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| HANSEN, RODELA AND WEST WIN VENTURA FEATURES by Gary Jacob |
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Wingless 360 Sprint Cars, USAC Midgets and TQ Midgets |
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Ventura, CA....Oct 15.....The opportunity to be a double duty racer saw Garrett Hansen made just his second VRA wingless 360 sprint car start of 2005 and he was the feature winner just like he was in the finale to the Grand Slam Series on Labor Day. Hansen ran second to Greg Taylor in his heat and then won the 30 lap feature from an outside front row start for a $1000 payday. Taylor was again strong in the 30 lapper as he battled from sixth to get the $750 runnerup prize and VRA champion Blake Miller started and finished third. Miller had wrapped up the season title in the heat action and was crowned champion with one point race remaining. Fast timer Jerome Rodela was flying in the USAC Western States Midget action as he won his heat race from the rear, then paced the final 18 laps to capture the 30 lap feature. He passed point leader Robby Flock for the top spot and his win pulled him within 31 points of Flock going into the Oct 29th date at Tucson's USA Race Park. Flock settled for a fifth place finish behind runnerup Danny Ebberts, double division racer Wally Pankratz and Tyler Brown. The NMRA TQ Midgets rounded the all open wheel night on the 1/4 mile clay oval and Chuck West took the lead on lap 10 and won his second 25 lap feature of 2005. West drives for fellow racer West Evans and his win pulled him to within 11 points of point leader Jody Bandfield with just a Oct 22nd date on the pavement Orange Show Speedway remaining on the schedule. Bandfield was second in the feature ahead of Kenny Wiley and Evans. There were 32 wingless sprint cars signed in and they were divided into the usual four heat format with four cars transferring from each heat into the 30 lap A Main. Pole starter Ryan Devitt won heat 1 over third ranked Chris Wakim and Mark Weitzman. Heat two found Billy Camarillo flipping hard into the fence in turn 1. He was unhurt raced in the B Main. Rookie Wes Richardson passed Kevin Kierce in the final turn, but the officials made a call against Richardson for getting a wheel under the white line. Richardson was penalized back to 2nd with third starter Kierce getting the win. Richardson had started on the pole. Guy Woodward came from 7th to finish third. Ronnie Case broke while dueling for the lead in heat 3 and Taylor impressed with his drive from 7th to win. Hansen started fourth and finished second while fifth starter Dennis Rodriguez ran third. W Pankratz made a rare VRA appearance and transferred with a fourth after starting on the pole. Miller had drawn the pole for heat 4 and he was untouchable as he won ahead of Luis Espinoza and Steve Conrad. Young Brandon Thomson edged out Oren Prosser Jr for the final transfer out of that heat. Case scratched from the B Main and Bill Camarillo started in the rear after jumping into the Brian Camarillo car. Steve Ostling won from the pole and third starter Tom Hendricks ran second ahead of new VRA regular, young Michael Trimble from San Jose. Usual Senior division racer Bruce Douglas edged out Rob Kershaw, Prosser Jr and John Nock for the final transfer. The 30 lap feature had a six car inversion that placed Espinoza and Hansen on the front row ahead of Miller, Devitt, Kierce and Taylor as Wakim's lack of passing points relegated him to 7th. Espinoza briefly took the lead over Hansen, but Hansen was soon out front. Taylor quickly raced into fourth behind Devitt. Hendricks flipped in turn one on lap 7 and Woodward also out of the race. Hansen continued to lead Espinoza, Devitt and Taylor. A smoking Devitt was flagged off the track on lap 15 and Taylor had raced his way into second. Taylor put heavy pressure on leader Hansen as the remainder of the race ran green, but could never finish off a pass. Only six cars finished on the lead lap in the very fast paced race. Miller ran third ahead of Espinoza, Kierce and 11th starting Conrad. The next 9 finishers were all one lap down with Wakim in 7th ahead of Rodriguez, Ostling, Thomson, Trimble and Richardson. The point standings seem to be firm with Miller the champion over Kierce, Wakim and Espinoza. Taylor has a shot at overtaking Conrad for fifth. El Monte's Rodela was the quickest of the great 31 car midget field at 11.787. Hansen was a distant second at 12.106. Usual wingless 410 sprint car racer Damion Gardner ranked third at 12.175 and Ebberts ran 12.207. Bakersfield's Shannon McQueen had a female teammate for the night, Michelle Becker, and timed in fifth quick ahead of Flock, NorCal's Greg Dennett, Ryan Kaplan, Chris Rahe and W Pankratz. Rahe's night ended as he broke in the heat action. Rodela won heat 1 over Danny Stratton and McQueen with Becker in fourth. Matt Mitchell beat Flock and W Pankratz in heat 2. Dallen McKenney from Fresno won heat 3 over Scott Pierovich and Gardner. San Jose's Bradley Galedrige outraced Kaplan and Brian Gard as NorCal racers took the top four spots in heat 4. Ebberts missed the transfer with a fifth in heat 4, but won the B Main ahead of Garrett Boyden, Dennett, Steve Koster Jr and Josh Ford. Randi Pankratz made a rare midget appearance and ran 6th. The usual USAC six car inversion put Flock out front and he paced the first 12 rounds, but Rodela was flying from the six hole and he went out front for the final 18 laps. Ebberts ran a solid feature to get second ahead of W Pankratz, Tyler Brown, Flock, Hansen, Mitchell, Stratton, Gardner and Kaplan. Brown is 101 points back of Rodela and 87 in front of Kaplan. Stephen Graves ranks fifth despite not being able to get out of the B Main on this night. Hansen is only 10 points back of Graves. Fourteen NMRA TQ Midgets were on hand for their final dirt track race of 2005. Scott Hansen won heat 1 over West and Wiley. Robert Ortega Jr captured heat 2 in his best run of the year. Bruce Hiroshima ran second ahead of Bandfield. Hansen led the first 9 laps of the 25 lap feature, then it was West out front for the rest of the way. Bandfield ran second to protect his point lead and both drivers have had success at the paved track in 2005. Wiley finished third ahead of Evans, Hiroshima, Scott Dobson and Jenna Bliffen, who took over the Steve Parke car for the main event. Walt Johnson ran 8th ahead of Hansen and Ron Ahrendt. Johnson is third in points, 24 behind West and just 7 ahead of Hiroshima. Evans has a solid hold on fifth spot. Summary TQ Midget Midget Wingless Sprint Car |
