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Traditional Sprint Car FanSite |
See You At The Races!!! |
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MAY WRAPUP AT VENTURA
by Norm Bogan |
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Since Ventura Raceway will be dark over the
Memorial weekend, Saturday completed the first three months of
racing at the Seaside Park facility.
To give the fans a dose of the various racing available, this
show was like a smorgasbord. Highlighting
the program was the VRA Pro Sprints with a car count of twenty-nine.
Budget-minded fans were supplied with twelve Pony Stocks,
while the stock car aficionados found fourteen IMCA Modifieds in the
program and a double dip for those who like to look back to the good
old days with a flavor of motorcycles, VRA Dwarf Cars, staging
seventeen Pros and eleven Seniors completed the variety of the
evening’s presentation. On a weekend that signaled the beginning of
summer, temperatures in the adjacent San Fernando Valley were
nearing the mid-nineties and for those traveling to Phoenix for a
night of USAC/CRA racing at Manzanita, the thermometer was
approaching 110 degrees. However,
for those hearty souls that chose to enjoy an evening at Seaside
Park, it was sweatshirt and jacket time by the features. Mike Frazier and Randy Miller captured the Pony
Stock heats followed by two IMCA Modified heats taken by Kathy
Pierson and Bill Waltman. Next
up were two heats each for the Dwarf Cars.
Jim Soltis and Ed Niedwiecki won Senior events while the Pro
heat winners were Brent Stevens and Marc Lippert.
These events lead to the four VRA Pro Sprint heats, which
found Luis Espinoza, Chris Wakim, Blake Miller and Joe Henderson
garnering the wins. The features began with the IMCA Modifieds.
Randy McGraw looked to be quite strong, gaining the lead and
holding off his challengers. Then an off course maneuver delegated him to the rear with
Donald Houghton assuming the point and Kathy Pierson looking to gain
an advantage. Pierson
soon exited the track and Houghton went on to victory followed by
Waltman and McGraw, who charged from the rear to third. During this time, the Pro Sprints had a chance to make adjustments to their cars and would run their Semi feature, adding the final four cars to tonight’s feature field. Early in this event, Hobie Conway gained the lead. Hobie is on the track safety crew and a registered EMT, but tonight she was busy, realizing one of her long time dreams of racing a sprint car. Hobie led the pack until the white flag flew and Bill Camarillo was able to slip by to victory, with Conway in second, followed by Chris Tramel and Mark Chuhaloff. The Pony Stock Main was next and Tom Fish led
early before pulling into the infield, as James Brown went on to
prevail over Mike Frazier and Randy Miller.
Senior Dwarf Cars then took to the racing surface for their
feature and once again, longtime Ventura campaigner, Mike Sweeney
collected the spoils followed by Ed Niedwiecki and Jim Soltis.
The Pro Main saw Marc Lippert jump into the early lead with
Chad Kincaid in close pursuit.
Point leader Brian Saxton began moving forward from his mid
pack position, when he was tagged and spun.
Shortly afterward, Lippert spun all by himself coming off
turn two and soon after pulled off the track with a mechanical
problem. In the
meantime, Saxton worked his way to the front and cushioned his point
lead with the win. Following
close behind was Brian’s car from last year, driven by Diana
Marshall. Twenty Pro Sprints queued up for their thirty
lap evening finale. Rob
Kershaw stepped out to the lead early with a lot of dicing in the
next five or six positions. Wes
Richardson and Kevin Kierce both were in the mix and Greg Taylor
taking his maiden voyage in the Hammer #55 car looked strong as he
jumped to the front and passed Kershaw. Taylor seemed like the driver who put away nine feature wins
about three years ago, before going to run the pavement for a couple
of years. Tonight it
was classic Taylor, until the throttle linkage broke and sent him to
the infield. Kershaw
appeared to be in control, but suddenly Chris Wakim flew around on
top and Blake Miller ran third after a race long dice with Joe
Henderson. Suddenly
Henderson’s car dropped on the left front corner and collected
Miller. Henderson tried
to accelerate away, not realizing that his steering was awry and
nearly hit the tow truck in the infield.
Miller restarted at the rear and Wakim powered around Kershaw
for the victory. Rob held on for second, with Kierce in third and an amazing
drive for rookie, Derek Buckley, who finished fourth. Last week’s winner, Luis Espinoza was able to collect a
fifth for the night. Another full night of racing found the audience
appreciating the format and by 9:30, fans were able to file into the
pits to visit with their favorites.
A balmy afternoon progressed into a cool evening punctuated
with some hot racing. As
Ventura Raceway breaks for the Memorial Day weekend, let us remember
those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
In the next couple of weeks, pass the word to your friends
that an evening at the friendly track by the sea can provide
enjoyment for the whole family. |
