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I feel like a king. My truck put on a few more miles and made it to Bakersfield. I got a bunk lined up at the local flophouse (yeah it’s got high speed internet access). Now I’m at the Bakersfield Speedway! They call me Press and wave me into the pits. Espy lets me hang at his trailer. I trade a few of my bologna sandwiches for a chair to sit in. It feels like a throne. I’m sitting with Super Dave and he’s telling me “I just like working on race cars”….hmmm, I’m thinking…looking around at maybe thirty or forty race cars....some of the fastest drivers in the state getting ready to go off…. me and Super Dave grinning like a couple of kids as we’re sitting in the middle of this beautiful mess….

Greg Taylor Bites Down On Bakersfield Clay
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We headed over to the drivers meeting where Cliff laid out the rules. Preacher got a prayer in and we were ready to start racing. We had to wait a bit for the ambulance to arrive and then they started rolling cars. “Prayer and an ambulance” I thought, “that’s all you really need”. They ran hot laps and then we jumped on the qualifying. Peter Murphy tore quick time at 13.787. Davey Pombo second fastest, Greg Taylor third also in the 13’s, Josh Ford fourth in the low 14’s with Rick Hendrix right behind him. Peter, Davey, Greg and Josh were all in the hunt at the end…..

Bakersfield Track Steward “Ivan” Gave Everybody Leadership and a Safe Track
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Heat One sprints Jonathan Henry spanked everybody, including talents Marcum, Severson and Hendrix. Just a kid! Peter Murphy had car problems, pulled off and will go the semi…Heat two had a fantastic battle between Pombo and Kierce…Pombo finally passed but Kevin gave as good as he got…. Heat three had lots of groping and inappropriate behavior…Taylor separated himself from the pack and ran away…. Heat four was all about the incredible driving skills of Jesse Mack. He just got up and gone…. VRA Senior Dwarfs heat one had Bill Van Pragg able to brag….Jerry Doolittle gave him a chase but…Heat two had Ed Niedzwiecki putting the freaky on Gary Conditt….VRA Pro Dwarfs heat one had Brent Stevens clipping Greg Goodwin and heat two put Jim Scribellito in front of iron man Rob Anderson. VRA Mini Dwarfs heat one had Ethan Dotson clear Zachary Gilmore and the consistent Tyler Jerman beat Sam Hanley. The kids are having fun! Great program……The VRA Sprint Semi Main was just a warm up session for Peter Murphy… Ray Knight, Ryan Guy, Bill Jones, Joey Laymen and Jim Thomson never completed the first lap! Three restarts, Dennis Rodriquez and Guy Woodward didn’t finish either. Transfers included Murphy, Hendrix, Nock, Hawthorne, Tressler and Demott. Two reds, assorted yellows, a couple of black flags; it was brutal! My heart goes out to anyone who made the long drive and hauled home a pile of parts. You are Kings…

VRA Senior Dwarf Driver Ed Niedzwiecki Rips Turn Three
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The kids kicked off the main events. VRA Mini Dwarfs had Zachary Gilmore aced the younger set (Pistons), Wyatt Schaffer captured first for the older set (Superchargers). Check out the winner’s photos and tell me this isn’t a gas! VRA Senior Dwarf Cars showcased Bill Van Pragg doing his best to reel in strong man Ed Niedzwiecki to no avail. They are in a pitched points battle in which Ed is also maintaining a razor thin lead. I want to spend my golden years spinning laps! VRA Pro Dwarf threw down a monster race where Jimmy Scribellito used a nearly flat right rear tire to beat off all comers, especially Rob Anderson and Brent Stevens. Jeff Shelton and Greg Goodwin were also in the brawl. Awesome drive by the “Scribenator”! Sorry Jim, didn’t get a decent photo! A gentle darkness was settling over the Bakersfield Speedway. This track is a beautiful set up, with grass in the infield and in front of the concession stands. Gently swaying eucalyptus line the back of the stands, which are big sweeping concrete steps loaded with lawn chairs and happy families. Down in the pits, twenty-two maniacs are locking in…

