surfnsprint

Saturday, September 6, 2008

The story of Ventura is being written and it’s a smoking weeping whodunit. From Chicagoland to the ancient ruins of Gardena, the ghost of Kierce will wander, the students of Kruseman will be legend and if it’s broke Joe Richardson can fix it. If you want to know when you’re having a good time just look at the people surrounding you. Lance the Man quietly wears fact, stats and racing lore like a fine tailored suit. If Mike Spencer is wrenching under a car, I’m scrambling for the best seat in the house. Brian Kittle has his hands shoved in his pockets and surveys his crew. They’re getting the car ready for a championship caliber driver. Jeff Kristenson is in the control tower and you can relax, it’s covered. Jack Jory is strolling around and I’m reminded there is a Chairman of the Board. I don’t know if the track got cut, I’m too busy checking out Chris Holt’s inimitable conversational interviews and marveling at the breadth of his experience. Lord, let me talk to just one hundredth of the drivers he has discoursed. Oh yeah, the story is being written… it’s being jacked, acted, filmed, reviewed, dissected, nominated, awarded and reissued every freaking moment I wander through this four ten wonderland….

All Thrill No Fill
Chairman of The Board Comes To Ventura

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Wags (right) With Barbara Thompson and Bruce Bromme Jr. (left)

God Bless Wags and the relentless helping hand for the hard luck driver. That’s just about the only thing that can upstage the 410’s rolling into Seaside Park. Wags tools around in that polka dot spaceship and he’s got Dean Thompson’s sister Barbara and Bruce Bromme Jr… I’m a newbie and I need all this explained to me, but you Ascot aficionados know the score. It was all about Bruce Bromme and that racing life he defined and excelled. Vintage cars from yesteryear line the concourse. Wags, Bruce and Barbara raise the flag as warm respect and recognition flow through the grandstands. If you are a race fan, how can it get better than this? Lunch? Okay, they give you that too.

it ain’t much but we have a good time

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some people make their luck

Everytime Ron Bach wins a race he tells the crowd he was “lucky”. Whatever. Tore off another VRA Senior Sprint win with a reinvigorated Wiley Miller hot on his cat heels. But the bigger story is the reinvented Rob Kershaw who locked his fifth top five finish in a row! That kept him in the points lead for the second consecutive week. Five to go. Rob, Ron and Bruce want your vote….. In the VRA Junior Midgets, Thomas Short garnered his first main event win of the year. Point leader Luke Boles pulled down second with tenacious Jessica Clark in third. See you all in the sprint mains in about five years. Brilliant opportunities provided by Sweeny, Morgan, Naylor and many hard working volunteers.

Thomas Short First In Junior Midgets

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apologies extended to Garret Hansen

Here’s a photograph of young driver Garret Hansen having a bad heat race. Garret was rudely treated by a certain track individual after this incident. I was so mad I couldn’t see straight. Race drivers should be handled with a degree of respect. Especially true for drivers who have provided as many exciting fan moments as Garret Hansen. His treatment was appalling. The talented young driver blew it off, fixed the damage, ripped the semi for third and the main for eighth.

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david cardey missed qualifying yet rocked the main

We don’t get much chance to trek to Perris, so for me and mine, seeing the USAC/CRA drivers at Ventura is huge. It is such a big jump in volume, speed and depth to see those crackerjacks throttle up. I love the qualifying, solo flights with carving lines as each driver races himself. Skill displayed, observed, dissected and measured in milliseconds. Josh Ford is fast time with 12.03. Bullet Miller clocks in at 12.042. Allan Ballard in at 12.201. Rick Hendrix (I think that’s a 360) fourth fastest at 12.261. Don’t get me started on Rick Hendrix, this entire article can’t capture that natural born racer. Gregg Bragg rounded out your top five in the Moose sprint with 12.276. Shout out to Tom and Laurie Sertich.

ranked second in qualifying with a bullet

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not enough room in the picture frame to contain this much talent

Let’s face it, the USAC/CRA Main Event was no drama queen. As I headed up the tower steps, the boys in the press box asked for my pick. “Blake Miller” I offered tentatively… Galen looked at me like I was out of my mind, “Cory Kruseman” was all he said. Well, duh…Tony Jones chased him for thirty laps and commented post race, “hey, it’s Cory, it’s Ventura, he’s the teacher!” There was some other notable racing going on. Terrible cluster in turn four, lap two, a wheelie gone bad by Rodney Argo took out Rick Hendrix, Rip Williams and Josh Ford. That sucked the air out of the race faster than a mortgage collapse. On lap four Ballard got loose and gathered up Mike Spencer and Henry Clarke. Spencer refired but never really recovered. This was a terrible disappointment as he usually excels here. Miller was in the hunt but just one or two missteps doomed him. Sheridan gave it hell, but catching Jones and Kruseman was not in the cards. The most notable back to front came from David Cardey, dead last to sixth. Most passes belonged to Tyler Brown, sixteenth to fourth. In the end, Danny Sheridan gassed it for a third. Tony Jones gave as good as he got riding with the King for second. My friend Jay Foster turned to me and said, “If the 21 makes a mistake, that 4 car is going to take it”. “He’s not going to make a mistake” I replied, “that’s Cory Kruseman.”

Autin Mero Joins the Wags Family History

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Congratulations to Austin Mero who snatched 2500 Wag Bucks and another 1000 bonus dollars from the generous Leatt Brace Co. Thanks for supporting our local racing, Kent! One of the most interesting moments was when Chris Holt was interviewing Tony Jones. Tony begs Jim Naylor to stick with it. “Don’t stop Jim, cause when I’m done, this is where I want to come watch racing, the greatest track anywhere!” It’s a small track, but these big and brawny 410 guys love it. Tony Jones gets it. Danny Sheridan gets it. David Cardey gets it. Ventura is a state of mind.

State of Mind