SANTA MARIA, CA, July 7 --    Three-time defending Sprint Car Racing Association (SCRA) driving champion Richard Griffin won Saturday's 30 lap main event at the Santa Maria Speedway.  In three SMS races last season, Griffin never finished off the podium.  Picking-up where he left off, "The Gasman" convincingly drove the Ron Chaffin / Arizona Race Mart No. 50 Jon Boy to his third career SCRA win at Santa Maria.  

"We've had some pretty good runs here," Griffin said of the facility where he notched his first SCRA win in 1996.  "We won one here last year and ran well every time we came here.  Tonight, we had a great race car right from the start and really didn't have to make a lot of changes."

Hometown favorite Danny Sheridan piloted the Tom & Lauri Sertich / Jan's Health Bar No. 92 Buckley to his first career JE Pistons Dash win, and much to the delight of the partisan crowd, shared the front row with Rodney Argo.  Sheridan beat Argo off the fourth corner to accept the green flag and went on to lead Argo, Mike Kirby, Griffin and John Scott.

Argo pulled-off a beautiful crossover move on lap two to take the lead exiting the second turn.  Sheridan kept pace with Argo until the first yellow flag of the race flew on lap four for Alex Grigoreas who came to a stop with front end damage in turn four.  The yellow flag waved again one lap following the restart after contact between George Gervais and Larry Brown triggered a pileup that also consumed Marc Hart, Mark Nation, Troy Rutherford, Tom Stansberry.  Rutherford, who started 20th, rejoined the fight and would later earn the TW Metals Hard Charger Award as a result of his eight place finish. 
 

Argo's car appeared to develop handling problems after the restart which allowed Sheridan and Griffin to stay within striking distance.  Griffin slipped by Sheridan on the seventh lap only to have a tangle between Jarrett Chaney, Mike English and Greg Porte negate his pass for second.

Agro skated wide exiting turn four on the ensuing restart giving Sheridan all the assistance he needed to take the lead.  Argo battled hard to keep Griffin from overtaking him in turn four, but wound-up pushing so wide that he fell to sixth place before he could get back up to full speed.  Argo's problems worsened on lap 12 after he came to a stop on the racing surface in turn two.
 
Sheridan elected to drop down to the bottom for the restart.  Anticipating Sheridan's strategy, Griffin powered his way along the cushion and had the lead by the time he exited turn four. 

"I was pretty confident that he was going to go down to the bottom on the restart," Griffin said.  "Leading here, it's pretty hard to make yourself go to the top and leave the bottom open.  I tested the turn one cushion during the yellow and knew that it was going to be good and that I'd be able to sail around him on the top."

Griffin reached lapped traffic at the midway point of the race.  The red flag flew on lap 20 for fourth place Scott who hit the turn three wall and flipped.  Scott, who won the last SCRA race at SMS, was struck by Porte as he flipped.  After the accident Scott complained of some discomfort and was transported to a local hospital for further examination. 

Griffin pulled away from Sheridan once racing resumed and reached lapped traffic again on lap 27.  Just when it looked like Sheridan might be able to make up some ground on Griffin, the yellow flag flew once more for Stansberry who's hobbled car stopped on the front straight after contact with seventh place Cory Kruseman.   

Kruseman's car also sustained damage from the contact.  Although he tried to finish, Kruseman dropped out on the final lap of the race as Griffin was in the process of registering his seventh win of the season. Officially scored in 13th, Kruseman would lose 48 championship points to Griffin on this night.  Still, Kruseman enjoys a 129 point lead over Griffin in his quest to become the first California driver to wear the SCRA crown.

"We look at points every week too," admitted Griffin.  "We don't necessarily count everyone's points, but we damn sure know how many we earned and how  and we'll just keep plugging away at it."

