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See You At The Races!!! |
| JUNE'S
SOUTHWEST REPORT by June Lowitz |
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Gary Sokola Classic @ Manzanita Speedway 3/21/03 & 3/22/03 |
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Friday started off as a breezy but warm day at Manzy.
I was at the track at 5pm.
The track was wet; but you could already see some dry spots.
The pits seemed pretty full with 44 cars signing in.
When qualifying started you knew it was going to be a fast track.
Jeremy "The Shermanator" took the track first on
Friday and turned in a 19.405.
The track did get super fast with Glendale, Arizona's own Bob
"The Bullet" Ream turning in fast time of the night at
18.626. Just a tick off
of the track record held by Brad Noffsinger of 18.551.
I was happy to see a hometown boy get the fast time.
Some of the other hometown boys that were racing were Bugs and Paul
Norbury, Jeff Henry, Chargin Charles Davis, Jr., Jeremy Sherman,
Jerry Coons, Jr., Marty Wilcox, JJ Yeley, JD Vance. I watched a lot of the races but I also spent a lot of time talking
to people I hadn't seen in a long time. It was like old home week for me seeing as I used to be at
Perris every week. One
of my favorite people, Dean Mills was there selling his 2002 Year in
Review SCRA tape for $45. I
have heard nothing but great reviews regarding this tape.
I highly recommend adding this videotape to your racing
collection. You can reach Dean at Mvpvdo@aol.com or www.MillsVideo.net.
I also ran into an old friend from my Ascot Days, Fred.
He owns the Racers Pub in Riverside.
It's on the corner of Pierce and Magnolia so if you are in
the area be sure to stop by and say Hi to Fred for me.
I also got to see an old buddy Cal Smith and spent a lot of
time with my good friend and pal Jimmy Gardner, Jr, who used to
drive Gardner Motorsports #96.
OK... the racing this weekend was fantastic.
Friday night, I couldn't believe how much Richard "The
Gasman" Griffin was hooked up. He was on a rail. But
sneaking his way up through the pack was "The Shermanator"
Jeremy Sherman. On
Friday night he went from 20th starting position to 7th in just 20
laps. He just kept
picking cars off one by one. I was happy to see Arizona boys Charlie Davis, Jr. and Bob
Ream, Jr. get top 5 finishes in Friday nights main even. Bob seemed to be really happy when I saw him in the pits and
when I saw Charlie, he had a big smile on his face as well. The only sad part to Friday night’s race was when J.D. Vance
flipped and landed on top of Jeff Henry coming out of turn 4 in the
B Main Event. J.D.'s
front end came off of the car and went over the catch fence and
landed hard. Thankfully no one was standing in the area when it happened.
Jeff was able to restart but unfortunately J.D. was not.
It was really good to see Jeff out there trying to go with
the big ole 410 motors. Jeff
started on the pole of the 3rd heat race and was leading the race
until there was a yellow flag.
Jeff said to me after the race, he knew he would be passed on
the restart just due to the difference in power between the 410's
and the 360's. He
seemed really happy though and it was a pleasure to meet him. Saturday night was great racing as well. It wasn't as breezy on Saturday but the track still seemed
dry up on the top and really wet at the very bottom.
The fast time Saturday night was 19.448 set by Mike English
which was a bit slower than the 18.626 that Bob Ream set fast time
with on Friday. The
heat races were all pretty good with a lot of passing. In the 2nd Heat race though, I got the living daylights scared out
of me. Nick Lima
started on the outside of the front row of the heat and on the start
he somehow got so his tire climbed up the wall and he flipped right
in front of the grandstands where I sit.
I am telling you I wasn't sure if he would stay on the racing
side of the fence or end up on the grandstand side.
Thankfully, he stayed on the racing side and ended up landing
on his left side. He climbed out of the car, but I did see him climb into the
ambulance. The
ambulance didn't leave the track but I was unable to get any further
updates on Nick's condition. Nick,
if you are reading this, I hope you are ok and please post something
on the message board so we all know you are ok. Saturday night's main event was a big thriller.
Lots of passing and dicing and slicing on the dry slick
surface. Richard
Griffin took the lead on lap 1 and kept it until he was in traffic
and Troy Rutherford got by him.
The one to watch though wasn't really Troy and Richard; it
was Jeremy Sherman working his way up through the pack.
Jeremy came from 15th spot and was in 2nd place by lap 23.
On lap 25 he passed leader Troy Rutherford and never looked
back. The man was on a
serious mission. He
went through lapped traffic with ease.
His car was set up perfectly and he could put that car
anywhere he wanted to and make whatever move he needed to make.
I'm not sure what happened to Griffin.
My guess is that the handling went away on the car and that
is what Windy McDonald was reporting over the PA system.
Rutherford jumped the cushion on one of the many restarts to
help Jeremy get by him. I
was really amazed at how Jeremy got to the front and stayed there.
My hat is off to Jeremy and the crew of the 21 car.
They really had the car to beat Saturday night and Jeremy is
proving to be one of the most promising drivers here in Arizona. I also want to take the time to thank those of you who took the
time to email me about my writing.
The emails are greatly appreciated and I enjoy hearing
feedback. I also want to thank Lance Jennings for all of his help and support
and ideas for me as well. Without all of you I wouldn't have a reason to write this.
I hope you enjoy it and please feel free to email me @
ASCAJune@aol.com. I hope to see you at Manzy next weekend. Keep smiling because it makes people wonder what the heck
you've been up to. |
