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| June's Southwest Report by June Lowitz |
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ASCA Sprints - Manzanita Speedway |
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May 31, 2004- There has been some great racing here in the Valley of the Sun as
well as in California, Indiana and North Carolina. I have
been lucky enough to have watched two great races here in
Phoenix at Manzanita Speedway.
Saturday, May 22 was a good but long night of racing.
Unfortunately, my heart wasn't really into the racing that night
as the Thursday morning before the race my car was stolen from
my parking spot right in front of my apartment. I missed
two days of work due to not having a car but I was able to find
a ride to the track thanks to my good friend Colleen.
Colleen picked up my good friend Sandra and dropped us off at
the track.
OK, here is where I have to thank someone. This person
knows who they are and I will call them my Secret Santa or
Secret Sponsor or better yet my Secret Guardian Angel. My
Secret Guardian angel heard about my car being stolen and by
Saturday night had me a car to drive. This person deserves
more than just a thank you for this kind and generous act.
My Secret Guardian Angel made me promise not to tell who they
are and I will respect their wishes. I do know that My
Secret Guardian Angel reads this column and I want them to know
how much I appreciate what they did for me and that I'll never
forget them for it. Thank you. YOU know who you
are!!! I've said it before and I'll say it again, the
racing family is one in a million. Racing people are the
best.
Back to the racing. The track started out sorta good but
went dry slick by the main event. It was a nice night; no
jacket really needed but there was a breeze that came up to help
dry the track out.
The Trophy Dash was ran and the 19 yr. old JT Imperial driving
his heart out to take the win over Eric "The Whiz Kid"
Wilkins, Ricky Johnson and Bob Ream, Jr. JT was perfect in
his interview thanking his sponsors and of course his parents.
He seems to be grooming himself for bigger and better things to
come. I liked the way he spun out on the front straight
and you could see the big smile on his face from turn one.
I was very impressed with his smooth driving style and I'm sure
this is on driver who will move up the ranks.
On to heat one where we found Charlie Davis, Jr and Mikey
Kuemper on the front row with Ben Gregg and JT behind them,
Michael Bryan and Eric Wilkins in row three and Jeff McDonald
and Jeff Henry in row four. Early in the heat Bryan, and
McDonald tangled; Jeff Henry did a 360 and kept going after the
yellow flag dropped. Unfortunately, Jeff stalled on the
front straight and when they were pushing the #12 Robbie Allen
owned, ABC Body Shop, Arizona Towman, Maxima Oils, B & R
Automotive, Larry's Carpet, ABC Motorsports.com and Lightning
Wheels car, it was making a horrid sound from the motor area.
Come to find out, the crank had broken inside the motor and Jeff
was out for the evening. Winning the heat race was Charlie
Davis, Jr in the #8A Tony Smiley owned, Smiley Crane, David
Zorika Motorsports, Advanced Racing Engines, Ron's Fuel
Injection car. Following Davis was Wilkins, JT Imperial,
Ben Gregg and Mikey Kuemper.
The second heat pushed off with Ricky "The Racer"
Johnson on the pole with Brian Hacker starting outside.
Behind them were Tim Beal and Andy Reinbold, Willy Grombach and
Marty Miller, Chris Bonneau and Nolan Hall. It was no
surprise to me when Ricky "The Racer" won the heat
followed by Miller, Reinbold, Grombach, Beal, Bonneau and
Hacker.
Third heat came out and I was noticing that tonights heat race
winners were all coming from the pole position. When I
heard the line up I was excited. Pole position went to
"The Bern Dog" Bernie Smith outside of him was Mike
Martin. Following Smith and Martin were Bugs Norbury and
Jeff Slinkard, Paul Norbury and Bob "The Bullet" Ream,
Jr. and rounding out the field were Buddy Earl and RJ Johnson.
The Bern Dog jumped out into the lead and never looked back.
It was awesome to see Bernie win one after trying so hard.
Great job Bernie!!!! Following Bernie across the finish
line was Slinkard, Martin, Ream, Bugs Norbury, RJ Johnson, Paul
Norbury and Earl. There were no yellows during this heat
race and the time was 2.13:96.
Fourth and final heat race was pushed onto the track.
Nathan High and Chuck Buckman started on the front row.
Behind them were Mike Miller and Steve Sussex, Jr., Scott
Pasmore and Seainn Hendricson, Josh Pelkey, who took over
driving duties from retiring Joey Moriarity and Dale Colegrove.
It was great to see Nathan back after that horrendous crash and
he really stood on it. This was the only heat that the
winner didn't come from the pole. Steve Sussex, Jr won the
race with Pelkey, Buckman, High, Pasmore, Miller and Hendricson
following him.
