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LOS ANGELES, CA.- Auto racing at state
and county fairgrounds dates back to the early years of the last
century. State fairgrounds at Iowa, Minnesota and California, for
example, hosted major races that were well attended. CRA sprint car
racing at the Imperial County Fairgrounds, near El Centro, CA,
helped launch Indianapolis 500 careers for numerous drivers in the
1950 and 1960 decades. With that background in mind, I attended my
first racing event at the Ventura County Fair on Wednesday night,
August 4.
The fifth-mile clay Ventura Raceway at Seaside
Park and Pacific Arena venue is nestled between the crashing waves
of the Pacific Ocean to the west and a stone throw from the
north/south main railroad tracks used by Amtrak passenger trains and
freight trains. Just east of the RR tracks is the main north/south
Highway 101 and the sun-bathed hillside homes of Ventura. The
setting is one of the most picturesque in racing.
Upon my arrival at 4:10 p.m, it was a sunny
72-degree day with a foggy ceiling to the north towards Santa
Barbara. As the day progressed, fog lowered a bit but never affected
racing action. I learned from a track regular that the only other
foggy intrusion this summer came on July 24 when USAC Midgets and
USAC Ford Focus Midgets raced at Ventura and staged very competitive
races. Although the ambient temperature lowered to 62 by the
conclusion of racing August 4, it was still comfortable. Fairgoers
are admitted free to motor sports events during the fair with their
$7.00 (adults) ticket to the fair. The 3,500 grandstand seats were
filled and an enthusiastic SRO crowd watched motorized competition
from 6:00 to 9:34 p.m.
The annual Ventura County Fair, with a theme
"Hooray for Hollywood" for 2004, runs 12-days from August
4-15. Gates open at 11:00 a.m and exhibits close at 10:00 p.m, but
midway booths and carnival rides remain in operation well past that
hour. Lighted carnival rides beyond turns one and two provided a
scenic backdrop for the racing action. Rides carried wild names such
as Zombie, Mega Drop, Techno Power, Magnum, Xtreme Tilt-a-Whirl,
Super Slide, Zipper, Tornado, Kamikaze, Starship 3000, Giant Ferris
Wheel and of course the standard Roller Coaster and Merry-Go-Round.
Corn dogs, beer, cotton candy, ice cream and other typical fair food
were evident everywhere.
Motor racing in front of the grandstands took
place August 4 and 5. Day one featured 16 NMRA-TQ Midgets, 13 VRA
Modifieds, 21 VRA Pony Stocks and a 24-car Demolition Derby that
spread $1,600 among the top five drivers. Thursday racing had IMCA
Modifieds, Dwarf Cars and another Demolition Derby for Wednesday
night surviving cars and any new, willing combatants. Ventura County
Fair weekends include a professional rodeo and a mix of concerts on
the large stage beyond the backstretch. Headliners this year
included country singers Crystal Gale and Brad Paisley, the pop
group The Village People, and bands Sugar Ray and the B-52s.
Cars from all three classes warmed up and
wheel-packed Wednesday from 4:30 to 5:30 and after opening
ceremonies heat racing followed at 6:00. Three main events of 20, 20
and 25 laps (TQs) concluded racing on the oval before 9:00 p.m as
planned. Then a lively, hard-hitting 24-car Demo Derby in the
infield lasted 31 minutes. The crowded grandstands emptied in time
for a 10:00 p.m aerial fireworks show over the Ventura beach.
Fairgoers and racers had ample time to try their luck at various
booths and to sample carnival rides with their families and many did
so.
Ventura Raceway promoter Jim Naylor said this is
his 27th year as Ventura promoter/announcer. Cliff Morgan is his
long-time competition director. Cliff's son Chris (current USAC/CRA
Sprint Car official) came out to watch the Demo Derby. One of the 24
Demo Derby cars was a 1965 Chrysler Imperial that had been the
personal car of a U.S Navy admiral. It was the car that flipped
after a hard hit and caused a seven-minute red flag to retrieve the
uninjured driver.
Cliff Ashlock started races for the two VRA
divisions. Tony Otto, son of long-time (now retired) NMRA-TQ
Series officials Ron and Gay Otto, started the NMRA-TQ races. Paula
Evans, wife of driver West Evans, and Beth Bliffen, sister of driver
Michael Bliffen, served as NMRA-TQ official scorers in the booth. A
team of scorers using pens and Scott Holder using his computer
scored all VRA races. Holder had a detailed computer printout for
all VRA events. He even scored the Demo Derby by computer; that must
be a first. His printout listed every driver by number and name and
in order by minutes and seconds from 24th to first. The printout
ranking was used for the $1,600 pay-off to the top five--$850, $400,
$200, $100 and $50.
Between events sprint car star Cory Kruseman
drove his No. 2 two-seater sprint car at speed around the track with
a passenger in the back seat. Riders included Ed Barlow, Ventura
Fair board president, and his wife, and then former Ventura mayor
and current Ventura Fair board member Greg Carson (a non-racing fan
on the board I was told). The three passengers raved about the rapid
rides when interviewed by Naylor over the track PA system. Maybe
that is the way to convert fair board members antagonistic towards
racing to soften or change their antagonism.
Cory also had a drawing to award free lessons at
his sprint car driving school that he operates at Ventura Raceway.
He personally teaches students whenever possible between his racing
dates around the country. Cory flew home from racing at Skagit
Speedway, in Washington Friday and Saturday, July 30-31. He was
slated to fly out to the Midwest to race Tony Stewart's USAC sprint
car in nine races over the next 12 days. Three winners of drawings
to ride with Cory were females. Each passenger received a slow
warm-up lap and four or five laps at speed. Cory even gave one
passenger a deliberate 360-degree spin thrill in the second turn
before he drove to the pits.
My overall impression of county fair racing
during 2004 is that auto racing at the grass roots level is fun to
watch. Interaction with friendly drivers and teams is enjoyable
during the evening. Racing at fairgrounds still attracts casual and
first-time spectators at fairs. For local racing attendance to
increase to new heights, racing promoters and sanctioning bodies
need to find ways to encourage these once a year spectators to
return to their local race
track to watch motor racing often during the year when the local
county fair is not in progress.
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