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See You At The Races!!! |
| RACING SCENE Column (PAS
Sprints) by Tim Kennedy |
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Los Angeles, CA. - USAC-CRA 2008 race six took place at Perris Auto
Speedway (PAS) Saturday, March 8. A good-size crowd of 4,000+ filled
two-thirds of the main grandstand on a semi-chilly night in which
the temperature dropped from the high-60s to low 50s from time
trials to the 10:22 p.m conclusion of the 30-lap feature. There were
34 sprint cars and about 30 California Lightning winged mini sprints
for a companion event of heat races, B and a 20-lap A-main. The
USAC-CRA sprints had a topsy-turvy, upsetting night with six wild
flips and one cartwheel incident from time trials through the
A-main. During hot lapping it was a good time to check car and
driver information. J. J. Ercse, of Lakewood, drove a new ride for
him. The red and white numeral # 84 is the ex-# 84 Jack Keene car
driven in the past by Alex Grigoreas and Wally Pankratz. The new
owner is Bill Persol, who also owns the ex-Matt Stewart # 85 car now
driven by rookie Brien Kinney. It has the same # 85 on it but it's
now all dark blue with a white number instead of the black and
yellow colors it had last year. The # 26 Billy Blinn car is the ex-#
29 Bruce Fischer car that Jay Drake and current chief steward Steve
Ostling raced in past seasons.
I spoke to driver David Cardey, who again drives the # 83 sprint car for Glenn Crossno. He said he will drive the # 15 Chevy Monte Carlo for owner/driver Jack Sellers of Sacramento in selected 2008 NASCAR Grand National West races. He raced for the same team two years ago in the NASCAR GNW Series. John Krebs is the crew chief on the Sellers # 15 and # 75 stock cars. The number of races Cardey will run for the Sellers team depends upon sponsorship dollars. David said he would like to race three to five GNW stock car races, including those at Fontana, Phoenix International Raceway and Irwindale Speedway. David has to bring some money to the deal so he would welcome sponsorship. He said his success in USAC-CRA points will have a bearing on where he will race on July 4, when both PAS and Irwindale tracks will host series in which David competes. USAC-CRA TT ran from 6:07 to 6:50. Mike Spencer, the 32nd of 34 qualifiers, set FQ time of 16.591. The fastest 11 qualifiers were in the 16-second bracket and the spread was 0.405 from the fastest to 11th fastest qualifier. Ten-lap heat race winners came from 6th, 6th, 4th and 2nd starting positions. Toughest heat race lineup of the night was heat two. It was so tough, second fastest qualifier Cory Kruseman started seventh and could only advance to sixth position at the checkers. As expected, Cory started first in the B-main and led all 12 laps. The PAS $4.00 program cover had Cory's # 21K on the cover. The PAS season opener had Tony Jones' # 4 on the cover. Two CRA sprint car teams are for sale. The # 96 Jim Kirby equipment driven by Mike Kirby through 2006 and the #s 58 and 59 cars of long-time Riverside dentist Dr. Jim Giardina, DDS are on the block. Cardey's sprint car start came in "the tooth doc's" # 59 car. Kirby now races Extreme Dirt Cars at The PAS. Giardina has switched to the PAS dirt late models as well. Seth Wilson, from San Clemente, had to be one of the hard-luck drivers of the night. He had second starting position in the third heat, but following a L 1 red flag his car had a flat RR tire. He went to the work area as starter Eddie Ramirez was about to display the green flag for the restart. So Seth was a non-starter in the official 10-lap run and finished seventh. In the 12-lap B-main Seth started in row four next to J. J. Ercse's # 84. They dueled for sixth place (the final transfer spot to the A-main) from L 5 to the finish. On the white flag Seth was two lengths in back of Ercse's # 84, but he trailed Ercse by ten yards at the checkered flag and missed the feature. Sometimes the best racing is for the final transfer position and not for the race