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GARDNER & GRIFFIN HEAT IT UP AT PERRIS |
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PERRIS, CA, JULY 26, 2003 - Damion Gardner and Richard Griffin picked up
a 30-lap main event wins Saturday at the Perrris Auto Speedway, but neither man appeared to be very happy after the final checkered flag had dropped. With the hot twilight sun still shinning bright, Gardner took the lead on lap four from pole-sitter Rip Williams and went on to dominate the first main event of the evening, en route to his series-high seventh NAPA Auto Parts / Auto Trader Magazines SCRA triumph of the season. While Gardner was busy completing the main event that was originally scheduled three months to the day earlier, Griffin was stewing in the pits over a flat tire that relegated him to a 21st place finish. "The racing lines come and go quicker in the daylight," Gardner said after driving the Harlan Willis / TCR Performance #45 to his 11th lifetime SCRA win. "You just have to be careful that someone doesn't find something better than you. That's the bad thing about leading early, but we felt pretty strong early and decided to go to the front. We never really saw anyone during the race, so there was never really a reason to get my elbows up too high." Gardner had his elbows up in the second main event, but so did Griffin. Mindful that his point lead over Gardner had been cut to 55 points after the first main event, Griffin took the lead from Gardner at the start of the second feature and seemed determined to win his first race at Perris since September. With the memories of a last corner slide job he received from Gardner two weeks ago still fresh in his mind, Griffin refused to give an inch when Gardner slid across his path while attempting to take the lead on lap 26. The contact in the tail tank from the Ron Chaffin / Arizona Race Mart #50 Jon Boy sent Gardner hard into the wall, causing a flat right rear tire and an eventual DNF. Normally, a very happy-go-lucky guy, a fired-up Griffin spoke of the incident after the race. "When you run the top, some guys take your line away from you all the time. They come off the bottom and go clear to the fence. A lot of times, guys give into them. I give into them too, but I'm fed up with it. These guys are going to have to learn that there are two lines out there, and they are putting themselves in jeopardy because someone is not always going to back-off for them, and they're going to take them out." Understandably, Gardner had his own perspective of the incident, and was visibly disappointed with the outcome of the second main event. Still, Gardner was quick to point out that he's looking forward to the start of the Non-Winged World Championship (NWWC) tour on August 12th in Oskaloosa, Iowa, after a stop at Hollywood Hills Speedway in Griffin's home state of New Mexico. "We might have had our eighth win, but things happen, Gardner said. "We're excited to go on the tour because we have a lot of momentum and it seems like the only thing that can keep us from winning is an incident on the track. We come out here and we're the guys to stop. Unfortunately, I think these guys are doing whatever they have to do to try and stop me. We'll just decide how to handle that the next time it comes up." Lost in all the excitement and controversies of the evening was some great racing and several fine performances. Steve Ostling nipped Williams at the finish line for the runner-up spot in the first main event, and then, drove the Fischer Motorsports / Feese Solid Surface #29 Okie to a third place finish in the second race. Williams was in the process of taking the lead in the second race when a blown motor on lap eight shot him up the track, and into eventual winner Griffin, who did a masterful job of avoiding a big calamity. After a disappointing seventh place run in the first feature, Troy Rutherford charged from the seventh starting spot to give the Mark Priestley / Roy Miller Freightliners #7 Kunz a second place finish. From a championship perspective, Rutherford was the big