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SALUTE
TO INDY, 2006 by Norm Bogan |
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Memorial Day is a revered holiday, beginning point for the rites of summer and for nearly a century, this day has meant racing at the Indianapolis 500. Decoration Day as it was originally known was set aside to honor our military, lost in the various wars securing our freedom. The Indy 500 dawned in 1911 to pit man against machine as the advent of the automobile had created a new form of competition, auto racing. For decades, the Indy 500 was the focal point of the Memorial Holiday drawing thousands of fans, not only paying homage to fallen soldiers, but also to many brave souls who took the wheel of one of these racing machines and perished in the heat of the event. As southern California was a spawning point for research and development of the racecars, those who drove the beastly chariots also had roots in the Southland. For many decades, a large percentage of the field of racecars and drivers have emanated from the West Coast, so it is only natural that fans are especially interested in the exploits of the racing teams. For several generations, the youngsters viewed at the local racing facilities, were the ones advancing to Indy. Over the past two-plus decades, the tide has changed at the Brickyard and now our heroes are competing in another Memorial Day event, the World 600 at Charlotte, North Carolina. Thirty-five sprint cars were on hand for the Perris Auto Speedway’s Salute to Indy (and Charlotte). Many of the veteran drivers on site would have moved on to Indy in another time, but have settled for being Saturday night racers, unable to produce the multi-million dollar tab that it takes to gain the Indy experience. Sometimes it seems that skills have no consideration, only the thickness of your billfold. The track was prepared well for the forty-lap feature and the heat races were exciting. Heat one had Cory Kruseman, Rip Williams, Damion Gardner and Rickie Gaunt, four of the country’s best competing for bragging rights as Tom Stansberry claimed the victory. After a first lap altercation in Heat two, Danny Sheridan replaced a flat tire and made the charge from the rear to collect the spoils with an exciting slide job competition with Tony Jones. Fans were treated with a view of the future as youngsters, Chad Boespflug (18) and Blake Miller (19) put on a show from the back of Heat three. Slide jobs continued in Heat four as David Cardey and Alan Ballard gave the fans some moves to talk about. The Semi was made up of a group of outstanding performers, who were unable to collect a transfer from the heat races. Gaunt, Boespflug, Josh Williams, Charles Davis Jr., Bobby Cody and J. Hicks all advanced to the Salute to Indy feature. The feature was an exciting event with a lot of movement in the field. Early on the track seemed narrow and fast, but as the prevailing wind continued to suck lifeblood from the clay, the track widened and started to take on rubber. This brought on some spectacular slide-jobs and several altercations, which saw Mike Kirby on a banzai move down the back straightaway collide with Rip Williams, sending the Ripper for multiple flips up to the turn three wall. Rip exited the car on his own power and was escorted to the paramedics for a checkup, but Williams commented, “I ain’t getting in no ambulance” and made his way back to the hauler. He may be fifty, but like that other guy that drove a #3, he’s one tough hombre! Mike Spencer grabbed the lead, while the others were mixing things up behind him. Advancing from out of the trailing pack was Tony Jones, who has shown flashes of brilliance in his new ride this year, but has also suffered maladies that have kept him from the podium. The last ten laps became a shootout with Spencer, Jones, Gaunt and Kruseman all searching for that number one position. After several traded slide-jobs, Jones finally gained the point with a lap or two to go and logged in his first victory as a USAC/CRA driver, aboard the Alexander #4 steed. Others that should be acknowledged would be Danny Sheridan, who ran strong again in this race, but got caught up in a shunt and scored sixth. Damion Gardner jumped over the cushion in the north turn and damaged the front axle. Efforts to replace it fell short, but another altercation without scoring a lap, allowed the Chaffin/Bromme team to complete repairs and the Demon returned to finish seventh. Davey Pombo continues to be a tough competitor in the Ben Lancaster #14. Alan Ballard gave a good accounting of himself in the seat of Buzz Shoemaker’s #0. He was fifth with a lap to go when he got a little out of shape to finish eighth. Evan Suggs is making the transition from wings and 360 sprinters clocking in second fast for the second week in a row. This is another nineteen-year-old to be reckoned with. Perris Auto Speedway did it up right as they acknowledged the sacrifices of our military over the years. The Boy Scouts led the Pledge of Allegiance, a youth choir sang the National Anthem followed by a rendition of “Back Home Again in Indiana”. Jones was adorned with a wreath, just like Hornish at Indy, but they forgot the milk. |
