|
Traditional Sprint Car FanSite |
See You At The Races!!! |
|
DUEL
IN THE DESERT II by Norm Bogan |
|
|
|
When
the frost comes and the leaves turn color that usually means the end of racing
season in the heartland. However,
in the desert of the Southwest the cacti and palm trees don’t change color,
seldom is there any frost and racing continues on.
Now, approaching the feast of Thanksgiving, many midget and sprint
drivers have gathered in Phoenix for one last assault on the clay. The first of a two-day show found the pits with forty-three sprint cars (non-wing 360s) and thirty-three midgets. The entry list read like a who’s-who of open wheel racing. Based around the hometown series of ASCA 360 Sprints and the ARA Midgets, many visitors traveled from afar to join the locals and make this event a national happening. Representatives from the Central California “Bandit” series and several regulars from the Ventura Racing Association were on hand as were some visitors from New Mexico and Texas. Looking closer found haulers sporting license tags from Illinois and Indiana. The format was conducive to larger fields with qualifying bypassed and each race set up by a pill draw for the heat races and the feature lineup determined by performance in the heats. A “Dash for Cash” for the top two finishers from each heat race established the lineup for the front five rows of the feature. The heats were interesting and exciting as the starting spots found some of the fast guys, with less accomplished drivers by their side. The twenty-five lap Midget feature found Jeremy Sherman in the lead early before experiencing a mechanical problem and Eric Wilkins took the point, but promptly fell out placing Cory Kruseman in front for the balance of the race. Mike Hess from Illinois diced with Cory, but settled for runner-up followed by Luke Icke from Colorado, early leader Jeremy Sherman and newly crowned ARA champion, 15 year old R.J. Johnson. The Sprint feature saw Sherman again running up front and being pursued by Charles Davis Jr., until Davis had his engine detonate. Moving ahead from the back in the pack was Levi Jones, who eventually assumed the lead and went on to the checkered. Sherman ran second, with Wilkins in third and Indiana’s Terry Pletch finished fourth. A post race inspection found that Jones’ engine did not meet the requirements and he was disqualified, moving all competitors ahead one spot, with Sherman gathering in the first place money. The red flag flew on several occasions for spectacular flips by Damion Gardner, Cory Kruseman and Dickie Stevens, with each emerging unhurt from their damaged steeds. As Saturday unfolded, many of yesterday’s casualties returned, including the sprinters of Gardner, Kruseman, Stevens and Davis. Heat races once again provided exciting action with the Semi-Mains offering the last opportunity for some to advance to the features, while others fell short of a shot at the brass ring. Tonight’s features lacked the controversy of last night’s show. Jeremy Sherman was a dominant force in both the Midgets and Sprints capturing the double tonight, which added to Friday’s Sprint win, made him three for four on the weekend. Trailing Sherman to the checkers in the Midget feature were Kruseman and Bobby Boone. Mike Hess and Mike Leslie both had impressive runs to garner top-ten finishes. The Sprint feature saw Charles Davis Jr. come back strong with a borrowed engine to grab the runner-up spot, followed by Eric Wilkins and Travis Rilat from Texas. Dave Ellis and his staff did a great job of bringing in a good field of cars from throughout the western states, plus a number of visitors from the Midwest. Stars from various racing clubs came to test their mettle against their counterparts. With the large fields, I personally liked the idea of the pill draw for establishing the lineup, offering a chance to some of the lesser-financed and underpowered teams to run on an even keel with the better-funded teams. It was unfortunate that threatening weather, plus a competing event in Tucson diluted the crowd. Many of those who witnessed this year’s show were impressed and want to do it again. Hopefully, Ellis will opt for the next edition of “Duel in the Desert” in 2003 and the word will get out about the quality show this year, persuading more fans to return to this event and bring a few friends. For most of the competitors, this event closed out their racing season. The same goes for many of the fans. They have all winter to savor the success and excitement, while others will utter those famous words, ”If only this had happened!” |