The Semi Main was pushed off and I noticed the track getting
dry. You could hear the tires skip and you could tell the
cars were slowing down. Mikey Kuemper won the semi
followed by Brian Hacker, Bugs Norbury, RJ Johnson, Paul Norbury,
Scott Pasmore, Seainn Hendricson, Buddy Earle, Dolan Hall, Time
Beal, Michael Bryan, Chris Bonneau, Jeff McDonald, Mike Miller,
Dale Colegrove.
It was Main Event time and I think everyone was worried about
the track. The drivers and owners or crew chiefs were
walking the track to see how they should set up their cars.
It was dry and dusty. After the Mini-Sprint Main, they
pushed off the Sprints. On the pole was Bernie Smith and
outside Bernie was Marty Miller. Jeff Slinkard and Josh
Pelkey were in row 2, row 3 found Ricky Johnson and Charlie
Davis, Jr. In row 4 were Eric Wilkins and Steve Sussex,
Jr. Row 5 was JT Imperial and Andy Reinbold; row 6 was
Mike Martin and Chuck Buckman, Ben Gregg and Wally Grombach were
in row 7 and in row 8 found Bob Ream, Jr. and Nathan High; row 9
held Mikey Kuemper and Brian Hacker and in the last row, row 10
was Bugs Norbury and RJ Johnson. The green flag dropped
and Marty Miller took the lead over Smith and the rest of the
pack. Brian Hacker went out of the race right away with
motor problems as Miller just drove away from the field.
Charlie Davis began his normal hard charge from his sixth
starting position and worked his way up to second place by lap
ten. By lap 10 Miller had over a one second lap on second
place. The track started taking rubber and there was a
spin which saw Miller lose all of the lead he had built up.
The red flag waved on lap 17 for JT Imperial as he flipped into
the area between turns 1 and 2 between the small and big track.
Thankfully, JT was OK and the other cars involved were Martin,
Gregg and High, who were all able to restart the race.
The Whiz Kid, Eric Wilkins was up in the top five until the red
flag came out and he noticed he had puncture in his right rear.
He had to change that tire and due to the rules start at the
rear of the field and work his way back. I told my friend
Sandra, keep your eyes on "The Whiz Kid". We
weren't disappointed because Eric was able to charge his way
back up to a respectable ninth place finish.
Lady luck was with Marty Miller as the laps dwindled down and
tires just got hotter and hotter and were more abused. It
was thrilling to watch the cars as most were pulling serious
wheelies late in the race. As the laps dwindled down you
had to hold your breath wondering if Miller's tire was going to
hold out or would Charlie be able to work his magic and win
another main. Lap 24 came out, Marty and Charlie were
running close and when the checkered fell, it was "Miller
Time at Manzy," once again. As they were interviewing
Marty, you could watch his tire go flat. In the post race
interview, Marty said, "I had two holes in the tire,
it was completely worn out. Charlie was still in good
shape and I don't think I could have held him off another
lap."
Finishing order for the 5/22 main was: Miller, Davis,Jr.,
Pelkey, Slinkard, Ricky Johnson, RJ Johnson, B. Norbury, Ream,
Jr., Wilkins, Reinbold, Martin, High, Gregg, Kuemper, Buckman,
Smith, Grombach, Imperial, Hacker and Sussex, Jr.
After having my life turned upside down when my car was stolen,
I was really looking forward to some more fun. No, my car
still hasn't been found, and I doubt it will be as come to find
out, the same night my car was stolen, 2 others were stolen too
and we all live in about a five mile radius of each other.
All of the cars were older cars and we all think they are
somewhere deep in the heart of Mexico. The only thing that
really upsets me is that I was given a GasMan t-shirt and it was
in the trunk and I know I'll never be able to replace it.
DANG THIEVES!!! Just a word of advice to everyone.
First off, I had one of the nicest policemen come to my apt. to
take the stolen car report. He was kind and sweet and he
knew how to deal with an hysterical female. First question
he asked me was if I had a theft deterrent device such as
"The Club" on my car. I said no, and the second
question was did I have an alarm. He suggested to me that
no matter how old your car might be, and no matter how ugly or
beaten up your car is, NEVER take theft insurance off of it.
He said you would be surprised at how many old cars are taken
and of course people always think "who would want that
heap?" Believe me I learned my lesson. I now
have an 1986 Nissan Maxima that I now carry full coverage on.
I now have a Club for my car too. Please take my advice,
don't let happen to you what happened to me. Insure your
car and either have an alarm or theft deterrent device.
So now, I have Nellie the Nissan to take me to and from Manzy.
She's a good lil car and she even has a sun roof that works!!!
One thing Nellie has that my old car didn't is AIR CONDITIONING
THAT WORKS!!!
This weekend Nellie took Sandra, my friend from California Brian
and me all over to Manzy. We got there a bit late as my
dear friend Sandra was housesitting for her parents, they have a
pool and she fell asleep sunbathing. Needless to say she
could have been the red flag for the evening if the flagman
forgot that flag! As we walked into the track, the pits
looked empty at our end but the track looked like a swamp.
