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Traditional Sprint Car FanSite |
See You At The Races!!! |
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FINALLY, THE RAINS STOPPED! by Norm Bogan |
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Southern California has suffered through the third wettest rain season in recorded history. Normal rainfall is about fifteen inches per year and at this time last year we had collected about eight inches in the old rain gauge. Currently, we are nearing thirty-five inches and still have a couple of months to go. The San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains ringing the greater Los Angeles area appear as the Swiss Alps, with a heavy cover of snow, making skiers and resort operators praise the snow gods, after years of very sparse coverage and most of that being man-made. Racing season starts early in the Golden State,
since we are blessed with better weather and normally a warmer
climate. Many venues
have already cancelled shows due to wet grounds over the past few
weeks, so anytime a track gets a race in, is cause for celebration.
Perris Auto Speedway had to cancel their night opener of the
USAC/CRA schedule two weeks ago, so fans were somewhat tentative as
rains were again predicted for the weekend.
Well, the Perris staff had their prayers answered, as the
rains avoided the half-mile clay oval and fans flocked through the
turnstiles to get that initial methane rush for many in 2005. Thirty-eight 410-sprint cars were on hand as
Damion Gardner set the quick time at 17.01 seconds, about a second
and a quarter off the track record.
Track preparation had made the surface a little greasy in the
early going with all the extra moisture in the clay, but as the
evening wore on, the racetrack was nearly perfect for the
traditional sprints, smooth and tacky. Because of slippery conditions in the early
going, cars starting near the front collected most of the heats
wins. While unfamiliar
names soared to the front, the fans witnessed great racing.
Heat winners were Bakersfield’s Alan Ballard, Fresno’s
Dwayne Marcum, Rick Williams from the Bay Area and 2003 USAC Western
States Midget Champ, Steve Paden in his first sprint car outing.
This meant that some of the heroes were unable to transfer
and had to run in the “B” feature.
Mike Kirby captured the Semi, followed by Josh Ford, Josh
Wise, Cory Kruseman, Jimmy Crawford and Danny Ebberts, who all moved
to the “A” Main, but could start no better than ninth.
Mike Spencer didn’t make the transfer, but exercised one of
his provisional starts to also move to the Feature. Troy Rutherford jumped into the early lead from
the outside pole, with Danny Sheridan and Dave Darland in close
pursuit. A bobble by
Rutherford opened the door for first Sheridan and then Darland to
move by. Starting back
in eighth was the “Little Red Sucker” with the Demon riding the
cushion and moving forward. Catching
the front two, he diced with them for a couple of laps before
dashing to the front and then just ran away from the pack.
By the race’s end, Damion enjoyed nearly a straightaway
lead and had lapped about half the field. As earlier mentioned, track conditions improved
throughout the evening and the 30 Lap “A” Main was completed
without a caution in 8:39.11 for a new track record.
Running second was a familiar car with a different driver.
The Smiley #2A, normally wheeled by Rickie Gaunt, had Mexican
National Champion, Steve Ostling at the controls.
Gaunt called in sick and Steve had nothing else to do.
It was a great ride for the popular Ostling and do you think
there is any truth to the rumor, that Ostling treated Gaunt to his
very special Margaritas on Friday night?
Mike Kirby came home in third, while early leader Sheridan
finished fourth followed by Charles Davis Jr.
The second five found Josh Wise in the Priestley #7, Tony
Jones, Rip Williams, Dave Darland and Cory Kruseman. It was a great evening to kick off the new season, with pleasant temperatures and good track conditions. All in all, the PAS was happy, the fans were happy and the racers were elated. Everyone drove home without having to use the windshield wipers. Saturday night can’t get much better! |
