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VENTURA RACEWAY: CRAWFORD WINS RACE, KIERCE WINS CHALLENGE AND TITLE |
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VENTURA, Calif. (Oct. 24, 2009) – Ventura Raceway crowned four champions and gave away two pots full of money Saturday, capping the night with one of the most dramatic finishes in track history. Ventura’s Jimmy Crawford won the final installment of the All Coast Construction Challenge, surviving a final lap restart and finishing with Ventura’s Greg Taylor, Camarillo resident Brent Camarillo and Reseda’s Kevin Kierce jockeying for position behind him. Crawford’s win was worth $5,000. Kierce clinched Ventura’s 2009 Sprint Car championship by starting the main event and then won $5,000 for winning the three-race All Coast Construction Challenge series. The other champions crowned Saturday included Yucaipa’s Ray Estrada who won the Pro Dwarf Car main event and clinched the title at the same time, Bill Van Praag (of Ventura) who duplicated Estrada’s trick in the Senior Dwarf Car feature and Darren Gunnell (Santa Paula) who won the feature race and the title in the Sport Compact Front Wheel Drive class. Crawford led the Sprint Car feature three different times. He initially took the lead after John Nock led the first five laps. Crawford led for two laps, then fell in behind Jesse Hockett for the next dozen laps. Crawford went back ahead for four laps before Brandon Thompson, the 2008 Challenge winner, grabbed the lead for four laps. Crawford led the final three circuits around the Ventura oval. “When Thompson got by me, I knew he was creeping on the bottom like he did last year,” Crawford said. “I said, ‘I’m just not going to let him get away from me.’ He was running about a car (width) or two up and I just stayed on the bottom.” Thompson eventually fell off the pace when his right front wheel broke away from the car’s suspension. After the wild finish, Kierce finished fourth in the feature, earning enough Challenge points to beat his closest competitor, Ojai driver Troy Rutherford. “I came out to drive like I needed to win the deal,” Kierce said. “Came out fourth and I’m thrilled to death with the talent that was here tonight.” The Challenge and its extra-large purse attracted a field of 42 cars. The season championship is Kierce’s second straight and his third overall. “I almost threw it away tonight,” said Van Praag. “I got too excited, starting out, but I calmed down finally. We ran hard. I couldn’t change the pace. If I’d changed the pace, something would have happened.” Estrada’s championship was his first. “We had a rocket tonight,” he said. “This thing thundered.” Gunnell said, “Tonight was awesome. The car worked perfectly. I don’t know why. (His crew) was a little superstitious. They didn’t want to check the tire pressures or anything. They said it was good to go, so I went with it and it worked perfectly.” More information about Ventura Raceway is available at www.venturaraceway.com. Ventura Raceway Race Results VRA Sprint Cars -- 1. Jimmy Crawford, Ventura, 30 Laps; 2. Greg Taylor, Ventura, 30 Laps; 3. Brent Camarillo, Camarillo, 30 Laps; 4. Kevin Kierce, Reseda, 30 Laps; 5. Blake Miller, Yorba Linda, 30 Laps; 6. Steve Conrad, Quartz Hill, 30 Laps; 7. Jesse Hockett, Warsaw, MO, 30 Laps; 8. Mike Spencer, Temecula, 30 Laps; 9. Troy Rutherford, Ojai, 30 Laps; 10. Rick Hendrix, Palmdale, 30 Laps; 11. Richard McCormick, Aqua Dulce, 30 Laps; 12. Matt Mitchell, Yorba Linda, 30 Laps; 13. John Nock, Newhall, 30 Laps; 14. Derek Buckley, Ojai, 29 Laps; 15. Brandon Thomson, Ventura, 29 Laps; 16. Bobby Michnowicz, Torrance, 21 Laps; 17. Kevin Mahoney, Stockton, 20 Laps; 18. Danny Sheridan, Santa Maria, 19 Laps; 19. Luis Espinoza, Castaic, 19 Laps; 20. Brian Camarillo, Camarillo, 17 Laps; 21. Johnathon Henry, Stockton, 3 Laps; 22. Cody Kershaw, Oak Park, 1 Lap; 23. Chris Wakim, Simi Valley, 1 Lap. Lap Leaders: John Nock (1-5), Jimmy Crawford (6-7), Jesse Hockett (8-19), Jimmy Crawford (20-23), Brandon Thomson (24-27), Jimmy Crawford (28-30). Heat Race Winners: Heat 1: John Nock; Heat 2: Steve Conrad; Heat 3: Jesse Hockett; Heat 4: Cody Kershaw; Heat 5: Jimmy Crawford. Top 10 in points: 1. Kevin Kierce, 4960; 2. Troy