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MURPHY WINS GRAND SLAM TITLE AFTER DIFFICULT NIGHT |
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VENTURA, Calif. (Aug. 23, 2008) – Peter Murphy has never enjoyed finishing 16th so much. Murphy won his second Bandit/Ventura Racing Association Grand Slam championship when he finished 16th in the sprint car main event at Ventura Raceway Saturday. The race at Ventura was the final in the four-race series that included events at Bakersfield Speedway, Santa Maria Speedway and Kings Speedway. Murphy, of Fresno, had to win the title the hard way. He earned his spot in the feature field by winning his semi-main event, made mandatory because he did not finish well enough in his heat race to get a spot that way. He started the feature race 17th in the field of 23 and moved toward the front before a two-car incident ended his chance to win the race. Seldom has 16th place felt so good. “Not really,” Murphy said. “Not a 16th after having another car on top of my car.” Danny Faria Jr., of Tipton, won the main event and the $3,000 winner’s prize. It was Faria’s second Grand Slam victory this season. Murphy won the other two races in the special series. “This Grand Slam thing is the best thing in the world,” said Faria. “We love racing against 40 cars. It’s good for the heart.” The special series pits the sprint car drivers of the VRA against the teams in the Bandits touring sprint car series. In four seasons, Murphy, Taylor and VRA regular Jim Crawford have won the Grand Slam championships. “It was awesome coming here,” Faria said. “This track is really cool.” Murphy started the weekend 40 points ahead of Taylor in the Grand Slam standings. “I was doing everything I could but I wasn’t going anywhere,” Murphy said of the main event. “I knew where I had to be and I knew where he (Taylor) had to be.” Stockton’s Johnathon Henry started ninth in Saturday’s feature and finished second in a frantic race to the finish. Henry vaulted to a second place tie with Ventura’s Greg Taylor in the final count of the Grand Slam points. Ventura Raceway Race Results for 08/23/2008 Bandit-VRA Grand Slam (Race #4): 1. Danny Faria Jr, Tipton, 30 Laps; 2. Johnathon Henry, Stockton, 30 Laps; 3. Kevin Kierce, Reseda, 30 Laps; 4. Henry Clarke, Orange, 30 Laps; 5. Brandon Thomson, Ventura, 30 Laps; 6. Steve Conrad, Quartz Hill, 30 Laps; 7. Troy Rutherford, Ojai, 30 Laps; 8. Clark Templeman III, Santa Clarita, 30 Laps; 9. Greg Taylor, Ventura, 30 Laps; 10. Richard McCormick, Aqua Dulce, 30 Laps; 11. Brian Camarillo, Camarillo, 30 Laps; 12. Justyne Hamblin, Hanford, 30 Laps; 13. Chris Wakim, Simi Valley, 30 Laps; 14. Tyler Schmitt, Hollister, 30 Laps; 15. Rusty Carlile, Bakersfield, 30 Laps; 16. Peter Murphy, Fresno, 30 Laps; 17. Rob Kershaw, Oak Park, 30 Laps; 18. Hobie Conway, Ventura, 30 Laps; 19. Davey Pombo, Kerman, 26 Laps; 