surfnsprint

So This is What the Stands Look Like Full!

Race Day #16

Tuesday August 2^nd at the Ventura County Fair

The VRA Sprint Cars are on hiatus until August 26 to make way for the County Fair. Jim Naylor, the PT Barnum of racing, put on a dynamic show this past week for the fairgoers. Cliff Morgan and the top notch Ventura Raceway track crew ran juniors, ponies, dwarfs and TQ midgets. This is going to be a short affair, surfnsprint is writing an article and there are no sprint cars! It blew my mind to see the stands packed full and even more so to realize they were mostly here for the demolition derby! Not one of these potential fans was going the see the evolutionary peak of open wheel dirt racing, a VRA Sprint Car. I took some aspirin and a couple of notes….

Who needs sprint cars! Chris Olson rips turn one in the VRA Junior Midget #14

photo: Frank Bigham

Quick Trip Through the Pits:

Strange being here on a weekday. Had to leave work early and that’s unusual. Bunch of people everywhere you don’t know, parking is weird and it just doesn’t feel like race night. Pits are discombobulated also. I’m usually anchored by Wakim parking on the point, Luis next to him and Greg across the way. I stumbled around and started running into some familiar sights. The kids were parked in their corner, that’s the VRA Junior Dwarfs and Junior Midgets. The crowds are really enjoying these kids’s racing. I see Mike, Rob, Eddie and a bunch of involved parents helping their kids get it done…. If you missed Cody Codner at the front gate, it’s because he was in the tower working for Scott Holder as a spotter…..Over in dwarf territory, I check out a bunch of drivers including Michael Sweeny Jr., Chris Taylor and George Sack, Jr. They’ve all got interesting stories. I can’t use all the photos I took; I’ll try to post them in the picture section…

The Races:

I’m just going to relate the headlines this week. Let’s make some room for the awesome action photography of Dave Wolf and Frank Bigham.

The VRA Junior Dwarfs got the crowd going with an excellent main event. Austin Figueroa continues to dominate this class with outstanding driving skills. This week had Riley Helland and Devin McCree in second and third.

Austin Figueroa down the line!

photo: Frank Bigham

The VRA Junior Midgets continued with Christian Copley taking first followed by Chris Olson and Charlie Butcher.

That puts Christian back on top of the points, followed by Olson and Ramon Rivas. Exciting driving and great parents power this series. Just check out the photos!

VRA Senior Dwarf Cars had John Lynch taking the checkers chased by Ed Niedzwiecki. Incredibly, they are tied for first in the point’s race. Bill Van Praag and Tom Bellinger took third and fourth.

VRA Pro Dwarfs really fired up the crowd with an incredible battle between Rob Anderson, Chuck Lippert and Brian Saxton. Chris Taylor was dominating early in the race, but a spin put him in the back and he only completed 8 laps. At the end, the wily Brian Saxton overcame this year’s odds to take the flag! Brian and Jeff Shelton are now just behind point’s leader Chuck Lippert.

Brain Saxton in the backstretch!

photo: Dave Wolf

The Pony Stocks were again controlled by front wheel drive. Greg Raap made a rare appearance to gather first place, second and third place going to Joel Chavez and Jack Hoyt. Hoyt is still first place in points. Jim Evans’ consistency has him solid in second, Joel Chavez taking the third spot. Crowd really loved this action.

Classic line up for heat one, the pony stocks.

photo: Frank Bigham

NMRA TQ Midgets served as the final appetizer before the demolition derby. These cars put on a fantastic show for the completely full grandstands. Bruce Hiroshima ran first, West Evans in the second place and Kenny Wiley took third. The NMRA up in the tower does a fantastic job of officiating these little buggers.

Bruce Hiroshima took first place in the NMRA TQ Midgets!

photo: Dave Wolf

Demolition Derby:

I not sure if the demolition derby qualifies as a race? I do know there were no heat races! I do know the crowd was here for this event and they were not disappointed! Looks dangerous. The whole idea is keep your car moving, avoid getting rammed as much as possible and be the last vehicle moving.

Some cars would get smashed, lay dormant for a while and then unexpectedly start moving again. Like they didn’t know they were already dead. Sean McKinney managed all of this to the end with a certain panache and grace. Funny, crazy, totally mad and completely crowd pleasing. I suspect they are still picking the metal out of the track. Not my cup of tea.

Ventura has got it all going, the track and fair.

photo: shootnsprint

I spent most of the evening walking the fair, which is why the race reviews are so thin. I not sure why, but I was drifting and lost in thought. The fair is fantastic; a really vibrant mix of colors and excitement. I took my family the next evening and we really had the best time. But this night I was thinking about sprints and how we can show them to a full house like this. The fair backs up to the track so close that running the sprints presents problems with mud flying. Fair enough, you sure can’t run sprints with those bottom ten grandstand rows full of people. Sprint cars also tend to dominate the entire environment with noise and the staging required. These other classes are more user friendly. I’m glad our hard working promoter, who bleeds for sprint cars, is able to stage a couple of nights for the appreciative fairgoers. Track attendance is up this year. We are building fan base the old fashioned way, one race at a time. Probably better that way. I sure wouldn’t want to fight crowds like I saw Wednesday and Thursday. Something tells me these are the good ole days! But at least I finally know; so this is what the stands look like full...

Here comes the future, the incredible junior classes!

photo: Frank Bigham