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| June's Southwest Report by June Lowitz |
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Manzanita Speedway - USAC/CRA & ASCA Sprints |
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April 13, 2005... It's been 3 weeks of non stop action
here in the Phoenix area. Manzanita Speedway has been the
place to be for soem great racing action. We've had
USAC/CRA here for the Sokola Classic and 2 great races
with the ASCA sprints.
The USAC/CRA race weekend was great. Super Rickie Gaunt in the Tony Smiley owned, Smiley Crane Service, Dave Zoriki Motorsports, Extreme Chassis, Advanced Racing Shocks, Ron's Fuel Injection, Heddman Headers, C & R Radiators, DMI Racing Components, WFO Industries, Simpson Race Products sponsored #2, came over and won the 20 lap Main Event on Friday night. I haven't seen Rickie this happy since he won the Oval Nationals at Perris. He was all smiles and full of laughs on Friday night. Saturday night it looked like Rickie was going to sweep both nights of racing, however Mike Kirby had other plans. Mike Kirby, in the Alexander Trucking, LaVilla Restaurant, SCRAFAN.COM sponsored, Mark Alexander owned #4, using the high line, got around Rickie in lapped traffic and never looked back. It was a great race and enjoyed by many. The hard luck award could go to a few drivers, but in my eyes it went to Plainfield, Indiana's Bill Rose. Bill, driving his own #6R car blew up the motor on Friday night. He was fortunate enough to get a ride in Nadine Keller's #5 for Saturday night but he missed the main. Another USAC driver that had tough luck was Dave Darland. Dave was in the same car he won here in January with, #42 Dwight Cheney owned, RC Performance, TCR Chassis, Eric Industries sponsored car. He had a great showing on Friday night going from 18th starting position to 8th in the 20 lap main. On Saturday night, the racing demons set in and the motor lost a valve and was gone. Dave was looking great, leading the B Main when problems set in. I asked Dave when or if he would be back on the West Coast this year and he said he's scheduled to be out here and driving Dwight's car. I can't wait to see him back with Dwight Cheney and his crew. They really seem to complement each other and Dave seems to really be at ease with the car. Good luck in Indiana to Dave and Bill.
ASCA has provided the fans with some
good, exciting racing. Car counts have been up to about 35
cars for each race. This association seems to be growing
every year and it's getting more and more competitive.
3/26/05 was a great night to race.
the track seemed to stay great all night. I invited
another co-worker Mike to come out and join the fun. He
did show up, a little late
but he made it and seemed to enjoy it. Welcome to the
madness and fun Mike. Winning the main event on 3/26/05
was Glendale's own "bullet" Bob Ream, Jr. driving the
#8 Parker Store, B & R Automotive, Sander Engineering,
Adirondack Chimney Sweep, Westside Crane, BRaT Racing car.
After a few shakey starts this season, Bob came on strong and
looked like a man on a mission. Bob huggy poled the race
(used the low groove) to win the race and win he did. It
was great to see Bob in the winner's circle again. The
Shermanator, Jeremy Sherman finished in 3rd position after being
involved in an altercation early in the race. Jeremy came
from last to 3rd by the end of the race. Jeremy looked
great as well.
After the race on 3/26/05, I was
finally able to make it into
the pits to see everyone. The first person I ran into was
"The Bern Dog" Bernie Smith. In asking Bernie
about his car, which is really one good looking car with great
graphics, he was super critical on himself. Now, this is
the same man who a little
over 2 yrs ago didn't really seem to be someone I'd cheer for.
Boy, has my opinion about Bernie changed now. He has done
so much improving over the past year that it's hard to believe
it's the same guy driving. Bernie really has gotten smooth
and steady and it seems like each race he's getting a little
bit better. Bernie is one of those super fan friendly
drivers and always has time for his fans. If you get a
chance go down and say hi to him. He's one driver to watch
for this year.
