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Bandit-VRA Grand Slam #2 at Santa Maria Raceway

July 29, 2006

First I must thank Santa Maria for the first cool evening I’ve had in a week. But the real news is how well this track is working. Like Ventura, Santa Maria seems to be firing on all cylinders. Drivers and fans are benefiting from the hard work of seasoned track officials. I had my lounge chair, my scanner and the delicious bouquet of eucalyptus methanol. I was surrounded by citizens of Steinbeck country who seemed real pleased to see their beach cousins. The second round of the Bandit-VRA Grand Slam didn’t just talk the talk. It swore; it stalked the walk; it was vicious in the corners and side by side in the straight-aways. Thanks to Dave Swindell and Cliff Morgan for directing a hard core staff of professionals and providing drivers and fans the best in West Coast dirt racing.....

A Quick Trip through the Pits:

Met with Jon Paquet who arranged for vrafan.com to be on the front lines. Thanks for showing us around. Took the opportunity to meet some Bandits, especially wanted to talk to Davey Pombo, which turned out to be timely. He’s just coming off pneumonia but was excited to be here. Loves having the VRA here;”the more the merrier”. Lives in Kerman, about 15 miles west of Fresno. Works for “a phone company” and has been racing for about ten years. Drives a 410 also and is working the USAC thing with good results. Every time I see this guy he is running up front and tonight was no different. More about that later…. My friend Richard Terry was pitting for Jimmy Crawford so I stopped in there and said hi. Jimmy was pretty relaxed and glad to be racing the 17c again. Come to think of it, he looked pretty relaxed after the race too…went into the infield and checked in with the Mini Stock corporation....Andrew Greiman is currently CEO, used to be a Ventura local but got tired of fighting with certain folk down there. Phone home, Andrew. He went out and smoked the main event for all his old friends….thanks for plugging vrafan.com….had a nice visit with Jim Evans too but I can’t use that picture until you win!.....

Davey Pombo Fast

Photo: Jon Paquet

Bandit-VRA Qualifying Laps

Jimmy “Neutron” Crawford takes it a tenth of a second faster than anyone else with 14.605. Jeff Fiscus is second fastest and Mike Knopf clocks right behind him with 14.735. Ross Millar takes the fourth spot with 14.764. That’s pretty damn impressive for this VRA senior sprint driver. Luis Espinoza rounds out the top five.

Crawford clocks everybody with 14.605

Photo: Jon Paquet

Bandit-VRA Heat Races

Heat one is a monster from the front to the back. Oliver, Taylor, Wakim, Pombo, Espinoza, Crawford and that’s just the first three rows. Green flag and Taylor, Pombo and Espinoza lock down the first three spots. The only real battle was for transfer number four and that had Crawford and Oliver trading positions. Wakim never really got it going. It was Crawford’s to transfer but he got put in the wall on the white flag. Checkered had Taylor, Pombo, Espinoza (continuing his incredible season) and the very fast Jeff Oliver.

Heat two continued the fun but then it got ugly in a hurry. Second row Troy Rutherford was challenging front row Rusty Carlile with slide job in turn four that didn’t quite get the job done. Wheels touched, Carlile went to the back and Rutherford hit the pits with a broken front axle. Just behind them, completely separate, Jonathan Logan got upside down and twisted. On the new start, Bruce Douglas and Jeff Fiscus (both in 13 cars) battled for first. Todd Hunsaker was also there with Tom Schneider. Fiscus got up on Douglas and then Hunsaker nicked him also. But Bruce is no quitter and fought his way back to second. Schneider toughed his way to third and it finished Fiscus (by a country mile), Douglas, Schneider (constantly improving) and Hunsaker.

