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Traditional Sprint Car FanSite |
See You At The Races!!! |
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SALUTE TO KEARNEY BOWL by Norm Bogan |
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Occasional visits to Kings Speedway
began in the late 1980’s, when the track was a Friday night venue
offering open wheel racing in the San Joaquin Valley with its rich
racing tradition going back nearly a century. The Hanford oval was the track that saw
the end of the Valley Modified racers.
It provided a variety of both winged and non-wing sprint cars
as well as the nimble midgets, while providing classes for the local
enthusiasts in several levels of stock car racing. This was my first visit this year for a
rare Friday night show. Competitors
included the West Coast 360 group of non-wing sprinters, the popular
IMCA Modifieds and two support classes, the Okie Bowl Stocks, a
throwback to the old Hardtop racers of the 1950’s that originated
at Bakersfield Speedway in Oildale.
A number of the cars were transported in from the
Riverside-San Bernardino area and presented the long time fans, a
shot of nostalgia. Completing
the field were the local heroes in the IMCA Stocks.
There were fifteen sprint cars on hand as well as an equal
number of Modifieds. The features saw a 1948 Dodge Sedan
claim the Okie Bowl event, while a more modern 1960’s era Ford
took the IMCA Stock Main. Bakersfield’s
Brad Pounds emerged victorious in the IMCA Modified program and
Craig Stidham, long-time winged racer, banked the non-wing Sprint
Main for the second week in a row. Most impressive outing of the evening
was performed by Visalia’s Richard VanderWeerd advancing to
second, then suddenly pullin g off the track to the work area.
His temperature was indicating 280 degrees. The problem was quickly solved, when the temperature sensor
wire was found lying on the exhaust header.
VanderWeerd returned to action and made the charge from the
back, running along the top of the banking, lap after lap and
advancing all the way to second.
He challenged Stidham to collect the spoils, but the cagey
veteran was able to hold him off to the checkers. Many racers over the years have flirted
with the crest of the bank and usually slip over the edge in their
pursuit. VanderWeerd
tap danced at the precipice without blowing over the crown. It was a fun night of racing for the
fans and competitors, as tonight was also a “Salute to Kearney
Bowl” with a number of vintage racers on hand, including a
half-dozen of the old winged Modifieds that starred at the Fresno
speed plant. |
