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| HOT
LAPS WITH NORM BOGAN #16 (8/3/03) by Norm Bogan |
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While this weekend looked to be much the same as most weekends,
it was somewhat different. I was
back at Perris Auto Speedway, but SCRA is off now for their NWWC tour to the
Midwest. Tonight’s sprint cars
were the VRA 360 non-wing cars, which look just like their SCRA big brothers
from the stands. Since VRA does a
pill draw, instead of qualifying, you can’t compare lap times. All together thirty-nine cars were in the pits including
several SCRA regulars aboard these 360 cars.
Mike Kirby drove Buzz Shoemaker’s #0, while Steve Ostling was in the
#14K car from Colorado. Josh Ford
brought out the family car that he ran last year with VRA and a couple of cars
came in from northern California to turn some laps in preparation for the 360
Nationals on August 22 & 23. Rick
Williams towed down from Castro Valley in the East Bay area and Jayson May
journeyed from Taft in Central California.
Warm weather coupled with a steady breeze kept the track preparation crew busy trying to prevent the surface from going dry slick and dusty. For the most part their efforts paid off as the track stayed racy most of the evening. The last few laps of the feature saw some dust kicking up in the turns. The track size is not too intimidating for the competitors, who are used to the small quarter-mile bullring at Ventura. The drivers seemed to like the larger track with a wider racing surface, which allowed them more room to negotiate with other cars. The heat races were pretty exciting with a number of the racers stretching their legs on this longer track. Josh Ford captured Heat #1, with Clark Templeman III, Kenny Brown and Will Perkins also transferring to the feature. Mike Kirby claimed Heat #2 followed by Rick Williams, Mark Deskovick and Tom Stansberry. Stansberry, winner of the past three features, suffered engine problems in his #75 car during hot laps and moved into the Ron Bach #49 car for the evening. During Heat #2, lady driver, Nadine Keller, an Azusa police officer, flipped and did serious damage to her mount. Heat #3 found Steve Ostling coming home first, pursued by Keith Williamson, Chris Wakim and Greg Taylor. Taylor was subbing for Alex Pruett in the #56AZ after he crashed and flipped in hot laps. Heat #4 found colorful Mike Knopf in front trailed by Ron DiDonato, Steve Conrad and Kevin Kierce. Conrad showed up with a beautifully prepared new car #15, but struggled early in the day with engine problems. Members of several teams helped cure the maladies and get Conrad back on the track. The two “B” Mains would transfer the top three to the back of the feature to complete the twenty-two-car field. Race #1 saw Tom Downing, Larry Lloyd and Dwight Cheney gain feature positions, while race #2 added Ronnie Case, Jayson May and Luis Espinoza. Now, it was time for the feature. As the cars line up for the Main Event, idling around the track, an alternate is also pushed off, joining the back of the field to reduce a delay, if for some reason a car cannot answer the call for the “A” Main. Tonight, Ryan Devitt was the alternate and to his surprise, he was instructed to tag the field and run in the feature as a twenty-third entry, a sort of promoter’s option. Steve Ostling took the early lead and looked to be on his way to victory, when suddenly as he came down the main straightaway, the whole front axle assembly was sliding back and forth in the frame. Ostling was able to get the car off the track without crashing and Mike Kirby then took the point with numerous challenges coming from Mike Knopf, Kevin Kierce, Luis Espinoza and Will Perkins. While some of the up front starters suffered problems, several cars came from back in the pack to take a run at the top spots. There were a number of slide jobs, several racers going up on top and sprinting around those running in line, a term used by announcer Scott Daloisio was “they were running in the attic”. When the checkers fell, Kirby was in front, followed by Will Perkins, Chris Wakim, Steve Conrad and Mike Knopf. The fans had been treated to an exciting show and the drivers and teams got some info for their set up books. VRA returns to the PAS in two weeks and the competitors will be able to draw on tonight’s experience to make improvements to their racers. Next time could be a real barnburner! Kirby will make the first NWWC show at Albuquerque and then return to the PAS for the following two weeks. Josh Ford will head out this week to make the complete NWWC Tour as the leading SCRA rookie. Steve Ostling will not be going on the tour, so expect to see him as a strong runner in the two PAS programs with VRA. The Ventura Racing Association, with Promoter Jimmy Naylor and General Manager, Cliff Morgan along with a staff of very loyal employees, worked hard to present their form of racing to a number of new fans that had not previously witnessed a VRA show. For the casual fan, this is a show that highlights very competitive racing and a full field of cars. |
