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GREMETT WINS KINDOLL CLASSIC WHILE GRIFFIN CLAIMS
5TH SCRA TITLE |
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PERRIS, CA, NOVEMBER 22, 2003 - It may not have been the biggest upset of the 2003 NAPA / Auto Trader Magazines SCRA season, but Lance Gremett's victory in the year-ending Jack Kindoll Classic at the Perris Auto Speedway did come as a pleasant surprise. During his four-year SCRA career, Gremett has shown flashes of brilliance, only to have those moments swept away by a mechanical failure or a crash. Until Saturday's win, Gremett's campaign this year had been perhaps the most disappointing of his career. In fact, heading into the 50-lap main event, Gremett, who started seventh, hadn't posted a top-ten finish in 21 starts. Small in stature, his boyish good looks and heavy right foot makes Gremett the prototypical modern-day race car driver, and a marketing dream. As a rookie, he posted a fifth place finish at Perris and was named the 2000 National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year. "This is just amazing. A lot of strange things happened tonight. A lot of guys were popping tires and there was a lot of rubber down on the track, and things just worked out," Gremett said after his 130th SCRA start. "We took some time off this year to kind of regroup. I'm not sure, but maybe it was good for me and we get to end the year on a good note." Prior to the start of the main event, Richard Griffin clinched his fifth SCRA Driving Championship. Griffin's car owner, Ron Chaffin, also claimed his eighth SCRA Owners' title. Griffin lined up for the season finale in the third starting spot behind recently crowned Oval Nationals Champion Cory Kruseman and Mike Spencer. Driving the Alexander Trucking #4 Stinger, Kruseman took the lead at the start as Griffin moved into the second position. Kruseman extended his lead after Griffin, Damion Gardner and John Scott fought over the runner-up spot. Kruseman reached lapped traffic in just nine circuits, but would lose his comfortable lead after making slight contact with the first car he had to pass. Moving to the middle groove, Griffin somehow found traction on the wind-tortured Perris clay and took over the lead from Kruseman exiting turn two on the 14th lap. Tony Jones brought out the yellow flag after he climbed Gardner's right rear tire before bouncing off the turn one wall on lap 21. Jones would restart and go on to finish tenth. Griffin developed a push after the restart putting, Scott and the Carol Crossno / ITI Performance #38 driven by Levi Jones in a position to contend for the lead. Scott took the lead on lap 27 and seemed to immediately develop a push of his own. Even though he was still fighting his own handling problems, Griffin managed to take the lead back on the 30th lap. Moments later, Gardner's rear tire went flat leading to another yellow flag. Gardner's Harlan Willis / TCR Performance crew quickly changed the tire keeping him in the race, as well as the point battle with Troy Rutherford for second place in series points. Scott's push worsened after the restart and he faded backwards until he was sent flipping on the 39th lap after contact with rookie Alan Ballard. During the stoppage, Griffin's crew made a tire change, which by SCRA rule, sent him to the rear of the field along with several other cars that also made changes. This put the pole-sitter Kruseman back into the lead for the restart. Two laps after the restart, third-place Gremett drove around the outside