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| RACING SCENE Column – USAC 3-STATES WESTERN SWING (Part II of III) – By Tim Kennedy |
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LAS VEGAS, NV. - Stop two of the USAC Western Swing-- the Las Vegas Super Sprint Classic--took place Wednesday, February 25 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway half-mile dirt track just off Interstate 15. The doubleheader featured USAC Mopar National Midgets and USAC Western Midgets for a $12,300 purse, plus USAC National Sprint Cars and USAC-CRA Regional Sprints for a $19,000 purse. Both ran 30-lap main events. There were 36 Midgets and the Sprints had a strong field of 52 cars for a total field of 88. LVMS Midget drivers came from 12 states as follows: CA-13, IN-7, AZ-5, IL and OK-2 each, and one each from FL, MO, NC, OH, TN, TX and WA. The impressive Sprint Car field also hailed from 12 states: CA-29, IN-6, AZ-5, MO, NC and OK-2 each, and one each from FL, IA, IL, MT, NM and NV. USAC's Rob Klepper was the PA announcer for USAC races. USAC racing headquarters was The Orleans Hotel/Casino where many racers stayed ($34. a night) in the 21-story hotel just off The Strip. Boyd Gaming now owns The Orleans after buying it several years ago from NASCAR driver Brendan Gaughan's father/grandfather who opened the new South Point Hotel/Casino. FORMAT: Sprint car group qualifying was from 6:00 to 6:20 pm with six cars per session. Midget group time trials took place from 6:29 to 6:45 pm with four green flag laps for eight cars at a time. Sprint C-mains of 6-laps advanced the top four finishers in both C-races to the back rows of four heat races that became ten-car heat races. The sprint field was so deep that 2008 CRA champion Mike Spencer, Chris Windom, Tyler Walker, Nic Faas, Tyler Brown, Matt Mitchell and Knoxville, IA track champion Terry McCarl (in just his fifth non-wing sprint car race) found themselves in C-mains. Four nine-car Midget heats of 8-laps had six car inverted starting lineups. Winners came from starting positions 3, 5, 4 and 7. Sprint heats of 8-laps had eight-car inversions and winners came from starting positions 2, 5, 2 and 1. B-mains of 12 laps sent the top six finishers to the features. Star of the B races was Garrett Hansen, who charged from 13th in a 24-car sprint field to become the third race leader on lap 6. His No. 7 led laps 6-12 and won by 40-yards over L 2-5 leader Damion Gardner. The 8,000 seat main grandstand had about 3,000 occupants on a cool, even chilly night. Strong wind dried out the track and it took rubber. Temperatures at LVMS were 76 degrees at 3:00 pm and 56 after the USAC features. MIDGET MAIN: The 30-lap Midget feature started 22 and had three race leaders. Bobby East led L 1 from pole position. Bryan Clauson paced L 2-13 and 7th starter Jerry Coons, Jr. led L 14-30. On a L 14 red flag following 2008 USAC National Midget Champion Cole Whitt's flip, all but six midgets went to the work area for new tires and other work. Those cars had to restart at the back. On L 30 Josh Wise was in P. 8 entering turn one when NASCAR Cup star Kasey Kahne suddenly came down from the top groove. Josh ran over a tire of Kahne's No. 67K Spike/Mopar sending Josh's No. 75 Cruz Pedregon Spike/Mopar into a violent series of three side rolls before it landed overturned in the first turn. Josh was shaken and he told me he had a sore head. His helmet and car were junk and he skipped the following sprint car feature, for which he had qualified the Mitchell Racing No. 37M in 19th starting slot. Winner Coons said, “We (Wilke team) threw harder tires on a the last minute. Not many others did.” It was his 17th USAC National Midget Series feature victory. Fourteen of 22 starters finished. Clauson had another strong midget race and finished second, ten yards in back of Coons. Clauson passed third place Chad Boat, 17, on the final lap in the second turn and backstretch with an inside move. The race ran from 9:45 to 10:27 pm and had two red flags and three yellow flags. The green, white, checkered flag finish had fans on their feet. SPRINT MAIN: The Sprint feature ran from 10:41 to 11:10 pm. Pole-man Damion Gardner (in Jason Leffler's Pace No. 71 Eagle/Shaver) led