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Ventura, CA....March 6......A
veteran driver who has moved up the ladder through all the Ventura Raceway
divisions, Chris Tramel led all 30 laps from the pole to score a $1000 win in
the season opening show for both the VRA unwinged 360 Sprint Cars and the track
on Saturday night. Tramel charged from sixth starting spot to second in his 10
lap heat race and that put him on the pole for the 30 lapper. The race went 25
laps before the first caution when former Senior Sprint champion Jim Porter
spun. In an incredible drive from 15th starting, Tom Stansberry from Bakersfield
put on a passing clinic as he raced to a 2nd place finish after earlier winning
the B Main. The second place run paid $750 and Bill Welch was a $500 third. B
Main transfers Chris Wakim and Kevin Kierce rounded out the top six behind 4th
place Larry Lloyd. Because it was opening night, the support classes all had
straight up starts in their main events. Rick Rodarte earned outside front row
in the VRA Modified main event by winning his heat race and he won the 20 lapper
ahead of George Kreider IV and Mark Gallimore. Front row starters Mike Frazier
and Jack Fullerton ran 1-2 in the 20 lap pony stock main event after each had
won a heat race. Marc Lippert lapped everyone except runnerup Mike Bradley as he
won the VRA Pro Dwarf Car 20 lapper. Mike Sweeney charged from 8th to finish
second to Ed Niedzwiecki in the VRA Senior Dwarf Car heat race, then outdueled
fellow front row starter Niedzwiecki to win their 20 lap main event with George
Sack in third.
A great turnout of 34
unwinged 360 sprint cars were divided into four qualifying heat races with the
top four finishers in each advancing into the 30 lap main event. Wiley Miller
turned an outside front row start in heat 1 into a win with Blake Miller coming
from 7th to finish second ahead of Joe Henderson. Steve Gresham won heat 2 from
4th starting and outside front row starter Ron Bach was second ahead of Porter.
Tom Downing charged from the outside front row to win heat 3 over 6th starter
Tramel and Lloyd. Jim Thomson won heat 4 from the pole ahead of 4th starter
Welch and Luis Espinoza. Stansberry was out on the opening lap of this event and
that forced him to lineup 14th in the 12 lap B Main. With the scratch of W
Miller, five transfer spots were available to the B Main competitors and 15 cars
chased that prize. Stansberry managed to come from the 7th row to win the B Main
ahead of third starter Kierce and 12th starter Wakim. Pole starter Tim Moon was
fourth and Jonas Reynolds claimed the last transfer into the 30 lapper. The full
field of 20 starters on the small 1/4 mile clay oval put on an outstanding
exhibition of racing as they ran 25 laps before the first caution. Winner Tramel
is a cousin of nationally known Cory Kruseman and paced all 30 laps from the
pole. Stansberry managed to race from 15th to 2nd before the Porter spin slowed
the action. He then challenged Tramel over the remaining laps but settled for
second. Ojai's Welch started 5th and finished third ahead of 9th starter Lloyd,
17th starter Wakim and 18th starter Kierce. Rounding out the top ten were Steve
Conrad, B Miller, Will Perkins and Joe Henderson.
There were 12 VRA
Modifieds split into two heat races. David Lidren won heat 1 from the pole with
third starter Kreider in second ahead of Ric Bronson. Rodarte also came from the
pole in his heat 2 win as fellow front row starter Gallimore ran second ahead of
Jody Davis. The main event lineup was straight up off the heat race finishes and
Rodarte won the 20 lapper from his outside front row start. Kreider was second
ahead of Gallimore, Marty McLaughlin, Bronson, pole starter Lidren, Davis and
John Duque, the final lead lap finisher. The pony stocks had a solid 20 car
turnout, but Dave Dougherty's night ended in hot laps. Pole starter Frazier won
heat 1 over fifth starter Dave Revard and 4th starter Jon Everhart. Fullerton
also won heat 2 from the pole with third starter Ed Cutler second ahead of front
row starter Andrew Greiman. With the fast cars starting in front, the top ten
finishers in the 19 car A Main remained on the lead lap after 20 rounds. Frazier
outdueled Fullerton for the win with 7th starter Adam McPhail third ahead of
Cutler, Revard, Everhart, Joel Chavez, Jim Evens, Greiman and David Peterson.
