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Traditional Sprint Car FanSite |
See You At The Races!!! |
| Wagsworld by Ken Wagner |
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KRUSER RETURNS TO SCRA WARS AND |
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OVAL NATIONALS MOVED UP ONE WEEK -13TH ANNUAL WAGSDASH IS A QUIET GO. |
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If
you don’t count last Sunday night’s main event which he missed, Cory
Kruseman has now won 4 out of the last 5 races he has run with
SCRA. The fifth was the ill fated tangle he and the Gasman had at
Lakeside when he was leading with three laps to go. Cory came home
to teach at his sprint car school on Sunday, so he was free on
Saturday night and borrowed the Alexander # 4 car again after last
weeks Ventura win. He is two for two in that race car. He was just
plodding along in third when he found a sweet spot on the track to
overcome Damion Gardner
and Rip Williams late in
the 30 lap race and win his 61st SCRA main, tying him with Rip. Cory,
driving the Alexander Trucking, Ray’s Trucking, Larry Murakami
Cont., # 4, won his heat and was 6th in the JE Pistons Passing
Masters Dash and then started on the third row of the main event. He
pulled into third early in the race and watched the Demon/Ripper
show until he made his moves late, as the crowd got excited. The
track started slicking up on the bottom except for one route that
Cory found accidentally. With the race drawing to an end, he banged
the wall in turn two and cut back down across the track, exploding
into a wheelie that surged him forward very quickly. He was
surprised because he had tried that favorite move earlier and it
just wasn’t there yet. He began using that diamond action out of
turn two to pull around Damion. He then stalked the Ripper until the
black # 3 car went into a spot on the track that was like a “black
hole”, it just wouldn’t turn loose of the car. While Rip was
spinning in place there, Cory slid under him to take the lead and
too the white flag. The Kruser then was able to keep the 26 year
veteran from beating him with only one lap to go. Rip put on a
monster slide job that closed the top groove, but Cory used that
diamond routine one more time and it worked! It was an exciting
finish to a good race for the crowd. Rip
was on his game again this week and probably wished it was another
50 lapper after last weeks big win. He took the lead early in the
John Jory Corp, AMA Plastics, Tomarco Fasteners # 3, and looked like
he might run away with it until the Demon passed him on lap 8.
Damion looked like a runaway as he weathered a couple of yellow
flags and led for over a dozen laps. Then Rip came back and grabbed
the lead with 8 to go an then Damion faded a little back to 3rd. Rip
was making the black car very wide as he used as much of the track
he could searching for the moisture that would make this his 62nd
SCRA victory. And if it hadn’t been for that “black hole”,
Cory might have had a tougher road to get around him, but ultimately
Rip settled for his 2nd podium in a row. Getting old, hardly, he’s
just getting started! August
was not very kind to Damion
Gardner and his team. Since winning his 7th race of the year on
July 26th, Damion only hit the podium twice thru the rough month. He
seemed to get out of the groove, but the last three home cookin’
races have cured what ails the team. A fifth at Ventura was only a
tire change away from being a potential win, a top ten in the fifty
lapper that ended the month, and a strong 3rd this week in
September’s first race means things are looking up. The Demon took
the lead in the Willis Machine, TCR Gaerte, # 45 from Rip before
settling back to third at the end. He looked strong running the top,
but tires came into play as the race wound down. His were pretty bad
after the checkers, but he was still trying to get back up front
when the race ended. The team’s sharp new red crew shirts stand
out when they swarm the car in the work area and signify the
professional attitude the Harlan Willis team has. Watch out when the
“Demon” and the boys get it rolling like early I the year. Charles
Davis Jr
almost hit the podium again this week, but he finished 4th in his
wife Gayle’s car and the big time traveler says he will run SCRA
the rest of the year. There are times when he is as fast as anyone
in his car, but things have kept him back. Maybe now he will
continue to run up front and make good things happen, maybe even a
win! Super Rickie Gaunt was 5th, his best finish since he started driving
for Tony Smiley from Arizona, and had a smile as usual for all who
came by. The Extreme Chassis is totally different than the Stingers
and Okie’s he’s been driving, but he says he likes it and feels
comfortable, so look for more out of him soon. Mike
Spencer ran in Illinois the night before, but traveled back to
get 6th this week at Perris. He looked like he had the line early in
the race, and still was in the hunt at the end. Josh
Wise
returned from a nasty crash last week with a new Mike Sala car and
did OK, finishing 7th ahead of the Gasman,
Richard Griffin. Josh has done an outstanding job running
several divisions this year and is a very promising young driver. He
has won against the SCRA, the Bandits, then added wins at the
Belleville Midget Nationals and the VRA 360 Nationals in the last
two months. Not bad and Jake Argo has been crewing with him on all
of these, so our hats off to both young men. Richard didn’t have
the best of nights, but a top ten and the points lead are not
chopped liver. Tony
Jones was loaded for bear this week, but an incident in the feature shuffled
him back to a 14th place finish after a restart at the back. He was
on the gas and running strong, but like they say, better luck next
week. Troy Rutherford
also had a tough night. It all began when the hauler slid down the
hill coming into the pits and banged a light pole. They had just
watered that path and there was nothing the driver could do to stop
the big sled before the crunch that we all heard rang out loudly.