20. Steve Demott, Santa Maria, 26 Laps; 21. Luis Espinoza, Castaic, 15 Laps; 22. Albert Pombo, Fresno, 10 Laps; 23. Alex Schutte, Redding, 10 Laps Top 10 in points: 1. Peter Murphy, 430; 2. Johnathon Henry, 404; 2. Greg Taylor, 404; 4. Justyne Hamblin, 386; 5. Kevin Kierce, 362; 6. Danny Faria Jr, 356; 7. Brandon Thomson, 342; 8. Albert Pombo, 330; 9. Troy Rutherford, 318; 10. Clark Templeman III, 314 ----------------------------------------------- VRA Sprint Cars: 1. Johnathon Henry, Stockton, 30 Laps; 2. Kevin Kierce, Reseda, 30 Laps; 3. Henry Clarke, Orange, 30 Laps; 4. Brandon Thomson, Ventura, 30 Laps; 5. Steve Conrad, Quartz Hill, 30 Laps; 6. Troy Rutherford, Ojai, 30 Laps; 7. Clark Templeman III, Santa Clarita, 30 Laps; 8. Greg Taylor, Ventura, 30 Laps; 9. Richard McCormick, Aqua Dulce, 30 Laps; 10. Brian Camarillo, Camarillo, 30 Laps; 11. Chris Wakim, Simi Valley, 30 Laps; 12. Rusty Carlile, Bakersfield, 30 Laps; 13. Rob Kershaw, Oak Park, 30 Laps; 14. Hobie Conway, Ventura, 30 Laps; 15. Luis Espinoza, Castaic, 15 Laps; 16. Alex Schutte, Redding, 10 Laps; 17. Greg Alexander, Gardena, 12 Laps; 18. Tom Hendricks, Simi Valley, 12 Laps; 19. Tony Dighera, Westlake, 12 Laps; 20. Brent Camarillo, Camarillo, 12 Laps Top 10 in points: 1. Kevin Kierce, 3635; 2. Clark Templeman III, 3485; 3. Richard McCormick, 3200; 4. Rick Hendrix, 3125; 5. Brandon Thomson, 3035; 6. Steve Conrad, 2715; 7. Brian Camarillo, 2625; 8. Chris Wakim, 2615; 9. John Nock, 2465; 10. Guy Woodward, 2450 ----------------------------------------------- VRA Pro Dwarf Cars: 1. Chuck Lippert, Granada Hills, 20 Laps; 2. Brian Saxton, Mentone, 20 Laps; 3. Chris Olson, Chino Hills, 20 Laps; 4. Tom Stephens Sr, Ventura, 20 Laps; 5. Ben Sheen, Palmdale, 20 Laps; 6. Ray Estrada, Yucaipa, 20 Laps; 7. Angel Figueroa, El Segundo, 20 Laps; 8. Glen Benton, Thousand Oaks, 20 Laps; 9. Dillon Hume, Ventura, 20 Laps; 10. Darrell Brown, Mission Hills, 20 Laps; 11. Lee Majors, Simi Valley, 20 Laps; 12. Kevin Calvo, Agua Dulce, 20 Laps; 13. Alex Wood, San Dimas, 19 Laps; 14. Sara Coe, Saugus, 19 Laps; 15. Mike Lewis, Sunland, 19 Laps; 16. Jeff Fillingame, Santa Paula, 15 Laps; 17. Eric Alton, Simi Valley, 12 Laps; 18. Lars Wolfe, Sunland, 12 Laps; 19. Russell Blades, Moorpark, 7 Laps; 20. Greg Goodwin, San Diego, 7 Laps; 21. Brent Stevens, Thousand Oaks, 6 Laps; 22. Steven Benson, Valencia, 4 Laps; 23. Michael Sweeney Jr, Whittier, Did not show Top 10 in points: 1. Brian Saxton, 2380; 2. Ray Estrada, 1965; 3. Brent Stevens, 1840; 4. Mike Lewis, 1705; 5. Lars Wolfe, 1505; 6. Chris Olson, 1450; 7. Eric Alton, 1425; 8. Dillon Hume, 1420; 9. Lee Majors, 1395; 10. Ben Sheen, 1300 ----------------------------------------------- VRA Senior Dwarf Cars: 1. Ed Niedzwiecki, Ventura, 20 Laps; 2. Mike Bailey, Ojai, 20 Laps; 3. Mike Neal, Northridge, 20 Laps; 4. Roy Coe, Saugas, 20 Laps; 5. Tom Bellinger, Cypress, 