surfnsprint

Zero to Hero
Race Day 11
June 24, 2006

On Wednesday of last week, Chris Wakim didn’t have a car. He had a newly repaired backup frame, a pile of parts, half dozen loyal friends and some bruises from last week’s race. Fueled by pizza, aggravation and moxie, Chris and crew put a new car together that night, engine into frame, axles into ends, a thousand connections and very few doubts. It went together fast; the boys were practiced having already rebuilt three cars this season. Chris has been in a slump since last year. A wrenching series of mishaps and frustrations has just creamed this season. No matter, they took this new car made from old parts and pushed it onto the track. It fired and Chris rolled into another Saturday night…..

Quick Trip through the Pits:

Checked into the pony stock scene and confirmed both Hoyt and Chavez were present and accounted for. Hoyt had weighed his car this week and was concerned he might be a little too heavy. Saw Randall Dougan was also ready to go. Andrew Greiman was up in Santa Maria probably winning some money. Come home Andrew (we miss your driving, pissing and moaning!)

Then I ran into Brad Prows who is in the IMCA Modifieds point race. He is third in points and frustrated he hasn’t yet taken first yet. He has been racing Ventura for about six years and loves this track. Great guy, fast car, he kindly let me have a photo.

Saw Steve Conrad and his crew polishing up the 56 sprint car. Steve has been stuck in the middle lately and is trying to get his forward momentum again. I also see Bruce Douglas fixing the front axle in the lucky 13. Kierce is helping him and they are too busy to talk. Heidi Tresler is working with her dad trying to get set up, they check in with Wakim for some friendly advice.

VRA Sprint Car Heat Races

Heat one was most notable for who didn’t advance. Conrad hit the berm and only completed two laps. Kierce got mixed up in turn one and was out in three laps. Oren Prosser Jr. had it working from the start and easily dominated the rest of the heat. Wright, Richardson and Nock also got the work done and advanced.

Heat two added to the semi main headlines! Tom Schneider and Derek Buckley were on the front row, with Taylor and Rutherford behind them. Hollywood and Sack Time sat third row. Schneider was clean at the start and led for a lap or two. But he drifted slightly in turn two and you can’t do that with this company. Taylor leads, Buckley following the leader, Rutherford works to third and Espinoza in fourth. Something happened to Rutherford and he drifted up to the turn four wall and stalled. It was right when they checkered it and he watched as Taylor, Buckley, Espinoza and Schneider all passed and qualified! Rutherford goes to the semi!

Heat Three had Crawford on the pole and he zoomed away at the green. Jimmy strikes me as an efficient guy and probably would have liked to run a quick ten and get back to his cute wife! He had to suffer through three yellows before he got his checkered! First Brian Camarillo appeared to lose his steering and floated up to the wall in turn four. Then Thomson and Tjaarda touched in turn two and Tjaarda had to go to the back. Thomson was driving very fast but got sideways in turn two causing Angel Figueroa to check up and gather up Tjaarda again. Tjaarda was two strikes and you’re out! Poor guy was in the wrong place twice! They finally let Crawford get it done followed by a quick Joe Henderson, Tom Hendricks and Brandon Thomson.

Heat four had Jeremy Ellertson taking the front row and capitalizing. Tom Harper was right behind him as Wakim checked out his new ride. Dennis Rodriquez was also in the mix. Ellertson car was lifting out of the corners and looking fast! Wakim didn’t seem to have any bugs and worked his way past Harper for second. A fast and furious heat race, it finished Ellertson, Wakim, Harper and Rodriquez.

VRA Sprint Semi Main

I usually don’t report on Semi Mains, but with Conrad starting at the middle, Rutherford starting at the back and Kierce at the very back, I made sure I was in my seat! Errol Sack took the lead with Hobie Conway right behind him. Donald Haughton (doing double duty between sprints and mods) and Steve Conrad were also there. Suddenly Conrad ran into a mess in turn one and stalled in the infield. I think they were going to leave him there (frantically gesturing for a yellow) when Craig Bailey suddenly twisted in three. That got Conrad back in the race but again at the very back.

