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| GREG ALEXANDER WINS 360 SPRINT SEASON OPENER AT RENOVATED VENTURA RACEWAY – By Tim Kennedy |
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Ventura, CA., Mar. 14 – Greg Alexander started ninth in a 22-car VRA 360 sprint car feature Saturday at the renovated fifth-mile clay Ventura Raceway. He won the season opener in a Maxim that car owner Brian Williams purchased recently from USAC car owner Scott Benic of Indiana. The 19-year old, second year sprint driver from Gardena became the third race leader on lap 16 and won the 30-lap main on the now higher-banked clay track with new, stronger crash-walls in the turns. Alexander's second VRA sprint feature victory followed his initial triumph on the same weekend last year. The five division event also hosted California Lightning Sprints (winged mini sprints). Brent Sexton, 37, from Lakeside, started seventh, took the lead on lap 7 and won the 21-car, 20-lap CLS main in his 1,200-cc Kawasaki powered 2008 championship car. Early leader Wink Schweitzer crossed the finish line second but his car was disqualified during post-race inspection because of a fuel issue. In the IMCA Modified feature, Danny Lauer started seventh and passed early leader Ron Wiley on lap 6 with an inside pass exiting turn four. The Santa Maria resident led to the lap 15 checkered flag that came five laps earlier than scheduled because of time constraints. USAC Junior Ford Focus Midgets had a ten-car field of all rookie teenage drivers. Pole starter Andrew Murray, 13, led all 20-laps in his Spike in a three-way battle with Stealth driver Ethan Quinn, a 12-year old from Santa Clarita, and Taylor Ferns, a 13-year old female driver from Utica, MI. One caution flag on lap 18 slowed the rapid seven-minute race. However, Murray's car was a DQ during post-race inspection, reportedly for an engine modification that allowed more air intake for increased horsepower. Quinn accepted his first place trophy at 9:45 pm during trophy presentations to all main event winners. Ferns finished second. Mavrick Gaunt, 14-year old son of USAC-CRA sprint car driver Rickie Gaunt, earned third in the No. 2A TCR. Chasen Gaunt, 12, made his debut in the No. 8A Spike with his dad in the pits preparing the cars of both sons. Eight drivers finished the competitive race. The VRA Sport Compact cars were divided into seven front wheel drive cars and nine rear wheel drive cars for two heat races. A scheduled 20-lap combined main, reduced to 15 laps because of time considerations, started all 16 cars with all FWD cars at the front of the field and all RWD cars at the back. James Brown, in an Acura Integra, passed fellow Acura driver Randal Dougan on lap 4 and won the race by a full straight over Dougan. Brent Underwood, in a Ford Mustang, finished fifth overall and first in the RWD class to also earn a first place trophy. VRA 360 SPRINTS: The field of 42 sprint cars was divided into five ten-lap heat races that transferred the first three finishers to the A-main. Steve Conrad, Rick Hendrix, Brent Camarillo, Josh Ford and Troy Rutherford won the heats. Don Gansen flipped in turn two during the second heat. Rookie Tyler Edwards, a Junior FF Midget graduate in a Cory Kruseman Driving School sprinter, ran over a wheel on the first lap and flipped in turn three during H-3. They were uninjured. A pair of 12-lap B-mains had 12 starters each, with the first three finishers in each B guaranteed A-main starting positions. John Nock led all the way from the pole in the first B. Brian Camarillo and Cody Kershaw followed. The race had a red flag on lap 8 when rookie Michael Steele tested the new stronger crash-wall in turn one and lost. His car climbed the wall, flipped and landed overturned on the now higher banking. With the yellow flag waving, fellow rookie Tanner Terry entered the first turn, climbed a wheel and also flipped. Neither driver was injured, but both cars left on the back of tow trucks. The second B-main had outside front row starter Dennis Rodriguez in front all the way. He defeated pole-man Ronnie Case and Tom Harper. The race was called after eight laps because of three cautions after Clark Templeman III spun and caused the premature conclusion. SPRINT A-MAIN: The 22 cars took the green flag at 9:19 pm with heat winners Conrad, Rutherford, Ford, Hendrix and Brent Camarillo occupying the first five grid positions in that order. Rutherford, in his own silver No. 11, shot into the lead and paced the first ten laps. Hendrix took second from Conrad on lap 2. Ford dropped Hendrix to third on lap 5, but Hendrix reclaimed second a lap later. However, the yellow flag flew for a spin by Rob Kershaw, handing second back to Ford. Ford's No. 73 closed on leader