lead. Fourth grad school teacher J. Hicks lost his LR wheel and spun out of fifth place on L 2 in the second turn low groove and also missed the feature. Josh Ford led all 10-laps in the third heat. When interviewed later he said he killed a car in his PAS opening night flip and his car had a broken Jacobs ladder at Manzanita in the next race. Sprint car rookie Nic Faas, 18, continued to amaze USAC-CRA sprint car fans with his rapid success in the powerful 410 cu. in. sprinters. After setting second fastest qualifying time at PAS last month and winning a 10-lap heat at Manzy he topped those achievements March 8 at The PAS. Nic set ninth fastest times and raced from 5th starting to 2nd finishing position in his eight-car heat race. Then he started the 30-lap feature from pole position in the 23-car field and raced flawlessly in P. 2 from L 1-11, P. 3 L 12-17 and P. 2 from L 18-30. He trailed winner Danny Sheridan by 30-yards and held 10-yards over 3rd place finisher Spencer, the quickest qualifier. Completing the top ten were Cardey, Kruseman, two-time USAC National Sprint Champion Levi Jones, Garrett Hansen, Rodney Argo, Ford and Casey Shuman. Nineteen of 23 starters finished the 9:55 to 10:22 p.m race and 17 drivers completed all 30 laps. Another teenager who deserves mention was Cody Williams, 18. The oldest of 2004 USAC-CRA champion Rip Williams' three sons made his first USAC-CRA racing appearance and drove the Jory Racing # 3 raced for many years by his dad. Rip has had his broken foot pinned and he is continuing his recuperation from his February 8 crash at PAS. Cody has raced sprints at Victorville Speedway but his USAC-CRA appearance was a major step up in talented competition. Cody qualified at 19.382 and then 18.257 on L 2 for 30th fastest time. He started 8th in the tough second heat and was a competitive 8th place at the end and on the lead lap. Cody started 11th and finished 9th on the lead lap in the 12-lap B. Then his team used an owner's provisional and Cody started last and finished 18th, down one lap after being lapped on L 15. He passed two other cars (bringing cheers from fans in section B following his progress). Cody performed well in his CRA debut and will only get better with more track time. Keep in mind that his brother Austin, 17, is waiting in the wings to also step up to USAC-CRA sprint car racing ASAP. FLIPS: Flips started early and often March 8. Rookie Brien Kinney, the 13th qualifier, ran a 19.986 first qualifying lap and improved by a full second to 18.915 on L 2, but he entered turn one too fast, spun to the cushion at speed and flipped one time onto the embankment and back onto the track, landing upright. He climbed out OK. Rookie Austin Mero, 16, was the 25th qualifier. On his first timed lap, his Kruseman # 71K jumped the cushion between turns one and two and cart-wheeled up the embankment and back on the track. He was checked by the Mission Ambulance crew and released. Then 28th qualifier Chad Boat, 16, entered turn one high and hard on it. He somehow avoided flipping there and kept his foot in it. His # 30 jumped the cushion between turns three and four and rolled quickly 4-5 times atop the crash-wall before it landed back on the track. He climbed out quickly without injury, but his car was done for the night. Rookie Henry Clarke, 18, had his LR wheel come of in heat 3 on L 1 at turn 2 and he flipped Kruseman's # 41K once in the low groove without injury. His helmet reportedly had a crack in it so he sat out the B-main. In heat 4 veteran Rodney Argo was in P. 3 on L 2 in the second turn when his car jumped the cushion, hit the wall and rolled once, landing overturned at the cushion. He finished 3rd in the B and 8th in the feature aboard the same car. Also in heat 4, rookie Kenny Perkins, 16, flipped at turn 2 with the checkers waving. His # 34 car came to rest with the tail on the track and nose pointing in the air. Kenny sat in the car dazed for several minutes. Pit announcer Chris Holt interviewed personable Kenny later. "I don't remember the