of both Kruseman and Levi Jones, and exited turn two as the race leader. When Gremett came down to complete lap 41, it marked the first time that he, and his Bob Gremett / Gremett's Custom Cabinets #85, had officially led a lap in main event competition. "They were fighting it out on the bottom and left me just enough room around the top," Gremett said of the pass for the lead. "Track conditions were pretty odd and I thought I had a pretty good shot at it after we changed tires because I knew the guys up front were running on bald tires. I just tried to stay straight getting into the corners and not burn up my tires. I haven't run much pavement, but it was pretty much like a pavement race." Even though he was in unfamiliar territory, Gremett closed out the remainder of the race like a seasoned veteran and had a full straightaway to spare over second-place Levi Jones. Although things appeared calm from the grandstands, Gremett later admitted the final laps were anything but easy. "In the back of my mind, I guess I was just nervous that I was going to get passed. I'm not used to seeing that much open track, so I gave it all the concentration I had and I never saw the white or checkered flags. In fact, I never saw anything until the yellow lights came on and I still went around another lap. At one point, I glanced at the scoreboard and saw that it was lap 48. I knew the white flag would be coming out, but I never really looked for it." Gardner worked his way back to third place and claimed the runner-up spot in the final SCRA point standings. Kruseman finished fourth ahead of Tony Elliott in the newly formed Nadine Keller Team. Rookie Greg Bragg started 22nd, and was as high as third place before settling in for a sixth place finish. Still, Bragg's run earned him the KSE Products Hard Charger Award. ### SCRA RACE #40 - JACK KINDOLL CLASSIC - PERRIS AUTO SPEEDWAY, PERRIS, CA Date of Race: 11/22/03 SANDER ENGINEERING TIME TRIALS 1. Rip Williams, Yorba Linda CA, Jory 3, 17.105 2. Damion Gardner, Concord CA, Willis 45, 17.105 3. Steve Ostling, Corona CA, Fischer Mtrspts 29, 17.115 4. Tony Jones, Orange CA, Vermeer 2 , 17.123 5. Troy Rutherford, Ojai CA, Priestley 7, 17.200 6. John Scott, Pittsboro IN, Scott Mtrsprts. 83, 17.217 7. Brian Venard, Irvine CA, Venard. 47, 17.247 8. Cory Kruseman, Ventura CA, Alexander 4, 17.252 9. Mike Spencer, Temecula CA, Engstrom 44, 17.317 10. Richard Griffin, Silver City NM, Chaffin 50, 17.453 11. Lance Gremett, San Marcos CA, Gremett 85, 17.457 12. Bill Rose, Plainfield IN, Haesbe 2H, 17.459 13. Levi Jones, Olney IL, Crossno 38, 17.460 14. Rodney Argo, El Segundo CA, Argo 19, 17.465 15. Alan Ballard, (R) Bakersfield CA, Ballard 97, 17.500 16. Ron DiDonato, Riverside CA, DiDonato 57, 17.530 17. Verne Sweeney, Lomita CA., Sweeney 98, 17.531 18. Jason Yount, Fresno CA, Yount 25PD, 17.537 19. Mark Nation, Los Olivos CA, Nation 3N, 17.560 20. Josh Ford, (R) Camarillo CA, Willis/Ford 54, 17.595 21. Bobby Cody, Costa Mesa CA, Cody Racing 41, 17.607 22. Adam Mitchell, Escondido CA, Mitchell 99, 17.678 23. Seth Wilson, (R) San Clemente CA, Racing Optics 17, 17.693 24. Tony Elliott, Kokomo IN, Keller 6, 17.755 25. Charles Davis, Jr, Buckeye AZ, Smiley. 