After seeing Bernie, I walked over
and ran into Cindy Henry and Chase. Cindy is the wife to
Jeff Henry and Chase is their son. Poor Devon, their older
boy was not feeling well and he didn't get out of Cindy's car
and come into the pits. Cindy introduced me to one of my
favorite email pals Susie Pritchett. It's fun to meet people
after emailing for a while
and meeting Susie was fun. We talked for a few mins. but
she's a busy lady in the
pits, so I walked with Chase
and Cindy over to see the #12 Robbie Allen, ABC Motorsports
crew. Jeff had a great starting spot in the main, pole
position, but wasn't able to keep it. Come to find out
Jeff had a bad shock on the front end and it wasn't allowing the
weight to transfer properly. Even though they had a tough
night, Jeff, Robbie, JD and the crew still had smiles
on their faces and kept
saying there's always the next race. I really enjoy being
around this team as they are so positive and upbeat, even if
they have some tough luck.
On Saturday, 4/2/05, the weather was
beautiful. This is the reason I moved to Phoenix. It
was sunny and bright and warm; around 80-85 degrees.
Special thanks from me to my racing buddy Joe for driving me to
and from the track as Sandra wasn't able
to come this race. She was busy being "Daddy's
girl" as her father was in the hospital for a few days.
The only thing that I was concerned with was if the track would
dry out and become super dusty by the main event.
While
watching the guys wheel pack and hot lap I was definately
enjoying the nice weather when a familiar face walked up the
stairs. Thinking I was seeing things for awhile,
I didn't say anything , but then
once I heard this person talk I knew who it was. None
other than Chargin' Charles
Davis, Jr. with his wife Gayle. I asked Charlie why he was
here in town instead of Perris not realizing that USAC/CRA has 2
weeks off. Windy, Manzanita's
track announcer, had already announced that Charlie would
be driving in the race on 4/9/05 on the 1/2 mile. Charlie
Davis has a great personality and a terrific sense of humor.
Of course, me being a longtime fan of his teammate Super Rickie
Gaunt, I asked Charlie if Rickie would be joining him.
Charlie explained to me that Rickie was taking the family on the
Disney Cruise. Immediately we all started laughing.
I know Disney won't be the same after Rickie Gaunt being
there. It's such a
scary thought. HA HA
HA. JUST KIDDING RICKIE. We all had some good laughs
and I got to meet my email buddy Gayle Davis. Gayle is
just as nice as her husband and it was a pleasure sitting and
talking with them. Seeing as I keep track of all
the races, Gayle and Charlie kept asking me who was in
what car and where did they start in the race. I had a
blast and really enjoyed spending time with Gayle and Charlie.
I wish Charlie good luck in Saturday nights race.
The race was a barn burner.
Even though the track dried out, it still had 2 grooves
for the cars which made for
some great racing and some awesome passes. The
Bullet, Bob Ream, Jr. started 5th in the Main and was leading by
the end of lap one. Fan favorite, the Shermanator, Jeremy
Sherman started in 7th and began picking off cars one by one.
Bob had about a straight lead and then got into lapped traffic.
Once Ream was in lapped traffic, Sherman began to close in on
him. Jeremy got around Ream and took it home for the win
over Ream. It is so awesome to watch 2 drivers so in
control of their cars. One thing I noticed was that Jeremy
couldn't pull away from Ream the way he has done this year and
win by a straight. Bob was right on his tail at the finish
line. It was a great race to watch. Congrats to you
Jeremy.
On a serious note here, I received
some very sad news. My roommate from Bakersfield,
California, Laura Ferris, or Lacey Laura as she was known at the
track, passed away. No one has been able
to tell me what happened, but I do know it was from something
medical. Laura raced a hobby stock at Bakersfield Speedway
and she was very good. Laura was a true racer in the sense
she would help out anyone who asked, even if it was someone she
was racing against in the next race. Laura wasn't the type
to ask for help herself, even when it was just her and me
loading or unloading the car onto the trailer on race day.
Laura was a great friend and pal and will be missed by many.
Thanks for the memories
Laura.
Remember, these racers put on the show for no
one other than us, the fans. Be sure
to bring out someone new to the track to experience the
great racing that these drivers
show us week in and week out. So far this year I've
brought out 3 newbies to the track. 2 out of the 3 say
they are fans now and plan on making as many races as their work
schedule allows. Has
anyone else met my challenge? Email me and let me know.
Take care, be safe and see ya at Manzy!!
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