surfnsprint

Driving up to the track on Saturday, I am thinking about points. As the end of the season approaches, I am mentally reviewing the VRA sprint and VRA Senior Sprint positioning. In the Senior Division, with three races left, Ron Bach’s chance of catching Wiley Miller is getting slimmer than a wayward supermodel. Not that it matters much. Wiley Miller and Ron Bach have been battling as long I have been watching. Every weekend I look forward to the hard clean racing these two champions will put down. Wiley and Ron are currently the two top point average racers, both in the high 800’s. For a point of reference, Wiley’s nephew, Blake Miller, the poster boy for consistent racing, sits third just behind them. Not fair to compare different classes? Maybe. My point is that these two senior drivers are two of Ventura’s top guns. Time to thank Ron Bach for giving us a helluva show this year. I like everything about Ron Bach. He is a contractor. He is a driver. He sponsors more cars and drivers than Bob Roush. He’s the best kind of racer. Winning on all levels.

VRA Senior Sprint Cars Heat One starting line up
99k Ray Knight	3y Grady Winkler
71 Jeff Culver	1r Bruce Douglas
49 Ron Bach	10 Tim Moon
60 Bill Leonard	67 Ross Millar

We go green and Bruce Douglas is immediately on this. Grady Winkler is driving in second and Ron Bach quickly moves into third. Suddenly Moon and Leonard hook up in turn one and we are green. A long time to unhook these two but finally they come apart. Leonard leaves the track as does Millar who apparently tagged the wall out of my sight.

On the restart, Bruce again asserts himself with Grady and Ron still behind him. It’s a pretty sight watching them come out of turn 4 with the late afternoon sun glinting off the cars. Ray Knight spins but keeps going. Moon is in the fifth spot and pushing to take a spot away from Jeff Culver. On the last lap, in the last turn Grady spins, keeps on the gas but loses second to Ron Bach. Checkered has Douglas, Bach, Winkler and Moon (passing Culver). This was a rather uneventful heat.

As the weather gets real cool, the green comes down for heat two. Astute Jim Porter has the lead with consistent Bob Alderman and Danny Miller right behind him. Steve Stasa was in fourth and in pursuit. With the track looking very wet, Wiley passes Stasa and takes the fourth spot. Something is not happening for John Richards and he parks on the infield. Porter is way out front and the action is for second place. Danny Miller wants to take it away from Bob Alderman but it isn’t going to happen. We finish with Porter, Alderman, Miller and Miller (Wiley). What I would describe as a relaxed race.

Not sure I want to have my first sprint car race against Ronnie Case, but good on you Brendon! Green flag comes down and Joe Henderson is out front. Sinsley, Camarillo and Prosser are all hard on the gas. This race is in your face, dense and tricky driving with congested turns. Second, third and fourth are all in foul moods. Prosser moves up to second, Camarillo is fighting off Sinsley and Ronnie Case is charging. Suddenly in turn three Case comes up on Sinsley a bit fast and they are both out. Too bad as Sinsley was doing so well. On the restart, Henderson is protecting that first spot, but there was something in Prosser’s cereal this morning. He is driving hard and also being pushed by a very aggressive Billy Camarillo. John Nock was behind Billy and also going very fast. They are all close and three wide in the turns. That’s exciting! Prosser wrenches first away from Henderson and Camarillo is trying hard to make it even worse. It seems that the whole murderous pack arrives at the finish line together and it’s Prosser, Henderson, Camarillo and Nock (nice job, John). That New Zealander came in fifth with a couple of stories to tell! Prosser was decidedly on the gas.

Brandon took the pole and converted to first. Hendricks falls in behind him and Kierce is immediately on the move. John Hale spins in turn 3 and we restart. It’s Thomson, Hendricks and Kierce with Taylor going now going high and cranking up the volume. Richardson is back in fifth and trying to catch the crowd. Suddenly Hale spins in the same exact spot as before and has to leave the show. Restart is fast and Brandon is doing an incredible job of holding off some of Ventura’s finest. However, Kierce is hard to deny and finally passes in turn two. Now you have Kierce, Thomson, Hendricks and a determined Greg Taylor. It’s Hendricks’ turn to hold off Ventura’s finest and he falls to a focused Greg Taylor. Kierce is way out front and now Thomson has to deal with Taylor. Much to his credit, he manages to block Greg and finish second. At the checker it’s Kierce, Thomson, Taylor and Hendricks. Very impressive drive by Bandon Thomson. Kierce and Taylor are characteristically strong. All of this and Hendricks’ determination has kept Wes Richardson back where he usually isn’t.

