Never Give Up
Racing matters. I’m looking for a fight. I’m looking for sweat. I’m looking for someone who cares about this more than I do. I want to know that the guy who crosses the finish line gave it all away in the first twenty laps and then reached deeper for the last ten. I’m looking for mindless dedication. I’m looking for incessant preparation. I’m looking for effort worthy to be called championship. I want to know that the winner took every hit that came and never complained. Because for some insane reason that I can’t fathom or explain or begin to understand, racing matters….
Caption: All Thrill No Fill. Danny Miller Brings It
Caption: John Richards Is A Punk (in the best sense of the word)
Senior Sprints consistently blow off the barn doors. Huge effort by Tim Moon and John Richards, but Wily Miller and Steve Stassa continue to rule the barnyard. Moon dominated the early laps with Richards challenging. Oren Prosser was in the middle of it all. Wily and Steve both started back but they are pulling themselves up hand over fist. Bob Alderman is out. Danny Miller and Bruce Douglas crossed up and Bruce was out. A mucked up restart clocks Ron Bach (how do you handle your house burning down, Ron Bach goes racing), Bill Leonard and Michael Bliffen. Bach fixes his flat and is back for more. We’re green and it’s still Moon, Richards and Prosser. Fantastic seat gripping action as Wily bears down and passes Prosser. Now we’re three wide as Moon is holding off both Richards and Wily. Richards passes for the lead. Wily passes for the lead. Richards takes it back. We’re banging the seats in turn one. Wily passes again and gets a little scratch between him and the crowd. Now the battle is for second. Steve Stassa has moved into contention and barely bests Richards and Moon at the finish. The crowd is exhausted. Lawn bowling is about a million miles away.
Caption: Jack Parker’s Fourth Place Finish Keeps Him on Top of the Points
Twenty-two long racing limousines pushed off but only seven survived to the end. Cliff pointed out to me that after great races all season, you’re going to get a nasty one eventually. The odds came in and this had more wrecks than Hollywood debutantes. Right away we had a clean up in aisle one that messed up three or four cars. Next there was a sale on T-Bones is aisle four that Rick Rodarte got in on. Damon Redman was leading the race with some hard-core driving. Steve Bulpitt and Bill Waltman were also up front. Gary Curtis and Randy Miller split gas costs by piggybacking down the front straightway. Didn’t really help their positions though. Austin Rodarte is steadily moving forward as is Steve Smith and Jack Parker. Somebody calls 911 as Randy Gens is on fire in the infield. Crash crew takes car of that mess. Fifteen cars left with nine laps to go. It’s Redman, Waltman, Austin Rodarte and Steve Smith all ferocious at the front. Next disaster is in turn one as Curtis and Bulpitt fight for position and collide. Three or four more cars are gone. Redman and Waltman continue to duke it out with Austin Rodarte patiently waiting for his opportunity. Now Randy Miller gets turned around and gathers up Rob Green and I think Gary Curtis? Hi Tech opens a branch store in the infield. At least Vic does, Jack is still out on the track negotiating the debris. Seven cars left and the final green drops with a vengeance. Redman and Waltman are banging so hard going through turn one they take themselves out of the way and let patient Austin Rodarte slide into first. Redman maintains for second, Steve Smith prevails in third, point’s leader Jack Parker slots fourth and John Mead is fifth. The track looks like the Civil War just ended. Top five drivers in points are just bullets apart. Stay tuned.
I missed the Sports Compact Main Event and I’m sorry about that. Randall Dougan took first with Joel Chavez and David Peterson finishing second and third.
Photo Caption: Luis Espinoza Still Hanging Tough
The track has had no consistent watering for the month of the fair and is dry like concrete. Cory is on the roof with us and he’s telling a few Speed Week stories. Racing until midnight, off to the car wash, in bed at four, wake up at ten, on the track at noon, day after day, mind numbing wet heat. “So you wanna be a rock and roll star, then listen now to what I say”. Phillip throws the flag and we’re off. Pole sitter John Nock gets the jump and shoots the hole. John Nock is all guts and no glory. Year after year he shows up and puts in the time. Tonight he’s leading the parade. Greg Taylor also started front row but right away he over steers in turn four and spins to a halt. Chris Wakim, never one to miss a good crash, is right there and slides into him sideways avoiding what could have been much worse. Next Brent Camarillo gets gathered up. Then Brandon Thomson drives past catching an axle and ripping off one of his tires. I heard later he made a donation to the Taylor Racing Spare Parts Fund. Taylor and Thomson are out. Just a few laps later Brent, Chris and Jonathan Henry mix it up on the backstretch and only Camarillo survives. Another green and John Nock continues to set the pace. Josh Ford is running second and going to the top. Dwayne Marcum is running third with Troy Rutherford making noise in fourth. Kevin Kierce is moving up from the fifth row. Both Rutherford and Kierce now pass Marcum. Clark Templeman III, who started next to Kevin, is also making a charge. But John Nock appears unperturbed; he is actually pulling away from Josh Ford he as sticks to the bottom. His car is running flawlessly and he continues to cut the diamond, racing cleanly out front. Now Nock bobbles in four and Ford also fumbles slightly. Rutherford passes Ford for second and Kierce moves into fourth. It’s Nock, Rutherford, Ford and Kierce. Now Rutherford and Ford cross wires and Rutherford is out. Kierce assumes the third spot. We’re green and Kierce takes that third and passes Ford on the bottom for second. John Nock goes high so Kevin takes that spot too and is now running first. Alex Schutte stops in the straightaway and we are yellow. Before we move on one last high five to John Nock for some brilliant driving. Now it’s Kevin Kierce’s world. Kevin has been taking some gas in his point’s battle with some rotten breaks in the recent past. Today he spun twice in his heat race, battled back to qualify and now has gone from fifth row to the front. Now it’s thirteen laps to go and Greg Taylor is fixed and back on the track, avoiding a complete points loss. Kevin gets the green and starts pulling ahead. Nock is holding second. Josh Ford and Clark Templeman are desperately screaming for advantage. Dwayne Marcum (making a difference in Ventura) is still humping fifth. Here comes Blake Miller, who had to go through the semi and started seventeenth, looking for his shot. Uncharacteristically he spins in the infield but keeps going. Last but not least, Luis Espinoza is making a charge on the high berm but gets cut short by engine problems. Back at the front, Kierce is pulling ahead and the battle is for second between Ford and Templeman. Nock is back to fourth and Marcum is trying to fix that. Kierce actually laps a car as he takes the checkers, second goes to hardworking Josh Ford, Templeman in third and Marcum in fourth. Trooper John Nock takes another top five.
Photo Caption: Kevin Kierce Keeps The Blowtorch On
Photo Caption: Best Pits in America
So Kevin Kierce, who had been losing points to Greg Taylor, comes back strong once again. He takes a tough heat race and lifts himself into the main. Takes his fifth row start and fights to the checkered flag. Rips the point’s race back into contention. Sixteen races completed, nine to go. Taylor is unrelenting. Kierce won’t back down an inch. Espinoza concedes nothing. Who knows anything? We’re down in the infield taking pictures and K2 chief Bruce keeps laughing. “What are you laughing about?” I say. He just keeps laughing. “What’s it all about?” I ask in so many words. He looks up at me and smiles. “Never give up.”
