surfnsprint

As liquid lines rolled into shore from the west, a fat and sallow moon full of methanol rose in the east. If your name is surfer/racer Bruce Douglas, you’re as happy as a milk fed puppy. Under perfect autumn weather, California Street knocked off both a classic longboard contest and another classic sprint car event. Whether you were wearing wetsuits, bathing suits or fire suits, Ventura was the host of the coast. This fan watched the best surfers carve in the water, then walked across the street and watched the best drivers carve in the dirt……

The dirt action got started with the (how about “the slightly bruised”) senior heat races. Only two heats for the seniors. Heat #1 had tough John Richards on the pole with Steve Stasa on his right. Second row had persistent Bob Alderman inside of Jeff Culver. Third row had Grady Wrinkler sitting to the inside of manifest destiny driver Willey Miller. Ross Millar was playing solitaire in the last row. As the green flag dropped, Stasa quickly converted from front row to front runner. Richards settled in behind him with Jeff Culver trying to maintain third. Bob Alderman was in fourth position but Willey Miller was immediately making his presence known. It only took a lap or two for Willey to get himself up to third. Now the front runners are starting to spread out a little bit. Stasa has a good lead, Richards is comfortable behind him and Willey is running third with Alderman bringing up the transfer. But although Willey isn’t going to take first, he isn’t going to settle for third. He starts coming up fast on Richards and immediately sticking his nose under. Richards is a little loose coming around turn one and that’s all Willey needs. (OK, TIME OUT, allow me to be presumptuous for a moment: If you have a member of the Miller family driving right behind you, you better be hugging that berm tighter than a nut on a valve cover! Put that left front wheel “one toke over the line”. If you don’t, you may as well pull over to the right and wave them past. I’ve seen this happen more times than my daughter has watched the “The Incredibles”!) Willey took what was offered to him and that’s how it finished. Steve took the checkered, Willey in second, John Richards in third and consistent Bob Alderman in fourth.

The second heat featured surfed out (two heats in the surf contest, advancing to Sunday’s semi main) Bruce Douglas on the pole. The season’s crash veteran Tim Moon was keeping him company on the front. Blue car driver Mark Chuhaloff sat behind Bruce with berm loving Danny Miller on his right. Dave Marini and Ron Bach made up the last row. Now this race got a little confusing for me because we had three #10 cars racing. Of course they are different colors, but it’s kind of hard to write “yellow just passed blue” as these guys race at freeway speed. I am writing numbers as they pass so bear with me. On the first lap, Dave Marini (working out the bugs in a new Kruseman school car) spins at turn three causing a restart. On the new flag, Bruce Douglas grabs the front spot closely followed by Tim Moon. Danny Miller is on the gas in the third slot with Mark Chuhaloff chasing him. Ron Bach is uncharacteristic in the fifth spot and Dave Marini bringing up the rear. Now Danny Miller negotiates his way past Tim Moon and has second with Ron Bach getting past Mark Chuhaloff taking the fourth spot. You have Douglas, Danny Miller, Tim Moon and Ron Bach. Now it looks like Miller is getting past Douglas in turn one when (in a complete reverse of last weeks race) he drifts, Douglas t-bones him, knocks Miller back in the race, stalls Douglas and we have a restart. Miller is the front, Moon behind him, Bach lined up third, Marini in fourth, Chuhaloff in fifth and Douglas starting at the back. On the flag, Dave Marini quickly got past Bach. Bruce Douglas immediately got back on the throttle to also pass Chuhaloff and Bach for fourth. Danny Miller, driving hard and smart the past few races, was locked into first, Tim Moon going strong at second, Marini coming from the back to third and Bruce Douglas grabbing the transfer spot. And that’s the way it was.

VRA heat #1 had Wes Richardson and Luis Espinoza on the front line. Brandon Thomson sat behind Wes with Tom Hendricks behind Luis. In the third row was the formidable duo of Greg Taylor with Blake Miller to his outside. Fourth row was Shawn Kautz and John Nock. Kevin Kierce was by himself in the fifth row. Luis snatched the lead on green. First thing you see is both Miller and Taylor both go to the outside, they both simply went around Thomson and Hendricks and slipped into third and fourth. So you have Luis, Wes, Blake and Greg. All first name drivers. Suddenly, as he is coming into turn one, Taylor seems to lock up and rolls to a stop in the corner. We are yellow. After a brief investigation he gets the hook and leaves the track. Don’t ask. On the restart you have Espinoza, Richardson, Miller, Hendricks and here comes Kierce! Miller is pushing Richardson hard and Kevin Kierce seems to overpower Hendricks and move up one. Now it’s Espinoza, Richardson (hugging the berm), Miller and Kierce as we go white. Miller is hammering away at Richardson, but Wes does a textbook job of holding off the Young Turk. It finishes with Luis way out front, then Richardson, Miller and Kierce.