Rutherford, 4435; 3. Brian Camarillo, 3710; 4. Steve Conrad, 3655; 5. Chris Wakim, 3585; 6. Cody Kershaw, 3355; 7. Rick Hendrix, 3335; 8. Brent Camarillo, 3280; 9. John Nock, 3205; 10. Brandon Thomson, 3100. All Coast Challenge Top 10 in points: 1. Kevin Kierce, 685; 2. Troy Rutherford, 625; 3. Steve Conrad, 615; 4. Greg Taylor, 590; 5. Chris Wakim, 475; 6. Cody Kershaw, 460; 6. Brandon Thomson, 460; 8. Richard McCormick, 420; 8. Rick Hendrix, 420; 10. Jimmy Crawford, 400. ----------------------------------------------- VRA Pro Dwarf Cars -- 1. Ray Estrada, Yucaipa, 20 Laps; 2. Brian Saxton, Mentone, 20 Laps; 3. Lee Majors, Simi Valley, 20 Laps; 4. Michael Sweeney Jr, Whittier, 20 Laps; 5. Eric Moore, Ventura, 20 Laps; 6. Thomas Velasquez, Camarillo, 20 Laps; 7. Ben Sheen, Palmdale, 20 Laps; 8. Glen Benton, Thousand Oaks, 20 Laps; 9. Tom Stephens Jr, Ventura, 12 Laps; 10. Angel Figueroa, El Segundo, 12 Laps; 11. Mike Lewis, Sunland, 12 Laps; 12. Steven Benson, Valencia, 10 Laps; 13. Adam Schricker, Hollywood, 1 Lap; 14. Alex Wood, San Dimas, Did not show. Lap Leaders: Steven Benson (1-7), Ray Estrada (8), Steven Benson (9), Ray Estrada (10-20). Heat Race Winners: Heat 1: Ray Estrada; Heat 2: Brian Saxton. Top 10 in points: 1. Ray Estrada, 3500; 2. Angel Figueroa, 3040; 3. Brian Saxton, 2795; 4. Steven Benson, 2625; 5. Lee Majors, 2495; 6. Thomas Velasquez, 2345; 7. Mike Lewis, 2275; 8. Michael Sweeney Jr, 2025; 9. Curt Cook, 1940; 10. Tom Stephens Jr, 1895. ----------------------------------------------- VRA Senior Dwarf Cars -- 1. Bill Van Praag, Ventura, 17 Laps; 2. Ron Capodieci, Saugus, 17 Laps; 3. Mark Davis, Ventura, 17 Laps; 4. Mike Neal, Northridge, 17 Laps; 5. Tim Morse, Burbank, 17 Laps; 6. George Sack Jr, Aqua Dulce, 17 Laps; 7. George Calvo, Agua Dulce, 17 Laps; 8. Bobby Lague, Colton, 17 Laps; 9. Ed Niedzwiecki, Ventura, 17 Laps; 10. Mitch Hedrick, Simi Valley, 17 Laps; 11. Linda Taylor, San Dimas, 17 Laps; 12. Dave Revard, Ventura, 17 Laps; 13. Dave Dotson, Thousand Oaks, 16 Laps; 14. Cindy Addison, Oxnard, 16 Laps; 15. Keith Koslov, Agoura, 5 Laps; 16. Tom Stephens Sr, Ventura, 4 Laps; 17. Rick Lapka, Apple Valley, 3 Laps; 18. Kevin Alverson, Thousand Oaks, Did not show. Lap Leaders: Bill Van Praag (1-17). Heat Race Winners: Heat 1: George Sack Jr; Heat 2: Tom Stephens Sr. Top 10 in points: 1. Bill Van Praag, 3385; 2. Mike Neal, 2880; 3. Kevin Alverson, 2845; 4. George Calvo, 2690; 5. George Sack Jr, 2595; 6. Ed Niedzwiecki, 2575; 7. Ron Capodieci, 2360; 8. Mark Davis, 2275; 9. Dave Revard, 2240; 10. Kent Benson, 2045 ----------------------------------------------- VRA Sport Compact (Front Wheel) -- 1. Darren Gunnell, Santa Paula, 20 Laps; 2. Joel Chavez Jr., Santa Paula, 20 Laps; 3. Jess Carlucci, Camarillo, 20 Laps; 4. Roger Sutton, Camarillo, 19 Laps; 5. Eric Lopez, Ventura, 12 Laps; 6. John Butcher, Santa Barbara, 6 Laps; 7. Mike Frazier, Santa Paula, Did not show. Lap Leaders: Darren Gunnell (1-20). Heat Race Winners: Heat 1: Jess Carlucci. Top 10 in points: 1. Darren Gunnell, 2945; 2. Jess Carlucci, 2780; 3. Joel Chavez Jr., 2730; 4. John Butcher, 2515; 5. James Brown, 1635; 6. Joel Chavez, 1145; 7. Roger Sutton, 780; 8. Mike Frazier, 740; 9. Eric Lopez, 600; 10. Joanna Brown, 590. ----------------------------------------------- VRA Sport Compact (Rear Wheel) -- 1. Trevor Fitzgibbon, Camarillo, 20 Laps; 2. Brent Underwood, Camarillo, 20 Laps; 3. Andrew Greiman, Camarillo, 20 Laps; 4. Jason Marshall, Ventura, 20 Laps; 5. Brad Long, Burbank, 20 Laps; 6. April Banvelos, Sylmar, 18 Laps; 7. Justin Klucker, Santa Maria, 18 Laps; 8. Bill Changus, Fillmore, 18 Laps; 9. James Brown, Oxnard, 14 Laps; 10. Brandon Reta, Ventura, 12 Laps; 11. Mark Rogers, Camarillo, 10 Laps; 12. Cody Greiman, Camarillo, 6 Laps; 13. Ryan Changus, Port Hueneme, 3 Laps; 14. Zachary Peterson, Oxnard, Did not show. Lap Leaders: Andrew Greiman (1-17), Trevor Fitzgibbon (18-20). Heat Race Winners: Heat 1: Trevor Fitzgibbon; Heat 2: Brandon Reta. Top 10 in points: 1. Brent Underwood, 3265; 2. Cody Greiman, 2815; 3. Brandon Reta, 2565; 4. Jason Marshall, 2555; 5. Brad Long, 2365; 6. Ryan Changus, 2265; 7. Bill Changus, 2255; 8. Trevor Fitzgibbon, 1665; 9. Corey McKinney, 1365; 10. April Banvelos, 1285. |