the first six laps. Cole Whitt (No. 67K Keith Kunz Bullet/Brannan Chevy) started third and took second on the initial lap. He took the lead from Gardner on L 7 and led the final 24 laps to win by half a straightaway over tenth starter Jesse “the Rocket” Hockett (No. 13). It was Whitt's second career USAC National Sprint feature victory. His initial triumph was last June. Johnny Herrera, 42, came from 14th grid position to finish third on the dry, tire-eating track. The race had four yellow flags and one red flag for Brett Burdette's L 25 flip. Mike Spencer used a provisional berth to start last and race up to 13th as 21 of 23 starters finished. Winner Whitt said, “It's all team, A. J., Pete, all of them. Keith Kunz knows what he is doing.” Runner-up Hockett stated, “He didn't make any mistakes. I gave it everything I could. My crew did a good job keeping up with the the tires as the track took rubber.” Third place Herrera told the crowd, “This is my best finish with USAC. Cole was in a league by himself tonight.” .... Steve Ostling, CRA's race director, departed LVMS about midnight for his solo four-hour drive home to SO CA so he could go to work at 6:00 am Thursday morning. That's fatiguing just thinking about his midnight ride. Other CRA non-wing fans and many NASCAR fans in town for Friday-Sunday Nationwide and Sprint Cup races at the 1.5-mile LVMS track attended the Wednesday USAC and Thursday $60,000+ WoO LVMS half-mile dirt track races. USAF jet fighters taking off beyond turns one & two from Nellis AFB for night flight training were impressive diversions between races. A. J. Fike, from Illinois, had recovered from his respiratory illness at the Phoenix race (Feb. 20-21). He timed 11th fastest and raced into the feature with his dad's No. 69 Spike/Esslinger Ford. Fike started tenth and was up to P. 6 on L 12 when a flat RR tire sent him pit-ward. He finished 21st. ... Brad Loyet, from MO, finished 12th in the Midget main and he reportedly won $650 at a casino. ... Ricky Ehrgott, from IL, made his 410 sprint debut in Vegas in Ted Finkenbinder's No. 3F from California. ... Tyler Walker, from Los Angeles, took the wing off his bright green and white No. 24T sprinter and raced it with USAC Wednesday and Thursday in the LVMS WoO race on the same track. Tyler wore his old No. 38 Great Clips NASCAR uniform. The JEI sprint car is owned by Scott Chastain of Elk Grove, CA. ... USAC V-P Dick Jordan drove north from Phoenix to Las Vegas on Sunday. Most race car haulers left Phoenix either Sunday or Monday for the 275+ miles tow from Phoenix to Las Vegas via highway 60 to Wickenburg, AZ and north on 93 to Kingman and a segment on I-40. Sedans proceeded north on 93 and across the Hoover Dam (one-lane each way) from AZ to Boulder City and Henderson, NV. LVMS is about seven miles north of the Vegas Strip. Trucks and race haulers had to detour to I-40 to bypass the Hoover Dam road, adding many miles to the trip. I spent Monday Feb. 23 touring the new MLB Cactus League baseball stadium in Goodyear, AZ and the L.A. Dodgers brand new Camelback Ranch spring training site in Glendale where I caught a Dodgers mid-day inter-squad game on a practice field. Of interest to 1970s racing fans, the then popular 36th & Grand Ave. Mr. Lucky's Night Club (country on one level and rock on the lower level) is now closed and boarded, but the big neon sign out front is still there. The Embassy Suites Hotel at 32nd & Grand Ave. that was so popular with CRA fans is now a church-related residence. ... On Tues. Feb. 24 I drove 125 miles south to Tucson and checked out USA Raceway, a banked three-eights mile dirt track, located 1.5-2 miles south of I-10 exit 268. The track originally operated as Saguaro Speedway many years ago and closed. It reopened as USA Raceway on 1-1-05 and this year is season five under that name. The metal grandstand seats about 4,000. Nice restrooms and concession stands are behind the grandstand, with spacious pits beyond turns 3-4. The officials tower is larger than many short tracks and the track office is in a building near turn four, which also has an open grassy area for SRO crowds. Keith Hall, the long-time Manzanita Speedway promoter in Phoenix, promoted races at USA