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Traditional Sprint Car FanSite |
See You At The Races!!! |
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A
BREATH OF FRESH AIR |
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Each
year in any racing association a group of newcomers come forth to challenge the
established heroes. Often as
rookies, they suffer various demises, which may hinder their progress.
Usually the freshman class can be very raw in experience and lacking in
first-class equipment. Racers who move up in class from another form of motor sports
will soon adapt to their new steeds and become competitive, while those who are
starting out cold have a number of adjustments to make.
Not only do they need to develop their driving skills, gaining confidence
to race with the more experienced veterans, but there is also a gap in the
reliability of equipment and the knowledge to set up a stable chassis for
optimum performance. Seldom does a new competitor
enter the ranks and soon become a force to reckon with.
Those who exhibit the ability to run with the fast guys, often find
themselves suffering many setbacks from shunts.
Very few neophytes rise to the top and run competitively. This season in the SCRA, one
driver has circumvented the above scenario and brought a “Breath of Fresh
Air” to the strong nucleus of racers, regularly vying for the spoils in this
association. Damion Gardner came on
the scene at the end of 2001, entering the Oval Nationals at Perris. Damion is starting his fifth
year in sprint cars, a career that has been all winged except participation with
the USAC Western States Sprint series on pavement in 2001.
While he has enjoyed success in each endeavor along the way, it is
difficult for driver and team to switch from a wing orientation to the
traditional genre of the SCRA. Also
the SCRA roster offers a strong contingent of recognized successful drivers.
Each week, he must compete against racers who fill about half of the
National Non-Wing Poll top twenty-five drivers. Gardner exhibits an aggressive
driving style, often running high up against the cushion then, jerking his beast
under another car to pass on the low side. Damion’s exciting driving style has established him as a
fan favorite. Many anticipated
these daring moves would lead to a crash, but Gardner appears to be focused on
his task. Damion grew up in the East San
Francisco Bay area and participated as a wrestler in high school.
Interest in auto racing peaked after running an enduro race as a lark.
With the competitive juices flowing Gardner soon spent his savings on a
Dwarf Car and competed with the Nor Cal Dwarf Car Association for three years,
winning the season point championship in 1997.
After this accomplishment, the search was on for something more powerful
and challenging. In 1998, Gardner saddled up in a
360 sprinter running at Placerville Speedway.
The following year, Damion jumped up into the Civil War series running at
about a half-dozen different tracks and compiling five feature wins.
This gave him the confidence to step up to the 410 class of the Northern
Auto Racing Club (NARC) and run with the likes of veterans, Brent Kaeding, Steve
Kent, Kevin Pylant and others, claiming two feature victories at Chowchilla and
Santa Maria. 2001 found Damion
looking to the USAC Western States Sprint series to gain pavement experience and
learning well enough to visit Victory Lane at Albuquerque.
On off weekends, he went back to the dirt with his 410 wing car and
competed with the Golden State Series, also garnering a win at the mighty
Calistoga half-mile. SCRA has a strong field of cars
and for a newcomer to make the show is an achievement.
Many very qualified drivers and teams have visited SCRA for a shot at a
big purse show and struggled to adapt their cars to a non-wing configuration,
which use a different engine setback and other idiosyncrasies, difficult to
master in one outing. Gardner appeared for the 2001
Oval Nationals and quickly picked up some of the tricks for running a
traditional sprint car. While many
fans and competitors looked at him as another wing guy going into the corners
way too far and too fast, he made it and was again challenging at the next
corner. Once or twice and you say
he got lucky, but continuing that driving style was going to gain him some
altitude records. Damion felt
otherwise as he found less traffic at the top and saw it as open road to the
front. This strategy became a modus
operandi leading to some top finishes. With the confidence of the
higher finishes and the ability to lay down quick qualifying laps, then
progressing from an inverted starting position in the heats to gain a position
in the Passing Masters Dash, Gardner was now running with the fast guys.
One of his most impressive outings was the night he started on the pole
of the dash and was passed by Richard Griffin and Cory Kruseman.
These two have accounted for the past four SCRA championships and who was
this pest from up north trying to cut in on their action.
Well Damion respected both of these drivers, but seemed to think they
were running too low on the track and just drove around both of them on the
outside, taking the victory. The
crowd went wild and Damion was so pumped up with his version of a David and
Goliath performance. Since that night, the secret is
out and it is more difficult for Gardner to sneak up unsuspectingly on the wily
veterans. He has continued his
driving style each race gaining more enthusiastic converts among the fans and
soon added a second Dash win, plus a third and fourth place feature finish over
the past two weeks. Now here is the twist of irony. Damion doesn’t have a big buck sponsor or a wealthy family. This mild mannered auto mechanic saves his money and does what it takes to keep going. Gardner recently sold his tow rig to accumulate enough funds to continue making the four hundred plus mile trips each way to compete with the SCRA. Currently he tows with a truck loaned by a friend and has a loyal crew of workers, who travel the long journey each week, because they too are enamored with the heroics of their driver. Gardner says that a limited
budget has prevented him from purchasing new chassis and engines, but has made
an arrangement with World of Outlaws competitor, Brad Furr, to buy his hand me
down equipment. This affords Damion
the opportunity to run strong reliable parts that fit the budget restraints. Damion Gardner is one of the most impressive new drivers with SCRA, stepping up to challenge the top drivers and showing that he can run with them. An exciting driving style has endeared many fans, as each night following the races, finds a long line of autograph seekers at his pit. This young man has exhibited the fortitude and perseverance to continue seeking the brass ring, committing himself to make the journey to each race and run for victory. Current plans indicate that Gardner will travel on the NWWC tour this year and then fans from throughout the country will get to witness the new wonder from the West Coast. Establishing himself as a crowd
pleaser and a very competitive driver in a tough club makes Damion a candidate
for a potential sponsor. Financial
aid could relieve corner cutting and spending of savings in a quest to be one of
the best in the country. While the SCRA has been blessed with some outstanding newcomers, who have gone on to national acclaim, Damion Gardner continues to be a “Breath of Fresh Air” for those who have witnessed his exploits this year. |