I rolled my eyes and thought to myself, Oh geez, it's gonna be a
late one by the time we get this packed in. Wheel packing
was interesting to watch as the top came in but the bottom was
like a small stream. The cars would go thru it and splash
mud and water everywhere. It took the guys about an hour
to get it so they could drop the hammer on the track. It
was so slick that almost everyone slid off of the top side in
turn one.
Fortunately by Trophy Dash time the track was racy.
Special congrats have to go out to my buddy, The Bern Dog,
Bernie Smith. He made his first trophy dash. Way to
go Bernie. Bernie drives the ABC Body Shop, EAP Designs
Favorite Systems Trucking #14 car owned by himself. Bernie
has really been doing well this season. He continually
looks a lot smoother and is steadier than he was last year.
He seems to be consistent and I've been noticing he seems a bit
more racier than last year. I'm not sure what changes
Bernie's made to his car this year but whatever they are, keep
it up Bernie!!! You are doing well.
Back to the racing.. the dash lined up with Eric Wilkins
and Steve Sussex on the front row with Smith and Ricky Johnson.
The dash went fast as Wilkins won it over Johnson, Smith and
Sussex, Jr.
The Young Guns Dash took place with Chris Bonneau and Mike
Kuemper on the front row with JT Imperial and Michael Bonneau in
row 2. Alone in row 3 was Michael Bryan. Holding off
the field, Mike Kuemper won and was followed by C. Bonneau, M.
Bonneau, Bryan and Imperial. It was 5 laps in length and
was only for drivers 21 and younger. Putting up the $100
to win was Interstate Wreck Rebuilders and Mazatel Dirt Works.
I think this is a great thing to get the younger generation
involved and racing. Thank you Interstate Wreck Rebuilders
and Mazatel Dirt Works.
The first heat race was a good one with JT Imperial and Chuck
Buckman in the front row. row 2 is Ream and Seainn
Hendricson, Dale Colegrove and Mike Bonneau and the Last row had
Jay Ervine and Andy Reinbold. The race had no yellows or
reds and was run in 2.02:17 and won by Chuck Buckman.
Running in second was Imperial with Ream, Hendricson, Reinbold,
Ervine, M. Bonneau and Colegrove following.
Heat 2 pushed off with Jeff Henry and Ben Gregg in row 1, Paul
Norbury and Nathan High in row 2, Scott Pasmore and Chris
McArthur in row 3 and in the back row was Bugs Norbury and Steve
Sussex, Jr. Gregg took off and beat Henry down to turn one
and never looked back. Jeff looked good as he
followed Gregg across the finish line in second place.
Behind Gregg and Henry were High, Sussex, Jr., P. Norbury, B.
Norbury, Pasmore and McArthur.
The third heat came out on the track. Mind you these heat
races were being clicked off pretty fast as the track was
perfect. In heat 3 it was Brian Swinehart in the #8 that
Tim Beal drove last week and RJ Johnson in the front row.
Following Swinehart and RJ were Ricky Johnson and Jesse Dunham,
C. Bonneau and Brian Hacker. Again the green flag dropped
and this week it was the outside polesitter who took the lead
and never looked back. RJ Johnson led from start to finish
over Swinehart, Dunham, Ricky Johnson, C. Bonneau and Hacker.
Fourth heat and I was seeing a pattern here. With the
exception of the Trophy Dash all of the races were being won by
the outside pole sitter. It made it easy for me to pick
the winner of this heat. On the pole was last week's main
event winner Marty Miller and on the outside Eric Wilkins.
Mike Kuemper and Michael Bryan made up row two and in row three
were Mike Leslie and Bernie Smith. Alone in row four was
Willy Grombach. I guessed right as across the finish line
first was Eric Wilkins, followed by Miller, Bryan, Smith,
Leslie, Kuemper and Grombach.
The semi main was pushed to the track and I wondered if now the
track had dried out. I figured if it had we would see it
now. Lining up for the semi were Andy Reinbold and Paul
Norbury, C. Bonneau and Mike Leslie, Jay Ervine and Bugs Norbury,
Brian Hacker and Mike Kuemper, M. Bonneau and Scot Pasmore, Dale
Colegrove and Wally Grombach and in the last row was Chris
McArthur. I was wrong in guessing the winner of this one.
Andy Reinbold took the win over Ervine, C. Bonneau, B. Norbury,
Hacker, Grombach, M. Bonneau, McArthur, Colegrove, Kuemper, P.
Norbury, Leslie and Pasmore.