Predictably, Espinoza is on it and Blake is glued to his rear posterior. Kershaw and Rodriguez are close behind. Luis knows Blake’s tricks and is hugging that berm. Blake is exhibiting his precision and looking for a opening. Kershaw is third and swinging high. Then Kershaw drifts in turn 3 and loses position. It’s Espinoza, Miller, McArthur and Figueroa. Blake gets frustrated with Luis and decides to swing high in turn one. It works, he passes for first and Angel gets one over McArthur. Miller gets some distance; Espinoza is second with some distance and then Figueroa and McArthur. Packing the cushion, they finish in that order. You get the feeling Blake and Luis enjoy racing each other. Disappointing heat for Rob and Dennis. Brian was watching and learning.

Well, Chris Wakim jumped right from the second row and claimed first. The battle for second was between Schneider and Devitt. Buckley was in fourth and happy to swing high like the front runner. Schneider was losing positions and Michael Trimble was moving himself up. Conrad (inspired by last week’s main event win) was also moving up and quickly passed Derek for fourth. Now we have Wakim way out front, Devitt holding at second, Trimble at third and Conrad trying to hold off Buckley for fourth. Things got too hot between Steve and Derek and they had a vicious contact over in three. Naylor comments “hey boys, it’s just a six car heat race!” Buckley drives off the track and Conrad gets the hook. Tough out here tonight! With only four cars left, Wakim takes first, Devitt has second, Trimble is third and Schneider brings up the rear. That’s the last of four outstanding heat races.

Steve Conrad had a fixed rear end, Buckley was patched up and Case was repaired. This was the semi of the walking wounded. Richardson took that outside front row and grabbed first. Conrad was right behind him and New Zealander Brendon Rowlands was tasting third place Ventura dirt. Dennis Rodriquez soon passed Brendon and Kershaw was somewhere close. Richardson is getting far out front and followed by Conrad, Rodriquez and Sinsley. Where is Case? Where is Kershaw? Actually they are both on the move but the frontrunners aren’t slowing at all. Conrad is closing the gap between him and first place. Case is picking up, in fifth place and challenging. Now he is fourth place with Kershaw chasing. As they come into final laps you have Richardson, Conrad, Rodriquez, Case (pushing, pushing) and Kershaw in the non transfer spot. That’s how it finishes. Richardson has reverted to his normal style, Conrad is looking strong, Rodriquez is in and Case is in. They will all be keeping each other company in the back of the main. Kershaw and Case tied for most passes (four). Kershaw is now the alternate for the main but that won’t happen. Not a great day for the Robster.

As I mentioned earlier, points have been on my mind. I watched my Loudpedal DVD Race #1 this week and especially that first senior main event. Bob Alderman was in the hunt that first race and he’s still in the hunt. Wiley, Ron and Bob are one, two and three in the points. Huge effort from Bob Alderman all season.

Can we call Wiley Miller “Way Out”? Because lately he always way out front. He grabbed that green flag start and beat Tim Moon down the straightaway. His brother Danny was right behind him, Moon in third and Alderman in fourth. Porter was chasing with Ron Bach right behind him. Now Porter notches Moon for another spot. Bach is ramping up but we get a yellow about the sixth lap of this twenty lapper. On the restart we have Wiley Miller, Danny Miller, Bob Alderman, Jim Porter, Ron Bach and Bruce Douglas. Green comes on and they are all catapulting forward. Great for fans watching Wiley and Danny up front racing each other with Alderman pushing them. Bach is lifting with his effort. Danny is driving low trying to get under and past his brother. With about ten laps to go, Jim Porter is suddenly losing speed and getting in the way. Bach gets around him while Douglas is stuffed like a turkey. You have Miller, Miller, Alderman & Bach; like a high speed law firm. Meanwhile, “Way Out” Wiley is once again negotiating heavy traffic, holding off a determined brother, beating Bob and Ron, grabbing another checkered flag…..and I’m not sure he broke a sweat. Absolutely just another fantastic race from the seniors.

