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Traditional Sprint Car FanSite |
See You At The Races!!! |
| FOLLOW
THAT TRUCK by Norm Bogan |
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It was time for another cross-desert jaunt for a Phoenix race. For denizens of the South Bay, this trip away from the prevailing ocean breezes was akin to a journey to Hades. For those of us who reside in the warmer inland valleys, it was business as usual. Leaving at Six A.M. with Gordon Lightfoot in
the CD deck, we traveled east on I-210 to I-15 to I-10 and set the
cruise for Phoenix. Traffic
was fairly light, so four hundred miles melted away and soon San
Bernardino, Banning, Palm Springs and Indio were all in the rear
view mirror. Ascending
from the Coachella Valley into the high desert, we were soon passing
through General Patton’s WWII playground and closing in on the
abandoned iron ore mine at Eagle Mountain. Suddenly, this pastoral setting became an
imitation of Five P.M. freeway hockey in Los Angeles.
It was “Brakelight City”, as the interstate had been
closed. What occurred
then could best be described as the Lower Mojave version of a
Chinese Fire Drill. Eighteen
Wheelers were crossing the median of sand and sagebrush to reach the
west bound lanes. Haven’t
you always heard that truckers know the best places to eat and the
best alternate routes? Well, I joined this synchronized pirouette and returned to
the next off ramp, where you could join remnants of the old US 60
&70 into Desert Center. Of
course, once idiots like myself had joined a hundred or so big rigs,
migrating from four lanes to two-lane gridlock.
Entering Desert Center, it was apparent that whatever had
caused the closure had been remedied as viewed from afar. The next fifty miles or so, reminded me of rush
hour traffic back home, with a bumper-to-bumper shuffle at a max of
about sixty miles per hour. Finally,
we were overlooking the lush Palo Verde Valley and Colorado River.
Crossing them, up popped a sign that said, “Welcome to
Arizona”. Another
couple of hours brought us to the entrance of the Miracle Mile Deli,
staging point for racing aficionados. After a tasty luncheon, the focus turned to
racing as the diners migrated toward Manzanita Speedway for an
evening of Sprint Car racing. For
those purists, who despise all the companion classes that have
become prevalent with the sprinters, tonight’s event was only one
feature; read this, no companion class!
Thirty-four USAC/CRA sprint cars attacked the big half-mile
oval. Jeremy Sherman
aboard Fred Bryan’s #77 collected the quick qualifying honors at
18.944. A unique occurrence tonight was that no cars
spun or crashed. While
several cars pulled off during the preliminary events, there were no
yellows. During the
feature, Rip Williams stopped in Turn four with a flat RR, followed
by Charles Davis Jr., who had a section of tread peel away on his
right rear tire. Next,
Darren Hagen went to the work area with another flat right rear
skin. Williams and
Davis were able to rejoin at the rear of the field, while Hagen was
unable to get back our before the green waved. At the checkers, Mike Kirby crossed the line in
first, followed by Jeremy Sherman and Damion Gardner.
Rickie Gaunt claimed fourth with Troy Rutherford in fifth,
followed by Mike Spencer and Rip Williams, who charged back to
seventh from the rear of the field. The Arizona trips are enjoyable, as we have
developed friendships with many of the Copper State natives.
These occasional trips allow us the chance to catch up on all
the gossip and other valuable information.
Early on Sunday morning, it was time to follow
our trail of breadcrumbs back to California.
The return trip was not as notable as the eastbound venture.
Nearing home, I was able to capture some beautiful sunsets as
the big orange ball fell over the edge of the earth. Racing season is winding down with only a few
races before the year ending big money shows, Oval Nationals at
Perris and Western World at Manzy. Make you plans now to catch some of the remaining races to
reminisce over during the winter break. |
