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| JUNE'S
SOUTHWEST REPORT by June Lowitz |
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SCRA @ Manzanita - May 10, 2003 |
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SCRA
@ Manzanita.
No doubt it will be a great show.
I had been anticipating this race since the last SCRA race
here. The weather was
perfect for racing, about 83 degrees during the day and down to
about 65 degrees at night. I
was hoping for a great car count and great racing and of course I
wasn't disappointed. 30 cars
signed in at the back gate Saturday afternoon. Local ASCA favorites joining the SCRA boys were Bob Ream,
Jr., Charles Davis, Jr., Jeremy Sherman, Paul Norbury, Steve
Cushman, Jeff Branaman, Tony Smiley, Mike Miller and Alex Pruitt.
As I walked
throught the front gate, I wondered if the slight breeze would have
an effect on the track and would there be the near track record
breaking qualifying times like there were at the last race. I walked up to my usual spot in turn 1, section E or F and
found my buddy Derek
there ready for action. I
had invited some friends to come and join me to see some good racing
and they showed up. Have
to say a special welcome to sprint car racing to Colleen and Mike.
I really enjoyed having them come out and hope that they make
it out again. Having
someone new come out to the track made me see the racing through
different eyes. I
noticed that they of course asked me who my favorites were but they
noticed the paint jobs and how "quiet" the cars were in
hot laps. I told them
to just wait and they would hear the 700-800 horsepower in just a
few minutes. Both
Colleen and Mike seemed to get their own favorites really quick with
Mike liking Bob Ream Jr. and Super Rickie Gaunt and Colleen seemed
to like Jeff Branaman and of course Super Rickie, as she liked his
driving suit. Qualifying
was a bit of a disappointment to me as there were no 18 second laps.
Fast time went to
Glendale, Arizona's Bob "The Bullet" Ream, Jr. with a
19.031. So close to that 18 second lap.
I was hoping but no luck.
Damion Gardner had a great qualifying effort and came in 2nd
fast with a 19.084. Rounding
out the top ten qualifers were Troy Rutherford at 19.223, Rip
Williams at 19.249, Richard Griffin at 19.412, Rickie Gaunt at
19.416, Adam Mitchell at 19.428, Steve Ostling at 19.447, Verene
Sweeney at 19.469 and Bobby Cody at 19.504. SCRA ran a
bit of a different format with no C Main and only 3 heat races.
I didn't really understand why since they had enough cars to
run 4 eight car heat races but they chose to run 3 ten car heat
races. A bit different
and I felt a bit gyped but still it was SCRA and it was great
racing. Heat One.....
I'm telling you if I had bet money on this race...well lets just say
.... I would have been upset. Jeremy
Sherman started on the outside pole and figured he would win hands
down. I don't think
there were too many people betting against Jeremy. Of
course once the green flag dropped, off Jeremy went.
Took off on the rest of the pack and had a big lead built up.
But about 4 laps into the race, I started hearing something
funny. Someone's motor
didn't sound 100%. I
couldn't believe it when I figured out it was Jeremy's.
It started sounding flat, like a one cylinder just wasn't
doing what it was supposed to do.
I watched Jeremy try to baby it to the end of the race.
Well, he tried and then the white flag dropped, and we were
all holding our breath. Would
his motor hold out because it was sounding like a sick pup now.
He makes it through turns one and two and then going down the
back stretch almost to turn 3, Jeremy slows down.
First Rip Williams passes him and takes the checkered flag,
then Tony Jones. Can
Jeremy make it across the start/finish line?
Yes, he makes it and finishes 3rd in front of Bob Ream, Jr,
Mike Spencer, Adam Mitchel, Alex Pruitt, Jimmy Crawford, Nick Lima
and Cal Smith The Second
Heat..... Brothers-in-lw Charles Davis, Jr on the pole and Tony
Smiley outside pole. How
would this start? Charles
lived up to his nickname "Chargin Charles" and charged out
to the front and never looked back.
Damion Gardner couldn't shake the gremlins and jumped the
cushion in between turns 3 and 4 and from what I was told tapped the
wall and had to pull out. Charles
Davis, Jr. won the heat with Richard Griffin, Steve Ostling, Tony
Smiley, Jeff Branaman, Josh Ford, Alan Ballard, Steve Cushman, Bobby
Cody and Damion Gardner behind him. Third heat
race was good as well. It
was an exciting race with no yellows and the winner was Mike English
followed by Rickie Gaunt, Troy Rutherford, Brian Venard, Verne
Sweeney, Mike Miller, Brian Stanfill, Paul Norbury and AJ Reyer. The passing
masters dash was won by Richard Griffin. Richard was followed by Rip Williams, Gaunt, Ream, Jr.,
Rutherford, English, Spencer and Ostling. The B Main
event ran well, but finished as I expected it to since Damion
started on the pole. Damion
Gardner won it followed by Mitchell, Sweeney, Cody, Ford, Crawford,
Ballard, Pruitt, Cushman, Lima and Norbury. The A Main.
The Money Race. The
race we were all waiting for. The
excitement was building. Could
the Gasman pull it off? Would
someone else come up to keep Richard from the winners circle here at
Manzy one more time? Well only time
would tell. I do have to
say there was some true sportsmanship shown Saturday night at Manzy.
