surfnsprint

 

Saturday june 21 2008

 
Soda field soaking, I’m lost in the frothy cool of summertime racing. Smelling early morning pine and chaparral, diving into cold salt and thrill bombers. What’s more soulful than a southbound train blowing, push trucks and Hoosiers trying to grip mud? Summer has always been about revolution, the young and the restless. Rickenbacker guitars, loud motors and gritty seat time. Look at the moon on the ocean, the tear offs fluttering in the breeze. I see old men prevail, young fools chatter and women toss their hair back in yearning. The price is pain, the prize is vapid and the journey is free. Some young mechanic darts onto the moving track and tries to screw down Rodarte’s loose body panel. Morris snarls and chases him away…. I am so cracking up……  All Thrill and No Fill Richard McCormick In the Shadows In the shadows of Brian Camarillo’s determined charge and win Saturday night in Ventura was a brilliant display of driving by Richard “Iron Man” McCormick. He bumped into the back of Espy and they hooked bumpers. After going to the pits and sorting things out, they both returned to the back of the pack. Whatever changes Espy made didn’t really work out. McCormick’s car, on the other hand, was on fire. He drove from the back to the front and was the only car to seriously challenge Camo. Probably bruised a couple of feelings on the way, but for fans like me; this is why we fork over the dollars. Beautiful. Didn’t know Richard was a cancer survivor until Naylor interviewed him. Double beautiful.  He Didn’t Come to Finish Second -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Hungry I could watch Randy McGraw race all day long! He just attacks the track with a hunger few seem to match. The real compliment is the level of his competition. Rodarte squared, Redman, Reeves, Greiman, Parker, Prows; these guys will take your head off. Too bad I don’t have more time, I could write a novel about Saturday’s feature. In the meantime, Randy, could you move a little closer to the car for this picture? “No”, he growls, “I’m not a model, I’m a race car driver.” I’m not going to argue with that.  We’re Not Models -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Eric Chambers Drives Clean Two new drivers hit the track this week and I’m stoked. Every new driver helps and we picked up some winners. Eric Chambers in the Hammer Motorsports Double Nickle finally hit the track. Eric started out working for the Kruseman driving school. He was attending college and graduated from the Caterpillar Mechanics School. He spent a few years in the Midwest wrenching for top teams including Cole Witt. He runs the All Coast Construction motor pool and is the new driver for Hammer Motorsports #55. Check out hammerbrosracing.com for the full story. I dig Bernie and the boys. They got a strong point of view when it comes to racing. In Sport Compacts, new driver Brian “Dirty Bernie” Nelson tore up the track. The interesting part of the story is that I found out Joel Chavez has more than a half dozen sport compacts for rent. He stockpiles the cars and rents them out so the class won’t disappear. I might have to arrange for a company race or maybe all my brothers and sisters. Hmmmm. Anyhow, Dirty Bernie tells me he got the finger from another driver. See, you’re fitting right in!  Dirty Bernie and Everybody’s Favorite Uncle Sean Nelson -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Speed Shaman This is my new favorite photo of Naylor, who hates to be photographed. This picture speaks to me, showing Naylor calling out his one billionth race. Speed shaman, legend, shrink, friend, bedeviled, storyteller and witness to racing history. Long time ago he took a left turn and just kept going. I especially like this picture because that’s his friend Tom Toutz in the background. It is Ventura at it’s best when Naylor throws him a microphone and the two reminisce about glory roads they’ve seen. Check out Thunder Talk in every racing program. Next week we’ll talk about the new rising stars Tom just nominated. In the meantime, these pictures remind me that it’s only a dream.  Beautiful Dream -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Destiny Brian Camarillo wanted it so bad nobody else had a chance. I flat out called it in the tower and Truex will back me on that one. Just about everything in Brian’s long drive rings true like a bell. The countless races to get here, the mindless criticism he took in silence, the great and generous racing organization behind him. The first words he shouted were “thanks Wayne Pardini”. Saturday night was just the beginning of the rest of his racing career. Not since Blake Miller have I expected so much. Congratulations to Brian, Brent, Bill, Wayne and the whole huge crowd over there. Look at these pictures; this isn’t a kid anymore. You saw him at Ventura back when.  How Sweet It Is ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Closing notes: How about Austin Figueroa in his first VRA Junior Midget main event win! Might catch his dad some day. Piston Cameron McCaule locked the Mini Dwarf win. Ditto for Supercharger Devin McCree. Ron Bach in fine form with the VRA Senior Sprints. Darren Gunnell clocked the Sport Compacts. Lastly, Jimmy Arnsmeyer kicked it in the Senior Dwarfs. DON”T FORGET THE NEW FAN CHALLENGE JULY 12. Split five hundred bucks just for showing up with a newbie! How sweet it is! http://www.vrafan.com/surfnsprintpics/621_0067.jpghttp://www.vrafan.com/surfnsprintpics/621_0022.jpghttp://www.vrafan.com/surfnsprintpics/621_0227.jpghttp://www.vrafan.com/surfnsprintpics/621_0055.jpghttp://www.vrafan.com/surfnsprintpics/621_0109.jpghttp://www.vrafan.com/surfnsprintpics/621_0094.jpghttp://www.vrafan.com/surfnsprintpics/621_0072.jpghttp://www.vrafan.com/surfnsprintpics/621_0103.jpghttp://www.vrafan.com/surfnsprintpics/621_0140.jpghttp://www.vrafan.com/surfnsprintpics/621_0030.jpgshapeimage_2_link_0shapeimage_2_link_1shapeimage_2_link_2shapeimage_2_link_3shapeimage_2_link_4shapeimage_2_link_5shapeimage_2_link_6shapeimage_2_link_7shapeimage_2_link_8shapeimage_2_link_9
 
 
Made on a Mac
next
28_The_Best_Kind_of_Bandit.html
 
../../../Blog.html
previous