20 Laps; 6. Kevin Alverson, Thousand Oaks, 20 Laps; 7. Linda Taylor, San Dimas, 20 Laps; 8. Kent Benson, Valencia, 20 Laps; 9. George Calvo, Agua Dulce, 20 Laps; 10. Ron Capodieci, Saugus, 20 Laps; 11. Dave Revard, Ventura, 20 Laps; 12. Bill Van Praag, Ventura, 20 Laps; 13. Mark Davis, Ventura, 19 Laps; 14. Cindy Addison, Oxnard, 18 Laps; 15. Jon Prechtl, La Harbra, 6 Laps Top 10 in points: 1. Kevin Alverson, 2390; 2. Ed Niedzwiecki, 2195; 3. Bill Van Praag, 2000; 4. Tom Bellinger, 1985; 5. Roy Coe, 1910; 6. Mike Bailey, 1775; 7. Mike Neal, 1735; 8. Ron Capodieci, 1660; 9. Dave Hume, 1395; 10. Dave Revard, 1295 ----------------------------------------------- VRA Mini Dwarf - Pistons: 1. Cameron McCauley, Westlake, 12 Laps; 2. Zachery Gilmore, Woodland Hills, 12 Laps; 3. Oliver Blades, Moorpark, 12 Laps; 4. Nick Velasquez, Camarillo, 12 Laps; 5. JP Cardillo, Somis, 12 Laps; 6. Joe Snyder, Westlake, 12 Laps; 7. Kyle Peterson, Santa Clarita, 10 Laps; 8. Ryann Butcher, Ventura, 9 Laps; 9. Olivia Medina-Redman, Ventura, 9 Laps Top 10 in points: 1. Cameron McCauley, 2925; 2. Zachery Gilmore, 2510; 3. Nick Velasquez, 2455; 4. Cole Wakim, 2400; 5. Oliver Blades, 2270; 6. Joe Snyder, 2130; 7. Connor Wakim, 1760; 8. Destyn Garcia, 1475; 9. Cody Arthur, 1170; 10. Ryann Butcher, 1070 ----------------------------------------------- VRA Mini Dwarf - Superchargers: 1. Tommy Velasquez III, Camarillo, 12 Laps; 2. Ricky Lewis, Oxnard, 12 Laps; 3. Devin McCree, Ventura, 12 Laps; 4. Jimmy McDonald, Llano, 12 Laps; 5. Cody Major, Simi Valley, 12 Laps; 6. Joey Freshour, Ventura, 12 Laps; 7. Joseph Magana, Port Hueneme, 12 Laps; 8. Kayle Brazel, Granada Hills, 12 Laps; 9. Chase Lippert, Granada Hills, 12 Laps; 10. Alexis Mann, Simi Valley, 12 Laps Top 10 in points: 1. Devin McCree, 2705; 2. Ricky Lewis, 2695; 3. Tommy Velasquez III, 2540; 4. Cody Major, 2390; 5. Jimmy McDonald, 2325; 6. Joey Freshour, 2130; 7. Alexis Mann, 2005; 8. Joseph Magana, 1520; 9. Chase Lippert, 1310; 10. Kayle Brazel, 1180 ----------------------------------------------- VRA Junior Midgets: 1. Amanda Poertner, Fullerton, 15 Laps; 2. Thomas Short, Carpinteria, 15 Laps; 3. Mark Garrett, Oxnard, 15 Laps; 4. Riley Helland, Ventura, 15 Laps; 5. Austin Figueroa, El Segundo, 15 Laps; 6. Brennan Rogers, Camarillo, 15 Laps; 7. Jessica Clark, Westlake Village, 15 Laps; 8. Michaela Stanton, Camarillo, 15 Laps; 9. Tyler Jerman, Palmdale, 15 Laps; 10. Nick Valenzuela, Ventura, 15 Laps; 11. Luke Boles, Goleta, 15 Laps; 12. Cameron Dougan, Camarillo, 15 Laps; 13. John Butcher, Santa Barbara, 15 Laps; 14. Christian Copley, Santa Ynez, 15 Laps Top 10 in points: 1. Brennan Rogers, 2480; 2. Luke Boles, 2470; 3. Cameron Dougan, 2415; 4. Riley Helland, 2365; 5. Tyler Jerman, 2355; 6. Jessica Clark, 2340; 7. Nick Valenzuela, 2315; 8. Michaela Stanton, 2305; 9. Mark Garrett, 2300; 10. Austin Figueroa, 2275 |
