Parker, Rick Johnston.
Heat 2-Paul Moore, Lyle Slater, Kathy Pierson, Paul Lane, Randy Gens.
Heat 3-Damon Redman, Brett Lynsky, Chris Tonoli, Wes Richardson, Mark Allison.
Main-Parker, Waltman, Redman, Tonoli, Pierson, Allison, Tom Topping, Moore,
Slater, Joe Porche, Gens, Richardson, Lynsky, Brad Prows, Johnston, Curtis,
Lane, Paul Jankovskis, Smith.
Ford Focus Midgets
Heat 1-Todd Hunsaker, Bobby Michnowicz, Eric Pace, Brett Engstrom, James Miller
Jr.
Heat 2-Chris Rahe, Thomas Meseraull, Garrett Boyden, Ashley Walker, Keith Iaia.
Heat 3-Ryan Kaplan, Bobby Owens, Bobby McGowan, Alan Budnik, Steven Graves.
Main-Meseraull, Rahe, Kaplan, E Pace, Boyden, Owens, Michnowicz, McGowan,
Walker, Budnik, Iaia, Miller Jr, Hunsaker, Heather Davis, Graves, Engstrom,
Steve Davis, Garrett Hansen, Kevin Kierce, Ryan Pace.
Unwinged 360 Sprint Cars
Heat 1-Kevin Kierce, Ron Butler, Chris Wakim, Oren Prosser Jr, Greg Taylor.
Heat 2-Mike Knopf, Chris Tramel, Clark Templeman III, Joe Henderson, Richard
Harvey Jr.
Heat 3-Kyle Hancock, Blake Miller, Rob Kershaw, Steve Chulahoff, Brett
Butler.
Heat 4-Luis Espinoza, Jake Ford, John Wright, Kenny Brown, Tom Stansberry.
1st B Main-Ryan Devitt, B Butler, Wally Pankratz, Mike Whitcomb, Jim Thomson,
Bill Drake Jr, Taylor.
2nd B Main-Harvey, J J Ercse, Bill Camarillo, Guy Woodward, Brandon Thomson,
Nadine Keller, Jonas Reynolds, Steve Hess. A Main-Wakim, Tramel, Kershaw,
Templeman, Wright, B Butler, Ercse, Brown, Devitt, Chulahoff, Harvey, R Butler,
Kierce, Knopf, Espinoza, Ford, Hancock, Miller, Henderson, Prosser Jr.
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