|
Los Angeles,
CA.
- Oval Nationals at Perris: The Thursday-Saturday Nov. 13-15
Oval Nationals (the final round of the 2003 Non-Wing World
Championship for sprint cars) turned into four nights. Rain Saturday
postponed the B and A-mains to Sunday. A noticeable difference in
2003 was that 19 visiting drivers competed and 14 of them brought
their own usual sprint car rides. That improved their competitveness
against local SCRA teams. First-time drivers at Perris included USAC
regulars Boston Reid, 21, and Mat Neely, 17, plus petite Destiney
Hays, 20, from Oroville, CA. She was making her sprint car-racing
debut without a wing. With three number 25 cars present, Jason
Yount's No. 25PD 360 c.i car from Fresno carried letters P and D
after the number. The letters
represented his sons Peyton and Daylon.
With five heat races containing eight cars each,
41st fastest qualifier Hays started on the pole of the 22-car C
main. She led the first three starts easily before incidents in the
field caused restarts. Although another driver led all 10-laps,
Destiney ran second through fourth to the tenth and final lap when
track vet Ron DiDonato dropped her to fifth and she just missed the
final B transfer spot by one spot. Larry Woodward, owner of Jac
Haudenschild's No. 4H sprint ride, helped the Hays father/daughter
team at the Perris November races.
When it comes to quality heat race lineups the
first heat was outstanding. Tracy Hines, Levi Jones, Tony Elliott,
Cary Faas, Haudenschild, Tony Jones, Rip Williams and fastest
qualifier John Scott started in that order; only the first four
finishers moved directly to the A main. The 24-car, 25-lap A main
Thursday was impressive as well. It contained ten drivers from USAC,
nine from SCRA, four from various regions and one from World of
Outlaws.
SCRA rising star Mike Spencer, 22, led seven laps
before Eldora Speedway's Mopar Million $200,000 first place winner
Haudenschild took command and won by five yards over Bud Kaeding,
with Spencer third. Spencer attends Cal Poly Pomona University and
he told me he expects to receive his B.S Mechanical Engineering
degree next fall. By the way, car owner Larry Woodward told me he
gave Haudenschild $100,000 (50%) of their $200,000 Eldora Mopar
Million winners purse.
There were seven flips Thursday night. The 23-car
B main event start produced what sprint car drivers called "the
Talladega big one"-a ten-car crash on the opening lap. Friday
night had five flips. There were no flips in the C main Saturday
before the light drizzle became a heavy-drizzle and washed out the
evening. There were three more flips Sunday night for a total of 15
this year. No serious injuries resulted. The Oval Nationals Saturday
night grandstand was about 95% full. Unfortunately, rain after the
20-lap C main caused a one day delay, so many of the non-local fans
could not return Sunday for the 5:00 p.m start of the B and then the
A mains. Nevertheless, grandstands were about 55% full Sunday night.
Officials rushed Saturday night activities,
including the presentation of Perris jackets to grand marshalls Bill
and Evelyn Pratt, the first Dean Thompson Memorial Award to Bud
Kaeding, and the dice toss to determine the A main inversion--6, 8
or 10. It landed on six. Evelyn Pratt, the subject of a Los Angeles
Times race-week story that caught the eye of Jay Leno, said she was
contacted by Leno's NBC Tonight Show staff to appear on Leno's show.
Evelyn told me she agreed to appear on the show after the racing
season and it looks like her TV appearance with Leno will occur
during April.
Good ideas: Spotlights for front straight driver
introductions with track announcer Scott Daloisio clad in a tuxedo
like boxing announcer Michael Buffer. … Yellow and red stripes
flag for fuel-only refueling for all cars if there were 20 yellow
flag laps in a race. … Use of two pit announcers (Chris Holt and
Jim Naylor) Saturday to give fans more interviews. …Use of new
SCRA Longacre Computer Scales machine for weighing of the top five
finishers for the required 1,250 pound minimum weight without driver
after the A main, instead of using a tow truck to lift the sprint
cars. All transfers to the next race got scaled every night during
the Oval Nationals.
