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| HOT LAPS WITH NORM
BOGAN #10 (6/22/03) by Norm Bogan |
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It was one of those weekends when somehow you knew things would be different. First, June in the desert is usually hot and sunny with temperatures in the nineties, but today drizzles were encountered on the way to Perris and it was an overcast day with temps in the sixties. Not routine weather for late June and the track crew had to fudge a little to get the surface ready for racing without creating a mud bowl. Well, they did a good job and the track provided a good surface and stayed tacky all night. SCRA fans have become used to either “The Gasman” or “The Demon” setting fast time nearly each week. Tonight a youngster out ran all the hot dogs as Josh Wise captured the quick time money, being the only car to clock in the 16s at 16.700. Another qualifying surprise was newcomer Greg Bragg, who has just moved up from the Lightning Sprints to pilot the #12 Pratt Sprinter. After struggling for the past few weeks, he qualified in at twelfth fast and made the direct transfer to the feature. This was a big step for this former Lightning Sprint Champion. The heat races were very competitive, with most of the usual characters making the transfer for a spot in the feature. Another one of the lesser known racers, Mark Heidenreich in the #22, led the first heat ahead of some heavy hitters, before getting out of shape and falling back, missing the transfer. One of the positives this year has been the performance of the rookie drivers. Several have been quite impressive, performing well enough to run in a number of the Passing Masters Dashes. A couple of this year’s rookies are in the top fifteen in points. This is probably the best rookie crop in a number of years. A good Passing Masters Dash and “B” Main had the field set for the thirty-lap feature. In the previous twelve races this season, Damion Gardner has claimed six feature wins. Starting on the outside front row, it appeared Gardner was in a good spot to win his seventh. As the field came around turn four to take the green flag, Damion stood on the gas and suddenly turned left right in front of the field. There were cars running over other cars, cars flipping and cars turning every which way. It was total chaos at the starters stand with the tally indicating that thirteen of the twenty-two starters were involved. As the cars were removed from the carnage one by one, crews set to work to make repairs to return their steed to the action. Once the track was cleared and all the racecars that were able to restart accounted for, it was evident that Damion Gardner, Bryan Stanfill, Tony Jones and Seth Wilson cars were damaged severely enough that repairs could not return them to the show. On the restart, the car of Jimmy Crawford went straight into the wall in turn one and rolled over. After that, the show got under way with several different leaders, including Rutherford, Ostling, and Williams. Ostling took the lead again on lap 19 but spun while going into turn 2 and Josh Wise took the point. It was about this time that Mike English hit the front straightaway wall, ricocheting off the wall across the track and collecting Mike Kirby. Crashing cage to cage turning each car over, it was evident that both drivers appeared to be knocked out as emergency personnel worked on each of them. Eventually, a wobbly Kirby climbed from his car, but English had to be cut from his car and was taken to the hospital for observation. He was released on Sunday morning, battered and bruised, but otherwise okay. With Wise now in the lead, he was challenged closely through the last ten laps by Troy Rutherford, with Mike Spencer closing the gap in third. Josh held on to garner his first SCRA feature in his eighth outing in a sprint car. It was the first SCRA win also for northern California car owner, Mike Sala. Mike has come to the competition with a “Kiddie Corps” of sorts. Josh recently turned twenty, while crewman Jase Lammea is nineteen and Crew Chief, Jake Argo is eighteen. This team is young in age, but they come with years of experience and have quickly gained the respect of their fellow competitors.
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