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saturday july12th 2008

Wow! What happened? It’s like the Sixties, if you remember what happened you weren’t there! I think it was a race but it was more like a raging party. Clark Templeman grabbed some monkey and threw it out a window! Fans were dancing in their seats. Dwarfs were rioting (“we’re people too, we want our laps!”). Taylor played hooky. Cars in the pits tore down the “Maximum Capacity” signs. Sheri Be Bop spiked the punch bowl. All Coast was smoking in the boy’s room. Teacher got really mad. Sack started a fire and Richie Rich went to the head of the class! And in the Change Your Nickname Department, Luis Espinoza shall now be forever known as “Four Wide”!

All Thrill and No Fill
Bobby Michnowicz. You saw him fighting up front at the Chili Bowl, now you can see him at Ventura Raceway. Ron Bach continues to showcase the most talented drivers on the West Coast.

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The Stands Started To Fill Up Early

Fans packed the stands Saturday night and there really is enough blame to go all around! vrafan.com hosted the New Fan Challenge and some Dodger dude and his delighted girlfriend walked out of the announcer’s booth with five hundred fun tickets! But the real heavy lifting was done by a hardcore group of dedicated fans that are constantly working it. Lee Elder has been knocking out the headlines for months. Rich Romine is our man at the County Star, producing article after article trumpeting Ventura racing news. Lance Jennings spreads the good word day after day at scrafan.com and is so generous to Ventura Raceway. Runbull, Jammy, Scott, Sweeny; the list goes on and on. Not to mention the savvy promoter who developed the concept of a three race series and sold it to All Coast. Who with his skilled staff took about a hundred and forty cars and ran classic racing from five-thirty until ten p.m. I’m talking about real dirt pounding wheel knocking teeth rattling fighting from the front to the back in your face open wheel racing. All Coast had one hundred and fifty personal friends in turn one and they crawled out of there exhausted. I hope they get some rest because the next New Fan Challenge will be here August 30th with the D’Angelos Shoot Out! Don’t even try to shut me up!

Jake Hodges Made a Brief But Spectacular Appearance

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Hard Charging Oliver Blades Is Top Five In Points

The new fans went crazy when the kid’s classes hit the track. “How old is that driver!?” they kept asking me? Point’s leader Cameron McCauley won the Pistons after a scoring error originally named Oliver Blades as the winner. Cole Wakim and Nick Velasquez follow Cameron McCauley in the points. I was thrilled to see Cody Major finally win the Superchargers. He has been up front all season and threatening. Persistence (and perspiration) really is the key to winning. Congratulations Cody! Devin McCree and Ricky Lewis are tied for the points lead. Some people think kids shouldn’t be running for points when they’re this young. Whatever, this is going to be a showdown! You need to come into the pits and meet these kids. They will knock you out. Eight races to go.

Cody Majors Rips A First

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Luke Boles And His Closest Friends

VRA Junior Midgets went fifteen laps with Luke Boles taking down the house. Cameron Dougan took second and Tyler Jerman was third. At the end of the first race of the season, Luke Boles was at the bottom of the points. After Saturday’s party, he has moved into the points lead just ahead of Brennan Rogers and Cameron Dougan. So many other great racers also in this class, Valenzuela, Helland, Stanton, Clark, Figueroa….it doesn’t end. “Can I drive a car?” my daughter asks? You bet you can.

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Kevin Alverson and Dave Hume Play Rough In The Dirt

I have to admit I didn’t see all of the Senior Dwarf Main Event; I had a party going in turn one that was getting out of control. I remember seeing some hard racing and some bad flips. It’s so unusual to see dwarfs flip. George Sack’s car caught fire and I hear Runbull put it out! I know that Tom Bellinger grabbed the flag with point leader Kevin Alverson crossing second. I suspect Kevin is a bit bored with second place. He’s still looking to drive his point home in first. Laps were clipped and Dwarfs were ticked off.

Tom Bellinger Is Looking Comfortable In The Winner’s Circle

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Not Much To Look At But It’s A Rocket

VRA Pro Dwarfs featured another classic duel between Brian “Flying Brian” Saxton and Angel Figueroa in his flat yellow #1v (looks like a low security prison cell). Their matches are becoming Saturday night legend. Ray Estrada was huge all night with Eric Alton, Greg Goodwin and Lars Wolfe all in the fight. There is no more sophisticated or exciting racing than Saxton and Figueroa dicing traffic in the last lap of a Dwarf Main Event at Ventura Raceway. The whole joint was having a heart attack! Saxton takes this one. Stay tuned Suzy Q.

Brian Saxton For President

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Alex Bowman Cuts Loose in Ventura

Speedy Tyler Edwards won VRA Junior Focus Main Event. This talented brat from Oklahoma hasn’t won since the first race of the season. But he is coming on strong now and trying to catch point leader Charlie Butcher. Andrew Mulhearn was fast in second and David Perry Jr. snagged third.

In the USAC Ford Focus division veteran drivers Bobby Michnowicz, Walt Johnson and Wally Pankratz went out and spanked every kid in sight. Walt Johnson was shining from start to finish and only fell when Michnowicz made a hyper speed pass coming out of four (freaking fast reflexes). Michnowicz, Johnson, Pankratz. All of these guys are deep in racing history and lore. Buy Loudpedal and show your grandkids in 2025. You were there.

Don’t Get Me Started On The Great Michnowicz

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We’re Having A Party

Richard McCormick continues his stellar season by blasting into the lead. Clark Templeman III was clearly fast in second, Luis Espinoza and Alex Schutte were both in there scrapping. Heat winner Crawford goes to the back. Restart and right away it’s clear this is a battle between Richardson and Templeman. Templeman starts to slowly reel him in but Richardson is brilliant on defense. Clark seems patient. Rick Hendrix starts ratcheting up! Some heavy guns start moving up from the middle and that would be Rutherford, Kierce, Conrad (from way back) and that young punk Brandon Thompson. Bobby Michnowicz is also moving. Rutherford and Kierce are in hand to hand combat, Kierce breaks and is gone (three DNF’s in a row has put his point lead on the bubble). Templeman finally gets a clean slide on McCormick and is leading about ten to go. Guy Woodward gets loose in two and gathers Rick Hendrix and Justin Kierce. Templeman gets a little ahead in real estate, McCormick is vicious protecting number two and it’s a hell raising three-way battle for third, Espinoza, Rutherford and Michnowicz! But bionic Steve Conrad has muscled his way from eighteenth to the front five and he again crashes the party. Espinoza slips as the last laps run down. It flags Templeman (trashes a two year curse), McCormick (due), Rutherford (now leads the 3-2-1 points, could probably care less), Conrad and Michnowicz! Templeman stuffs two thousand flippers in his pocket and kindly thanks the All Coast folk. All Coast will be back November 15 and it’s going nuclear. Trust me; get your helmets on already.

I Think We Finally Nailed The Templeman Group Photo

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Under this short gray hair I really am an old hippie. I love anarchy, change and a new way of looking at things. I get it when the Colonel and others on the message board stand up and speak some hard truths (I dig Nate, completely irreverent!). But I’m also standing with the tried and the true, the tough crew that busts butt week after week and makes the magic happen. You are all cut from the same cloth; it’s some kind of fireproof driving suit material. Some kind of wild went down Saturday night. It really was glorious imperfection. I come from a family of eight kids so I’m used to all this fighting. When those cars spontaneously went four wide at the start of the 3-2-1 Challenge, I saw that tall guy on the top of the tower, pumping his fist at the sky along with two thousand other racing nuts. It was electric, we were all hooked up and it was all one family’s fighting pride.