Raceway in 2008, but he is no longer there. This year Benji Lyons is promoting races and the track's season opened Feb. 28. During my track tour I learned the track trucked in 400-tons of fresh clay for the 2009 season opener. The track draws racers and fans from southern Arizona and New Mexico and hosts the annual Roger McCluskey Classic New Year's Eve two-day sprint car racing event. Johnny Herrera won the sprint race at the end of 2008 and the 2009 USA opener. The stunning early March announcement that Manzanita had been sold and would close after the 4/11/09 race caught everyone by surprise. USA Raceway could be a suitable site for Manzy's Copper on Dirt and Western World Championship displaced major races. If USA is coupled with Las Vegas and Perris tracks, perhaps the 2009 three-tracks USAC Western Swing could be repeated in coming years. Leaving USA Raceway I drove 67 miles east on I-10 through Benson, AZ and south on highway 80 to Tombstone, AZ “The Town To Tough To Die” and site of the famous Gunfight at the OK Corral. This trip has been on my“bucket list” for years. Time between the Phoenix and Las Vegas races was a perfect opportunity to play tourist. Tombstone's boom years were 1877-1886 when it was the Cochise County seat. I toured town sites such as the famous Tombstone Epitaph (the town newspaper founded and edited by mayor John P. Clum), original 1882 courthouse, OK Corral, Birdcage Theater (saloon with upstairs and downstairs bordello rooms), Boothill Graveyard, and silver mines. I watched the 4:00 to 4:35 pm second and final show of the day that recreated the “Gunfight at the OK Corral” in front of tourists in a 300-seat metal grandstand overlooking the outdoor set. The eight-man gunfight pit the Earps (Marshall Wyatt Earp and his brothers Virgil and Morgan), plus Doc Holliday against four members of the Clanton gang. It took place in front of the OK Corral (on Allen St. @ 3rd St.) on October 26, 1881 about 2:30 pm. Billy Clanton,19, and two McLaury brothers (Tom and Frank) died. Ike Clanton escaped. Wyatt's two brothers received superficial wounds; Wyatt was unscathed. All actors in the show are attired in authentic garb of the Old West era and put on an entertaining show. Veteran Shakespearian actor Stephen Keith, who portrays Doc Holliday, has run the long-time gunfight show for the past two years. It is a must-see. After the show the actors talk unhurriedly and pose for photos on the set and in front of the OK Corral. In fact, an hour after the show I saw personable Mr. Keith (“Doc”) heading home as he walked up Allen Street about 5th St.; we had a nice chat about Tombstone and the gunfight. He has two pearl-handle Colt revolvers with blanks that he uses in the show and is happy to show visitors. Mr. Keith said the 1993 movie “Tombstone” starring Kirk Russell as Wyatt and Val Kilmer as Doc is the best movie about Tombstone. A Vincent Price-narrated 30-minute historama in a small theater gives visitors Tombstone history. Displays of photos by famous 1870s-80sTombstone photographer C. S. Fly show people of that era, including Apache chief Geronimo. About 2,000 people live in Tombstone these days. It is a full-functioning town with a high school and tourist-related businesses. The historic mining town Bisbee, 20 miles SE of Tombstone, is now the county seat. I ate dinner at the original Crystal Palace Saloon on Allen @ 5th St. before departing Tombstone at 7:30 pm for my 190-mile drive north to Phoenix. Wednesday, Feb. 25 was the first of two days of racing at LVMS. At 9:30 am I departed Phoenix for the 280 mile drive north on 60-93-40-93 to Las Vegas. Hwy 93 was a new highway for me. It is one lane each way in parts and two lanes north and south in parts where picturesque scenery and bridge engineering feats over terrain are amazing. Arizona Highways magazine photos are warranted. AAA warned motorists about photo traffic law enforcement throughout Arizona for the past year. I saw unmanned, permanent camera locations and relocatable manned cameras on high poles on various AZ highways, so drive carefully when in Arizona. I know one race fan who was relieved of $181 last November by a photo speed enforcement camera. The drive on 93, which has construction