The grapes of wrath rolled on in heat three. Although I was sitting cool on my concrete terrace, my heart was with the drivers down in the dirt, hot, bothered and getting knocked around. I was starting to see a lot of sign language, starting with Rutherford and continuing all evening. This is a brutal sport, turns on a dime and most complaints are valid. Let’s face it, when this much metal is moving this fast, all hell can break loose any moment and usually does. What’s the difference between this track and the freeway behind it? Drivers, hold your lines….Ron Wade and Michael Trimble got out front on the first lap but Jim Thomson hit the back wall and we are restarting. Again it’s Trimble and Wade but here comes third row local motion Mike Knopf in a hurry. He wrestles the lead away from the frontrunners and never gives it up. Trimble starts going backwards but I think it has more to do with his car than his driving… Joey Laymen and Brian Camarillo aren’t asking any questions, they just take over for third and fourth. It’s done with Knopf, Wade, Laymen and Camarillo. (I gotta comment that Jim and Brandon Thomson drive all the way from Norwalk, Jim crashes on his first lap and he’s done for the night! This is a brutal sport. I dig Jim Thomson….)

Photo: shootnsprint

Bandit-VRA Semi-Main #1

The two semis were defined by two drivers. Semi number one was all about Heidi Tresler. She only came in fifth but boy did she make the first four work for it! The hand of fate shoved lots of top notch drivers into the two semis. First off Jimmy Crawford took the pole position with Heidi sitting to his outside. I really think he had to be kinda shocked two, three laps later when she is still hanging with him. Jimmy is a bad ass driver and this sixteen year old girl was showing no signs of intimidation! Michael Trimble was running third and he was having a problem getting around her. No fear!

Next up was veteran Rusty Carlile. She stuffed him repeatedly like a pimento olive! Lastly came Angel Figueroa! He did finally get around her, but everybody had to show some respect. It finished Crawford, Trimble, Carlile and Figueroa. But watching that kid harass those top drivers was a lot of fun. Start working out, Heidi. You are going to need the muscles where you’re going!

Bandit-VRA Semi-Main #2

Semi number two was all about Chris Wakim with a healthy dose of Troy Rutherford and Hey Joe Henderson, where are you going with that gun in your hand? Rutherford took an early lead, being chased by an extremely aggressive Joe Henderson. Wakim was all over it and Ross Millar was also in contention. Wakim notches Mighty Joe but he doesn’t exactly shake him! Joe Henderson is on the gas! Suddenly Albert Pombo (brother to Davey) flips bad in turn one and even gets a small fire going! Pombo decides to leave the bbq, the track goes red and most cars are stopped right at the pits access. A bunch of pit guys run out and start jacking on cars, a big no no! I listen on the scanner as the whole mess gets sorted out and three cars are sent to the back, including Conrad, Richardson and Millar. Bummer in the summer. On the restart is when things really get interesting. The killer instinct is showing for all top four, Rutherford, Wakim, Henderson and Eric Severson. Hey guys, it’s just a b main but nobody’s listening. Wakim is starting his patented slingshots out of turns two and four and this crowd is getting turned on. Rutherford is driving the bottom hard; Severson and Henderson are duking out the third position and now this track seeing some unbelievable racing! Wakim steps it up and he is screaming a half inch off the wall all the way from turn three to turn four! Rutherford misses by the tiniest fraction and Chris takes it away. Can he hold? Wakim is completely insane, Rutherford is possessed, Henderson again gets past Severson, the crowd is going off and… are we are seeing the best five laps of the entire evening? We can all argue about that later! Chris Wakim blasts the finish line with Rutherford, Henderson and Severson in that order. That’s my kind of racing. How can a stupid semi be this good?

Sitting Out The Qualifying Laps

Photo: shootsprint

Bandit-VRA Main Event

I only have two small constructive criticisms for the awesome crew at Santa Maria. First, what’s with the trophy girls? Isn’t that kind of last century? Isn’t it going to look weird when Heidi Tresler comes up in a year or two and wins a main event? Are they going to put the trophy girls up next to her? Second, you gotta do something about those pit crews dashing for the infield right before the main event. That looks kinda dangerous and I remember the same thing last year. All night I listened on the scanner while you folks ran the tightest ship. In any case, that really caught my attention.

Twenty two cars, perfect summer evening, sprints circling the track as lazily as the bugs in the arc lights. Jesse Mack pulls off with drive line problems and alternate Eric Severson moves from that B main fourth place into the big show. Hard working Scott Holder calls the line up right, Dave Swindell blesses the track and at 10:10 the hammer comes down…Trimble’s car breaks coming out of the shoot, some front end problem and we are yellow.

