2K For The K2
This article belongs to Kevin Kierce. Not so much about him grabbing the cash last Saturday night. He deserved it. He ran through a tough heat going from the back to the front and battling everybody including his own ferocious kid. Then he ran the main from the pole and got to the finish line faster than anybody else. It was thirty laps full of opportunity to screw up but he ran it like a precision drill. It’s standing in the pits afterwards that you get the full flavor. He must have had four different Kierce sprint cars lined up in front of his trailer. In between glad hands and back slaps, Kevin and son Justin pose with the other drivers that borrowed his cars for the evening. I’m thinking how classic each picture must be, another race, another car, another driver, another trophy, son by his side, loyal crew and friends, another cool story on the K2 Crew never ending race laps…..
All Thrill and No Fill
Kevin And Justin Kierce Battle For Position in Heat Race #1
VRA Junior Focus Midgets will run about fifteen races this year. Saturday was Race #2 and it was Lance Butler jumping from the front row to the lead. David Perry Jr. gave a good chase but he spun out mid race and had to go to the back. It was Sean Dodenhoaf who nearly caught Lance mid race. Last race’s winner Tyler Edwards was running third with Charlie Butcher in fourth. Joe Leiper was trying but after two spins he got the boot.
Lance ran it like he owned it doing sixteen laps without ever relinquishing the lead. Edwards (point’s leader) gave it a hard charge at the end but Lance was already washing his hands. Butler, Edwards, Dodenhoaf, Butcher and dedicated Amanda Green (most passes) in fifth.
It’s VRA Junior Midgets and The Name is Butler
IMCA Modifieds are a special breed. I don’t want to say they’re rowdy, but pack eighteen of these puppies on a track and you got a party! Rick Rodarte shoots the crowd and gets out front. Randy Miller and Danny Lauer are all over it. There’s a mess in turn two and a couple of cars are gone. It goes green and Rodarte loses focus for a moment, Miller and Lauer jump his position. Lauer steals first but here comes Joey Clab. Jack Parker is right behind him. Rodarte is gassing it also. Parker slips through for second but they put him back in third in a new yellow. Green again and its Lauer, Parker (up again), Clab and J.D. Wilson. Wilson is determined and grabs third. Damon Redman is also now making his presence known with a last minute charge. It’s the smash and clash of heavy metal titans. Checkered is flashed and it’s Lauer, Redman, Wilson, Clab and Rodarte (Austin!) for your top five. Damon Redman leads Jack Parker in points with everybody else right there. Damon Redman had the most passes with a mind blowing thirteen. Great job by Danny Lauer! Modifieds! Rowdy!
Danny Lauer And His Central California Crew
VRA Senior Sprints. What a race! Russell Deblauw took the pole and got the lead. But we are yellow with an immediate tangle on the front straightaway. We start again and Deblauw again runs first. But here comes Bruce Douglas in his blue meanie and he is on a tear. By third lap it’s Douglas, Deblauw, Wiley Miller and Cliff Warren. With five laps completed Bob Alderman spins in turn four and we are yellow. On the green restart, Douglas jumps out while Deblauw appears to be sleeping! It Douglas (with a huge cushion), Warren, Deblauw and here comes Ron Bach roaring to the front. Wiley Miller is right behind Bach and he also has something to prove. It’s Douglas, Bach, Wiley Miller and Warren. Deblauw gets messed up in turn two. Seven laps left. Bruce Douglas is out front with a million lapped cars behind him. Bach is somehow gaining through all of this but still lags a quarter track. That Douglas car is set up perfect. Suddenly Wiley Miller catches the bottom in turn three and he goes to the back. Line up shows Brian Williams has advanced to third. Three laps to go and its Douglas versus Bach. Bach is outstanding but the night belongs to Bruce Douglas and his crew. Fast finish with Douglas, Bach, Williams, Dale Harwood (nice) and Danny Miller in the top five. Rob Kershaw had the most passes and Brian Williams rules the points (yeah it’s still early). Unbelievable number of quality drivers in this class. Twenty-four cars showed up. Forget about it!
Fast Car And Bruce Douglas Wants To Share The Credit
Steve Conrad Is A Ventura Raceway Fan Favorite
It’s 9:20 pm and very cool. The track is dry slick. Jim Naylor has an oversized check in the amount of 2K and K2 is on the pole. Kierce gets away clean on the bottom and Steve Conrad swings high. Clark Templeman III spins in turn 4 and we are yellow. Another clean start and Kierce again is clean out front. It’s Kierce, Steve McCormick, John Nock, Conrad and Troy Rutherford. Guy Woodward gets sideways in turn one, Tom Hendricks tries to go around him, the dentist catches Tom’s wheel and face plants on the wall and is out. Hendricks’s is out, Woodward refires. Two yellows and only one lap completed. Somebody’s a little overeager. Green again and it’s Kierce, Nock, McCormick, Oren Prosser Jr. and Conrad. Actually it’s Kierce versus Nock with everybody else further back. Back in fifth place Rutherford is going high looking for a passing lane. He is clearly on the gas; everyone else is just fast. Kierce is grinding the bottom and Rutherford now drops down as he passes Prosser for third place. The track is sealed over, there is not much passing, and it looks like a runaway freight train on the bottom with a wild child conductor. Fifteen laps are completed as Kevin Kierce maintains an iron grip on the throttle. Now we have a battle for second as seasoned Nock holds off Rutherford. Further back, Conrad is doing his best to hold off the new #1 car of Greg Taylor (most passes). Taylor is doing his best to ignite the cushion. Both Nock and Conrad fall and it’s Kierce, Rutherford, Nock and Taylor. Conrad is pounding away in fifth, followed by McCormick, another fast Kierce (Justin) and All Coast standard-bearer Chris Wakim in seventh. It’s a fast train on one track! Five laps to go and no one can catch Kevin Kierce. He’s been doing it forever. There are some sparks flying for second place between Rutherford and Taylor but it’s clean and mean. The laps spin down as age and experience outfox youth and ambition. At the end it’s Kierce, Rutherford, Taylor, Nock and Conrad. Kevin Kierce drives the inaugural All Coast 3-2-1 Challenge to the bank and deposits 2K for the K2.
Kevin Kierce
Another Story On His Road To Glory