In the meantime, both Rutherford and Kierce were on the gas passing cars like they were counterfeit bills. It was Sack, Conway, Houghton and Wade, now Rutherford passes Wade and takes fourth. Now Wade decides to hit the wall at four, we restart and it’s a suddenly a six pack! Sacks, Conway, Houghton, Rutherford, Kierce and Conrad. Six drivers, five laps to complete, four transfers and three have clawed from the back! I can hear a waitress paging “Donner, party of six….”

This whole angst is on the move, within one lap they are up to speed and roaring! Now Bailey spins and the whole herd slows down again. The lineup hasn’t changed; it’s still Kierce and Conrad out of transfer with three laps to go. On the green, Conrad goes high, Kierce goes low, Conway falls and then Houghton falls. In a blizzard of mud, tires spinning and dirt flying it’s Sacks, Rutherford, Conrad and Kierce. As great a race as any main event!

IMCA Modified Main Event

I failed to report on last weeks Mod Madness, let’s try to get it right this week. Gary Curtis has the pole and leads the land sharks into the corner. Unfortunately he slides in turn two and loses position. But Randy Miller seems to have mechanical problems and they let him out and restart. This time a toilet overflows in turn two and it takes a while to clean up the mess. Curtis is out with a flat, they wheel him off and restart again. Now we settle into some racing with Randy McGraw, Tom Topping, Jack Parker and Jimmy Reeves (on the freaking gas!) all spaced out nicely. Although the race is McGraw way out front, Reeves is definitely forward moving and nicks Parker for third. Now he’s past Topping for second. Another mess develops in turn three when McGraw goes over the rear tire of lapper Rick Johnston and does some damage. That also gathers up Dave Addamo, Reeves and Rick Rodarte. Addamo and Rodarte are gone, tough Jimmy Reeves goes to the back.

The new start has Parker in front with Houghton and Prows right behind. Now Parker and Houghton conflict in turn three, Parker to the back, Houghton loses an axle and is out. McGraw has fixed his mojo and gets back on the track. Prows goes to the front and looks like he is having a real good time!
Prows leads with Topping and McGraw chasing! Steve Bulpitt gets into the wall and I think that makes ten cars crashed and eight cars left with two laps to go. It sure looks like Prows, but he wobbles and Jimmy Reeves and Randy McGraw both get around him. Both had come from the back for a smashing victory, it was Reeves, McGraw, Prows and Steve Smith for the fourth spot. Just an awesome race, lots of blood, guts, stink and glory!

VRA Senior Sprint Main Event

Ron Butler on the pole, it was like he was shot out of a cannon and he never looked back! Two accidents right away, Prosser is out, Leonard is out, Alderman and Stasa go to the back. On the new green, Ron Butler is flying but here comes Ron Bach. Bach has been dominating the track lately and he means business here. Bill Badger and John Woodward are hustling third and fourth. The front runners are nicely spaced out when suddenly Alderman goes into the wall at turn four. Ouch! We have fourteen laps completed, six to go and I see Jimmy Crawford taking his weekly stroll down in front inspecting the track conditions.

On the new green, Butler is still racing the wind, but Bach sure does seem determined. He swings low while Butler swings high!
Badger and Woodward continue to duel behind them. White flag, this seventy two year old Ron Butler continues to confound Ron Bach, the senior point’s leader. For his second Senior Sprint Main Event win it is Butler, Bach, Woodward and Badger. Ron Butler, you are a stud!