Restart, we are double wide and Kevin Kierce takes them into the hole shot. Espinoza and Davey Pombo are right there with him and here comes Jeff Fiscus and Mike Knopf! Watching the wide angle, it’s immediately apparent that Pombo and Knopf are very fast and gaining. It doesn’t take long and Davey Pombo is out front and distancing. But Fiscus is also cranking the volume and nicks Espinoza. The cars are spaced out nicely and we are Pombo, Kierce, Fiscus, Espinoza and Knopf. We are about twenty laps and moving fast when suddenly Jeff Fiscus notches Kierce and starts threatening Pombo. For the second time tonight we are seeing hand to hand combat and now Pombo gets behind a lapped car, Fiscus get under him and moves to first. The crowd is loving this action, especially when Pombo takes it right back! Off in the distance, Jeff Oliver gets turned around and we are finally yellow.

I have to think a lot of drivers were praying for that yellow from exhaustion and no hope of catching Davey Boy. On the yellow laps they decide Kevin Kierce’s tire is flat and send him to the infield. About twenty guys from three different crews swarm the car and get him right back on the track. Albeit from third to the back! In the background I hear ace announcer Jim Pluhar talking about good luck, bad luck and racing luck. This is rotten luck for the hard charging Kevin Kierce. Restart, second position Jeff Fiscus crashes in turn one. That’s it for one of the evening’s star drivers. Bad gets worse. Restart has a cluster cluck in four with Wade, Wakim, Rutherford and Oliver. Wakim gets the hook along with Rutherford; Espinoza gets sent to the infield for a flat and goes from second to the back at fifteen miles an hour! Who’s left from this psychotic shuffling of the cards? It finished seven laps later with the fastest car Davey Pombo in first and die hard Jimmy Crawford in second. Gritty Mike Knopf is third with the great Greg Porte in fourth. Behind them was Taylor, Henderson (incredible), Wade, Kierce (from the back again!), Brian Camarillo (very impressive) and Espinoza. That’s your top ten! Now how about the points?

Davey Pombo Focused

Photo: shootnsprint

Bandit-VRA Grand Slam Points Race

Greg Taylor with his fifth place finish maintains first place in the Grand Slam. Michael Trimble with his DNF drops from second to sixth. Jimmy Crawford moves from fourth to second with his decisive second place last night. Kevin Kierce moves from fifth to third. Troy Rutherford drops from third to tenth with his DNF. Luis Espinoza moves from ninth to fourth. Ron Wade made a massive move from eighteenth to fifth. That’s your top five.

Even though Davey Pombo won the main event last night, he missed the first race and is currently in seventeenth position for points. vrafan.com should have all the details up by the time this is posted (Monday morning or afternoon). Or check out the excellent scrafan.com.

VRA Sprints Points Race

Luis Espinoza told me last night “this point thing sucks!” That’s the right attitude, Luis. As soon as you get fond of being the point’s leader, it will turn around and bite you like a bad dog. In the meantime, Luis is holding back the bristling pack with a 620 point lead over growling Jimmy Crawford. Troy Rutherford was the unlucky dog last night dropping from second to fourth. Third place is Greg Taylor, pulling himself up hand over fist, week after week. Kevin Kierce maintains his fifth position, now right behind Troy. Incredible race to the trophy, all five are within striking distance. Fifteen races completed with eight to go.

Santa Maria Speedway

I love the Santa Maria Raceway! From the gentle guy on the pit gate to the friendly food service, I was knocked out by these professionals. The track management leans to high tech, with the savvy Jay Schlemer interviewing the right people with the right questions over the PA system. What a database to work from! The Bandits are stuffed with world class talent, with the soft spoken Davey Pombo showing everybody how fast that speedway is! Most of all, you can really feel the positive vibe the track seems to be humming to. I got to meet Nettie Fort’s son, Larry Ulam at the end of the evening. He has turned over management to Dave Swindell with excellent results. I asked him how next year looks. “Real good!” he says with a big grin. “Real good!

”Steinbeck Country

Photo: Frank Bigham

posted: 7:27 PM