First off, it was announced that Steve Cushman loaned Jeremy
Sherman's team the motor so they could make the show.
Then when the motor had problems, Tony Smiley jumped out of
his car and put Jeremy in it for the A Main.
It meant that Jeremy would have to start last in the main,
but at least he was there. My
hat's off to both Steve Cushman and Tony Smiley.
I think what you both did showed true sportsmanship and
proved that the racing community is really like a family.
Great job guys!!! And
a special THANK YOU from this racing fan. Back to the
racing... with Griffin starting on the pole, anyone had to wonder if
this was the night. With
Bob Ream starting in 4th and Gaunt in 3rd, and the
"Ripper" right beside Gasman, it was anyone's call.
On the first green flag lap The Ripper took the lead but it
was not meant to be when there was a 5 car pile up on the front
straight involving Tony Jones, Bobby Cody, Jimmy Crawford, Seth
Wilson and Alan Ballard. It scared the living daylights out of me because I didn't see
it start, I just looked in front of me and there were cars flipping
everywhere. I held my
breath as Tony Jones' car stopped right in front of me.
Thankfully as soon as his car stopped, I saw him grabbing for
the quick release on his steering wheel and belts and he climbed
out. No one was injured
except for the race cars. So we restarted the race losing 3 out of the 5 involved cars
as Alan Ballard and Seth Wilson were able to restart. Gasman took off on the drop of the green flag and was off.
I'm telling you that the Ron Chaffin owned Lil Red Sucker was
hooked up and on rails. Richard
was haulin the mail. On
lap 7 we had another scary moment when Jeff Branaman flipped in turn
4. Thankfully again,
only the car was hurt and the driver was ok.
Then there was a yellow flag on lap 12 (I think) for Jeremy
Sherman as he spun in turn 2. Richard
lost about a 2 second lead when that yellow came out.
On the restart, Gasman just picked up where he left off and
took off on the rest of the racers.
Just when Richard was getting into a rhythm, another yellow
flag came out on lap 15 or lap 16 for Adam Mitchell when he spun
out. By this time,
Gaunt was behind Gasman and from what I had been watching Rickie had
found a line that was working for him and he seemed to be catching
up to Griffin. On the
restart, Rickie hammered it along with the Gasman and went in really
deep into turn 3 and pushed Richard towards the wall.
It looked to me like coming out of 4 they were side by
side.... then on the next lap Rickie went into turn 3 so deep I was
sure he was gonna go out of the track when he caught and passed
Griffin for the lead. Rickie
held on to the lead for a couple of laps when Gasman figured out
what Rickie was doing and then caught him...... then passed him.
Once Richard was back in front of Gaunt.. there was no
stopping him. When they
got into lapped traffic, that's when Rickie and Ripper were dicing
and slicing and Ripper read the traffic better and was able to get
around Rickie for 2nd place. All
in all, it was a great show with Richard winning, Ripper in 2nd and
Gaunt in 3rd. I didn't
see what happened but on the last lap someone ( was later informed
that it was the 17 car driven by Seth Wilson) lost a tire and got
crossed up in front of Troy Rutherford, Troy tangled with him and
crossed the finish line backwards.
It made for a pretty interesting finish. I didn't get
to do a lot of walking around after the race, but I did get to go
down and see Super Rickie. Rickie,
as usual, was in rare form with all of his jokes and his colorful
version of what happened with him and Richard.
I really enjoy talking to Rickie after a race because it
seems that no matter if he wins, loses or breaks, he always has a
big smile on his face for everyone and always has a joke or can make
you laugh. I did see someone at the races I hadn't seen in ages. I felt so embarrassed because I recognized his face but not his name until I was re-introduced to the man, John Elias. Now, that name should ring a bell for you CRA people. John Elias used to own a sprint car. I could do a trivia question but I don't know all of the answers to my own question. I could ask this...... What man used to drive Mr. Elias's sprint car that has gone on to bigger and better things? The car # was the 8 car? Also, what 1990's CRA champion did Mr. Elias used to sponsor? There may be more than one answer to this but I only know of one answer to each question. You can email answers to the question at ASCAJune@aol.com or if I get enough response I will post it on the message board. NO Other hints will be given except what I've said. Otherwise it's too easy. I have to say
a special Hi to Norm Bogan too.
Good to see you over here Norm.
And of course a special thank you to Gavin for being my ride
to the track this weekend. I have to say
I really enjoyed the race, but I'm looking forward to seeing
the ASCA race this weekend along with the Midgets and the Mini
Sprints. If you are in
the Phoenix area, please come on out and see some great racing.
I have to say
after following CRA then SCRA since the early 1980's and now moving
over here, I didn't expect to find racing as good and competitive as
I was used to with SCRA. Well
let me tell you that I have. ASCA
is really a great racing association and has some fine drivers that
aren't afraid to go for the gusto. I wish
everyone a safe week and I hope to see you at the races.
Keep on smiling everyone cuz it makes people wonder what the
heck you've been up to. And,
if they ask tell em you've been to a sprint car show at MANZANITA
RACEWAY!!! See ya.. June |
