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Traditional Sprint Car FanSite |
See You At The Races!!! |
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SEPTEMBER SATURDAY NIGHT AT SEASIDE PARK by Norm Bogan |
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School is back in session and that means Friday night high school football games and Saturday soccer matches have resumed. Traveling to Ventura Raceway on Saturday afternoon, nearly every park has groups of young kids, both boys and girls, running around on the grass, trying to kick that spotted ball into a net. Parents with their younger children are comparing notes on how their high schoolers faired in last night’s big football game. In between scrimmages on the soccer field, the Dads compare notes for Sunday’s NFL games. A few Dads are antsy to hurry up and complete this early Saturday task with the kids, so they can go play. After all, they still need to load the racecar and get to the track. Yes folks, some of the friends you meet at your kid’s soccer game are closet racecar drivers. That old Pinto you have seen in the garage is not a dune buggy for Sunday afternoons on the beach. That is a “pure bred”, “dyed in the wool”, “honest to goodness” RACECAR. Your good buddy from the soccer field actually
knows others who have similar vehicles also parked in their garages.
On Saturday evening they dress up in colorful overalls and
don crash helmets and go around in circles chasing each other.
Most have their car painted anything but factory colors with
numbers on the side. These steeds have the windows removed and replaced with mesh.
They claim it keeps the mud out, but wouldn’t the window
have worked better? Most of these racers are blue-collar people,
the guy who replaces you muffler or comes to the house to spray for
bugs, maybe the guy who built your patio deck.
They are all hard-working upright citizens, raising a family
and choosing to seek their recreation at the local racetrack on
Saturday night. We know them as Pony Stock racers and they have become the
backbone of the little local bullring tracks.
Most are average guys and racing at a nearby venue allows
them to keep travel costs to a minimum while leaving time for family
activities during the weekend. The weather is mild now with a cool ocean breeze and as the sun sets in the West, the autumn chill is evident. While you couldn’t see your breath, most fans donned sweatshirts, jackets and gloves, while others wrapped blankets around themselves and stocked up on hot chocolate and coffee to ward off the cold temperatures later in the evening. This evening’s program featured sixteen Pony
Stocks, thirteen Pro Dwarf and seventeen Senior Dwarf cars,
twenty-one Pro Sprints and fifteen Senior Sprints.
The Dwarfs ran two heats for each class with the winners
being Mike Sweeney and Ed Niedzwecki in the Senior cars and Chris
Taylor and Brian Saxton in the Pros.
Senior Sprint heats went to Bruce Douglass and Jim Porter,
while Kevin Kierce, Blake Miller and Chris Wakim claimed the three
Pro Sprint heats. Finally,
Long and Greiman took the Pony stock heats. Niedzwecki and Saxton captured their respective
Dwarf Car main events. Wes
Richardson, a young sprint driver, who moved up from IMCA Modifieds
is showing rapid adjustment to the open wheel cars, capturing the
Pro Sprint “B” Main. Senior
Sprints ran their feature next with point leader, Wiley Miller
taking the smooth low groove to victory. The Pro Sprints saw several different leaders,
as the well prepared track made for some great racing, with cars
running high and low, dicing with one another, gaining an advantage
then dropping back. In
the end, Kevin Kierce led to the checkers, with Greg Taylor, Blake
Miller, Oren Prosser Jr. and Ryan Devitt completing the top five.
Devitt has had two good weeks with a top ten finish last week
in his first USAC/CRA feature and a top five VRA tally this week.
Keep an eye on this improving driver. Tonight’s featured Pony Stock Main saw Long,
Fish, Greiman, Hoyt and Evans all jockeying for the early advantage
and as the lineup shook down, Mike Frazier came forward to take the
checkers and add to his point total. Next Saturday at the soccer field, try to imagine which one of the parents can be found later in the day at Ventura Raceway with their Pinto. |
