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Perris, CA....July 31......Former
Ventura Raceway track champion Kevin Kierce got his first $1000 VRA unwinged 360
sprint car feature win of 2004 as the traveling group returned to the Perris
Auto Speedway clay half-mile on Saturday night. Kierce ran second to Bakersfield
based VRA point leader Tom Stansberry in their heat race and then turned the
tables on the very consistent Stansberry in the feature action. Stansberry ran
second to stretch his already large point lead. Chris Wakim was third ahead of
Rob Kershaw and Steve Conrad. In the IMCA Modifieds, Tom Smith won the feature
race and became the new season point leader when Alan Updyke only managed a 14th
place run. Impressive rookie Rex McGuire II was second ahead of Travis Gorsuch
and Johnny Lathrop. In the super stocks, former champion Terry Hershberger moved
right back into the thick of the point battle by beating usual dirt late model
racer Bill Bartels and Henry Wesolowski III in that feature run. Point leader
Linny White continues to race with a broken hand and he ran 7th. Point runnerup
James Scott was fifth.
The unwinged 360
sprint cars face a lengthy layoff due to the Ventura County Fair and appeared 31
cars strong for the half-mile action at Perris. Bill Welch won the first heat
over Kershaw and Larry Lloyd. It was Wakim taking heat two over Bill Camarillo
and Jimmy Crawford. Clark Templeman III had won the two previous Ventura races
and he won heat 3 ahead of Hanford teenager Chad Boespflug, who usually races
with the Bandit group. Stansberry, Kierce and Dwayne Marcum were 1-2-3 in heat
4. The top four from each heat advanced and they were joined by six transfers
from the B Main. Greg Taylor won the B Main ahead of Steve Conrad, Dwight
Cheney, Chris Tramel, Blake Miller and Luis Espinoza. Just missing the move up
were Ron DiDonato and Steve Chuhaloff. The feature race had 22 starters and it
was Kierce racing to the $1000 win with Stansberry a $750 second. Wakim won $500
for third and it was Kershaw in fourth ahead of Conrad, Taylor, Tramel,
Camarillo, Espinoza, Welch, Blake Miller and Aaron Reyer. Templeman was 21st.
The IMCA Modifieds drew
15 cars included Ventura regulars Kathy Pierson and Wes Richardson along with
Bakersfield's Buck Cox. Smith raced to the feature win over McGuire II, Gorsuch,
Lathrop, Dale Underwood, Pierson, Steve Linthicum, Cox, Randy Thornell and Don
Pannel. Smith started the night 3 points back of Updyke and just 12 ahead of
McGuire II. Fourth ranked Darin Hawks was missing as he is suspended by IMCA for
refusing an engine claim at the Merced fair race. The super stocks had 17 cars
in action and it was Hershberger getting the feature win over Bartels,
Wesolowski III, John Caley, point runnerup James Scott, Ed Perry, White, Eddie
Lagor, Everett Burns and Mike Hixson. White is trying to win championships on
both the dirt and pavement in 2004 and this was another night when he had to
race both here at Perris and in his tour late model at Orange Show Speedway.
Scott was 17 points back of White starting the night and 10 ahead of Hershberger.
Summary
Super Stocks
Main-Terry Hershberger, Bill Bartels, Henry Wesolowski III, John Caley, James
Scott, Ed Perry, Linny White, Eddie Lagor, Everett Burns, Mike Hixson, Mike
Miller, Mike Stapleton, George Boulden, Mark Yarbrough, Ron Woods, Carla Laney,
Michael Doolin.
IMCA Modifieds
Main-Tom Smith, Rex McGuire Jr, Travis Gorsuch, Johnny Lathrop, Dale Underwood,
Kathy Pierson, Steve Linthicum, Buck Cox, Randy Thornell, Don Pannel, Kevin
Hocking, Wes Richardson, James Pierce, Alan Updyke, Mike Lerwill.
Unwinged 360 Sprint Cars
Heat 1-Bill Welch, Rob Kershaw, Larry Lloyd, Jim Thomson, Chris Tramel.
Heat 2-Chris Wakim, Bill Camarillo, Jimmy Crawford, Steve Ostling, Steve
Conrad.
Heat 3-Clark Templeman III, Chad Boespflug, Mike Broome, Mike Whitcomb, Greg
Taylor.
Heat 4-Tom Stansberry, Kevin Kierce, Dwayne Marcum, Aaron Reyer, Dwight Cheney.
B Main-Taylor, Conrad, Cheney, Tramel, Blake Miller, Luis Espinoza, Ron DiDonato,
Steve Chulahoff, Tom Hendricks, Chris McArthur.
A Main-Kierce, Stansberry, Wakim, Kershaw, Conrad, Taylor, Tramel, Camarillo,
Espinoza, Welch, B Miller, Reyer, Broome, Ostling, Crawford, Boespflug, Lloyd,
Marcum, Cheney, Thompson, Templeman III, Whitcomb.
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