VRA heat #2 has Brandon Thomson’s father Jim on the pole. Tom Schneider is outside front row. Steve Conrad and Steve Chuhaloff share the second row. Joe Henderson is inside third row idling next to Chris Wakim. Sparky Edmonston is inside fourth row running next to Bill Camarillo. On the waving green flag Steve Conrad grabs the lead and it doesn’t look like he going to let it go. He’s being pursued by Thomson, Camarillo and Steve Chuhaloff. Wakim looks like he’s feeling out the track and picking his way around traffic. He starts to run a high line. Now he’s on the gas and mid race we have Conrad, Camarillo, Wakim and Chuhaloff. There are no yellows, it’s clean and fast racing and the track seems good. At the checker you get Conrad far ahead of the class, Camarillo in second, Wakim in third and a strong Steve Chuhaloff in fourth. Both Conrad and Camarillo looked really good; stay tuned.

VRA heat #3, the final heat, is loading the track. You have spunky Dennis Rodriquez in the pole position. Larry Lloyd is next to him. Dr. Mark Weitzman is second row with Oren Prosser, Jr. to his right. Derek Buckley and bright orange Ronnie Case are in the third row. Rob Kershaw and Ron Wade are bringing up the final row. On the start, Dennis Rodriquez didn’t squander, he grabbed that early lead. Lloyd, Prosser, Weitzman and Case are all in the chase. Ronnie Case is standing on it and almost drives over the top of Prosser in the backstretch; recovers and they all resume the chase. You now have Rodriquez losing position with Lloyd, Prosser, Case and Rodriquez in that order. Now Case is really getting up to steam and takes the lead with a beautiful pass on turn one. Then Lloyd takes it back! Then Case rips it again on the back stretch and goes into the white flag with the lead. I don’t know where Buckley is, it’s like he didn’t show up. Same for Kershaw although my mates tell me he hit the back wall toward the end. At the finish you have Ronnie Case, Larry Lloyd, Oren Prosser and a rueful Dennis Rodriquez. Dennis must have suffered from a poor setup, but the first three drivers gave us fans a tremendous race. Ronnie Case is a flat out exciting driver.

The track was holding up extremely well and it apparently wasn’t going to get a shave this evening. As dusk settled in and that big ol’ moon lifted, I looked at the friendly faces in turn one. They all seem familiar because I see them there race after race. I start thinking about how long such a good thing can last. I appreciate it for what it is and try to soak up every minute. Where again will I see a track like this, the ocean air, the exceptional skill of these drivers and all these talented people making it happen. Special thanks to the mayor and Motorcycle Dan for hanging with me and sharing your considerable track knowledge. Special thanks to Scott Holder and team for giving structure and shape to all these numbers.

I went in the pits before the race and met a few of the Pony Stock players. Cool people over at the #45 car. They were having a pretty good time. Now I watch Andrew Greiman in the #11 car take out the main event. Also watched Brian Saxton sack the competition in the VRA Pro Dwarf main event.

VRA Senior Sprints Main Event started to fill the field. Tim Moon is on the pole. Willey Miller is to his right. Second row is stacked with Steve Stasa and Danny Miller. Dave Marini and John Richards take up the third row. Bob Alderman and Bruce Douglas are sitting fourth row. Jeff Culver and Ron Bach are way back in five. Ross Millar and Mark Chuhaloff are condemned to the sixth row. Lastly, Grady Winkler is sitting in his own private Idaho. The field is small, but there isn’t a driver here I would skip. The seniors are tough drivers. Get out of the way.

Green flag first lap has Moon, Willey, Danny and Stasa. It is immediately a match between Moon and Willey for that first place. Willey’s pushing hard and quickly gets under Moon in turn one (hello?!?)… but there is contact between Culver and Millar and we are yellow. On the restart, Willey has to get back behind Moon followed by Danny, Stasa, Marini, Alderman (lurking), Richards, Bach (also lurking) and everybody behind Bach is already of no consequence. On the restart, Moon is in front, but it’s a short piece of time before both Millers get under him. Willey leads, Danny’s chasing and Moon and Stasa fill out the front four. However, both Alderman and Bach are on the move and it’s a long way to the finish. Alderman gets one up on Stasa and takes the four position. About lap ten, Danny drifts a little in turn one but recovers and holds on to second. These guys are flying, bumping and banging and no excuses are being offered. You can tell how bad Danny wants to get in front but Willey is expressing no brotherly love. I think Danny is a lot more aggressive with this car as his son piles up the points lead; he doesn’t seem as cautious now as earlier in the season. Willey is getting farther out front with traffic all around. Suddenly Danny Miller and Ross Millar mix it up and spin around each other (it’s bad enough with three 10 cars but I’ve also got Millars and Millers). They keep moving but it puts Danny back to fourth. You’ve got Willey way out then Moon then Alderman (running very strong) and finally Danny. It’s a full blown brawl with dust and traffic and contact everywhere as they scream past the white flag. Willey coolly navigates it all, blows past the checkered flag and continues on down Champion Road. What a great race, kudos to Tim Moon (most improved?), Bob Alderman, Danny Miller and Ron Bach. (Bach and Alderman tying for most passes). Maybe one of the best senior mains for the season (until next week!). I’m ready to call it a night, but we’ve still got a twenty one car main event! I pull out a sharp new pencil.