I have to think this is a special time for the Miller family. Wiley, Danny, Blake: racing each other, consistent top five finishes, championship points, Mike English in the pits, friends all around, and appreciative fans. Stuff like this is why I go to the races……

This is twenty cars racing thirty laps. Blake has a chance to convert a pole position to a main event win. Oren Prosser knows he got a fight on his hands. Chris and Kevin are capable of beating anyone within 50 feet. The speakers are blasting out YMCA and my kids are rocking out in the bleachers. The cars circle the track warily with the drivers hunkering down for the start. Jim Naylor reels off the lineup one last time, finishing with practiced perfection just as the lamps go green.

Kevin Kierce comes flying into turn one with Blake Miller and Chris Wakim. It’s Kevin but before they can complete one lap, Ronnie Case is upside down in turn three. I didn’t see it, but I suspect he was breaking every speed law in the county. On the yellow, Chris Wakim hits a bad patch in turn one and bounces the chassis hard. So hard it pushed the nerf bar back into the tire. He gets off the track and shoves the bent bar forward off the tire. He‘s back on the track but now at the back. On the restart lap Bill Camarillo is pushing or being pushed up on the car in front of him. Next restart and Blake Miller is climbing the track. Behind him is Prosser, Kierce, Thomson, Figueroa and Espinosa. Kevin’s engine is screaming as they go by. Oren takes the lead as Blake continues up high, Kierce hot after both of them. It’s a regular fistfight as they all roll down the backstretch then my notes show another yellow. On the restart, Wakim loses the blessed nerf bar completely and he is out of the race (after the race, he looks like disappointment kicked him in the gut, fortunately he’s got heart bigger than a Hoosier tire). All this and only three laps are completed!

On the next restart Prosser takes his lead and stretches it out a bit, Kierce is in second and Blake is his shadow. Thomson is gamely holding down fourth but I think he hears the roar of Greg Taylor’s engine. It’s loud and it coming up fast behind him. Taylor the Terrible is on the move. The landscape is shifting and now we have Kierce taking what is his, Prosser in second, Thomson in third, Taylor in fourth and Blake back in fifth. It keeps shifting and positions are changing faster than an episode of “Survivor”. Traffic is showing up and that kid from New Zealand must feel like he landed in the middle of a California hurricane. It’s Kierce, Prosser, Taylor, Thomson, Miller and Espinosa slugging away. Now traffic is thick (all but six cars were lapped), everybody is spreading out except for Taylor and Kierce. Taylor has finally got around Prosser and has Kevin Kierce right in his crosshairs. Taylor is whipping high for grip but Kierce is driving a perfect race. Kierce just seems to be flowing through the traffic, high when he needs it, down tight when it’s right. Taylor is close but suddenly jumps the cushion in four and drops back a bit. You have Kierce, Taylor, Miller back up to third and Prosser hanging tough. Taylor gets close again and gives it one last go….but there is no denying fierce Kierce. Talented Kevin Kierce takes his fourth main event win, followed by Greg Taylor, Blake Miller and Oren Prosser, Jr. Beautiful racing by Ventura’s tough crew. Dennis Rodriquez had the most passes, moving up an incredible eleven spots. Why isn’t Dennis winning more races?

Kevin Kierce/graciously credits all to car owner Ray Swan’s hard work
Greg Taylor/racing is always better with Taylor
Blake Miller/ tough finish for a top competitor like Blake
Oren Prosser, Jr. / awesome driving, Oren, you are fast

Heading across the darkened parking lot to my truck, I’m still thinking about points. Very few people know what it takes to be number one. It is something hard earned, not given. When I see the commitment, the effort, the money, the time and the skill all these drivers bring; drivers like Blake, Kevin, Chris, Luis, Steve, Greg, Rob, Wes and the whole crew, winning seems very special. That’s my point.

posted: 9:34 AM