Pony Stock Main Event

Mark Woellert started on the pole but had steering troubles almost immediately. He didn’t get far. Randall Dougan was outside front row and took over. Jack Hoyt kicked in and took that lead, with Dougan just behind him. They kept at it for awhile, there were lapped cars everywhere. Slowly coming up from the back I catch glimpses of Joel Chavez, trying to work past the rush hour traffic. There are so many lapped cars it is hard to keep track of placement, but scorekeeper Scott confirms its running Hoyt, Dougan and Chavez. Hoyt is cutting out clean lines, Dougan is hanging on but that little white Honda with the blue 1 on the door nicks him soon enough. Now we are in the final laps as there is debris on the track, we go yellow and the line tightens up. Chavez had beat Hoyt two weeks ago in a tight finish and I’m sure this on Hoyt’s mind as the green restarts the race. A lapped car driven by Jeff Houghton gets sideways in front of Chavez; Joel just pushes him out of the way as he tries to catch Hoyt. I guess Jack’s car wasn’t too heavy; both car and driver skill carries Hoyt across the finish. Excellent series, tight points race and Chavez only sits sixth due to a missed race.

VRA Sprint Car Main Event

Buckley and Wakim in the front row. Mighty Joe Henderson and John Wright are right behind them. Points leader Crawford is third row with Jeremy Ellertson. Further back is Prosser, Espinoza, Taylor, Richardson and others. The last three starts are Rutherford, Conrad and Kierce. This is going to be an interesting race, action at the front, middle and back!

Wakim jumps to the front, with Buckley holding onto second. Wakim is picking up distance when Prosser has trouble in turn four and leaves the car. Didn’t get the details. On the new start, Wakim again ignites the rocket engines, but almost everybody has to be watching the back at this point. It’s a determined sprint race between those three amigos to see who can get to the front first. Suddenly seven laps completed and the seven car is smoking badly and slowing rapidly. Greg Taylor somehow caught a piece of Henderson’s torsion bar in his oil filter line! This torsion bar had to replicate the “Kennedy bullet” path but there it was. Crushing disappointment for Taylor Racing. If they are healthy they win; the hand of fate throws them down tonight! Henderson is now driving a low rider.

So far this is beautiful racing, the track is really fast, Ellertson is moving forward and seems to have Wakim in his sights. On the new green Hollywood goes to the bottom. Wakim is leading, but barely. Suddenly he slow coming out of three and Ellertson gets him in four. Henderson also passes, driving in a very impressive fashion. I am looking to the back trying to see what’s with the three amigos. I see Fierce Kierce and he is a tear, I mean really eating up the track. Suddenly Wes Richardson comes up behind him in turn three and brings his right front over Kevin’s left rear. Inexplicably they are locked together and come to a grinding halt, cars scattering around them like cue balls. Kevin unstraps, carefully stands up in his seat, leans over and
asks if Wes is ok. Then he carefully examines Wes’s engine cover to make sure it didn’t get scratched! Uh huh………

With fifteen laps completed, Ellertson is on the lead with Mighty Joe and Wakim hard on the gas. Ellertson is looking better than I have ever seen him, lifting slightly out of the corners, hitting all his marks. You would have to say the same for Henderson. Wakim is strong, Espinoza conceding nothing and Buckley is also in this fight. Beautiful racing, clean with nobody running away with it. Suddenly Rutherford is showing up, having worked his way from the eighteenth spot! Wakim now clears Henderson as does Rutherford. Espinoza gets a little sloppy in one turn and it slows him slightly. Now it is all about Jeremy, Chris and Troy. Chris is driving the bottom as is Troy who has now locked third. Ellertson is driving an outstanding race, really showing a lot of skill but what can you say. Big Troy Rutherford, what a freaking incredible adventure, he gets past Wakim and has the second slot. Now Wakim shows his heart and stands on that pedal coming into turn one. He slides Troy and reclaims second. He does a fast lap, digs deeper and slides Jeremy to claim first. Troy also gets around Jeremy. The checker drops and its Wakim, Rutherford, Ellertson and Espinoza. These four slide into the infield, jump around, high five and hug.

For me, Chris Wakim is the reason I got into racing. When things were really sucking with his season, I came to realize it’s a lot about how you carry yourself when you are down. With Chris, it’s all about heart. You could say the same about Troy, Jeremy and most drivers on that track. That’s why winning there is so satisfying. But I have to say to Chris, Arnie, Shaun and the rest of you, it was really cool to watch that car go together, push off and go from zero to hero!