delays at times, took me across the Hoover Dam road for the first time. It is an amazing sight. The 1931-1935-built dam site will have a new high-level bridge spanning the gorge when current construction is completed. LAS VEGAS: Work'n Woody, the famous decades-old push vehicle from Deming, NM, was present for the two-day LVMS dirt track races. Art & Carol Malies retired as pushers. Their son used 'Woody' to push off USAC racers Wednesday and WoO racers Thursday. The LVMS dirt track was dug up at the end of 2008 and remained in that condition all winter. They began preparing the dirt track two weeks before the Feb. 25-26 races. Midwesterners Bob Sargent (the Springfield, IL mile promoter) and Leon Zeeb, from Paducah, KY Speedway, did the LVMS dirt track preparation. Zeeb had a heart problem during his stay but finished the job. They watered the track daily and worked it in for racing. No new clay was used. The dirt half-mile seemed to be better than last year, but it took rubber and ate tires as usual. WoO teams said it was too wet for their taste Thursday, but they put on the best LVMS WoO feature yet with three race leaders. All lead passes occurred on the track and not because of dropouts. The WoO A-main ended at 9:59 pm, earliest ever for WoO at LVMS according to track veterans. That allowed plenty of time for fans to gamble at the casinos. I did just that at The Orleans dice tables. Ten-minutes at a table about midnight won enough to pay for a tank of gas on my trip of 1,380 miles. WoO—VEGAS: WoO's LVMS event was the fourth race of 2009 for the traveling circuit following three races at Volusia Speedway in Florida. WoO had 27 cars present, with 19 doing the entire WoO tour augmented by western cars. Chassis representation was Maxim-15, KPC (Steve Kent)-5, JEI-4, J & J (Jack Elam)-2 and Schnee-1. WoO drivers came from two foreign countries (Australia & Canada) and 14 states: CA-6, IN-3, MO, PA, OH and TN-2 each, and AZ, IA, MN, MT, ND, NM, OK and TX-1 each. Drivers who raced with USAC Wednesday and WoO Thursday were Brent Kronfuss, a 24-year old from Bozeman, MT, Tyler Walker, Terry McCarl, Jesse Hockett and Johnny Herrera. Four of them used the same car wingless and winged. Herrera used his newer 2007 Maxim owned by his dad Joe. He raced his older 2006 Avenger with USAC Wednesday. The WoO drivers meeting was held from 5:00-5:15 at the WoO 18-wheeler. Then all 27 WoO drivers posed in their uniforms for a group photo for many photographers. Extended hot lapping followed. Single car qualifying for two consecutive laps ran from 6:58-7:17 pm. The 1-lap track record is 12.91 by Danny Lasoski a few years ago. This year Donny Schatz, the fifth driver to qualify, set FQ time of 14.148 (127.226 mph). Jason Sides was second FQ at 14.199; 24 of 27 qualifiers were in the 14 second bracket and three drivers were in the 15s. NASCAR drivers/WoO team owners Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne were in the pits to watch their WoO teams race. Ryan Newman also watched dirt track action from the pits. ... Johnny Gibson, WoO's traveling PA announcer, did WoO mike work from the press box. A local announcer handled PA work for the bomber stock cars that usually race on the paved LVMS “Bullring” track. Bombers ran a heat race and 12-lap main. The bombers announcer said he flew into Vegas late and got pulled over by a local cop. “He shined his flashlight in my eyes and said, 'Sir, your eyes are bloodshot. Have you been drinking?' I replied, “Your eyes looked glazed. Have you been eating donuts? The cost of my ticket was $183.48.” ... A chilly wind again played havoc with the dirt track and it quickly took rubber and chewed-up RR tires. Three nine-car, 8-lap heats inverted the first four starters and advanced the first six finishers to the A-main. Pole starters led every lap and the first six starters took the main event transfers in two of the three heats. Ten drivers—the first two finishers in the three heats and the next four FQ who finished in positions 3-6 in the heats—came to the starting line and drew starting positions 1-10 for the Crane Cams Dash. On L 2 Jason Meyers “felt a vibration” entering the third turn,spun to the wall and rolled, bending the frame. He had to