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(Ventura, CA....April 6) Saturday night, the racers faced very unusual dry and dusty track conditions at Ventura Raceway and point leader Greg Taylor came forward from sixth starting position to score the $1,000 win in the 30 lap VRA unwinged 360 sprint car feature. Jimmy Crawford was a $750 second and Tony Dighera won $500 for his third place finish. Dwarf car graduate Ron Bach won his first Senior Sprint Car feature as
he charged from 7th starting to win. Jim Porter and Wiley Miller where running 1-2 in the feature, but failed to stop for a lap 11 red flag when two cars flipped. They were sent to the rear of the field and Porter had to scramble back to fifth as Dayle Henry ran second over Ron Butler. Second year racer Henry took over the point lead as Miller could only get back to a 7th place finish. The IMCA Modifieds had a new winner as pony stock graduate Wes Richardson collected a win early in the 2002 campaign as top runner Gary
Fulong lost an engine leading. Daman Redman ran second and street stock graduate Joe Porche was third.
The regular VRA sprint cars had a 31 car turnout and were split into four qualifying heat races with 4 transfers from each. Defending champion Gary Howard put on a real show in the first heat as he battled from fifth starting to win with SCRA regular Troy Rutherford second ahead of young Josh Ford. Taylor won heat 2 from the pole with Crawford second ahead of Ronnie Case. Jeff Heaton won heat 3 from the pole with Mike Davis second ahead of Tom Downing. Steven Conrad won heat 4 from an outside front row start
as Dighera ran second ahead of racing school guru Cory Kruseman. The B Main ended up transferring 5 cars instead of the usual four cars as Kruseman didn’t make the call, leaving an extra slot. John Wright won the B Main over Steve Stasa, Tom Stansberry, Welch and rookie Chris Tramel. The feature field did include SCRA stars Rutherford and Mike Kirby, who was driving the car that Gary W Howard had run the previous couple races.
Seventh starting Taylor chased down the front row of Crawford and Dighera to post his 30 lap win. During the race, a tap from Dighera sent Howard spinning on the front stretch. Howard completed his spin and continued racing without a yellow flag, battling back to a 6th place finish. Taylor won with Crawford second ahead of Dighera, Ford, Davis, Howard, Chris Wakim, Rutherford, Tom Stansberry and Tom Downing.
Taylor’s point lead is 245 over Crawford with Ford in third ahead of Howard. Ford is 130 points back of Crawford and 80 ahead of Howard.
There were 18 Senior Sprints. Butler beat Richard Terry in heat 1. Former CRA star Eddie Wirth flipped in this event and was a feature scratch. Henry beat Porter and Bach in heat 2. Wiley Miller won the third heat over Sparky Edmonston. Porter started on the pole for their feature and led 11 laps before both he and runnerup Miller were sent to the rear for failing to stop on a red flag on lap 16 as Terry flipped. Seventh starter Bach then won the feature ahead of fourth starting Henry, third starter Butler and fifth starter Edmonston. Porter got back to a fifth and Miller ran 7th behind Mike Cook. Henry emerged from the event with a 45 point lead on Miller, who is just 10 points ahead of Butler. Bach’s win boosted him into fourth in points.
The 15 car IMCA Modified field included Western Region rookie of the year hopeful Lee Jensen as his home wasn’t running modifieds this week. Furlong won the first heat over Don Wright Jr and Redman. Defending track champion Randy McGraw won the second heat over Richardson and Steve Greenland. Richardson has traveled on the off weekends early in the season, getting events at both Imperial and Mohave Valley, AZ. Richardson won the 20 lap feature after Furlong blew an engine. Redman ran second over
Porche, McGraw, Greenland, Bill Hiney, Wright, Jeff Graham and Jensen. McGraw now holds a 4
point lead on Redman with Richardson now just 6 points out of the point lead in third.
Summary
IMCA Modifieds
Heat 1-Mike Furlong, Don Wright Jr, Daman Redman, Bill Hiney, Lee Jensen.
Heat 2-Randy McGraw, Wes Richardson, Steve Greenland, Paul Lane, Mark Fullerton. Main-Richardson, Redman, Joe Porche, McGraw, Greenland, Hiney, Wright, Jeff Graham, Jensen, Furlong, Fullerton, Randy
Gens, Lyle Slater, Brett Lynsky, Lane.
Senior Sprints
Heat 1-Ron Butler, Richard Terry, Oren Prosser Sr, Rick Lewis, Preiss Movius.
Heat 2-Dayle Henry, Jim Porter, Ron Bach, Mike Frith-Smith, Curtis Richards.
Heat 3-Wiley Miller, Sparky Edmonston, John Richards, Mike Cook, Mark Chuhaloff. Main-Bach, Henry, Butler, Edmonston, Porter, Cook, Miller, Lewis, Chuhaloff, C Richards, J Richards, Sammy
Iaconis, Frith-Smith, Terry, George Tuttle Sr, Prosser.
Unwinged 360 Sprint Cars
Heat 1-Gary Howard, Troy Rutherford, Josh Ford, Chris Wakim, John Wright.
Heat 2-Greg Taylor, Jimmy Crawford, Ronnie Case, Mike Kirby, Steve Stasa.
Heat 3-Jeff Heaton, Mike Davis, Tom Downing, Rob Kershaw, Aaron Roger.
Heat 4-Steven Conrad, Tony Dighera, Cory Kruseman, Larry Lloyd, Bill Welch.
B Main-Wright, Stasa, Tom Stansberry, Welch, Chris Tramel, Jeff Wilson, Ron Recktor, David Sinsley, Eric Severson, Luis Espinoza.
A Main-Taylor, Crawford, Dighera, Josh Ford, Davis, Howard, Wakim, Rutherford, Stansberry, Downing, Welch, Heaton, Kershaw, Lloyd, Wright, Tramel, Kirby, Stasa, Case, Conrad.
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