crash and I have a headache now," Kenny said. The top of his roll cage was bent to the left. "We'll have to get a new car built by John Aden. I love it (racing) and I'll be back. Thank you sir," Kenny replied after answering his final question from Chris. The seventh and final flip came on L 18 of the A-main with another youngster, Cole Whitt, 16, the victim. Cole, driving Glenn Crossno's # 2 car for the first time, started 2nd and led the first 17 laps in a close duel with eventual winner Sheridan, the 33-year old Kityle Motorsports # 18 driver. On L 18 leader Whitt jumped the cushion between the third and fourth turns and flipped 4-5 times in quick barrel-rolls atop the wall. The car landed back on the track and Cole emerged unhurt in a crash similar to Chad Boat's earlier flip at the same site during time trials. Incidentally, Red-head Cole is a look-alike to Jason Leffler, another driver with a heavy throttle foot. Chris Holt interviewed the top three feature finishers. P. 3 Spencer said he had "a little brake problem at the end." An obviously pleased Faas said, "to run in the top three with all this stiff competition is really cool." He thanked his sponsors. Winner Sheridan stated, "I haven't seen this track that hooked up since the beginning of the track. Thanks to promoter Don Kazarian for that. We lost three motors racing in Phoenix (Feb. 15-16) and one in Las Vegas (Feb. 28-29). We couldn't get it freed up enough. The track was really tacky." When asked about runner-up Faas, Sheridan stated, "This kid is going someplace in racing. He is a fast sonofabitch." Clearly, Nic is opening eyes. Nic won the 2007 USAC Dirt Ford Focus Midget Championship and was runner-up in the 2007 Paved FF Midget Series. Nic won four features on dirt (1 at Bakersfield and 3 at Ventura). He added two paved track FF feature victories--Blythe and Irwindale's'40-lap feature as part of the Thanksgiving Night Grand Prix. All of his FF Midget triumphs came in his dad Jerry's # 17 midget. Nic won his first USAC F Midget main on 10-2-06 at Ventura with 23 cars competing. He will race a paved sprint car and a midget this year at times while he also attends Orange Coast College. The California Lightning winged mini sprints are powered by motorcycle engines up to 1,200 cc. They all have on-board self-starters so they are a speedy companion show without the need for push trucks. Brett Sexton (# 44) won his 6-lap heat race and the 20-lap main event. Cameron Beard, from Atwater (near Merced) finished second in the # 0z. Jarrett Kramer flipped his # 14 on L 1 in turn 2. He quickly restarted and rejoined the other cars parked on the front straight under the red flag. Although his top wing was thoroughly bent, Kramer charged forward in his battered # 14 to finish 7th with 12 of 21 starters still racing after the 9:06 to 9:23 p.m first race of the year for the speedy, small cars. They also race at tracks in Barona, Victorville, Ventura and Santa Maria. RECENT RACES RECAPS: During the February 16 USAC triple-header at Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix two-time USAC Western Midget champion Jerome Rodela flipped his # 25 Stealth/Toyota midget in heat 3. He was hospitalized in Phoenix with a broken back (two broken vertebrae). He is now getting about home in El Monte with a back brace. Reasons for DNFs at Las Vegas: Thur. Feb. 28-Danny Sheridan's # 18 was in P. 8 in the feature when contact with another car caused a flat LR tire. He came back on the lead lap but contact with another car later caused a flat RR tire and he dropped out. Fri. Feb. 29-Mike Spencer (# 50) was in P.5 on L 17 when he slowed with no brakes and finished in P. 13, still on the lead lap. Cole Whitt (# 5K) was in P. 3 on L 20 when he lost his brakes and veered from the fourth turn to the infield and dropped out. Josh Ford (# 73) was in P. 7 on L 12 when he pulled in because his RF wheel was packed with mud. After the mud was knocked off his rim Josh returned to the race, down four laps, and finished 16th at the checkered flag. |
