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Los Angeles, CA. - I went to Ventura
Raceway for the October 29 USAC Regional CRA sprint car series race
32 of 39 dates this season. It was the third Ventura race date of
2005. Keith Lair, the long-time San Gabriel Valley Tribune motor
sports writer, had a Saturday off and came along with me for his
first visit to "the racy little seaside track". He was
most impressed with the dirt track ACTION and the scenic locale. He
interviewed sprint car owner/driver Nadine Keller for an upcoming
feature story in his daily newspaper. She is an 11-year veteran
patrol officer for the City of Azusa Police Department and a
three-year sprint car owner/driver.
I was impressed by the huge 44-car count of
quality sprint cars, including ten Ventura racing Assn. 360 cu. in.
sprinters and two USAC National Series drivers (Jon Stanbrough and
Mat Neely) in their Midwest-based USAC cars. Both visitors made the
30-lap feature. The 65-degree temperature and light wind at
race-time kept the banked, fifth-mile clay track perfect for racing
all night. Promoter/announcer Jim Naylor was his usual enthusiastic,
informative self and his 6:00 p.m starting time enabled racing to
conclude by 9:40, well before the 10 p.m curfew. Racing included the
15th annual Wagsdash, a 15-lap race for "low-buck",
hard-luck 2005 drivers. Ken Wagner, who determines eligible
Wagsdash drivers, raises money all year with his volunteer "Wagtimers".
The Wags
race paid the winner $2,500.
The $2.00, 28-page race program listed the top 15
drivers and car owners in 2005 USAC/CRA points. I enjoyed the four
full-page profiles of veteran drivers Cory Kruseman, Rip Williams,
Mike Kirby and Damion Gardner. "Wags" enlisted racing
legend 1963 Indianapolis 500 winner Parnelli Jones to be the
Wagsdash Grand Marshall. The program also devoted a full page to
Parnelli and his racing career accomplishments. Fans also received a
two-sided color 8 X 11" card with 13 photos of Parnelli and
some of his favorite racing vehicles. Naylor also interviewed
Parnelli over the track PA system between races.
The Ventura program listed a roster of 99 cars,
including USAC and Ventura Racing Assn (VRA) cars. Five cars did not
indicate a chassis by name and the program roster listed 28
different car constructors. Stinger had 15 cars, TCR 10, Ellis 9,
Maxim 8, Buckley 7, five each John Boy and Stealth, and three each
Bullitt, Drake and Eagle. Seven constructors had two cars each on
the roster and the balance had one car each. A display of WRA
vintage race-cars was next to the pit fence for fans to view. Two
wire-wheel 1920-era sprint cars took slow laps on the Ventura track
with Walt James narrating via the track PA. One owner/driver (No.
777) is 82-years old.
Flips by Neely, Gardner, Jordan Hermansader and
Danny Ebberts all took place during heat races between the starting
line and first turn. The Ron Chaffin crew, led by Bruce Bromme, Jr,
did an amazing job in rebuilding Gardner's No. 50 Eagle after it
made three and a half wild barrel-rolls to the first turn wall
during heat two. It was the same No. 50 that Gardner drove at Perris
a week earlier. He had to abandon it for a sub-ride after a
multi-car crash in turn four as the feature field came for the first
lap green flag. Four VRA 360 cu. in. cars made the 20 + one
provisional car starting field. Surprisingly missing from the
feature were usual "A" main drivers Rickie Gaunt, Mike
Kirby, Troy Rutherford and Rodney Argo. All three of the Keller/Jack
Gardner Sled cars (Gaunt, Rutherford and Blake Miller) were in the
"B" main and none of them made the top four to transfer to
the "A" main.
Impressive drivers were 18-year old Alan Ballard,
who started second and led laps six-28 and 30 in a thrilling, late
race cross-over passing and re-passing duel with 13-time 2005 winner
Damion Gardner. Ballard won his first USAC/CRA 410 cu. in. feature
victory in what should be the first of many. It followed by a week
the initial 410 cu. in. USAC feature triumph by Josh Ford, 22, at
Perris. At Ventura Ford started fifth and was running third when his
car glanced off the wall on lap 24 and retired. USAC Ford Focus
Midget grad Garrett Hansen, 20, did a nice job all night. He
qualified third fastest, finished third in the "B" main
and eighth in the "A" main. Thirteen of 15 finishers ran
all 30 laps and two drivers were down one lap.
The Wagsdash 15-lap race after the USAC/CRA
30-lap feature had a 16-car announced starting lineup. Three of the
16 cars did not start (DNS) because they ran the 30-lap
"A" main and had problems. That included Seth Wilson (to
start 16th in the Wagsdash), R. J. Johnson, 18, was tenth in the
30-lap main in Jim Massey's No. 15J when its engine let go and he
DNF. He scratched from his assigned 11th place in the Wags race. The
most unusual DNS reason was for Ballard. He spun his yellow No. 97
TCR car to a halt at the finish line for the award ceremonies after
he won the "A" main. His car broke its rear end reportedly
and was unable to start the subsequent Wagsdash from tenth position.
Front row drivers Mark Heidenreich (L 1-2) and Ryan Devitt (L 3-4)
led the Wagsdash
race. Then ninth starter Blake Miller (in the No. 5x Keller ride)
led laps 5-15 for his first Wagsdash $2,500 payday. All 13 Wagsdash
starters finished and all ran the full 15 laps in the 9:33 to 9:38
p.m event.
Ventura Notes: VRA will have a Ford Focus Midget
Division for teens age 14-17 next season. Reportedly, USAC did not
want to sanction such a developmental FF Midget series to compete
with its current two California FF Midget series-USAC FF Dirt Track
and USAC FF Paved Track. The Dirt Track Series ran 18 races this
season and the Paved Track Series has run 13 races to date, with the
14th scheduled Thanksgiving evening at Irwindale Speedway. No word
yet on how many VRA FF Midget races will be scheduled, purses and
how many teams of young drivers will compete in the new VRA FF
division. Stay tuned.
USAC/CRA veteran Cory Kruseman set the fastest
qualifying time at the October 29 Ventura event. Naylor interviewed
Cory later on the PA system about Cory's Race Driving School (Sprint
Cars and Midgets). Cory revealed he now has 11 sprint cars. Four of
Cory's school cars competed with USAC/CRA October 29 at Ventura with
school drivers in the rented cars. They qualified 31st, 40th, 42nd
and 43rd fastest. Cory reluctantly started his race driving
school at Naylor's Ventura track. Naylor talked Cory into his role
as a racing professor when he asked Cory to assist a new driver and
the newcomer raved about Cory's race teaching ability. Although his
school has grown steadily, Cory said he
doesn't want to buy a multi-car hauler to transport his fleet of
race-cars when rental trucks are available. Naylor said, "you
will buy your own big rig eventually." It seems Jim forsees
expansion in Cory's school business.
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