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Traditional Sprint Car FanSite |
See You At The Races!!! |
SATURDAY ON THE GOLD COAST
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Ventura Raceway is located in a near perfect
setting, where two hundred years ago, Spaniards, priests and local
Indians carved out the El Camino Real or King’s Highway.
Traveling a day’s ride on horseback or burro, they
established missions, allowing travelers a welcome refuge.
What was once just a horse trail became a wagon road as
commerce began to ply up and down the coast.
Later as the missions developed into settlements and towns,
transport between them grew and in the early 1900s, the Coast
Highway was built and now is designated as U.S. 101, mostly a
freeway with divided lanes, but still carrying the moniker of “El
Camino Real”. As the
commercial trade increased, a main rail line was built ranging from
San Diego to San Francisco. Sitting
in the grandstands at Ventura Raceway, if you look just beyond turn
three, you will see an endless stream of both freight and passenger
trains with U.S.101 running parallel about fifty yards further out.
Probably less than a mile away is the Mission San Buena
Ventura, along with the Museum of Natural History and Archeological
diggings in the area of an ancient Chumash Indian settlement.
Just to the west of this area, the Ventura River flows from
the mountains to the north into the Pacific Ocean, which is
literally about 200 yards from the racing surface.
Looking southwest from the turn one grandstands, fans can
watch surfers attacking the waves rolling onto the beach and Para
surfers soaring above the briny sea.
Looking farther out to sea, one can see a number of oil
platforms dotting the Pacific and the nearby peaks of several of the
Channel Islands chain. My motive for painting this picture is the
dwindling attendance at Ventura Raceway.
It would be my desire to see more fans come early in the day
to take in some of the sights of this beautiful city by the sea.
After visiting the boutiques on Main Street and enjoying the
coastline, maybe cruising some of the back roads through flower
fields, citrus groves, strawberry patches and acreage that furnishes
the many items that fill your salad bowl.
In the early afternoon, mosey over to Seaside Park and take
in an evening of auto racing. Ventura Raceway offers what is the backbone of
American racing. This
grass roots stuff, where the drivers and crews come sit in the
stands and watch others race, right along side you and your family.
Each week there is a variety of classes, to satisfy most
anyone’s taste competing on a well-prepared track surface with
outstanding lighting and sound to keep the fans informed. On Saturday, June 18th, there were five classes of racecars. Twenty-two VRA Senior Sprints, thirteen IMCA Modifieds, fourteen Pony Stocks, eight VRA Modifieds and VRA Dwarf Cars, twelve Pros and ten Seniors. It was a pleasant afternoon in the seventies with a mild ocean breeze. The program began with two VRA Senior Dwarf
heats, with wins collected by James Soltis and Ed Niedzwiecki,
followed by two Pro Dwarf heats captured by Brian Saxton and Marc
Lippert. Next the Pony
Stocks two heats found Andrew Greiman and Mike Frazier claiming
victories. The IMCA
Mods ran two heats with Brad Prows and Donald Houghton in front at
the checkers. The VRA Modified feature found point leader Tom
Morley besting his ongoing competitor, Dave Lidren with a very
smooth ride by Jammy Earnest to gain the show spot.
The Pony Stock Main saw Andrew Greiman maintaining his point
margin over Mike Frazier, who stayed close with a runner-up finish
and Tom Fish gathered up the third place finish. Mike Sweeney moved out to a comfortable lead,
claiming the Senior Dwarf feature over Ed Niedzwiecki.
The Pro Dwarf cars saw Brian Saxton come from his seventh
starting position to pad his point lead with Marc Lippert on his
heels, followed by Chris Taylor.
The IMCA Mods staged a battle throughout the field and when
the dust settled, Randy McGraw stood atop the podium along with
second place finisher, Will Smith and Donald Houghton, who came in
third. Twenty-two VRA Senior Sprints gridded for the
Feature Finale. After a
couple of “senior moments”, the show got underway.
Dave Marini and Bob Alderman diced for the lead, with Jim
Porter also close behind. Oren
Prosser Sr. made a strong outside run, until Porter lost his left
rear wheel, collecting a couple of cars, moving Prosser to the
point, only to make contact with a spinning car, which also caught
up Alderson, Ron Butler and Marini.
Prosser and Butler went to the sidelines on the hook, while
Alderson had a flat and was unable to return. Richard McCormick had been jousting with
Prosser, now assumed the lead, securing it to the checkers, Ron Bach
came in second with Steve Stassa finishing third, Tim Moon gathered
in fourth spot and Dave Marini came from a flip on the opening green
and going to the back after the altercation with Prosser, Alderson
and Butler to finish fifth. Bruce
Douglass, who has been a consistent strong runner in a Cory Kruseman
Driving School rent a car, had a rough looking flip on the back
straightaway, not only damaging his car, but tearing down a
billboard sponsored by Bruce’s company.
Now is that adding insult to injury? With all the classes and the delays for track
cleanup after some crashes, the fans were able to head into the
pits, just past 9:30 p.m. for visits to their favorite drivers. Looking for a pleasurable Saturday, try spending a day traveling around Ventura and then take in a race at Seaside Park in the evening. It’s a winning combination. |
