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Traditional Sprint Car FanSite |
See You At The Races!!! |
| RACING
SCENE by Tim Kennedy |
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VRA Sprints, Senior Sprints, Pony Stocks |
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Ventura, CA, Mar. 8 - "Professor" Cory Kruseman
returned to his hometown Ventura Raceway fifth-mile clay
"bullring" Saturday and took the Ventura Racing
Association 30-lap sprint car feature in a thrilling battle with
fellow SCRA driver Steve Ostling. Kruseman started fifth in
the No. 61 WSA Health Care, Agromin, Raney Racing Engines car owned
by Cory Witherill, an Indy 500 veteran and current IRL-Infinity Pro
Series driver. The winning team earned $1,000 and runner-up
Ostling took $750 in the track's season opener. Kruseman operates his sprint car driving school at the picturesque Seaside Park oval that sits across the street from the beach and Pacific Ocean. He had three of his school TCR sprint cars present for three of his advanced course graduates to race in the VRA Senior Division (age 45+) sprint car support race. Ron Bach, a former CDCRA dwarf car racer, won that 20-lap feature. Professor Kruseman gave his past, present and future students a free graduate course in how to race a sprint car on Jim Naylor's well-prepared, tacky home of VRA racing. Outside front row starter Tony Dighera led the first 11 laps and earned $500 for finishing third. Ostling started eighth, claimed second on lap 10 and took the lead during lap 12 with a strong inside move in turn four. He extended his advantage until lap 20 when Kruseman took second from Dighera and began cutting into Ostling's lead. A lap 23 crash involved sixth place Chris Wakim, Jeff Wilson, Ronnie Case and Mike Knopf and caused a caution flag. When racing resumed, Ostling ran his Denver, CO-based No. 14k Sandy & Jim Kroupa-Nygaard chassis on the inside, while Kruseman ran the outside in their exciting duel. On lap 26 Kruseman slingshot past Ostling on the outside exiting the second turn and along the track's new concrete backstretch wall. However, a caution flag for a three-car tangle at turn four appeared after the leaders passed the starting line. The restart had Ostling leading Kruseman and they immediately resumed their battle for the point. At the green Ostling went high to block an expected Kruseman outside power pass. However, Kruseman cut to the inside as they completed lap 26 and used an inside move to take the lead. Ostling powered back and drew even with Kruseman as they entered the final corner on the last lap. Ostling slid up the track entering the fourth turn, "but I left Cory just enough room and hoped he would think I was coming up all the way." Just when victory seemed to be slipping from his grasp, Kruseman powered out of the fourth turn between the wall and Ostling's car and beat him to Dave Peterson's checkered flag by less than a car length as the hometown crowd stood and cheered both drivers. Greg Taylor, Kevin Kierce, Bill Welch, Mike Davis, Steve Conrad, Rob Kershaw and defending VRA champion Jimmy Crawford completed the top ten, with 15 of 21 starters running at the finish. With a new 6:00 p.m starting time and a voluntary 10:00 curfew, the three division show received the final checkered flag at 9:33 p.m in a show that left fans eager for more racing action in a season that will run on Saturdays through November 1. When interviewed on the front straight by promoter/announcer Jim Naylor, Kruseman said, "That was a lot of fun. Racing is passing. Steve (Ostling) is a gentleman race car driver." Ostling then added, "That's bullring racing. You have to stick your nose in there. I feel confident racing with Cory. I must compliment you (Naylor) on the track. It was great. The track changed a bit down the backstretch with the new wall." Third finisher Dighera said, "I was hoping those two guys would take each other out, but they're too good." Knopf won the 15-car, 12-lap semi-main. With 36-cars present, there were four nine-car, 10-lap heat races. Crawford (from second), Kierce (from fifth), Dighera (from second) and Wakim (from second) won the heats, which sent the first four finishers to the main event. Chris Tramel, who is Kruseman's cousin, got crowded into the crash-wall at the finish line with the checkered flag waving in the third heat. His car flipped several times before landing upright near the first turn. Tramel emerged unhurt, but his car was finished for the night with severe front-end damage. Pole starter Ron Bach led all 20-laps of the VRA Senior Sprint Car Division feature for his fifth VRA sprint car feature victory. Russell DeBlauw, SCRA veteran Ron DiDonato, John Woodward and Steve Stasa followed in the 21 car field. Sixteen drivers finished, including defending VRA Senior Division champion Wiley Miller, who spun out of second place on lap 13, restarted and finished 14th. Oren Prosser, Sr took the 10-lap VRA Senior Sprint s semi-main. DiDonato, Richard Terry and Miller led all eight laps in their respective heat races that transferred the top four to the main. There were 25 VRA Seniors in action, including Dave Marini, Ron Tjarda and Danny Weaver in identical No. 1 Kruseman Racing School TCR-built sprinters. The four-cylinder VRA Pony Stocks had a 19-car field on a night dedicated to the late Maureen Kauffman, a long-time track employee. Jon Everhart, a 64-year old bookkeeper, started fifth and led the final 18 laps of a 20-lap main in his Ford Pinto. It was the second victory of his career. "My last win came in 1997 or 98." James Brown drove a Nissan to second position. Plymouth Sapporo drivers Joel Chavez, leader of the first two laps, and defending VRA Pony Stock champion Mike Frazier took third and fourth spots. VRA starter Dave Peterson relinquished his flags to an assistant and drove his Pony Stock to fifth place as 14 of 18 starters finished. Chavez, Andrew Greiman and Brown won the seven-lap heats. Included in the grandstand crowd of 2,000+ was British movie actress Minnie Driver, who was interviewed by Naylor between races. Driver said she was in the area filming and came out to support the track, which had to rally fan support after last season to stay in business. The Ventura Fair Board sought to end racing at the site. New starting and finishing times for racing, new sound barrier on the backstretch and lower decibels should make the track more neighbor-friendly this year. Naylor, who has promoted at Ventura Raceway for 25 years, believes the unique Ventura attraction should operate for many years to come. The Summary: (pick up agate) PONY STOCKS: Heat 1 - Joel Chavez, Mike Frazier, Lindsay Klingberg, Dan Clarke, Morgan Cole, Jack Fullerton, Adam McPhail. Heat 2 - Andrew Greiman, Jon Everhart, Ed Cutler, Bruce Blackman, Jon Mortenson, Seth Johnson. Heat 3 - James Brown, Dave Peterson, Gary Yeates, Paul Jankovoskis, Candice Raney, Dave Revard. Main - Everhart, Brown, Chavez, Frazier, Peterson, Cutler, Blackman, Adam McPhail, Yeates, Dave Revard, Clarke, Klingberg, Mortenson, Raney, Greiman, Cole, Johnson, Jankovskis. VRA SENIOR SPRINTS: |
