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LOS ANGELES, CA. - Wide-spread rain in
California on Saturday, April 16
postponed the first head-to-head confrontation between USAC-CRA 410
cu. in. sprint car teams at Perris and the SCRA 410 sprint car teams
at Barona Speedway, near Ramona. The two rival sanctioning
bodies competed only 80 to 85 miles apart via the I-215 and I-15
freeways. May 1 became the first head-to-head meeting within
easy commuting distance. Fans and teams had to make a choice about
which 410 series they would follow in person. USAC-CRA at Perris had
a 27-car field and more past 410 sprint car feature winners, while
SCRA at Barona had 25 sprint cars. In the 30-lap main events, Mike
Kirby won at Perris and "Super" Rickie Gaunt won the first
ever SCRA sprint-car feature at Barona.
USAC Midwest Action: Jay Drake started the season
two for two in USAC National Sprint Car Series victories at the
Anderson, IN paved quarter mile and at the Beaver Dam, WI dirt
quarter-mile. He drove the Tony Stewart-owned No. 20 Mopar-powered
sprinter. Riverside, CA driver Josh Wise competed in Wisconsin for
the first time April 24 in the USAC Beaver Dam, WI Sprint/Midget
doubleheader. He had third fastest qualifying time in the No. 67
Keith Kunz sprint car in a 39-car field. Josh set fast time in the
Beaver Dam USAC National Midget race in Tony Stewart's No. 20 Midget
in a 38-car field. He did not finish either feature.
At I-69 Speedway in Gas City, IN on Friday, April
30, Josh set second fastest qualifying time in a 49-car field. He
ran fourth in the second heat race and finished sixth in the 23-car,
30-lap main event in his first race at the track. Is he a quick
study or what? NASCAR 2004 Truck and Busch Series racer Tracy Hines
came home to Indiana briefly and won the Gas City feature. Drake was
fourth in Stewart's No. 20 and Wise finished sixth in the black and
white Kunz 67. SCRA vets Levi Jones was fifth, Bud Kaeding tenth,
Cory Kruseman 11th in Tony Stewart's No. 21, USAC rookie Josh Ford
13th and John Scott 19th.
The following weekend was a major weekend for
Wise and Kruseman. On Friday, May 7 the California duo raced at the
quarter-mile dirt Memphis Motorsports Park in a USAC National Sprint
Car event. Wise set sixth fastest qualifying time in the Kunz 67 and
Kruseman was seventh quickest in a 45-car field. With a six-car
invert, Wise started in the front row and led all 30-laps and won
convincingly by lapping cars quickly. Kruseman finished second in
Stewart's No. 21. Interestingly, Wise beat his USAC Midget boss
Stewart's sprint car. Kaeding finished fifth, Drake tenth, and SCRA
vet/third fastest qualifier Troy Cline placed 18th after flipping on
a lap 20 restart.
USAC Silver Crown cars competed the following
day, May 8, on the Memphis
three-quarter mile paved track. Neither Wise nor Kruseman had S/C
rides for that event so they flew west to compete. Kruseman won the
USAC-CRA sprint car 30-lap main event at the half-mile clay
Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix, AZ. Wise flew to Kings Speedway
in Hanford, CA where he raced on the three-eighths mile clay track
in Mike Sala's USAC Western States Midget.
With 30 cars present, Wise set second fastest
qualifying time, won the second eight-lap heat race and won the
30-lap feature. He came from fifth starting spot to lead laps 12-30.
Josh probably even got to spend the next day (Mother's day) visiting
his mom in Riverside. He then flew back to his Indianapolis
apartment and raced Stewart's No. 20 Mopar Midget Thursday night at
the fifth-mile paved Indianapolis Speedrome. It seems Tony (Mr. Home
Depot) knows how to hire well-traveled/winning drivers like Stewart
himself.
NASCAR owners should be following the exploits of
Wise and Kruseman. If Stewart's 2003 protégé J. J. Yeley continues
his rapid progress in the 2004 NASCAR Busch Series as a NBS rookie,
stock car owners may be placing phone calls to Josh and Cory.
On May 13 Yeley qualified his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Vigoro/Home Depot
Chevy 14th fastest in a 45-car field for the NBS Richmond 250 lap
race. He was on the lead lap in 16th position with about 49 laps
remaining when he became involved in a multi-car crash. He returned
in 17th and six laps from the finish got tapped and spun into the
wall. J. J. pitted and finished in 23rd position. Fastest
qualifier Kyle Busch, 19, dominated and scored his first career
Busch victory in his 18th NBS start in the Hendrick No. 5 Lowe's
Chevy. His seventh top ten finish in ten NBS races gave the NBS
rookie the point lead.
Veteran USAC Midget drivers now racing in NASCAR
ranks had a big qualifying week at the two-mile California Speedway,
in Fontana. Jason Leffler, who has raced in the IRL Indianapolis 500
and Daytona 500, set fastest qualifying time for the Busch Series
300. Kasey Kahne set quickest time for the Nextel Cup 500. Kahne
backed it up leading 22 of the first 24 laps Sunday, May 2 and 74 of
250 laps total (second most laps led by any driver). Kahne's Dodge
was in fourth place on the final lap when he ran out of gas, pitted
and finished 13th, still on the lead lap. After 10 of the 36 races,
Kasey is leading the impressive six driver Nextel Cup Raybestos
Rookie-of-the-Year class by 37 points
entering the May 15 Richmond, VA 400.
It is always nice for a driver in any racing
series to win a main event on his or her birthday. Sprint car
drivers Mike Kirby and Tracy Hines did just that on May 1. Kirby won
the May 1 USAC-CRA 30-lap feature at Perris Auto Speedway in Glenn
Crossno's No. 38 to mark his 40th birthday. Hines, in the No. 69
Hoffman Racing sprinter, won the April 30 USAC National Sprint main
at Gas City, IN one day before his 32nd birthday.
The NASCAR Nextel Cup Tallagega, AL 500 on April
25 had a shameful display of rowdy fan behavior. Angry fans should
be charged with assault for throwing beer and soft drink cans and
other debris onto the track at passing Nextel Cup cars as they
finished the race under the yellow flag. While I also hate to see a
race conclude under the yellow flag, it wasn't the fault of the
drivers circulating under the caution flag. NASCAR racing officials
made the call. In fact, why are cans even allowed in the grandstand
at races? Drinks should be sold and allowed only in paper or plastic
cups the way vendors sell beverages at sports events in California.
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