Past CRA champion Jimmy Oskie took four hot laps
in memory of the late Dean Thompson, his 1970s-80s CRA rival and
long-time friend. Oskie drove the red and white No. 1 1982 Bruce
Bromme, Sr and Jr-built sprinter in which Dean won 30 of his record
103 CRA features. Bruce, Jr told me Dean won his 1982 CRA
championship in the car and raced it into the 1983 season before the
Brommes switched to a Gambler chassis. Bromme used a Nance
chassis (1986-89). Indy 500 vet Billy Boat raced a Maxim chassis for
Bromme in 1990. Duncan Emmons bought the 1982 No. 1 Bromme car in
mid-2003 and allows Oskie to demo drive it at Perris.
All 22 B main event cars pushed off at 7:40 p.m
Saturday, but the track was too slick for racing from the now heavy
drizzle. The red flag was displayed at 7:47, ending on-track
activity for the evening. The continuing heavy drizzle/rain
disappointed everyone (especially many out-of-state fans) and caused
track management to postpone the B and A-mains to Sunday. With the
track "lost" for the night, fans understood the
postponement. Management announced on the PA that on Sunday gates
would open at 3:00, with hot-lapping at 4:00 and the first race to
start at 5:00.
Brent Kaeding, who seems to be as ageless and
competitive as his long-time racer father Howard, said he thinks he
could've caught his son Bud in Friday's 25-lap A main. Bud, 24, won
impressively from his sixth starting position, while dad Brent, 46,
started 17th in the 24-car field and finished a close third. The
racing Kaedings-grandfather Howard, dad Brent and his racing sons
Tim and Bud--are California's equivalent to Indiana's Kinsers-grandfather
Bob, racing sons Steve and Randy, and Steve's racing son Kraig.
In order, the eight Oval Nationals winners since
the inaugural run in 1996 have been Jimmy Sills, Rip Williams,
Rodney Argo, Rickie Gaunt, Tony Jones, Bud Kaeding ('01-02) and now
Cory Kruseman. It was good to see nice-guy Rich Forsberg added to
the Sunday A main as the first alternate on a promoter's option.
With the top 12 in the B main advancing to the A, Rich finished
13th. His luck in preliminary nights racing was awful. He had a
rollover and blew his 410 c.i engine and then used a 360 c.i engine
Saturday/Sunday. Rich finished in 14th position in Sunday's A-main.
The 50-lap A-main started at 6:47 and had one red
flag and three yellows before it concluded at 7:24 p.m. Race
leaders/front row starters were Brent Kaeding (L 1-9) and Cory
Kruseman (L 10-50). The feature had 17 finishers and nine ran
all 50 laps. Fifth starter Josh Wise was still running fifth on lap
44 when his No. 19s Mike Sala Chevy RR tire bleeder valve came loose
and caused him to slow to an 11th place finish. Tracy Hines was
running seventh in Cory Witherill's No. 61x on lap 44 when his
throttle stuck open and he rammed the first turn wall and almost
flipped. He escaped injury. Levi Jones dropped out near the finish
and placed 18th. USACer Tony Elliott finished 21st after he
dropped out about lap 30 with a rear end vibration.
Winner Kruseman, 32, and his Tony Stewart Racing
crew, led by Tony's cordial dad Nelson, were thrilled with their
NWWC Oval Nationals triumph. The $30,000 first place prize was
Cory's largest racing payday. He also received an Oval Nationals
winner's ring and the unique white eagle trophy. Cory then said,
"I can honestly say this is one of the first times all year
I'll be happy to call Tony Stewart tonight. I've tried quite a few
years to win this race." He thanked Tony and Nelson for
his winning ride and his crew chief Bobby Barth.
Arizonan Jeremy Sherman charged from 21st
starting position to finish a rapidly closing second. "At lap
13 I was in the top ten and I thought shoot I can win this. I was on
the bottom and Cory was up top, and I could've snuck up on him and
won." Jeremy said his team borrowed an engine and was low
on tires after three straight nights of racing. He said his team
would not return on November 22 for the SCRA Jack Kindoll Classic at
Perris.
Third place Brandon "Bud" Kaeding was
on the podium all three nights this year after winning the last two
Oval Nationals. He also won the 2003 NWWC this year over Kruseman by
34 points-728 to 694. Bud is another open-wheel driver who could
advance to NASCAR racing, as have USAC drivers Ryan Newman, J. J.
Yeley and others. Bud enjoyed great success in 1999 on the all paved
tracks USAC Western States 360-sprint car circuit, so he is talented
on pavement as well as on dirt tracks.
|
