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Traditional Sprint Car FanSite |
See You At The Races!!! |
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A VICTORVILLE SATURDAY NIGHT, 8.2.08 by Norm Bogan |
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Arriving at the local food emporium
about noon, the temperature indicator read 101 degrees.
After a delicious meal in air conditioned comfort, today’s
adventure led to the Victorville Auto Raceway for an evening of
410&360 traditional sprint cars, plus the winged California
Lightning Sprints and Sport Compact stock cars. Signing in at the gate, the journey
continued into the pit area, where the early arrivals had already
set up camp, putting their EZ-Ups in place to provide shade.
A breeze was passing through the area and it afforded some
cooling action for the competitors.
As the teams prepared their cars for action, it is a relaxed
time to visit with each other and catch up on the latest gossip.
Word was that some new clay had been brought in and worked
into the racing surface. As the pits filled, we found 25 sprint
cars ready for action, plus twenty-one Lightning Sprints. There was
also a good field of Sport Compact racers.
As the teams prepared their cars for evening’s events, the
track crew was massaging the new clay and getting down some moisture
to create a tacky surface. With the sun fading into the West,
temperatures dipped to a comfortable level for the fans.
Wheel packing and Hot Laps got underway and soon we observers
knew that the track was going to be good for the evening. Competitors did a pill draw, which determined their starting
positions in the heat races. Later
events would line up according to the performance in the heat races. Starting off the program in the usual
fashion with the National Anthem was a first time experience for me,
as the regular flagman led the crowd in singing, then, climbed up to
his perch to wave the flags. He
did a great job and sang a good old traditional version. Four Sprint Car heats followed with
John Aden, Ludwig Solberg IV, Tyler Brown and David Cardey claiming
the victories. The top
four finishers from each heat transferred directly to the “A”
Main. Three Lightning
Sprint heats found Brent Sexton, Jarrett Kramer and Stuart Hielshier
prevailing. Rodney Argo
grabbed the spoils in the Sprint Car “B” feature, which sent the
final four contestants to the Main Event.
After an intermission for a bikini
contest and other levity, the program returned to racing with the
Sprint Car “A” Main. Twenty
cars took the green with John Aden sprinting to a good lead
initially. About one
third of the distance into the race, Tyler Brown flipped and landed
on Ludwig Solberg IV. Solberg
went to the infield, done for the night and Brown went to the work
area, before returning to action.
This is where a lingering problem
became evident. As the
scorers sent down the line up, some of the racers didn’t agree, so
they didn’t get into the position the track workers indicated to
them. I am sure the
racers were antsy, but the fans get disgusted with the length of
time to realign the field. This
is not a Victorville problem, but one that is much too predominate
throughout racing. Different
tracks and organizations have tried various solutions, such as
one-way radios, but it is hard to convince racers in the heat of
battle that they should be in eighth place and not sixth.
In the middle of the race, you cannot take the time to review
the records for a possible mistake.
Tracks should make it clear to competitors, that they should
immediately assume the position as indicated on the track board.
If not they will be black-flagged and sent to the rear of the
field. If the problem persists, they should be disqualified from the
event. No one wants to
take drastic action like this and it only takes a little cooperation
from the racers and officials to get a show restarted in minimal
time. The fans support the races and want to
see an action packed show. They
become disgruntled, when restarts drag on for many laps, while
trying to align the field. The
situation is compounded when a sprint car race is red-flagged, since
the cars must be push started and a low number of push vehicles can
drag out a race for several laps.
If a team feels they have been wronged, they may file a
protest, which will allow a review of the scoring after the race,
when all minds can be focused on the problem.
This is not a perfect world and sometimes errors occur, but
just as the racers strive to be the best on the track, so do the
unheralded folks behind the scenes, such as the scorers.
If you think it is easy, try jotting down the car numbers in
order as they pass by each lap at your next race and you will gain a
new respect for those who usually volunteer for the task.
Most of these workers do it for the love of the sport.
Now the soap box has been put away and when the checkers fell
for the Sprint car feature, David Cardey led John Aden across the
stripe with Seth Wilson and Blake Miller following in 410 cars.
Brandon Thomson was the top finishing 360 claiming fifth. The Sport Compacts ran their show in
quick fashion, while tonight’s featured class, California
Lightning Sprints struggled with a few altercations.
Several of the leaders spun while in front and those dicing
with them took advantage of their bad luck.
At the finish Sexton claimed the victory, followed by
Hielshier and Kramer. There was a great crowd on hand to see
some outstanding racing. The
track staff did an excellent job of maintaining the track throughout
the evening. Victorville
is going to add more new clay and this once sleepy little track is
starting to attract attention as a racy venue, offering some great
completion throughout the various racing classes.
For fans reading this that have not visited the facility,
look at the schedule and select a racing program that suits your
tastes, then make the trip to Victorville.
I think you will be pleasantly impressed. |
