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Traditional Sprint Car FanSite |
See You At The Races!!! |
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CHAMPIONS ARE CROWNED AT VENTURA
by Norm Bogan |
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Fall is upon us and racing season is winding down. This is the time of year that the season’s ups and downs are tallied and champions are named. There were several championships to be that could be confirmed this evening. First off was the Ford Focus Dirt Series title.
The series split into dirt and pavement disciplines in 2005
and this was the final dirt show of the year.
Chase Barber held the lead coming in and was closely
pursued by both Alex Harris and Audra Sasselli.
Bobby Michnowicz drove to victory in the feature and as the
evening wrapped up, all three of the principles finished in the top
five with Barber capturing the championship. Next was the VRA Modifieds, which began as I-4
Mods, racing with four cylinder foreign stock engines.
As the automakers stepped up many of the engines to the V6
configuration, the I-4s became the VRA Mods, running the six
cylinder power plants. This
evening’s show would be the end of this class as declining
participation and short fields made them less than workable for the
promoter. Tom Morley
was crowned the champion of the abbreviated season and local
favorite Dave Lidren claimed the feature victory. Another longtime competitor, Marty McLaughlin is moving to
Las Vegas and plans to campaign an IMCA Modified next year. The two sprint car fields also had some close battles for the season titles. In the Senior Division, reigning champ, Wiley Miller held a close lead over the previous champ, Ron Bach. Bach used psychology on Miller this week, calling his shop on several occasions to report that due to the nearby brush fires, racing had been suspended at Ventura Raceway. Wiley being a wily veteran didn’t buy this propaganda and towed to Seaside Park anyway, just in case Bach was mistaken. Both Miller and Bach claimed the heat race victories, but in the feature, it didn’t look good for either of these racers. A spinning car collected Ron, damaging a header, punching a hole in the valve cover and nearly tearing the hood off. He was able to restart and completed the twenty-lap feature in fifth place. Wiley, in the meantime assumed the lead and looked to be on the way to victory. A lapped car got out of shape and tagged Miller’s left front, causing him to stall on the track. Wiley restarted at the rear and moved forward in the remaining laps to catch up with Ron, but was unable to pass him. Bob Alderman claimed the spoils in the feature as the point leaders both faltered. In the end, Miller had accumulated an adequate margin that Bach could not overcome in the season’s final event. Wiley Miller becomes a three-time champion of the Senior Division. In the Pro Division, a similar battle for
supremacy was underway. Blake
Miller led the points most of the season, with former champ, Kevin
Kierce closing in on him each week.
Blake did what he had to, by winning his heat race and the
feature. Kevin battled
for the lead in the feature and ended up third, close enough to
carry the battle to the next event, but all eighteen-year-old Miller
needs to do is start the feature to claim his first championship. This was the second week in a row that track
preparation was so good that no maintenance or watering was needed
during the evening. About
sundown, a fog layer came in from the ocean, causing some visibility
problems for the racers, but they chose to persevere and complete
the night’s program. Racing
fans were treated to some great racing during the event and the
smoothly run show found the fans visiting the pits by 9:15 p.m. Only
a couple of weeks left to sew up the season at Ventura Raceway for
2005. Reports are that there will be some freshening of the facility during the winter months. It also appears that the Ford Focus cars may run on a regular basis at Ventura next year. We all look forward to our first visit to Seaside Park in 2006. |