use his backup KPC chassis for the feature. Instead of starting 10th as the last finisher in the dash, he had to start last in the 24 car A-main because of his car switch. On Friday afternoon Feb. 27 while driving to So CA, I passed Meyers' Elite Landscaping No. 14 team 18-wheeler on I-15 at Yermo as it hauled their cars back to their Clovis, CA base via highways 15, 58 and 99. They got everything ready for the March 13-14 WoO races in Chico, CA . Meyers won the March 14 Chico feature and now ranks third in WoO points. Jac Haudenschild, a 2009 inductee into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in three months, won the 10-lap B-main and the first six finishers moved to the A-main. The first four received their qualifying times back for positioning purposes. I asked Jac if he'll be able to attend the NSCHoF induction ceremonies in Knoxville IA; he said he has a date conflict and will be racing elsewhere. He said he will have Iowa fan Barbara O'Brien accept the award for him. ... The local bomber cars main started all 14 sedans and one fan said there was more passing in that race than in the WoO heats. The bomber winner took the lead on L 11 of 12 and barely held off the former leader. The announcer said, “a special prize tonight is you get to start 25th in the WoO main event.” The jubilant bomber driver quickly replied, “I'm ready.” The WoO A-main had three race leaders—Dollansky from the pole L 1-7, outside front row starter/three-time WoO champion Sammy Swindell, 53, from L 8-15, and third starter Schatz from L 16-30. Schatz won by 35-yards over Swindell, who had 30-yards on Dollansky. Swindell said he was too careful in traffic and said he had an engine vibration at mid-race. The top three finishers received $10,000, $5,500 and $3,200. P 17-24 paid $800 to start. The race had four cautions. Flat RR tires befell Haudenschild and Meyers. Chad Kemenah (in P. 7 on L 28) and Tyler Walker (P 10 on L 29) ran out of fuel and stalled. They were in the DNF column as 20 of 24 starters reached the checkered flag with 15 drivers on the lead lap. Steve Kinser, the 20-time WoO champion, had a flat RR tire and stalled his No. 11 Quaker State Maxim on L 24. He got it changed and finished eighth. Steve had an interesting mid-race battle with his 24-year old son Kraig. I spoke to Kraig in the pits as he autographed photo cards for fans and he was cordial with everyone. He raced NASCAR No. 46 and 47 trucks for Morgan-Dollar Racing in the past. Kraig said he doesn't have any active leads for a return to NASCAR. He drives Stewart's Bass Pro Shops No. 20 Maxim, while his Stewart WoO teammate Schatz (No. 15 Armor All) races a J & J chassis. Kahne's drivers (Saldana No. 9 and Dollansky No. 19) both race Maxims. Point leader Schatz's LVMS victory was his third of the year and 91st in his WoO career, fifth-best all-time in the WoO series that the late Ted Johnson started in 1978. The temps Thursday at LVMS were 66 degrees at 4:30 and 56 after the A-feature about 10:00 pm. LVMS FLIPS: USAC Sprints--(3)--Nic Faas (C-main) said Tyler Walker came down on him and Nic's No. 17F launched over a tire, destroying his Maxim. He pirated parts off it for his backup Maxim to race at Perris. According to Nic's dad Jerry, Nic and his 2009 crew chief Jake Argo left on March 4 for Brownsburg, IN, their racing base for spring and summer racing in the Midwest. They will buy and construct a new Maxim and use some parts off the LVMS chassis. Their first race will be the April 10 race at Ohio's Eldora Speedway. (Heat 3) - D. Gardner—rolled his 71 car on L 1 in turn four. (A-main) - B. Burdette was in P. 11 when he rode up a wheel on L 25 in turn three and rolled 3 or 4 times. USAC Midgets-- (2)--(A-main) - Whitt rolled the Kunz No. 1 Bullet 3-4 times on L 14 at turn one. J. Wise barrel-rolled the P. 8 No. 75 car several times on L 30 in turn one when K. Kahne's 67K car came down on him. WoO Sprints--(1)--(Dash) - Meyers tumbled at turn three. ... LVMS management completed the evening Thursday with a post-racing aerial fireworks show ignited by professionals from outside the backstretch. The pyrotechnics show lasted five-minutes and appreciative fans remained in their seats to observe the entire show. |
