surfnsprint

I don’t want to sound prejudiced but I just think race folk are a better class of people. Traveling through the pits I seem to run into one good person after another. Pit crews help each other out. Blow an engine and somebody’s got one. Don’t have to dress up, although I’ve seen some mighty fine fire suits. And despite all the dust and sweat and fumes I just breathe better at the track. But the main reason I hang around is that you see so many moments of greatness. Hard to define exactly where or when, you just have to be alert. It may be a turn of a wrench, a flick of a steering wheel or a pass in the back corner of turn three. Lots of greatness last Saturday in Ventura as Jim Naylor celebrated his Thirty Year Anniversary! Push off and let the clutch out….

All Thrill No Fill. Hard to quantify just how great Kevin’s performance is this year. Someone on the Taylor crew chuckled and wryly noted
“when is that old man going to join the seniors; he’s been a pain in our @#& all year!”

Dennis Rodriquez shows his Eldora souvenir.

If you haven’t checked out the Trifecta contest at vrafan.com you might want to fire up the computer. To get the 500 bones, you might want to throw down Dennis Rodriquez. At least that’s what a lot of people think. Dennis has been charging the front and rocking the odds. Quite a story here; started at Ascot when he was eighteen with no previous experience (his dad drove in the first and the last race at Ascot). Mom owned the car. Moved to CRA and became youngest Rookie of the Year. He was running top five at legendary Eldora back in 1992 when he crashed and coma’d for three weeks. Tore up the body pretty good. Didn’t race for five years then started poking around. He found Ventura in 1997 and swears he will run here until they close the gates. Live in Camarillo and arranges film financing. Wants to talk about his sponsor Jim Richardson and his pit crew. Crewmember tells me that when Dennis the Menace was a kid and his parents would ground him, he would sneak out and take the bus from Glendale to Ascot. That’s greatness.

Danny Miller Steps Up and Shows Everybody

Senior sprints survived a black out and pushed off. Seventy-two freaking year old John Richards took the pole and blasted down the front stretch. Bob Alderman, Danny Miller and brother Wiley Miller took one good stuffing after another as they tried to get by the wicked veteran. Wiley and Danny finally took him but lost it on a yellow. On the restart they get it back and it’s a brother’s battle. Danny is high performance as he bests Wiley at the finish line. Crowd is rocking in the turn one grandstands. Steve Stassa leads the points but only thin air separates him from Danny Miller, Bob Alderman, Bruce Douglas and Wiley Miller. Maybe the closest points race ever! Ron Bach had the most passes (but not enough!). Gotta do an article soon on John Richards.

Starter Phillip Stevenson herds VRA Mini Dwarfs

When the kids hit the track a huge roar lifts from the grandstands. Give a raise to whoever figured this out. Ripping Ricky Lewis won the VRA Mini Dwarf Piston Class. Hard driving Cris Noe worked hard for second. Ricky also leads the point’s race. In the Supercharger division it’s Riley Helland’s world. Cameron Dougen parked in second. Tyler Jerman is right behind Riley in the point’s race.

Riley Helland adds another trophy to the shelf.

Amanda Green continues to chew up Ventura dirt. She took the checkered in VRA Junior Midgets for the second race in a row. She is within striking distance of point’s leader Jessica Clark. Jessica took second place and Michaela Stanton was third. Grit, poise and skill are all on display. What is greater than confidence won on a racetrack?

Legendary promoter congratulates future legend Ripping Ricky Lewis.

Duct Tape, Spit and Heart

Ed Niedzwiecki got right on it and pulled away. I turned to my friend in turn one and said “they’re never gonna catch him.” We watched as that tough knot of a guy attacked that track from beginning to end. Incredible drawn lines, excellent traffic control, an almost beautiful viciousness until he finished that race. What a great performance. Outstanding drivers Bill Van Pragg (most passes coming from fourteenth), Dave Hume and Jon Prechtl finished behind him in that order. Ed’s also on top in points.

Pro Dwarfs blast off. Jim Scribellito and Ken Lippert were center stage with an incredible cat and mouse run. Early challengers were Curt Cook and Ben Sheen. Here comes Rob Anderson back from an early bobble. Now Brian Saxton is moving up. Intense three-way battle between Scribe, Lip and Sax. Ben Sheen and Brent Stevens are just as bad fighting for fourth. These are small cars with big attitudes. Scorching finish as Mark Lippert takes the flag with Brian Saxton notching second. Jim Scribellito is third (and point’s leader) with tenacious Ben Sheen prevailing in fourth. Ray Estraela had the most passes. Checked out Mark (program says Mark, fire suit says Ken?!?!?) Lippert in the winner’s circle and this is a guy I want to get to know. Lunatic! Greatness.

Mark or Ken Lippert, not really sure which one showed up!

Derek Buckley and Dennis Rodriquez Are In Your Face.

The VRA Sprint Main Event launched like a bottle rocket. Front row Dwayne Marcum and Rick Hendrix fought all the way through turn one. Kevin Kierce looked like a comet coming from the third row. Luis Espinoza made it clear he was in. He tagged with Troy Rutherford in turn four and Troy was gone by turn two. Dwayne Marcum has the lead and he’s in no mood to let it go. Kevin Kierce has other ideas and he slides into second. Hendrix is third and there’s Steve Conrad in fourth, totally gassing it. Espy is fifth with Greg Taylor already up from eleventh to sixth! The ground is shaking. A lot of people don’t like slide jobs, claim they are hard to control. No body told Greg Taylor and he fades Espy in turn two. Kierce is pressuring Marcum and Hendrix is hanging third. Now Taylor fades Conrad in turn two. Further back semi main winner Eric Severson is moving up from the thirteenth slot. Lotta heart. Now Taylor fades Hendrix in turn two.

Marcum and Kierce are killing it. Now Taylor passes a bumper sticker that says “if you are Greg Taylor just honk and I’ll move over”. Actually the front-runners are in traffic with Marcum and Kierce in lockstep with Taylor and Hendrix also matched up. How well you run traffic is critical. Marcum teammate Brandon Thomson stuffs Kierce repeatedly as Marcum dodges traffic. Kierce is unrelenting and gets by Brandon. Espy gets Hendrix and is fifth behind Conrad. Conrad fourth behind Taylor. Taylor comes in low and sliding and pulls his final fade on Marcum. It’s now Kierce, Taylor and Marcum. Conrad was fourth but blows a rod out the bottom of his pan and makes his exit. Espy takes over that position. White flag lap and Kierce and Taylor are feet apart. Kierce grips the bottom of four and flexes his size coming down the straightaway. Taylor had hooked high in four for his slingshot but Kierce is too fast and taking just the right amount of track. At accelerated speeds Taylor just barely pats the butt of Kevin’s car as they pass the checker. Kevin’s car slowly rotates as he passes the cheering grandstands and comes to a gentle stop. In the winner’s circle, it’s just about his storied k2crew.

With the Lights Out

Perhaps the most soulful moment of Jim Naylor’s thirtieth anniversary race came when the lights went out. For twenty minutes or so, with the track’s red safety lights glowing, we sat around that campfire while the scoutmaster talked story. He told about the many helping hands extended over the years. A long tradition of individuals and companies showing up at the right moment with the right tools. A tradition that continues to this day with Alderman building the new pit office. Support Ventura Raceway, It’s Your Raceway.

posted: 3:12 PM