Caption: Zachary Gilmore / How I Spent My Easter Vacation
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Wyatt Shaffer Wins at Bakersfield and Can’t Wipe the Grin Off His Face
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Let’s spread a little credit around…. VRA Bandit Grand Slams are my favorite races of the year and thanks to big bad Cliff Morgan for making this baby happen. What an incredible opportunity for the fans to see more of the talent spread all over this great state! Extra and heartfelt thanks to Scott Schweitzer and his talented staff for hosting the first round. Everybody I met at this historical raceway was professional, kind and helpful. Sorry about spilling the Pepsi in that push off Jeep. Thanks for the ride.

Check Out the Speed, the Power, the Control; This Is Davey Pombo
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The talent for VRA Bandit Grand Slam was so deep they oughta call it the Grand Canyon Slam. Everywhere I look I see greatness! Pombo, Taylor, Kierce, Ford, Murphy, Stansberry, Carlile…it goes on and on….Jesse Mack on the pole, Josh Ford second row, Taylor and Pombo third row….is there any racing moment purer than right before the flag drops, twenty two cars all perfect and full of piss and vinegar, all potential winners?...twenty two engines unleash and Jesse Mack shoots the hole…Tom Stansberry is right there and I swear I can hear that Taylor engine go full throttle…Peter Murphy is clearly in the hunt…Mack gathers more real estate with Stansberry, Taylor and Murphy scrambling…Ron Tjaarda spins and we are yellow, the knot tightens…green and Taylor gets on the gas and notches Stansberry, Murphy also gets up on him and it’s Mack, Taylor, Murphy, Stansberry and Josh Ford….cushion looks wobbly but that’s where the action is…Stansberry continues to fade and Josh Ford moves up one… Espinoza’s got no brakes and gets the hell out of there… Track has been dry slick since the kids ran and it doesn’t look to be taking rubber. These guys are fast irregardless….Mack clearly out front with Taylor holding off Murphy, Stansberry and Ford dueling…Here comes Davey Pombo and Eric Severson…further back Trimble, Kierce and others are slugging it out, tough crowd and if you aren’t running top five it’s rougher… Jayson May spins for the second yellow and again the noose tightens. Line up on the yellow is Mack, Taylor, Murphy, Pombo and Ford. Nineteen laps are completed with eleven to go…hammer down in baking town…clean start and everybody is swinging high except Murphy, he senses it’s now or never and launches a full frontal assault on the bottom…it almost looks like it will work… meanwhile Mack, Taylor and Pombo keep launching out of one…suddenly Severson hits the wall on the front straightaway and we are yellow with five laps to go…green then instant yellow on a massive muck up in turn one…. between the two incidents; Severson is gone, May is gone, Tjaarda is gone, Stansberry is gone, Carlile is gone…One more line up, five laps to go and we are green in a game of high speed poker…Mack is leading up high, flanked by Taylor and an increasingly insistent Pombo, Murphy is grinding the bottom and Ford is giving them all hell…Trimble is also pulling up a chair…suddenly….for whatever reason after driving a perfect race, Mack drops to the bottom on lap twenty seven and Greg Taylor seizes the moment ( “waiting for a mistake” he tells me later). He takes his U.S. patented turbo charged high line and blasts past the twenty seven-lap leader. End game.

Do You Think The Civilians in His Life Know?
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When I look at this photo of Davey Pombo, I wonder what happens when he takes off the driving suit and shows up at work in his normal clothes. Do his co workers know that this gentle looking guy may be the most natural race car driver I’ve ever seen? Does the waitress serving him coffee know what an incredible world talent this guy is? When Greg and the rest of these natural born killers are walking in the regular world how do they talk to people about this stuff? How can you explain a lap twenty-seven shut out to someone who wasn’t in Bakersfield? These guys are kings in a world of suits. Last night Greg Taylor rose to the occasion and was first among equals. Fastest in Oildale, he ruled among the Kings of Bakersfield.

Taylor Racing, First Place, First Class, Thanking Their Sponsors, They Know It Takes a Team
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