Rutherford by lap 10 and they criss-crossed for the lead in turn four with Rutherford retaining the point. Then on lap 11 Ford made a slide job passing attempt in turn two and hit Rutherford's car, which got airborne and rolled once. Both cars stopped next to each other in mid-track. Angry Rutherford unbuckled and rushed to confront Ford, who was still in his car. Cooler heads prevailed and both cars were towed to the pits. Ford's car was done for the night. Rutherford's team made quick repairs and he returned to the race at the back of the now 20-car field. The restart had former third place Hendrix as the new leader and he kept his light blue No. 15 out front through lap 15. Eventual winner Alexander was sixth when Ford and Rutherford crashed. He took second from Conrad on lap 12 with an inside moved leaving turn four. Then on lap 16 Alexander's No. 22A shot past Hendrix for the lead with an outside pass in the fourth turn. Reseda resident Kevin Kierce, who started 11th in his own No. 1, passed Hendrix for second on lap 17. (Kierce's 2000 TCR is one of four sprint cars in his stable and is the first Cory Kruseman Racing School car. He also has a second TCR chassis, a Stanton and a Stinger according to his team.) On lap 20 Kierce trailed Alexander by 15-yards and by 25-yards on lap 23. Kierce closed to 10-yards behind Alexander's Maxim by lap 27. He was only a few feet in back of Alexander on lap 29 as they lapped Kershaw's No. 26. Alexander pulled away on the 30th and final lap and won by five yards over Kierce. Greg Taylor, the 2007 VRA 360 Sprint champion and the track's leading main event winner with 42, started 15th in the No. 57 Steve Hix 2006 Twister. He took third position from Conrad on lap 28 and edged Conrad's No. 56 Ellis/Gaerte Chevy. John Nock came from 16th grid position to place fifth. Former TQ-Midget driver Richard McCormick, Hendrix, restarted Rutherford, Cody Kershaw, and Rodriguez completed the top ten. Sixteen drivers reached the checkers with 15 drivers on the lead lap. Alexander became the VRA 360 point leader with 250 points, with Kierce second at 235. Alexander told the sizable crowd, “Thanks to Brian Williams for buying me this car. Sponsor H & H Engineering came on board this week and thanks to sponsor T & M Construction. We stayed up late Sunday getting this thing ready and it all paid off.” The winner arrived late, started ninth and finished third in H-5. He said he has only raced in 16 of the last 26 races. There were 42 VRA 360s, 20 IMCA Modifieds, 21 CA Lightning Sprints, 16 Sport Compacts and 10 Junior FF Midgets for a total of 109 cars in the crowded pits. . IMCA--Lauer beat IMCA runner-up Robby Sawyer by 20-yards. Early leader Wiley finished third, with 2008 track modified champion Damon Redman fourth and Austin Rodarte fifth. Fourteen of the 20 starters finished the 14-minute race that had three yellow flags. CA LIGHTNING SPRINTS—With Schweitzer's DQ because of dirty fuel, Stuart Hielscher, Jr., 17, moved from third to second place. Ventura winner and CLS leader Sexton said Hielscher, Jr. is now the series point leader based on his Perris victory last week and his second place at Ventura. A. J. Bender, 16, finished third. Stuart Hielscher, Sr. was fourth and Robert Early fifth. Ten other drivers finished the 14+ minute event that had four cautions. CLS cars are the same type raced in the BCRA mini sprint series in Northern California and by a group in Deming, WA. Cars use Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki or Honda motorcycle engines. The 1,000-cc engines can be 925 pounds and the 1,200-cc engines must weigh at least 1,000 pounds. The CLS schedule of 21 races will continue on March 28 with another race at Perris. The club has 35 cars on its roster and races at dirt tracks in Bakersfield, Santa Maria, Perris and Ventura. CLS will travel north to race in Deming, WA on July 18 and will race with BCRA mini sprints at Marysville, CA on October 17 in non-point events. Heat races of 7-laps, which started at 5:30 pm to complete all racing by 10:00, went to Sawyer, Lauer and Wiley in IMCA Modifieds; Murray and Kyle Edwards in Junior FF Midgets, and to Schweitzer, Jarrett Kramer and Bobby Bender in CLS. Trevor Fitzgibbon won the RWD heat and Joel Chavez copped the FWD heat in the Sports Compact class. There were six types of chassis represented in the ten-car Junior FF Midgets. Stealth had three, Bullet and Spike each had two cars, while Beast, Ellis and TCR each had one car. Ventura Raceway week two of a 31 race night, nine-month season at the self-described “Best Little Race Track in America” will be March 21. VRA Sprints, Senior Sprints for drivers age 45+, Dwarf Cars, Sport Compacts, Junior Midgets and Mini Dwarf Cars will provide on-track action. |