OK I'll have to admit I was in shock. There was no dust,
no rubber down on the track and I was still occasionally being
hit with mud. Yes, MUD. Not dry rocks but wet Manzy
mud! I knew if it was this wet and tacky we had a great
surface for 50 laps. The starting line up was this:
8 Tim Swinehart
22 Ben Gregg
12 Jeff Henry 4 JT Imperial 97 Chuck Buckman 15 RJ Johnson 27 Marty Miller 3 Eric Wilkins 8b Bob Ream, Jr. 6 Nathan High 25 Jesse Dunham 50 Michael Bryan 69 Seainn Hendricson 92 Steve Sussex, Jr. 51 Ricky Johnson 14 Bernie Smith 19 Andy Reinbold 21 Jay Ervine 78 Chris Bonneau 61az Bugs Norbury
The field pushed off and did the traditional salute to the fans
and then we were ready. Could Marty Miller make it two in
a row? Would it be someone else like Gregg or Buckman?
Would Jeff Henry win his 2nd main. Soon the answers would
be given as the green flag dropped and Ben Gregg took off over
Tim Swinehart.
On lap 12, I believe, something happened that no one enjoys.
Bernie Smith hit some debris on the track and ruptured his fuel
cell. The fuel caught fire and in turn one the only thing
we could see was a fireball. I finally started breathing
again when Windy McDonald announced that Bernie was out of the
car on OK. This scared the living daylights out of me and
I'm sure it did Bernie as well. Thank God that Bernie is
OK and he even put a posting on the message board correcting me
when I thought he had flipped and he only ended up against the
wall. Again, Bernie, I'm sorry for the mistake but thank
you for correcting me. Unfortunately, Bernie was the first
car out of the main.
When the green came back out it was Gregg holding off Wilkins
until around lap 17 or 18. That's when Gregg went a bit
wide and that's all The Whiz Kid needed to get by Gregg and take
off. Once in front Wilkins opened up a lead to over two
seconds over Gregg until the yellow flag came out on lap 25.
Windy was announcing how fast Eric was during the race.
His lowest time was a 14.98 and that's fast. Someone told
me that was around 80mph on the small track. WOW!
That's during racing conditions not qualifying conditions too.
Wilkins just kept trying to keep his lead up but that was for
naught as Bugs Norbury flipped on lap 37 involving himself,
Hendricson and RJ Johnson. Only RJ was able to restart at
the end of the field after the red.
This red was what the rest of the field needed to work on their
setups and try to catch Eric. On the restart Wilkins
didn't seem to have the same setup as before as it looked like
the other cars were catching him. I couldn't tell but
according to some they said it looked like Wilkins front end was
pushing bad in the turns. This allowed Nathan High to
catch up to Wilkins and attempt to pass him. Nathan got on
the inside of Wilkins but that was it. Wilkins slammed the
door shut and decided he needed to step it up a notch and did he
ever. He took off and never looked back. Bob Ream,
Jr, driving the B & R Automotive, Lubrication Equip co. -
The Parker Store, Westside Crane and Adirondack Chimney Sweep
car got around High in the closing laps to finish second with
High finishing third. The finish was: Wilkins, Ream,
Jr., High, Ricky Johnson, Miller, Gregg, RJ Johnson, Buckman,
Imperial, Reinbold, Bryan, Hendricson, B. Norbury, Ervine,
Sussex, Jr., Henry, Swinehart, C. Bonneau, Dunham and Smith.
Only 11 cars finished the 50 lap race as attrition was high.
Eric Wilkins was the recipient of the $100 half way leader award
and Ricky Johnson got the same amount for being the hard charger
for the night. Ricky, The Racer went from a fifteenth
place starting position to finish fourth. Jay Ervine was
the hard luck award recipient after blowing his motor up while
running in the top five.
I really enjoyed the Salute to Indy race put on by ASCA and
Manzanita Speedway. Special thanks have to go out to Keith
and Ladd Hall and Manzanita's track maintenance crew. What
a great track. After the races, I went into the pits and
the track was wet and tacky and muddy. I had to watch
where I was walking otherwise I would have ended up with about a
foot of mud on my sneaker. I want to take the time to
thank the staff and management of Manzanita Speedway for working
so hard on the track and making it so racy for such an important
race.
Since this racing weekend is to remember our fallen heroes in
the military, I want to say thank you to all of the men and
women who are in the military or who have a husband, wife, child
or family member in the armed forces at this time. Thank
you for all that you do.
That's all the news from Arizona this week. I have to say
thanks to my Guardian Angel for helping me get Nellie.
Thanks to Sandra and Brian for going with me and being my gofers
for food and drinks. Without you I wouldn't be going to
the track yet. Thanks to all the drivers, owners, crews
and family members who work so hard each week to put on such a
great show for us fans.
Take care and we'll see you at Canyon on 6/12. Keep
smiling and make people wonder what the heck you've been up to.
If they ask, tell them you've just been to a non winged sprint
car race and bring them out for the fun.
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