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Ventura, CA...May 1......His
2004 season has featured several remarkable drives from the rear to top 3
finishers, but VRA Unwinged 360 sprint car point leader Tom Stansberry from
Bakersfield had failed to win a feature before Saturday night. He won his heat
race from third starting and was rewarded with third starting spot for the 30
lap feature race. The former dwarf car star drove a $1000 win in the 30 lap
feature with point runnerup Bill Welch coming from 8th for the $750 second. The
top five in points made up the top five finishers in the race with third ranked
Rob Kershaw charging from 10th to his $500 third place run. Oren Prosser Sr, a
legendary stock car driver from both Saugus Speedway and Ascot Park, enjoys the
unwinged sprint car action in the Senior Division and he got his first feature
win of 2004 in their 20 lapper after charging forward from 9th starting spot.
Rick Lewis ran second ahead of Curtis Richards. Helping celebrate his father
Dick's 85th birthday, Gary Curtis won the 20 lap IMCA Modified main event and
moved into the track point lead in the process. Curtis won from sixth starting
and fellow third row starter Chris Tonoli was second ahead of tenth starter Wes
Richardson. Tonoli is just one point back of Curtis and one ahead of Richardson.
After earlier placing second behind 2003 champion Mike Frazier in the heat
action, Adam McPhail posted his first feature win of the year in the 20 lap pony
stock main event. Heat winner David Peterson ran second ahead of Andrew Greiman.
Frazier ran 13th and saw his point lead trimmed to 45 points by fifth place
finisher Jon Everhart.
For the second
straight week, the VRA sprint car count was down with just 22 cars on hand. The
three heat format found Stansberry beating Luis Espinoza and Welch in heat 1.
Joe Henderson beat Mike Broome and Chris Tramel in heat 2 and Bill Camarillo won
heat 3 ahead of Chris Wakim and Shawn Kautz. Espinoza, Henderson, Stansberry and
Camarillo made up the front two rows for the 30 lap main event grid with 20 cars
starting as both Mike Whitcomb and Charles Turner scratched. Stansberry charged
to his first 2004 win with Welch second ahead of previous week winner Kershaw.
Kevin Kierce was fourth and Steve Conrad came from 19th to place fifth. The top
ten finishers were on the lead lap with Henderson racing to sixth ahead of Kautz,
Broome, Ron Wade and Blake Miller. Stansberry's point lead is 795 over Welch and
1525 ahead of Kershaw. Conrad is just 220 points ahead of Kierce in their fourth
place duel. 1050 points is available each race night in the sprint car classes.
The senior sprint car division fielded 19 cars and point leader Bruce Douglas
won heat 1 over Ron Butler and Dale Harwood. Richard McCormick beat Wiley Miller
and C Richards in heat 2 and last week's feature winner Tony Lima won heat 3
ahead of Ron Bach and Prosser Sr. The top 12 finishers were on the lead lap in
this 20 lapper with Prosser winning from 9th starting. Rick Lewis came from 11th
to finish second ahead of C Richards, Dayle Henry, Tim Moon, Danny Miller, Mark
Chuhaloff, Bach and McCormick. Douglas was 15th and saw his point lead cut to
just 165 points by Bach. After an 18th place run, W Miller is 75 points back of
Bach in third. C Richards is 485 behind Bach and 85 in front of D Miller.
The IMCA
Modifieds were down to 12 cars and 11 started their 20 lap feature. Steve
Greenland beat Jack Parker in heat 1 and Kathy Pierson won heat 2 over Steve
Bulpit. The class had a three way tie for the point lead starting the 20 lapper
and those three drivers finished 1-2-3. Sixth starting Curtis won with fifth
starter Tonoli second ahead of 10th starting Richardson. Will Smith was fourth
ahead of Brad Prows, Parker and Luke Ailken. Curtis came out of the night 1
point ahead of Tonoli and 2 in front of Richardson. Josh Houghton only completed
15 laps and finished 11th, dropping to sixth in points behind Smith and Pierson.
The pony stocks had 16 entries and Peterson won the first heat ahead of Jim
Evans and Paul Johnson. Frazier won heat 2 ahead of McPhail and Everhart.
Outside front row starter McPhail won the 20 lap feature ahead of 4th starter
Peterson, 11th starting Andrew Greiman, Evans, Everhart, Dave Revard, Joel
Chavez, Jon Mortenson and Johnson. The top 12 cars were on the lead lap and
Frazier finished three laps down in 13th to see his point lead cut to 45 points
by Everhart. Chavez is 40 points back of Everhart and 35 in front of Revard.
On May 8th,
the VRA unwinged 360 sprint cars again headline along with the IMCA Modifieds,
VRA Modifieds and VRA Dwarf Cars.
Summary
Pony Stocks
Heat 1-David Peterson, Jim Evans, Paul Johnson, Ashley Utts, Jesse Farless.
Heat 2-Mike Frazier, Adam McPhail, Jon Everhart, Dave Revard, Jon Mortenson.
Main-McPhail, Peterson, Andrew Greiman, Evans, Everhart, Revard, Joel Chavez,
Mortenson, Johnson, Lucinda Strub, Brad Long, Jon Fitzsimmons, Frazier, Ed
Niedzwiecki, Farless, Utts.
IMCA Modifieds
Heat 1-Steve Greenland, Jack Parker, Ed Shelton, Chris Tonoli, Josh
Houghton.
Heat 2-Kathy Pierson, Steve Bulpit, Luke Ailken, Will Smith, Gary Curtis.
Main-Curtis, Tonoli, Wes Richardson, Smith, Brad Prows, Parker, Ailken, Pierson,
Bulpit, Greenland, Houghton.
Senior Sprint Cars
Heat 1-Bruce Douglas, Ron Butler, Dale Harwood, Dave Marini, Dayle Henry.
Heat 2-Richard McCormick, Wiley Miller, Curtis Richards, Rick Lewis, Danny
Miller.
Heat 3-Tony Lima, Ron Bach, Oren Prosser Sr, Tim Moon, Bob Alderman.
Main-Prosser Sr, Lewis, C Richards, Henry, Moon, D Miller, Mark Chuhaloff, Bach,
McCormick, Alderman, Bob Hedlund, Marini, John Richards, Harwood, Douglas, Grady
Winkler, Lima, W Miller, Butler.
Unwinged 360 Sprint Cars
Heat 1-Tom Stansberry, Luis Espinoza, Bill Welch, Kim Lewis, Tom
Hendricks.
Heat 2-Joe Henderson, Mike Broome, Chris Tramel, Rob Kershaw, Ron Wade.
Heat 3-Bill Camarillo, Chris Wakim, Shawn Kautz, Kevin Kierce, Blake Miller.
Main-Stansberry, Welch, Kershaw, Kierce, Steve Conrad, Henderson, Kautz, Broome,
Wade, B Miller, Hendricks, John Nock, Espinoza, Camarillo, Lewis, Wakim, Tramel,
Jonas Reynolds, Victor Davis, Steve Chuhaloff.
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