Sheridan's runner-up finished equaled his best SCRA effort, which not surprisingly, also came at Santa Maria.  Kirby drove the Mark Alexander-Brad Geurin / Statewide Towing No. 5 Stinger to a third place finish ahead of the Sharon Jory / Vista Paint No. 3 Gambler driven by Rip Williams.  Kirby's teammate Rickie Gaunt finished fifth.  Seventh place Charles Davis, Jr. won the Sander Engineering Fast Time Award with his 13.605 second run in time trials.                                          ###   

SCRA RACE #22 - SANTA MARIA SPEEDWAY
SANTA MARIA, CA
Date of Race: 07/07/01

SANDER ENGINEERING TIME TRIALS
1. Charles Davis, Jr, Chandler AZ, Morales 94 , 13.605  2. Richard Griffin, Silver City NM, Chaffin 50 , 13.647  3. Mike English, Norwalk CA, Priestley 7 , 13.661  4. Rickie Gaunt, Torrance CA, M&B Racing. 5X , 13.663  5. Cory Kruseman, Ventura CA, Willis 45 , 13.676  6. Jarrett Chaney, Clovis CA, Chaney 69 , 13.687  7. Mike Kirby, Lomita CA.,M&B Racing 5 , 13.698  8. George Gervais, Mira Loma CA, Gervais 9 , 13.840  9. John Scott, Hesperia CA., Scott Mtrsprts 83 , 13.857  10. Danny Sheridan, Santa Maria CA, Sertich 92 , 13.868  11. Rodney Argo, Gardena CA., Argo 19 , 13.870  12. Greg Porte, Atascadero CA, Mattice Bros. 3G , 13.875  13. Greg DeCaires, Elk Grove CA., Hasebe 17 , 13.884  14. Michael Hinrichsen, (R) Lakeside CA, Lake Mtrsprts. 16, 13.918  15. Rip Williams, Yorba Linda CA, Jory 3, 13.949  16. Larry Brown, Bakersfield CA, Brown 36, 13.965  17. Ronnie Clark, (R) Tucson AZ, Winter 138, 14.024  18. Bobby Graham, Riverside CA, Silver State 14 , 14.025 19. Keith Williamson, Pomona CA, Williamson 95 , 14.058  20. Marc Hart, Ventura CA, Hart 15 , 14.060  21. Alex Grigoreas, Chino CA, Keene 84 , 14.090  22. Troy Rutherford, Ojai CA, Gardner, Jr 4 , 14.118  23. Mark Nation, Los Olivos CA, Nation 3N , 14.180  24. Tom Stansberry, Bakersfield CA, Stansberry. 75T, 14.183  25. Wade Griest, Arroyo Grande CA, Griest 33G, 14.232  26. Jordan Hermansader, Long Beach CA, Pratt 12, 14.294  27. Mike Spencer, (R) Temecula CA, Engstrom 44 , 14.332  28. Steve Ostling, Corona CA, Fischer Mtrspts 29 , 14.353  29. Lance Gremett, San Marcos CA, Gremett 85, 14.515  30. Jimmy Thompson, Nipomo CA, Thompson 71T , 14.596  31. Jack DeArmond, Jr., Corona CA, DeArmond, Sr. 24, 14.731  32. Dan Hillberg, Whittier CA, Hillberg 82 , 15.240  33. Jimmy Gardner, (R) Garden Grove CA, Gardner Jr 96, No Time

HEDMAN HEDDERS HEAT 1
1. Ronnie Clark, 2. John Scott, 3. Greg DeCaires, 4. Alex Grigoreas, 5. Lance Gremett, 6. Charles Davis, Jr, 7. Wade Griest, 8. Cory Kruseman,

SHAVER ENGINES HEAT 2
1. Bobby Graham, 2. Troy Rutherford, 3. Richard Griffin, 4. Danny Sheridan, 5. Michael Hinrichsen, 6. Jimmy Thompson, 7. Jarrett Chaney, 8. Jordan Hermansader,

KSE RACING PRODUCTS HEAT 3
1. Rip Williams, 2. Mark Nation, 3. Rodney Argo, 4. Mike Kirby, 5. Mike English, 6. Mike Spencer, 7. Keith Williamson, 8. Jack DeArmond, Jr.,

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS HEAT 4
1. Marc Hart, 2. Tom Stansberry, 3. Larry Brown, 4. Rickie Gaunt, 5. George Gervais, 6. Greg Porte, 7. Dan Hillberg, 8, Steve Ostling,

JE PISTONS DASH
1. Danny Sheridan. 2. Rodney Argo. 3. Mike Kirby. 4. John Scott. 5. Richard Griffin, 6. Rip Williams. 7.    Rickie Gaunt. 8. Greg DeCaires.