Once again, for the main event Jim Naylor lined up on the front straightaway all twenty one cars and all twenty one drivers. The charming Jammy (pronounced Jamie) was on the microphone and walked the row introducing each car and driver to the fans. Well done, great feature, keep it in. Then she had all the drivers write their car number on a Frisbee and throw the Frisbees to the audience. The winning car number entitled that Frisbee holder to prizes. Keep it in! Some of the drivers hit the crash fence instead of the fans, but fortunately I think that’s just what they’re used to! As the push truck starts pushing Luis Espinoza, they crash. Don’t ask.

Billy Camarillo and Luis Espinoza on the front row. Steve Conrad and Ronnie Case in the second row (we could stop right here and it would be a great race). Hard charging Wes Richardson sits in the third row with Larry Lloyd for company. Blake Miller and Chris Wakim sit fourth row, contemplating their season long relationship. Oren Prosser, Jr. and Kevin Kierce sit right behind them and I’m not sure what they’re thinking. Steve Chuhaloff and Dennis Rodriquez are sixth row. Shawn Kautz and Rob Kershaw are reviewing the odds in the seventh row. John Nock and Joe Henderson are straining to see the front row. Ninth row has Derek Buckley and Tom Schneider thumb wrestling. The last row in the known universe is taken by Mark Weitzman and Tom Hendricks. Ron Wade, in the very last slot, is mustering up all the optimism he can.

As Phillip Stevenson brought down the green flag, third year driver Billy Camarillo grabs the front spot and he’s got his hands full! Conrad and Espinoza are right on top of him with Ronnie Case and Wes Richardson right on top of them! The top five are holding position but suddenly Richardson edges Case. Case and Wakim start going to work on building a cushion up high as Blake Miller starts moving up a spot or two on the bottom.

We are now holding with Camarillo, Conrad, Espinoza, Case, Richardson, Miller and Wakim. Camarillo is lifting as he rockets out of turn two and Conrad is desperately seeking weakness. I half turned to Dan and commented “look how bad Conrad wants this”. At this point Miller clicks another notch passing Richardson. All this and only eleven laps have passed. Now we get the worst crash of the evening. Sawn Kautz, Hollywood stunt man, coming into turn one apparently clipped Henderson’s (I think) wheels and began a violent and wrenching series of barrel rolls past the turn and into the corner pocket. Some flame erupted as he came to a stop, then extinguished as Ventura’s crash crew showed up. They carefully got the car upright and Shawn practically bounded out the cockpit. Almost just like another day at the dream factory! I hope Mike at Loudpedal got this one; it was impressive. We were red on the track and the pit crews were furiously adjusting. Buckley was also getting the hook but I couldn’t tell if it had anything to do with Kautz. On the restart we had Camarillo, Conrad, Espinoza, Case, Miller, Richardson, Prosser, Wakim, Kierce, Steve Chuhaloff and the rest of them. Flag drops and the chase is on. Case and Wakim are on the cushion and this time the adjustments seemed to help. Suddenly Espinoza bobbles badly and loses precious positions. No mercy in this crowd. Wakim slips slightly and fall back one or two. Kierce and Wakim trade positions then Wakim is back in front of Kierce. Flash: Conrad finally gets around Camarillo and takes the front position. It flip flops once more and then Conrad is firmly in control. Steve Conrad, with one year since his last main event win, has this evening’s destiny in his grip and he’s off to the races. Now Camarillo and Miller make contact, keep going but Ronnie Case has capitalized into the number two spot. You have Conrad, Case, Camarillo, Wakim and Miller. We are getting into the last five laps and it’s time to show your cards (if you have any). Now Blake notches Wakim and his relentless manner has him in fourth. Richardson has also worked his way back up and is pushing fifth. The real battle is for the second position with Ronnie Case and Billy Camarillo duking it out toe to toe. As they go from white to checker, it is clearly Steve Conrad (somewhere Reed, “Steve Conrad’s number one fan”, is celebrating), Case takes second by inches over Camarillo, Miller in fourth, Wes Richardson in fifth and Wakim in sixth. Prosser and Kierce followed that. Tom Hendricks had the most passes, moving up an incredible nine positions. Congratulations.

Steve Conrad/looking like he belongs at the front
Ronnie Case/this guy is hard wired for racing
Billy Camarillo/thanks Chuhaloff for introducing him to racing
Blake Miller/”not thinking about the points” (you don’t have to anymore, Blake)

The following morning I drove back up to see how Bruce Douglas was doing in the surf contest. He had made the final and was out in the water competing. The liquid lines were still coming in and I was still thinking about methanol moons. I don’t know how Bruce finished, but he sure looked like he was having a great time.

posted: 9:35 AM