Ashley Utts, Matt Sweeney and Norm Hatcher were all one lap down at the finish.
The
dwarf cars had 9 entries in the Pro Class and 10 in the Seniors. Outside front
row starter Jeff Shelton won the Pro heat race ahead of 4th starter Bradley and
6th starter Lippert. Shelton only managed to finish four laps in the 20 lap main
that had just 7 starters after the scratches of both Dawn Stutzman and Bill
VanPraag. Lippert won with Bradley second as third place Cindy Addison was two
laps down. Kevin Ireland finished on the same lap as Addison and both Peter
Holladay and Dean Couch failed to finish. In the Senior Class, pole starter
Niedzwiecki won the heat race ahead of 8th starter Sweeney and front row starter
Jim Koch. Jerry Doolittle and Ed McBride scratched from the main event to leave
8 starters and Koch was out after four laps. The remaining seven drivers
finished lead lap with Sweeney beating Niedzwiecki for the win. George Sack ran
third ahead of Gary Conditt, Rick Denny, Jim Kojaku and Jon Prechtl.
On March 13, the
Senior Sprints and IMCA Modifieds make their 2004 debuts as they join the VRA
unwinged 360 sprints and VRA Modifieds. March 20 will see the VRA unwinged 360
sprints traveling to Perris to race while the Senior Sprint, IMCA Modifieds,
pony stocks and VRA dwarf cars remain in Ventura to race.
Summary
VRA Senior Dwarf Cars
Heat-Ed Niedzwiecki, Mike Sweeney, Jim Koch, George Sack, Rick Denny.
Main-Sweeney, Niedzwiecki, Sack, Gary Conditt, Denny, Jim Kojaku, Jon Prechtl,
Koch.
VRA Pro Dwarf Cars
Heat-Jeff Shelton, Mike Bradley, Marc Lippert, Kevin Ireland, Peter Holladay.
Main-Lippert, Bradley, Cindy Addison, Ireland, Holladay, Dean Couch,
Shelton.
Pony Stocks
Heat 1-Mike Frazier, Dave Revard, Jon Everhart, Adam McPhail, Tom Fish.
Heat 2-Jack Fullerton, Ed Cutler, Andrew Greiman, David Peterson, Joel Chavez.
Main-Frazier, Fullerton, McPhail, Cutler, Revard, Everhart, Chavez, Jim Evens,
Greiman, Petersen, Ashley Utts, Matt Sweeney, Norm Hatcher, Candice Raney, Paul
Johnson, Jesse Farless, Fish, Brad Long, Tom Stephens Jr.
VRA Modifieds
Heat 1-Dave Lidren, George Kreider IV, Ric Bronson, Marty McLaughlin, Jeff
Goddard.
Heat 2-Rick Rodarte, Mark Gallimore, Jody Davis, Travis Wickenden, Bruce
Blackman Jr. Main-Rodarte, Kreider, Gallimore, McLaughlin, Bronson, Lidren,
Davis, John Duque, Jesse Garcia, Blackman, Goddard.
VRA Unwinged 360 Sprint Cars
Heat 1-Wiley Miller, Blake Miller, Joe Henderson, Will Perkins, Bob
Alderman.
Heat 2-Steve Gresham, Ron Bach, Jim Porter, Rob Kershaw, Tim Moon.
Heat 3-Tom Downing, Chris Tramel, Larry Lloyd, Mike Broome, Curtis
Richards.
Heat 4-Jim Thomson, Bill Welch, Luis Espinoza, Steve Conrad, Kevin Kierce.
B Main-Tom Stansberry, Kierce, Chris Wakim, Moon, Jonas Reynolds, Shawn Torbert,
Richards, Guy Woodward, John Nock, Kim Lewis.
A Main-Tramel, Stansberry, Welch, Lloyd, Wakim, Kierce, Conrad, B Miller,
Perkins, Henderson, Bach, Broome, Porter, Reynolds, Thomson, Moon, Espinoza,
Downing, Gresham, Kershaw.
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