surfnsprint

The Sticking Place

The more I watch this Shakespearian drama, the deeper and better it gets. I used to be a sprint snob, but now the other classes are starting to stain my brain. Drivers like Bill Van Praag in the Senior Dwarfs are knocking me out! How about the way Compact driver Randall Dougan went down swinging Saturday night? How amazing was that? Maybe I need to calm down, but Cliff, Jammy and Jim won’t let me! Right now, I got so much information to deliver we are going to skip the storyline and get down to the fast facts. Or as Shakespeare says, “More matter, with less art”….

All Thrill and No Fill
Greg Alexander Gets A Little Overexcited Coming Out of Turn One

Holy Grip! What are you doing to that track, Jimmy?! One hundred and twenty something cars couldn’t put a dent in it. It was sticky from heat to beat. A couple of notable moments went down early. Justin Kierce pulled down his first heat race victory in convincing fashion. Later went to the pole and handled it like a pro. Lots of silent admiration all around. Greg Alexander was a little tight in the same heat and had a spectacular meet and greet with the wall. Almost got over. Put it back together for the semi but it wasn’t the same. That’s some crew! Another incredible endo by dwarf car driver Jeff Fillingame coming out of turn three. Truex says it was the heaviest dwarf flip in a long while. The heats ended with a ferocious drag race between Chris Wakim and Mike Spencer. Started with five cars but the last four laps were between two nonchalant rockets. Literally an inch apart all through turn four and Wakim takes it by the paint on his nose cone. Cool.

Trevor Fitzgibbon Backs It In With The Best of Them

Senior Dwarfs kick it and Jim Scribellito aces it. Bill Van Pragg steps up. They are battling in the turns when Van Pragg gets a beautiful slide on Scribo. Now it’s Van Pragg, Scribellito, Lynch and Ed Niedzwiecki racing in heavy traffic. A yellow as youngster Dave Revard slips in turn one. Gripping restart and Scribellito clears Van Pragg on the bottom. Niedzwiecki is still tough in third and Jon Prechtl has shown up in fourth. Scribellito still in control as Van Praag has the slightest slip coming out of four. Niedzwiecki trys too hard and hits the wall. It’s checkered with Scribellito, Van Praag, traffic and Jon Prechtl. John Lynch has fought all the way from the back for fourth. Tom Bellinger is top five. Just the most inspiring effort from Van Pragg all night long….

Bill Van Pragg Delivers Racing Inspiration

Pro dwarf starts with Lars Wolfe on the pole and he gets out front. Dillon Hume and scrappy Marc Lippert are also in. Brian Saxton and Brent Stevens are also coming from the fourth row and it doesn’t take long. Tremendous three wide battle with Wolfe, Hume and Saxton. Stevens and Lippert are also digging. Lippert is wounded in turn three. He leaves the track. We refire and Saxton is quick on the bottom for the lead. Michael Sweeny Jr. and Randy Dyer are caught kissing in two and go to the back. A couple more starts and stops but it’s all about iron man Brent Stevens trying to catch Saxton ahead of a very persistent Ray Estrada. At the end, the Saxton rules with Stevens in second, Ray Estrada proud in third, Jeff Shelton surviving in fourth and resilient Dillon Hume top-five. Get down!

Kenny Kirkpatrick Races Damon Redman In The Heat

Quick results on kids, mods, sports and weather! Cole Wakim takes Piston class for the second time in row! Ripping Ricky Lewis for Superchargers. Michaela Stanton wins Junior Midgets. Visiting from Santa Maria, some fantastic IMCA Modified drivers with Kenny Kirkpatrick getting his first Ventura victory. I promise better write ups next time (I can’t fit it all in!). Sport Compact’s featured a do or die effort by Randall Dougan, but Joel Chavez will not be denied. Don’t forget Pacific Vibrations, the insane crash tape by Loudpedal Productions (I can’t stop watching it!). If none of this makes any sense to you, just join the fantasy league on vrafan.com and run your own dang raceway. And what’s with all the shirts Naylor gives away every Saturday. Do you have anything in tall?…

Junior Midget Driver Micheala Stanton Is Fastest

Richard McCormick Is An Early Season Standout

Justin Kierce took the pole in the VRA Sprint Main Event and drove it like a wily veteran. He took care of the bottom and front row Chris Wakim took it to the top. World class Mike Spencer came up hard from the third row and quickly got behind Wakim. Justin held strong for a while before falling to a fast Eric Severson. Now here comes Rick Hendrix and he gets around Severson. It’s Wakim being chased by the Blue Man Group (Spencer in the Hendrix rental and Hendrix himself). Spencer is tightening the vise but Wakim is throttled. The track is fast. First yellow hits with a wrenching flip by Brian Camarillo that sucks in Clark Templeman III. Templeman is sure working through some messy luck. Eight laps completed. Restart and Wakim holds with Hendrix sliding Spencer for second. Oren Prosser Jr. spins in turn three for the second yellow. Green and Spencer returns the slide to Hendrix reclaiming second. Further back, Richard McCormick and Kevin Kierce are making big moves. It’s Wakim, Spencer, Hendrix, Severson, McCormick and Kierce. Thrilling racing on a sticky track and Wakim can barely contain Spencer. Luis Espinoza is sneaking into the top five as Spencer finally slides Wakim. It’s Spencer, Wakim, Hendrix, Severson and McCormick. Spencer is creeping ahead as Wakim and Hendrix slug it out. Hendrix makes a move and gets ahead, but it is called back when Brent Camarillo gets turned around in two. Twenty-five completed. They stick about five lapped cars between Spencer and second place Wakim.

We fire and it’s Spencer way out and Hendrix nixes Wakim for second. Something malfunctions on the Hendrix car; Rick falls out of top five. Espinoza makes his move and advances. The flag comes down on Mike Spencer, Chris Wakim, Luis Espinoza, Richard McCormick and Rick Hendrix. Special thanks to Mike Spencer for visiting his Ventura fans. Check out Rick Hendrix. You too can rent the car that Spencer drove and be coached by three time USAC Champion Rick Hendrix (rickhendrixracing@earthlink.net). This track is a freaking gold mine!

Mike Spencer Wins

Next Saturday is the opening race of the All Coast Construction 3-2-1 Challenge. I spoke with All Coast President Mike Grosswendt (he really is a splendid fellow) and he hopes the bigger purse will bring more attention to the first class racing at Ventura. Two thousand clams for a win should also help a deserving driver. Thanks to Jack W. Thomas for his excellent volume on the quotes of Shakespeare. Although William the Bard wrote hundred of years past, he was surely thinking of sprint car drivers when he admonished his audience to “screw their courage to the sticking place!”

rickhendrixracing@earthlink.net

posted: 1:53 PM