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| USAC/CRA Perris Season
Opener by Tim Kennedy |
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Los Angeles, CA. - The 2007 USAC/CRA sprint car season opener
at Perris Auto Speedway Sat. Feb. 3 was a winner. On-track action was competitive and the 30-lap feature was a thriller. The switch from a day race (12:30 to 4:30 p.m) on Sat.2/4/06 to a night race this year attracted a significantly larger crowd in the grandstand than the 2006 day race. About half the grandstand was filled. The car count this year was 36 compared to 41cars last year at PAS for the series opener on a 76-degree day. The high temperature this year was 79 in nearby Riverside and it was still sunny and 71 degrees at 4:50 p.m. When the feature concluded at 9:29 p.m the temp was 52, so the weatherman cooperated. The Feb. 3 race began the season-long use of electronic transponder timing and scoring of all USAC/CRA races. Transponders are attached to the right rear of every sprint car and a reader "wire" is imbedded in the track at the finish line. The event also was the inaugural USAC/CRA use of one-way radio contact with every driver. Both systems worked flawlessly. New USAC/CRA officials this year included Steve Ostling, 44, a CRA, SCRA and USAC/CRA driver through 2006, as the new chief steward controlling the event. He had to exercise his authority for the first time during heat three when he penalized friend Rodney Argo two positions for jumping a lap 6 green flag. It dropped Argo from third to fifth and required him to race in the B main because only the top four finishers in heats advance directly to the A main. Ostling also penalized driver Jimmy Crawford for reporting late to the A main starting grid for driver introductions. The penalty dropped Crawford from fifth grid slot to the last row (21st). Dick Hindman, a former USAC Western Series timer/scorer, has returned to his familiar role with USAC to operate the electronic timing/scoring equipment. He held the same position at Irwindale Speedway each year since the track opened in 1999. He resigned from IS in November to return to USAC. Reliable Freddie Sachs continues to hand score as a backup scorer. Long-time USAC official John Estopellan mans the new USAC job on the one-way radio to drivers. It helps speed the show by aligning drivers in correct running order during cautions. It could facilitate safety by informing drivers of safety issues with their cars or accidents on the track. The USAC/CRA competition committee consists of active driver Rip Williams, former drivers Jack Gardner, Jr and Billy Wilkerson, plus active car owners Glenn Crossno and Mark Priestley. The USAC/CRA 2007 season will usher in a new era. New driving championship contenders, new driver/owner combinations, and a strong contingent of 410 cu. in. sprint car rookies will make 2007 interesting. Championship contenders include Tony Jones (# 4), Mike Spencer (# 50), Rickie Gaunt (# 94), Scotty Weir (# 38), David Cardey (# 83), Danny Sheridan (# 18) and the ageless Rip Williams (# 3). Cory Kruseman, the 2006 series champion, has his own two-car team (# 21 & # 21K) but he missed the opener because he was racing midgets in New Zealand. He is expected back for the next race in Phoenix. The 2007 USAC/CRA rookie contingent is impressive. They include: USAC Midget & Ford Focus Midget veteran TYLER BROWN, 21, in the # 34 Troy Brown Bullet; VRA 360 sprint, USAC Midget & FF Midget vet GARRETT HANSEN, 21, in the # 70 Gary Hansen Ellis; VRA 360 sprint vet STEVE CONRAD, 36, in the # 75 Ray Stansberry Maxim/Mopar; VRA 360 sprint & USAC 360 sprint vet from San Jose MICHAEL TRIMBLE, 20, in the # 21 Kruseman Bullet; and VRA 360 vet BRIAN CAMARILLO, 22, in his own # 22c Ellis/Mopar that was the # 73 Josh Ford backup car in 2006. Other newcomers Feb. 3 were Formula Ford driver ALEX SCHUTTE, 17, from Redding, in a Kruseman Bullet that Cory will drive. MIKE KENNEDY, son of late CRA multi-time feature winner Walt Kennedy, raced for the first time at PAS. He and wife Cheryl bought the # 0 Buzz Shoemaker Stinger and numbered it 14, a number raced by his dad in CRA. Mike raced a # 42 sprint car several times at Ascot Park in Gardena during his brief introduction to sprint car driving in 1982. Rookies Brown and Hansen finished first and third respectively in heat two. Trimble finished fourth in the third heat. All three made the A main, where Brown finished ninth, Hansen 12th (on the lead lap) and Trimble 15th (down one lap). The A main lineup first four rows were interesting. Riverside-natives David Cardey (Crossno 83 Bullet) and Darren Hagen (yellow/red Priestley 7 Bullet) had row one. R.J. Johnson and Danny Sheridan, who shares my Jan. 20 birthday, were in row two. Row three had rookies Trimble and Hansen and row four had "Super" Rickie Gaunt (in his new Nadine Keller 94 ride) plus fastest qualifier Tony Jones, 37-year old son of sprint car hall of famer Bubby Jones, in the Alexander 4. Hagen, 20, led all the way in his first ride aboard the Priestley car. The rising talent and cordial nice guy has his sights set "on NASCAR". He deserves a stock car driver development contract from a major team. Only 21 of 22 A main qualified cars started. Alan Ballard's # 22 Heidenreich ride was announced in 22nd position but scratched and did not appear on the grid. On lap 3 a multi-car tangle occurred midway down the backstretch with the cars of Josh Ford and Jason York flipping simultaneously. Ford's # 73 climbed the wall and put a gaping hole in the wooden Budweiser billboard. York's #25N flipped high, end-over-end almost to turn three. Both drivers were shaken, but climbed out and were taken by ambulances to the infield. Ford had a swollen and possibly broken ankle and was transported to a hospital later for X-rays. York, the son of 1970s CRA driver Pat York, said on the infield mike, "Tell Julie I'm OK." He