2X, 17.768 26. P.J. Chesson, Far Hills NJ, Witherill, 61X, 17.797 27. Mike English, Norwalk CA, Sertich 92, 17.825 28. Steve Venard, Silverado CA, Glover 49, 17.879 29. Jordan Hermansader, Long Beach CA, Ferro 91, 17.913 30. Jon Stanbrough, Danville IN, Shoemaker 0, 17.960 31. Greg Bragg, (R) Visalia CA, Pratt 12, 17.970 32. Darren Hagen, Riverside CA, Hagen 11X, 18.120 33. Rick Becker, Highland CA, Becker 67, 18.163 34. Jason York, Chico CA, Carsten 91AZ, 18.295 35. Ronnie Case, Camarillo CA, Reynolds 18.317 36. Mark Heidenreich, Upland CA, Heidenrelch 22 , 18,404 37. Toby Sampson, Torrance CA, Hillberg 82, 18.450 38. Destiney Hays, Oroville CA, Hays 20D, 18.453 39. Keith Williamson, Pomona CA, Williamson 95, 18.747 40. Alex Pruett, (R) Carefree AZ.,Pruett 56AZ, 18.748 41. Cory Witherill, Santa Monica CA, Witherill 61, 19.503 42. Bill Goforth, Apple Valley CA, Goforth 56, 20.663 43. Rickie Gaunt, Torrance CA, Smiley 2A, No Time. C FEATURE 1. Rick Becker. 2. Jason York. 3. Ronnie Case. 4. Destiney Hays. 5. Alex Pruett. 6. Cory Witherill. 7. Toby Sampson. 8. Mark Heidenreich. 9. Keith Williamson. 10, Bill Goforth. SO-CAL PERFORMANCE HEAT 1 1. Charles Davis, Jr, 2. Jordan Hermansader, 3. Mike Spencer, 4. Levi Jones, 5. Troy Rutherford, 6. Bobby Cody, 7. Rip Williams, 8. Rick Becker, 9. Verne Sweeney, SHAVER ENGINES HEAT 2 1. Damion Gardner, 2. Richard Griffin, 3. P.J. Chesson, 4. Jon Stanbrough, 5. Rodney Argo, 6. John Scott, 7. Jason Yount, 8. Adam Mitchell, 9. Jason York, SPIN TECH MUFFLERS HEAT 3 1. Greg Bragg, 2. Brian Venard, 3. Mike English, 4. Lance Gremett, 5. Ronnie Case, 6. Mark Nation, 7. Alan Ballard, 8. Steve Ostling, 9. Seth Wilson, HEAT 4 1. Tony Elliott, 2. Cory Kruseman, 3. Tony Jones, 4. Steve Venard, 5. Josh Ford, 6. Bill Rose, 7. Darren Hagen, 8. Ron DiDonato, 9. Destiney Hays, JE PISTONS DASH 1. Cory Kruseman. 2. Mike Spencer. 3. Richard Griffin. 4. Tony Jones. 5, Damion Gardner. 6, Levi Jones. 7. Lance Gremett. 8. Brian Venard, SIMPSON B FEATURE Time: NO TIME 1. John Scott. 2. Troy Rutherford. 3. Rip Williams. 4. Rodney Argo, 5. Bill Rose. 6. Alan Ballard. 7. Rickie Gaunt. 8. Darren Hagen. 9. Jason Yount. 10. Destiney Hays. 11. Ron DiDonato. 12. Mark Nation. 13. Rick Becker. 14. Jason York. 15, Ronnie Case. 16. Steve Ostling. i7. Verne Sweeney. 18. Josh Ford. 19. Adam Mitchell. A FEATURE (50 Laps) 1. Lance Gremett. 2. Levi Jones. 3. Damion Gardner. 4. Cory Kruseman. 5. Tony Elliott, 6. Greg Bragg. 7, Mike English. 8. Jon Stanbrough. 9. Richard Griffin, 10. Tony Jones. 11. Troy Rutherford, 12. Jordan Hermansader. 13. Mike Spencer. 14. Alan Ballard. 15. Charles Davis, Jr. 16. John Scott. 17. P.J. Chesson. 18. Bill Rose. 19. Steve Venard. 20. Rickie Gaunt. 21. Rodney Argo. 22. Rip Williams. Laps Led: Kruseman 1-13, , Griffin 14-26, Scott 27-29, Griffin, 30-38, Kruseman 39-40, , Gremett 41-50 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ FINAL 2003 SCRA Point Standings as of: 11/22/03 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CAR NAME HOMETOWN STARTS POINTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. 50 Richard Griffin Silver City NM 38 2152 2. 45 Damion Gardner Concord CA 38 2055 3. 7 Troy Rutherford Ojai CA 38 2040 4. 3 Rip Williams Yorba Linda CA 39 1730 5. 44 Mike Spencer Temecula CA 37 1314 6. 29 Steve Ostling Corona CA 29 1292 7. 2 Tony Jones Orange CA 31 1226 8. 2A Rickie Gaunt Torrance CA 28 1116 9. 92 Mike English Norwalk CA 29 1082 10. 54 Josh Ford (R) Camarillo CA 39 1070 11. 4 Cory Kruseman Ventura CA 24 1061 12. 38 Levi Jones Olney IL 25 1048 13. 99 Adam Mitchell Escondido CA 32 889 14, 97 Alan Ballard (R) Bakersfield CA 39 845 15. 2X Charles Davis, Jr Buckeye AZ 23 759 16. 17 Seth Wilson (R )San Clemente CA 38 628 17. 98 Verne Sweeney Lomita CA 26 602 18. 47 Brian Venard Irvine CA 24 597 19. 20 J.J. Yeley Phoenix AZ 14 592 20. 4 Mike Kirby Torrance CA 18 558 |