winner on the evening, extending his point lead over Gardner and cutting his point deficit to Griffin. Heading east, Rutherford is now only 41 points behind the four-time and defending SCRA champion. Rickie Gaunt was definitely a man on a mission. Starting 14th in the daylight race, Gaunt blasted his way through the field, and was as high as fourth, before he tangled with eventual fourth place finisher Tony Jones. Restarting at the rear of the field with just nine laps remaining, Gaunt had the fans on their feet as he worked hard to give the Mark Alexander / Alexander Trucking #4 Stinger a sixth place finish. Gaunt returned to finish fourth in the second race. Adam Mitchell continues to prove that he is one of the most improved drivers on the SCRA circuit. Driving his Electro Tech Powder Coating #99 Avenger, Mitchell posted a pair of fifth place finishes. Seventeen-year-old Alan Ballard finished sixth in the second race, capping his best career SCRA run. In time trials, Williams drove the Sharon Jory / Tomarco Fasteners #3 Stinger to the Sander Engineering Fast Time Award. KSE Hard Charger Awards went to Josh Ford (22nd to 8th) and Gary W. Howard (18th to 8th). Dan Hillberg and Greg Bragg each were Hedman Hedders Hard-luck Award recipients. ### RACE #17 - PERRIS AUTO SPEEDWAY, PERRIS, CA Date of Race: 07/26/03 SIMPOSN B FEATURE (originally scheduled for 4/26) 1. Adam Mitchell, 2. Steve Ostling, 3. Tony Jones, 4. Lance Gremett. 5. Verne Sweeney. 6. Dan Hillberg. 7. Alan Ballard. 8. Greg Bragg. 9. Jordan Hermansader. 10. Cal Smith, 11. Randy Waitman. 12. Mel Murphy. Did Not Restart: 13. Robbie Flock. 14. Jack DeArmond, Jr.. 15, Trevor Brilman. 16. Tony Everhart. 17. Alex Pruett. 18. Nicholas Lima. 19. Bill Goforth. 20. Tom Wilhelm. A FEATURE (30 laps - originally scheduled for 4/26) 1. Damion Gardner. 2. Steve Ostling. 3. Rip Williams, 4. Tony Jones. 5. Adam Mitchell. 6. Rickie Gaunt. 7. Troy Rutherford. 8. Josh Ford. 9, Seth Wilson, 10. Bobby Graham, 11. Brian Venard. 12. Lance Gremett. 13. Greg Bragg. 14. Jimmy Crawford. 15. Alan Ballard. 16. Mike English. 17. Bobby Cody. 18, Verne Sweeney. 19. Rodney Argo. 20. Steve Venard. 21. Richard Griffin. 22. Dan Hillberg. Laps Led: Williams 1-3, Gardner 4-30 SANDER ENGINEERING TIME TRIALS 1. Rip Williams, Yorba Linda CA, Jory 3 , 17.085 2. Richard Griffin, Silver City NM, Chaffin 50 , 17.275 3. Tony Jones, Garden Grove CA, Vermeer 2 , 17.318 4. Troy Rutherford, Ojai CA, Priestley 7 , 17.320 5. Damion Gardner, Concord CA, Willis 45 , 17.425 6. Steve Ostling, Corona CA, Fischer Mtrspts 29 , 17.460 7. Adam Mitchell, Escondido CA, Mitchell 99 , 17.493 8. Rickie Gaunt, Torrance CA, Alexander 4, 17.528 9. Jordan Hermansader, Long Beach CA, Ferro 91 , 17.630 10. Mark Nation, Los Olivos CA, Nation 3N, 17.719 11. Kevin Urton, Elk Grove CA, Urton 51, 17.724 12. Bobby Graham, Riverside CA, Crossno 38 , 17.725 13. Cary Faas, Yorba Linda CA.,Faas 37, 17.820 14. Dan Hillberg, Whittier CA, Hillberg 82, 17.844 15. Rodney Argo, El Segundo CA.,Argo 19, 17.862 16. Alan Ballard, (R) Bakersfield CA, Ballard 97, 17.907 17. Marc Hart, Ventura CA.,Hart 15 , 17.913 18. Danny Sheridan, Santa Maria CA, Dorathy 21A 17,915 19. Josh Ford, (R) Camarillo CA.,Willis/Ford 54 , 17.915 20. Verne Sweeney, Lomita CA, Sweeney 98 , 17.922 21. Lance Gremett, San Marcos CA.,Gremett 85 , 17.966 22. Gary W. Howard, Fontana CA, Keene 84 , 18.059 23. Bobby Cody, Costa Mesa CA, Cody Racing 41 , 18.072 24. Rick Becker, Highland CA, Becker 67 , 18.144 25. Brian Venard, Irvine CA, Venard 47 , 18.186 26. Mark Heidenreich, Upland CA, Heidenreich 22 , 18.215 27. Jimmy Crawford, (R) Ventura CA, Crawford 18 .,18.290 28. Seth Wilson, (R) San Clemente CA, Racing Optics 17 , 18.309 29. Greg Bragg, (R) Visalia CA, Pratt 12, 18.320 30. Mel Murphy, Riverside CA, Murphy 62 , 18.350 31. Dwight Cheney, Arcadia CA, Cheney 42 , 18.530 32. Cal Smith, Montclair CA, Pratt. 39 , 18.916 33. Steve Gresham, Thousand Oaks CA, Gresham 07 , 19.042 34. David Sinsley, Torrance CA, Sinsley 69X , 19.150 35. Mike English, Norwalk CA, Jory 6, No Time SO-CAL PERFORMANCE HEAT 1 |
