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Traditional Sprint Car FanSite |
See You At The Races!!! |
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WHERE
DID ALL THESE YOUNG KIDS COME FROM? by Norm Bogan |
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At the start of the 1994 West Coast sprint-car racing season, fans were treated to a preview of two drivers who soon became dominant players in auto racing. Cory Kruseman and J.J. Yeley were two young rookie drivers that came to challenge the likes of Lealand McSpadden, Ron Shuman, Richard Griffin, Mike Kirby and Rip Williams. By season’s end, J.J. was the National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year and Cory was the first runner-up. Kruseman had scored two feature wins as a first year racer, nearly unheard of in that era. Yeley and Kruseman have gone on to race on the national level in USAC Midgets, Sprints and Silver Crown cars, both had a brief opportunity in an IRL car. Each has ventured into the NASCAR arena, where J.J. has reached the highest level as full time competitor on the Nextel Cup circuit. Kruseman on the other hand, began to develop an empire at home, building the Cory Kruseman Driving School into a successful business, acquiring a fleet of cars, both sprints and midgets and developing a rental program where school graduates could rent one of the school cars and then compete on a weekly basis. Kruseman now has seven sprint cars and two midgets in his stable. 2001 saw a young college student majoring in mechanical engineering, come into the field as a candidate for Rookie of the Year. Mike Spencer, son of the 1976 Rookie of the Year, with a short run in Lightning Sprints after a number years racing BMX. Mike exhibited raw talent, but was somewhat limited due to his commitment to education. Mike’s team improved during the season and took Rookie honors for the year. In 2002, the cast had changed with retirement of drivers like McSpadden and Shuman. Kruseman, Griffin, Kirby and Williams were now the heroes, with Yeley moving on to a Midwest base and claiming the USAC Triple Crown title before moving south to NASCAR. A major force arrived at the opening show of the year, when a relatively unknown traveled south to race without a wing adorning his silver and green car. Damion Gardner took the southern California sprint car scene by storm, instantly gaining fans with his helter-skelter driving style and was soon challenging the veteran racers. By the season’s end, he had scored four victories across the country, one each at Perris, Manzanita, Ventura and Williams Grove. He put on a show at Oskaloosa that got him national attention, making moves unknown to the science of non-wing sprint car racing. 2003 brought Josh Ford and Alan Ballard to the 410 wars. Both served apprenticeships in the VRA sprints, and each scored a feature win at that level. Ford spent parts of 2004 and 2005 seasons racing on the USAC National circuit, being named the 2004 USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year. R.J. Johnson joined the ranks of the 410 sprinters in 2005. Behind him was the pedigree of his father Ricky, who had scored championships with the Arizona Midgets, Sprints and Modifieds. R.J. came up through the same conduit that brought J.J. Yeley, Jerry Coons Jr. and Jeremy Sherman to racing. Along the way, he won the Arizona Midget title at fourteen and repeated at fifteen. He spent two years with the strong ASCA sprint cars and then joined USAC as an eighteen year old to secure the rookie title. This year experienced a big addition to the talent pool. Four rookies have come to join the 2006 competition. Blake Miller (19) and Chad Boespflug (18) are both champions of their respective series from last year. Blake is the 2005 VRA Pro Sprint Champion, and Chad is the 2005 SCRA Champion. Evan Suggs (19) is a sophomore at San Jose State University majoring in engineering, bringing years of experience in Go-Karts and a tour in 360 Sprints. He has shown an affinity for nibbling at fast time, with a couple of second quick and a third quick times at recent events. Matt Stewart (18) grew up around sprint car racing as his dad Dennis competed for a number of years. Matt came up through BMX racing and moved into a sprinter. They fought engine and handling problems early in the season, but have received some assistance from veteran teams, helping Matt to be much more competitive on the racetrack and becoming a stronger runner. Will we witness the changing of the guard? A large number of the regular drivers range from their late twenties to early forties. While accumulating many victories during their careers, some may be considering cutting back on their racing agenda in the future. Among these drivers are Mike Kirby, Rickie Gaunt, Charles Davis Jr., Tony Jones, Cory Kruseman, Damion Gardner, Danny Sheridan, J. Hicks, Davey Pombo and David Cardey. Rip Williams, now fifty remains one of the most competitive race drivers in his twenty-ninth year with over one hundred feature victories Looking at the “Kiddie Korps”, the oldest three, Spencer, Ford and Ballard have each scored a USAC/CRA victory. Johnson has several top five finishes, while Suggs has exhibited a smooth driving style and quickness. Miller and Boespflug are already champions and adapting well at this higher level. Stewart should advance as he gains valuable experience. What does this mean for sprint car driving?
As the more senior drivers decide to hang it up, there will
be very capable youngsters waiting in the wings to assume the best
rides available and then they will look over their shoulders at
racers stepping up in the future.
All in all, it appears the sprint car racing, as we know it
is going to be well represented for years to come.
Sometimes you just get lucky! |
