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
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
Mike Spencer Wins
Next Saturday is the opening race of the All Coast Construction
rickhendrixracing@earthlink.net
Great
Wild Saturday night in
All Thrill and No Fill
Tim Moon Rips Senior Sprints
How great are the VRA Senior Sprints? I’m stoked with super talented drivers like Bruce Douglas, Ron Bach, Bob Alderman, Danny and Wiley Miller; the list goes on and on. For this week’s season opener dedication and perspiration pulled it out of the hat. Twenty-five hell raisers ran nine man heats and a thirteen-car semi. Ron Bach ran from ninth to first in the semi, but that only got him slotted thirteenth in the main. For the big event, Tim Moon got on the pole and shot the hole. He got clean out front and was chased by Chet Huffman. Rob Kershaw was hot in his heat and brought it to the main. Huffman faded and it was Moon, Kershaw, Brian Williams and Danny Miller. They get up on traffic and Moon goes to the top. Williams nicks Kershaw and Huffman wobbles again but Tim Moon is stretching into a ¼ lap lead. Moon touches the wall but doesn’t blink. He just finishes what he started and sails right past that checkered flag for his first Senior Sprint main event victory. Williams is second, Kershaw third, Danny Miller takes the fourth place points and Wiley Miller claims top five. Must comment on how dedicated and low key the whole Moon racing thing is. This had to be sweet….
Justin Crockett Shows His Colors for the VRA Sport Compacts
VRA Sports Compacts. Seems like they’re always fighting for respect. I agree with Buzzard, they must be a lot more fun to drive than to watch. It’s as if asked, “who do you intend to please with that?” Their reply? “Myself, madam, myself!” Randall Dougan took that firecracker of his and got out in front of Darren Gunnell. Brent Underwood joined the chase along with Roger Sutton. Joel Chavez Jr. got his rear end smashed by…dad!? He went to the infield and took two aspirin. Jess Carlucci notches Sutton for fourth position. Joel Chavez muscles his way back to front but can’t quite catch the Dougan. Randall takes the first checker of the season, Chavez second, Justin Crockett catches third, Underwood in fourth and Sutton settles for fifth. Sport Compacts, the hell with everybody!
Tyler Edwards
Drifted in from
USAC Ford Focus tore off the first race of their series. They will visit
Henry Clark Takes His First VRA Ford Focus Main Event
C. W. Warren Frames Turn Three
I can’t believe how good this year is gonna get. Seriously…crappy piece of hardscrabble dirt with a blown away cushion and it was still a gripping main event. Rock solid new talent everywhere you look and the three best VRA drivers haven’t even showed up yet (that would be Kevin,
John Nock again on the pole. Severson was roommate. Eric hit that throttle and got clean away. Turn four, Errol Sack gets funny, Chris Wakim checks up and gathers half the field. Luis Espinoza, Rick Hendrix, Brandon Thomson, Rusty Carlile, Richard McCormick and Randy Moody are cluster clucked. Carlile, Moody and McCormick politely excuse themselves from the evening’s competition. Thomson, Hendrix and Espinoza go to the back. More about that later. Double wide restart, Severson again to the front. Now it’s Steve Conrad on the gas in second, newcomer Greg Alexander in third and Nockman fourth. Wow, Alexander just passed Steve Conrad. Severson goes high, Alexander goes low and the die is cast. Conrad is third, Nock is fourth, Clark Templeman III is fifth. “Nothin’ left on top” Truex opines and it’s the truth. Alexander perceived the bottom was best and grinded it like a coffeemaker. Severson stuck to the top and doubled down. Although Eric was wrong, it was damn exciting watching him ride the razor’s edge. He hit turns one and three with wild abandon and held nothing back. Beautiful pure racing skill. I was equally entranced with this new kid, Alexander. He took a sow’s ear and ran it like a silk purse. How can an eighteen year old punk (seventh sprint car race) take those conditions and pedal that throttle with such expertise? Conrad, Templeman and Nock are holding. Guy Woodward spins in turn two and we are yellow. Restart and Alexander holds his position. Flashes of brilliance in the middle of the pack from Brandon and Espy. Jimmy Crawford is everywhere! Third place Conrad is putting enormous pressure on second place Severson and finally gets him. Now Nock is third and here comes freaking Espinoza from the back! Yellow on Brent Camarillo getting walled in four. Twenty-seven down and three to go. We launch, Kierce (charging from sixteenth spot) gets crossed in turn two for the final yellow. We are green, white, checker and Greg Alexander continues his perfect drive. It’s Alexander, Conrad (Mr. Ventura), Nock (will be top five all year), Espinoza (he’s back…) and Templeman (solid).
Now here’s what I know about Alexander. Nephew to “the” Alexander Trucking family, who host Tony Jones in the famous Alexander #4. His aunt and uncle were at the track and proud as peacocks. He has been hanging out forever at the family race shack and also spending time and money with Cory Kruseman. This is race #7! Reminds of me of a young Matt Damon and seems humble as pie. Don’t know who his crew is but my hat’s off! What’s better than seeing raw talent! Get up and go watch Greg Alexander race. Welcome to
Greg Alexander
Going Somewhere In A Hurry
Nock Nock
All Thrill and No Fill
Ron Bach Racing Continues to Showcase Great Drivers
Randy Moody
What the Fritos is Pro Dwarf Champion Jim Scribellito thinking? After a classic Pro Dwarf championship year dueling with the erstwhile Brent Stevens he has packed it and moved over to the Senior Dwarfs. What!!?? Well, you got my attention! Last year’s senior champ Ed Niedzwiecki now has a compounded challenge on his hands. Along with his regular nemesis drivers like Van Praag and Lynch, Niedzwiecki will now have to catch the Scribo! They kicked right away. Scribellito took the second row position and put himself in front. John Lynch went down spinning in three. Dave Hume was in the hunt as they cruised through schools of traffic. But it was Ed Niedzwiecki, coming from the third row, that really gave Scribellito a chase. But he just couldn’t quite reel him in. Big Tuna Scribo spit the hook and disappeared across the finish line. Niedzwiecki, Kevin Alverson and Bill Van Praag came in and docked. All the way up in turn one, I could hear Ed scratching his head.