lives in Chico, north of Sacramento, and drives to PAS with his wife Julie. She was his crew chief until this season and they even had their infant with them last year in the pits. With the child more than a year old, Julie now sits with their youngster in the grandstand and keeps in touch with Jason by cell phone as necessary. "She offers helpful tips," Jason said on the infield mike when interviewed earlier. This year York keeps the sprint car in La Palma (nearby Orange County) so their team members can work on it during the week. York only has to drive to the track to race the car instead of towing it to and from tracks. The A main started at 8:58 and restarted lap 3 following a 17-minute red flag to clear the backstretch. The race went green to lap 30 with a brief debris caution on lap 5 the only interruption. Hagen set sail; and opened half a straight advantage by lap 15 over Sheridan, who took second from Cardey on lap 13. By lap 20 Hagen caught battling slower cars and his lead dwindled to 20-yards. Sheridan, a feature winner at PAS in 2006, cut Hagen's lead to 15-yards by lap 26, and he trailed by a mere five yards as they started the final lap. Sheridan shot to the inside in the first and second turns and the two leaders closed quickly to the back of dueling 12th and 13th place drivers Hansen and Crawford. At turn four Sheridan went to the outside and got right to Hagen's tail. He made his final bid and fell less than a length from victory-0.022 officially. Fans stood for a better look at the thrilling finish. As they crossed the finish line the cars of Sheridan and Hagen made brief contact and Sheridan's car turned sideway near turn one. He remarkably corrected and continued on his cool-off lap back to the finish line for podium interviews. Seventeen of 21 starters finished and 13 completed all 30 laps. Infield announcer Chris Holt spoke to third place Gaunt in his cockpit. The 38-year old driver said, "I'm stuck. I'm too fat. I'm done (worn out). These punk-ass kids are tough. I'm proud to be up here on the podium with these kids." Runner-up Sheridan thanked Kittle Motorsports and said, "That was a heck of a race. Darren was something. He caught traffic and I caught him. This is a great start to the season. I thought I could get him. If the flag stand was farther down the track I think I'd have caught him." Winner Hagen said, "Thanks to Mark Priestley for letting me drive his car and to regular driver Johnny Rodriguez for helping in the pits. Thanks to lord Jesus Christ and to mom, dad and my younger brother for supporting me. I'll be back for the next Perris race February 17. Back east you can hear a car coming up on you. These mufflers (at California tracks) make it so quiet you can't hear a car coming up on you. I just picked a lane leaving turn four and raced to the checkered flag." Later I spoke to Hagen as he spoke to Priestley, Rodsriguez and Keith Kunz in their pit. The winner told me it was his second USAC/CRA main event victory at PAS, with his first triumph coming in a 2005 Oval Nationals preliminary main. Rodriguez will resume driving the winning # 7 car in April when Hagen goes to the Midwest to race with USAC. The $3.00 PAS printed program had Gaunt (# 94) on the cover. It listed the top 20 drivers in 2006 USAC/CRA points and 12 raced Feb. 3. Damion Gardner, the 2006 title-runner-up, will race Jason Leffler's # 71 DRC/Mopar in 2007 USAC National Sprint events. The program listed 48 USAC/CRA entries in the roster and there were seven write-ins Feb. 3. PAS has scheduled 21 USAC/CRA 2007 race dates, including the 12th annual Oval Nationals Nov. 1-3. Scotty Weir, 22-year old 2006 USAC National Sprint Car rookie of the year, made his first start in his 2007 ride-the # 38 Crossno 2006 championship ride of Cory Kruseman. Weir set 13th fastest qualifying time, started fifth and finished fourth in heat one. He started 12th and finished sixth in the 30-lap main. Mike Kirby, a sprint car winner and champion who stopped racing sprinters in 2006, was present in the pits Feb. 3. His new white & red # 5 IMCA modified was on display at the track entrance, as was Toby Sampson's orange & black # 82 IMCA modified. Track announcer Scott Daloisio polled fans before the main about the Super Bowl. About 60% of fans voiced their pick to win as the Bears and 40% chose the Colts, the 29-17 winner the next day. But what do racing fans know about stick and ball sports? Most teams at PAS Feb. 3 plan to compete in the first "Copper on Dirt", a unique USAC triple-header Fri..-Sat. Feb. 9-10 at Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix. Sands Chevrolet is sponsoring the event in honor of late Arizona open-wheel champions Roger McCluskey and Gene Brown. The historic, beloved Silver Crown (champ dirt cars) will compete for the first time on the big Manzy half-mile clay. The last western S/C dirt track race was on the Sacramento mile in 2000. The last S/C dirt race on a western half-mile was in Las Vegas during 1997. USAC/CRA regional 410 sprint cars and National Midget teams will compete as well. Qualifying and heat races will be Friday, with semi-mains, 50, 40 and 30 lap features Saturday. All series will award 2007 USAC points. I spoke to Manzy promoter Dennis Wood Monday, Feb. 5 and he has 20 Silver Crown dirt cars, 45 sprint cars and 45 midgets entered. He said the purses are $40,000 for S/C cars, $26,000 for sprints and $20,000 for midgets. This innovative event is attracting many California-based open-wheel dirt-track racing fans who skipped the paved track PIR Copper World Classic each winter. Manzy's new "Copper on Dirt" should be well attended to ensure it continues. This new event will give Manzy season-bookend classic races with the November sprint car Western World Championships an established event since 1968. Hopefully, the "Copper on Dirt" will be an annual addition to the open-wheel racing calendar. |
