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GRAND SLAM 2008-ROUND THREE, 7.26.08 by Norm Bogan |
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For
the third round of this year’s Grand Slam series, forty-one
sprinters visited Santa Maria Speedway on the central California
coast. The IMCA
Modifieds provided the companion group with seventeen racers
present. For many of
the competitors journeying from inland regions of the state, the
milder temperatures were a welcome respite.
Santa Maria has always been a favorite with the fans
and the grandstands were full for this event. There
was no qualifying, so all the racers lived by the pill draw. This set up the starting positions for the five sprint heats.
The top three finishers from each heat race transferred
directly into the evening’s feature, while the others were
delegated to two twelve lap “B” Main events with the top four
from each moving on to the “A” feature.
Heat race winners were: Danny Faria Jr., Danny Sheridan,
Davey Pombo, Albert Pombo and Greg Porte.
Semi wins went to Jeff Fiscus and Kevin Kierce. For
the IMCA Modifieds, they also lined up in the three heat races by
virtue of their pill draw position.
Heat race victors were Doug Thornton, Tommy Laliberte and
Danny Lauer. All the Modifieds made the feature with starting positions
determined by their finishes in the heats. The
regular Mini Stock class was also on the program this evening and
one of the unique reasons for having them is that they help to bring
back the track surface. Over
the years, it has been noted the often the sprints with their wide
tires have a tendency to glaze over the clay surface, leading to a
dry slick track condition. The Mini Stock feature ran after the second Sprint Semi and
in effect the narrow tires on these cars cut away the glaze and let
some moisture return to the surface. Many
of the fans fail to realize that the Mini Stock class consists of
gentlemen racers, who run for a trophy, but no prize money.
While their investment is not on a par with a sprint car or
Modified budget, it is most likely all they can afford and they
should be commended for providing better track conditions for the
highlighted classes. For
the sprint car feature, Jayson May grabbed the early lead before
Peter Murphy broke through to challenge and eventually take the
lead, as Greg Porte got by May and ran second in pursuit of Murphy.
Danny Faria Jr. soon joined the top four, moving to second. On
lap 22, Greg Porte kissed the wall coming onto the front straight. He climbed up the wall and did a couple of barrel rolls in
the air and a flip before landing on top of Brian Camarillo.
As his car came off the top of Camarillo, he ran head on into
the infield K-rail. It
was obvious that Greg was stunned and it took a while to get him out
of the car, after which he gingerly walked to the ambulance, where
they held him for observation.
He was reported to be okay, but somewhat lightheaded after
his wild ride. On
the restart, Faria advanced to the front with Murphy dancing behind
him, occasionally showing him a wheel, but unable to regain the
point. It was some outstanding racing running alongside for the
balance of the race with some very clean dicing.
Overlooked early was Justyne Hamblin, who started fifteenth
and made a charge along the outside wall following the restart from
Porte’s crash. Hamblin
finished sixth. Danny
Faria garnered the victory with Murphy as the runner up and Jayson
May capturing third. Peter
Murphy reminds me very much of Lealand McSpadden, first for his
talent as a driver and competitor, but also, as a friend to fellow
racers and the fans. He
was first to Faria to give him a hug for a great, clean race.
He also mentioned his concern about Porte.
He thanked the fans for coming to watch the races and
complimented the track on their efforts to provide a good racing
surface. He often will
work with his fellow racers, helping them to overcome a problem with
their racecar. He is a
Good Will Ambassador for the sport. The
IMCA Modifieds closed out the racing for this evening with their
thirty lap feature, which Clay Daly claimed victory, followed by
Joey Claborn and Chad Weber. August 23rd will complete the Grand Slam competition for 2008 at Ventura Raceway. |