Jeff Shelton in the Blue Seven Two
Pro Dwarf ranks will miss the Scribenator, but they still got plenty of problem kids. Lars Wolfe stepped right up from the pole and held off manic Marc Lippert and brother maniac Brian Saxton. Two twin mojo princes from different mothers. Lee Majors took a radical flip in turn two and walked away. Brent Stevens got on the gas and it was a slugfest. More yellows than a broken stoplight. Wolfe, Saxton, Lippert and Stevens were ripping. Saxton came down the backstretch so hard I thought he was going to break the dirt. He took control and was hunted and hunter through the turns with Stevens. Crowd was all over it! Saxton’s brilliant driving took the flag but Stevens drove like a panther. I imagine him back in the pits licking his wounds.
Reed
(Number One Fan)
Speaking of hiding, IMCA Modified Champion Jack Parker likes to hide right in plain sight. This lone wolf doesn’t need to blow down the house. He can run with the pack and is comfortable in his well-worn #55P. However, lots of pretty shiny metal showed up Saturday and dazzled the senses. Gotta shout out to Joey Clab, Jared Domingos, Damon Redman and Richard Denman. Nice paint jobs! Damon Redman seized the opening moments and nicely held off a determined Richard Denman. It was the redman versus the denman. Redman’s driving is aggressive yet clean. 2007 Rookie of the Year and banquet cutup Austin Rodarte spins and goes flat in turn three. He leaves but gets back on the track. Restart and now the persistent Denman gets up on Redman. His turn to show everybody he’s not just a pretty car. He pulls away and now Redman is fighting off third place Danny Lauer. Parker and Jacob Jones are going at it right behind them. Andrew Grieman spins in turn four with two laps to go. Green white checker restart. Lauer passes for second and Jones passes for third. Richard Denman storms the finish line in first place and is looking real good behind that paint job.
Jim Evans Prepares to Move His IMCA Modified
It’s
Cole Wakim
It’s A Family Tradition
Hammer Down. It’s John Nock on the pole, Chris Wakim outside and talent behind stretched all the way to
Severson gets a nice slide job on Wakim and takes over. Next lap Chris drives into turn two too hard and spins his way to the back. Eleven laps completed, nineteen to go. New green and Templeman wrenches the lead away from Severson. Oren Prosser Jr. spins in turn two and gathers up the rest of Chris Wakim. That gives the lead back to Severson, but Templeman is looking inevitable. But the track is starting to go away. Now Justin Kierce (who up to this moment had been driving an incredibly strong race) gets sideways in four and takes out Guy Woodward, Tony Dighera and Randy Moody (if you’re going to throw a party, may as well invite some interesting people!). Now Severson is still fending off Templeman and look who’s coming back! John Nock has hung tough and seems to be gaining momentum. His right rear apparently has a slow leak and he getting more grip. Suddenly, he really bites and gets past both Severson and Templeman in the backstretch. A ferocious Greg Anderson catches a wheel in turn one and gyrocopters his way out of the race. Restart and Young Turk John Nock is clearly in control. Five laps to go, Alex Schutte and Brent Camarillo tussle in turn two. We launch again and it’s Nock, Templeman, Dennis Rodriquez, Richard McCormick and Jonathan Henry. The track has checked out and everybody’s on the bottom. Henry and McCormick are scuffling. Templeman and Rodriquez are wheel to wheel and something gives. Templeman slides backwards and gathers Severson. D-Rod continues unabated, McCormick chasing third. Final green, three to go and Dennis has one last go at Nock. I don’t think Nock gave it a glance. He drove a clean and smart race as he ran away from everybody. Rodriquez second, McCormick third, Henry fourth. Comeback kid Tom Hendricks locks top five.
John Nock Is Comfortable
Now we all saw some rough driving. It was the first race and a lot of stupid stuff went down. There was an official reprimand and a lot of unofficial muttering. I’m pretty sure things will shape up. I was a little surprised watching an exhausted John Nock climb out of the cockpit and hug his father Jim. He has changed over the off season, not really the awkward driver I remember, he has filled out and looks better with long hair framing his intensive gaze. It’s been neat to watch John grow and excel at racing. They were having a party up in turn one with his Mom and assorted long time fans. Nice way to start the season, new face in winner’s circle. Not like somebody’s breaking down the door, more like Nock Nock.
Looking for
The only question remaining at the end of the tremendous 2007 season was who is going to stop Troy Rutherford in 2008? He caught fire early September and blazed seven out of eight races in
Troy
While everybody else put on their Sunday best and headed out for the annual awards banquet in early February,
I decided to find
A white truck pulled up and out jumped
So the first question is “How do you win seven out of the last eight races at a highly competitive track like
“So are you able to race this year?” I’m wondering…. “Oh yeah, I’m there, just give me a little time, I just want to be 100%, no less….I’m only interested in winning.... second place is just the first loser...” ‘Points’ I ask? “Could care less, I’m only there to win…” How about Perris? “I’m hoping to be in some 410 races, talking to some people….”
Deal with it;
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