JB ENTERPRISE B FEATURE
1. Mike English.    2. Jarrett Chaney. 3. Charles Davis, Jr. 4. Cory Kruseman. 5. Greg Porte. 6. George Gervais. 7. Michael Hinrichsen. 8. Wade Griest. 9. Steve Ostling. 10. Keith Williamson, 11. Mike Spencer. 12. Lance
Gremett.  13. Dan Hillberg. 14. Jimmy Thompson. 15. Jordan Hermansader.

A FEATURE (30 Laps)
1. Richard Griffin. 2. Danny Sheridan. 3. Mike Kirby, 4. Rip Williams. 5. Rickie Gaunt. 6. Greg DeCaires. 7. Charles Davis, Jr.  8. Troy Rutherford. 9. Bobby Graham.  10. Ronnie Clark. 11. Jarrett Chaney. 12. Mark Nation.  13. Cory Kruseman, 14. George Gervais. 15. Tom Stansberry,  16. John Scott.  17. Rodney Argo.  18. Greg Porte. 19. Mike English. 20. Larry Brown. 21. Marc Hart. 22. Alex Grigoreas.
Laps Led: Sheridan 1, Argo 2-7, Sheridan 8-11, Griffin 12-30

SCRA Point Standings as of: 07/07/01

                                                                    STARTS POINTS
    1.      45  Cory Kruseman   Ventura CA          22      1511
    2.      50  Richard Griffin Silver City NM          22      1382
    3.      4       Troy Rutherford Ojai CA               22      1243
    4.      5       Mike Kirby          Lomita CA         22      1223
    5.      83  John Scott          Hesperia CA          22      1081
    6.      29  Steve Ostling       Corona CA           22      1000
    7.      3       Rip Williams        Yorba Linda CA  22       990
    8.      7       Mike English        Norwalk CA      22      956
    9.      5X  Rickie Gaunt        Torrance CA        22      937
    10. 94  Charles Davis, Jr Chandler AZ             22      813
    11. 92  Danny Sheridan  Santa Maria CA        22      750
    12. 4X  Tony Jones      Corona CA                 14      710
    13. 34  Troy Cline          Santa Clarita CA        14      610
    14. 19  Rodney Argo     Gardena CA               15      471
    15. 99  Adam Mitchell       Escondido CA        21      467
    16. 9       George Gervais  Mira Loma CA       21      421
    17. 12X     Casey Shuman    Tempe AZ            19      419
    18. 85  Lance Gremett   San Marcos CA           22      385
    19. 8       Bob Ream Jr     Glendale AZ             10      362
    20. 17  Greg DeCaires   Elk Grove CA             13      336
    21. 27  Jeremy Sherman Phoenix AZ                  8       335
    22. 16  Michael Hinrichsen (R) Lakeside CA    22   331
    23. 33  Hank Winter     Tucson AZ                   20      323
    24. 47  Brian Venard        Tustin CA                17      320
    25. 138     Ronnie Clark    (R) Tucson AZ       21      278
    26. 44  Mike Spencer    (R) Temecula CA        20      276
    27. 84  Alex Grigoreas  Chino CA                    11      225
    28. 14  Bobby Graham    Riverside CA            13      219
    29. 98  Verne Sweeney   Lomita CA                12      207
    30. 15  Marc Hart           Ventura CA              11      173
    31. 61X     Jimmy May           Ventura CA      10      168
    32. 69  Jarrett Chaney  Clovis CA                    9       166
    33. 39X     Tony Elliott            Kokomo IN       3       135
    34. 6X  Kevin Doty          Milan IL                    5       121
    35. 25  Gary W. Howard  Fontana CA              9       114
    36. 43  Kevin White     Anaheim CA                  7       106
    37. 38  Glenn Crossno   (R) Alta Loma CA       21     104
    38. 16X     Shane Alach     New Zealand           5       101
    39. 7T  Greg Taylor (R) Ojai CA                        6        99
    40. 62  Tracy Hines     New Castle IN                2       90
    41. 60A     J.J. Yeley          Phoenix AZ              3       89
    42. 12  Jordan Hermansader  Long Beach CA     8      89
    43. 26  Derek Davidson  Lafayette IN                 2       86
    44. 78  Charlie Ekiss       La Mesa CA                7       78
    45. 95  Keith Williamson    Pomona CA              9       71