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| DAMION " THE
DEMON" GARDNER WINS FIRECRACKER 50 AT PERRIS by Ken Wagner |
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MIKE KIRBY TAKES BRIEF LEAD BEFORE LAP TRAFFIC FOILS HIM. |
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On a glorious day at the PAS, 33 cars put on a red, white and blue
50 lap show in the Valvoline USAC/CRA sprint car series that will be
hard to beat for pure excitement. A well prepared race track that
had passing lanes for everyone, showcased the moves of the Demon
and Killer Kirby as Mike reeled in the leader, passed him and
got caught by a lap car that settled the final score for Gardner in
his favor. Kirby tried to dart back in front, but Damion was too
fast for him.
Here are a few pics of Wags pit walk. Click here. Damion Gardner started on the inside of row two and chased first Bobby Cody and then a detirmined Adam Mitchell for 19 laps before slipping by him on a gutsy move. Driving the Temecula Valley Pipe & Supply - Arizona Race Mart - John Boy # 50, the Demon played sweet music in his race car as he flowed up and down the track, often splitting lapped traffic, to move forward. He had the two week old car, in unfamiliar black and red colors for now, pointed in the right direction as he moved to within 24 points of the leader, Rip Williams. The Demon is very happy with the new car as he and the crew seemed to have found a change they all like. Mike “Killer” Kirby had the hammer down hard this week. Even though he missed the direct transfer from his heat, he still ran away with the 12 lap Semi after a brief battle with Jordan Hermansader. When the main started, he lined up 10th and had some great battles along the route forward, especially with Mike Spencer. Driving the ITI Performance – Sander Engineering – TCR # 38, Mike worked traffic like the pro he is. He battled hard and moved into 2nd place with some dozen laps left and began chasing down Gardner who had a straightaway lead. On lap 44, he caught him in traffic and took the lead with a sweet move, but got locked behind a lap car allowing the Demon to return the favor and retake the lead he wouldn’t surrender. Kirby remains 3rd in the points chase, pulling to within 73 points of the leader. Mike Spencer crashed so hard the week before that the team rolled out a new car for him at Perris. He put the brand new Murrieta Development – Goody Wheels – TCR # 44 in the show at 8th quick, then grabbed a transfer to the main in his heat and started in the third row of the main. He had his hands full with several other veterans as he tried to get involved with the two leaders. The car worked better as the race went on, so no break in problems for them. Mike is a smooth driver who is continuing to get better and better. He has had several occasions to run in Indiana this season and that extra seat time continues to help him. Troy “Rambo” Rutherford had better results this week than the last time out in a sprint car when he finished 10th. He crashed his midget last week, with some help I heard, and that little car needs work. SO it was great when Troy was in the mix for the podium until the end as he got 4th on a strong ride. Tony “Cowboy” Jones had his spurs on after a shuffling start that sent towards the back from his 9th starting spot. He was losing ground until a yellow flag put him back on track. He then passed his way to fifth, making it two top five finishes in a row after some dismal luck earlier in the year. Adam Mitchell led the first 19 laps and looked like he might win his 2nd race of the year, but the set-up got lost somewhere and he struggled to hang on to 8th. Bobby Cody ran in the top three for the longest time as he continues to improve on a great year. He had 6th after all the shuffling, and a few wild wheelstands for the fans to ooooh and aaaah over, making it his best finish of the year. Rip Williams looked like he was on a roll when he set fast time at 16.830. He transferred to the main and started on the outside of the fourth row. He worked his way up to battle for 5th and then fought a nearly flat right rear the last part of the race to slip back to 15th. The car appeared to tilt over on the track around the corners, but he gassed it up on the straights and held on to his position until the last few laps when it really created problems coming out of the corners. Casey Shuman subbed for Jeremy Sherman this week as he made his first visit this season with CRA. Unfortunately, they lost a muffler and he dropped out. Brian Venard was 2nd quick and started 7th on the starting grid, but had one stop and came back to get 12th. The CRA is off now until after the Indiana Sprint Week with the next event scheduled to be in Washington at Skagit Speedway. Look for a great race up there as the year gets into the summer fun. I will be attending the Indiana USAC seven races and will report on them. CRA FEATURE: (50 laps - With Starting Positions) 1. Damion Gardner (3rd), 2. Mike Kirby (10th), 3. Mike Spencer (5th), 4. Troy Rutherford (6th), 5. Tony Jones (9th), 6. Bobby Cody (1st), 7. Steve Ostling (4th), 8. Adam Mitchell (2nd), 9. Greg Taylor (17th), 10. Ronnie Case (21st), 11. Greg Bragg (18th), 12. Brian Venard (7th), 13. Seth Wilson (15th), 14. Rick Ziehl (23rd), 15. Rip Williams (8th), 16. David Cardey (16th), 17. Steve Venard (22nd), 18. Rickie Gaunt (11th), 19. Jimmy Crawford (20th), 20. Charles Davis, Jr. (13th), 21. Jordan Hermansader (12th), 22. Casey Shuman (19th), 23. Rick Becker (14th). NT CRA points as of July 4, 2004: 1. Rip Williams 757, 2. Damion Gardner 733, 3. Mike Kirby 684, 4. Troy Rutherford 675, 5. Tony Jones 501, 6. Steve Ostling 476, 7. Brian Venard 461, 8. Greg Bragg 402, 9. Cory Kruseman 378, 10. Jeremy Sherman 374. |