Troy was third quick on the night and ran 8th in the dash and 9th in
the main. He missed a chance to close the gap between himself and
the point leader Griffin, and remains 102 points behind in 2nd
place. Adam Mitchell had
a strong night going until something on the motor “backed out”
and allowed the coolant to escape and they retired due to the
overheating that followed. He
was in the top five at the time. The
Legends of Ascot continues to gather speed. The event is scheduled
at Perris on October 4th and will feature a lot of “old timers”
in an afternoon of eating and bench racing. It will honor some of
sprint car racing’s finest heroes. Don Weaver has the October 4th
day all planned out for everyone's enjoyment. For only $35 you can
get admission to that nights great SCRA and VRA race, plus a bench
racing snack time starting at 11 AM, followed by lunch at 1:00 PM
with tri tip, chicken, baked beans, salad and a roll with a drink
before the ceremonies that start at 2:30. There will be some other
special inaugural goodies included in the fee for prepaid
admissions, ONLY. There will also be a collectors item program that
is a must for all! This event is a bargain and is open to all who
want to come and enjoy the inaugural event. There will be many cars
from the old days on display so bring your cameras. Currently there
is a drawing for a mini-Sheby motorcycle that is pretty sharp
looking. it's a small sized bike and only a few hundred were made.
Tickets are $5 and you can get them at Perris the next few races. You
can be a part of all this by sending a check for $35, made out to
Gator Supply-Legends, to: P.O. Box 5331, Torrance, CA 90510. Or call
310-549-3562 or E-mail legendsofascot@aol.com for more info. Send a
donation if you can't make it. This could be the start of an annual
big event, so be a part of it!!!! Yes,
Virginia, the Oval Nationals has been moved one week forward to
November 13 thru 15 and now let’s get our tickets. Actually, for
those who have already scheduled their trips west, take heart, it
will be worth the change as the racing will be fabulous like always.
And
now a word from our sponsor. The Wagsdash is firmly in place and all
is well in Ventura. The muffler situation will be resolved by the
next race there as the quiet mufflers required for Ventura were not
installed last week. This caused some “noise” by the fairboard
who will be the one’s to give Jim Naylor another contract for
racing next year, so compliance is a must. Ron Didonato has the
under 95 DBA models for sale as does another local Ventura brand
named Extreme. Racers can call the track if they don’t know what
brand will work best. There will be only one warning, and if the car
doesn’t pass the quiet zone expected after a change, it will go on
the trailer! The
current Wagsdash purse totals about $4,200 and obviously needs
climbing. In these tough economic times, I will do everything I can
to increase it. The annual T-shirt quilt is ready for raffling and
tickets have been on sale for two weeks. If you can’t be here to
get one, you can send me the money and I’ll fill out tickets for
you and put in the bucket. We can Fed Ex it anywhere, and have on
more than one occasion, so take a chance on this great quilt
everyone would be proud to own. Tickets are $1 each, 6 for $5 or an
arms length for $20!!! The annual Wagsdash t-shirt artwork is almost
done, so if you want your name or business on it, call me. There are
$200, $300 and $500 spots available and for $100 we’ll put your
name somewhere special! Also, auction items are needed for the
Wagsdash auction, so pictures, die cast stuff or other race items
will be appreciated. Don’t give me anything you value or want to
keep, but if you have stuff to donate, do it by Wagsdash day. Please
help if you can and the following drivers are eligible for the
Wagsdash: Tom Wilhelm # 64, Trevor Brilman # 10, AJ Reyer # 31, Bob
Ferro # 91, Brian Venard # 47, Lance Gremett # 85, Mel Murphy #62,
Brian Stanfill # 14, Dan Hillberg, # 49 Steve Venard, # 18 Jimmy
Crawford, #17 Seth Wilson, # 62 Mel Murphy, # 55 Tony Everhart and #
66 J Hicks. Add to that list Cal Smith, one of our really low buck
racers who might chuck the more expensive sprint cars for a smaller
Ford Focus machine in the near future. He says it’s cheaper and
might work better in his budget. There
is an event each year that Kenzo Okubo, longtime sponsor and crewman
for Verne Sweeney, supports for sprint car racing. It’s the annual
Japan Expo that is to be held this year on November 15 and 16th in
downtown Los Angeles. There will be several sprint cars and drivers
there to show the Japanese community what all the excitement is all
about. Video’s will be shown and driver autographs will be part of
the action that the Wagtimers support each year. It’s an off week
before the final race, so plan on it. I will put more info in as we
near that date. With
this off weekend, I think I shall do some resting up. We will be
back at the PAS on September 20th, the night of the Mopar Million,
so maybe there will be a new winner!!! Maybe I’ll get to do a
little more yardwork! A
FEATURE (30 Laps) 2003
SCRA points as of 9/7 |
