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‘MOONWALK’ MURPHY AIMS TO CLINCH SECOND GRAND SLAM TITLE AT VENTURA |
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VENTURA, Calif. (Aug. 19, 2008) – Peter Murphy can become the first driver to win his second Bandit/Ventura Racing Association Grand Slam sprint car championship when the special, four-race series ends its 2008 run at Ventura Raceway Saturday. Then again, so can Greg Taylor. But if Murphy wins, he might put on a special celebration display. NASCAR ace Carl Edwards does back flips when he wins and the late Alan Kulwicki invented the Polish Victory Lap. Forget ‘em. “If we could be the first to win two I may do some kind of a Michael Jackson moonwalk or something,” Murphy laughed. “It would be a feather in our cap if we can win just because competition there is so tough.” Murphy, the 2005 Grand Slam champ, leads Taylor by 40 points, 350-310. Taylor is the defending champion of the series. The Bandit series brings together the sprint car stars from tracks spread around Southern California. The Grand Slam tour conducts races at Ventura, Santa Maria Speedway, Bakersfield Speedway and Kings Speedway. This weekend’s race at Ventura is a points-paying event for the Bandits series, the VRA Sprint Car series and for the Grand Slam tour. That means drivers with any interest in points need to enter. Murphy has been the most consistent driver in the first three Grand Slam races. His worst finish has been second, when he finished behind Danny Faria at Santa Maria on July 26. Taylor has the next best finishing average but has not won yet. Still, Taylor is racing on his home track this week and he has something to prove. Taylor has won three VRA races at Ventura this season and has two top five finishes in the Bandit/VRA series. Murphy is in the midst of a sensational season. He drives for the Tarlton Racing team of Easton, California. “Counting the Grand Slam races, we’ve gone out 18 times and we’ve won nine of them. Basically, we’re having a very, very good year,” Murphy said. A native of Australia, Murphy first came to the U.S. in 1988 when he worked for Steve Kinser. He married a Californian and the couple has two sons, aged seven and four. They live in Clovis and operate a sign shop there. The wildcards begin with Justyne Hamblin, who sits third in the Grand Slam standings. She recently became the first woman to win a sprint car race at Santa Maria Speedway. Johnathon Henry sits fourth in the standings and VRA veteran Rick Hendrix is fifth. Kevin Kierce, who leads the VRA standings, is seventh in the Grand Slam points but he has won four times at Ventura this season. Spectator gates open at 3 p.m. and the youth divisions begin racing at 3:30. The VRA Dwarf Cars will also race Saturday. More information on Ventura Raceway is available at www.venturaraceway.com. |
