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Traditional Sprint Car FanSite |
See You At The Races!!! |
| ROOKIE WRIGHT WINS FIRST
IMCA SPRINT FEATURE by Gary Jacob |
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IMCA Sprints, IMCA Modifieds and I-4 Modifieds |
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Ventura, CA -July 2, 1999-- Gaining the lead when
Michael Smith was sent to the rear for spinning a lapped car on lap
13, John Wright led the final 17 laps to score a $600 win in the 30
lap IMCA Sprint Car feature Friday night at Ventura Raceway. The
action opened the two-day Beach Party Classic at the popular track and
Wrights win was his first as he made the huge jump from the pony
stocks into the sprint cars in 1999. Point leader Kevin Kierce ran
second behind Wright. Mike Furlong led the final 9 laps to post his
second straight IMCA Modified feature win in his Dave Currie prepared
mount. Tommy Fowler was a wire to wire winner in the 20 lap I-4
Modified main and made good on his promise to shave his head if he
ever won a feature race. The IMCA Sprint Cars had a 23 car turnout and
they were divided into three heat races with the top 4 finishers in
each advancing into the 30 lap A Main. Outside front row starter
Michael Smith won heat 1, Kierce came from 5th starting in his heat
two win and outside front row starter Jeff Heaton won heat three.
After a fifth place heat effort, Tom Stansberry started on the pole of
the 12 lap B Main and raced to a wire to wire win ahead of Denny McVey
and Bill Welch. As usual, the top 12 point averages are inverted at
the front of the 18 car A Main lineup. The race started a car short as
Dwayne Marcum did not start. Jim Gresham and Wright shared the front
row with Kierce and Gary Howard lined up in row 5. Defending track
champion Kenny White returned after missing several weeks with serious
burns and he was joined in row 6 by SCRA sprint car regular Troy
Rutherford. Gresham led the first 3 laps before Welch stalled for a
yellow flag. Third starter M Smith took second from Wright on lap 3
and went underneath Gresham for the lead on lap 4. Heaton spun for a
lap 4 yellow and Rutherford retired with a flat tire. Wright had taken
second from Gresham at the same time and Ronnie Case gained third on
lap 7. Kierce was fourth on lap 9. Kierce got underneath Case for
third on lap 12. Leader M Smith was sent to the rear after he got into
Heaton and sent him spinning on lap 14. Wright inherited the lead with
Kierce running second ahead of Case. Cases teammate Jimmy Crawford
took fourth from Gresham on lap 15. Crawford took third from Case on
lap 22. The final caution came on lap 23 as M Smith and Greg Taylor
tangled. Case pitted on the restart with a flat tire. Kierce made
several inside runs at leader Wright, but couldnt pull off the pass.
Chris Wakim pitted late as White climbed into fourth. Wrights first
win saw Kierce in second ahead of Crawford and White. The race ended
with a red flag as Gresham flipped hard into the bill boards in turn
2. He was unhurt as Howard finished fifth ahead of Will Perkins,
Harwood and McVey.
The IMCA Modified 16 car field included regional title hopeful Dan Fitzgerald, who made the long tow from Las Vegas, NV. Steve Greenland won heat one from fifth starting and 4th starter Gary Curtis won heat two. Outside front row starter Jim Tietz led the first 10 laps of their 20 lap main. Ed Shelton challenged him for the first six laps before giving up the spot to Curtis. Furlong was riding third when Chris Tonoli and Jamie Taylor tangled for the first yellow on lap 8. Greenland stalled for a lap 9 yellow and point leader Donald Houghton pitted. Curtis and Furlong both got around Tietz on lap 11 and Furlong made his winning pass a lap later. Kathy Pierson climbed into fourth behind defending track champion Randy McGraw on lap 14 with her inside pass on Tietz. Curtis continued in second despite smoking. Fitzgerald took fourth from Pierson on lap 17. Furlong won ahead of Curtis, McGraw, Fitzgerald, Pierson, Tietz, Tonoli and Houghton. Houghtons point lead is just five points over former champion John Aitken. McGraw closed to within 17 points of Houghton. The I-4 Modifieds had a 12 car turnout and heat winners were Todd Keeter and David Knight. Brian Rader and Marty Desbrow entered the night tied for the point lead with George Kreider just five points back, but Desbrow was a no-show. The track was watered just prior to their 20 lap main and the main started with the track still too wet. Outside front row starter Fowler took the lead from pole starter Mike Davis and Kreider settled into third. Keeter was fourth on lap 2. Keeter used an outside pass to take third from Kreider on lap 12. In lapped traffic, Kreider bounced back to pass both Keeter and Davis for second, but he lost the spot to Keeter on lap 15. The 20 lapper was run without a caution and the final 10 laps saw the track become very racy. Keeter made an outside run on Fowler, but fell a bumper short at the checkered flag. Kreider was third ahead of Steve Chuhaloff, Jerry Parker, Davis, and Rader. Summary I-4 Modified Heat 1-Todd Keeter, Mike Davis, Jerry Parker, George Kreider, Jeffrey Nice. Heat 2-David Knight, Brian Rader, Steve Chuhaloff, Dan Coburn, Tommy Fowler. Main-Fowler, Keeter, Kreider, Chuhaloff, Parker, Davis, Rader, Nice, Coburn, Knight, Shawn Stein. IMCA Modified Heat 1-Steve Greenland, Mike Furlong, Bill Waltman, Randy McGraw, Ed Shelton. Heat 2-Gary Curtis, David Rhodes, Dan Fitzgerald, Kathy Pierson, Jim Tietz. Main-Furlong, Curtis, McGraw, Fitzgerald, Pierson, Tietz, Chris Tonoli, Donald Houghton, John Aitken, Stephen Mitchell, Jamie Taylor, Waltman, Shelton, Greenland, Rhodes. IMCA Sprint Car Heat 1-Michael Smith, Gary Howard, Troy Rutherford, Jimmy Crawford, Tom Stansberry. Heat 2-Kevin Kierce, Jim Gresham, Ronnie Case, Kenny White, Chris Wakim. Heat 3-Jeff Heaton, Will Perkins, John Wright, Greg Taylor, Randy Moody. B Main-Stansberry, Denny McVey, Bill Welch, Dale Harwood, Wakim, Dwayne Marcum, Moody, Chris Smith, John Woodward, Jim Thomson. A Main-Wright, Kierce, Crawford, White, Howard, Perkins, Harwood, McVey, Stansberry, Gresham, Wakim, Case, Traylor, M Smith, Heaton, Rutherford, Welch. |
