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Traditional Sprint Car FanSite |
See You At The Races!!! |
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RYAN
BERNAL by Norm Bogan |
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In November of 2008, Ryan Bernal
reached the ripe old age of fifteen and completed his first year as
a sprint car pilot. Bernal’s
victory in the Johnny Key Classic, earned him the Ocean Speedway
Wingless SPEC Sprint championship.
Trailing veteran, Dave Press by twelve points, it would take
a sweep of the evening’s events to overcome the deficit and claim
the championship by one point.
No problem for young Ryan as he won the Heat, Dash and
Feature, showing the moxie of someone more mature.
Bernal first strapped into a racecar in
1999 at the age of five and accumulated a number of class titles and
special event victories, while advancing through the ranks of
Quarter Midgets. In
late 2004, Ryan stepped up to the 600 c.c. Micro Sprints and scored
a victory that designated him the Delta Speedway Wingless Champion.
The following year found Bernal named as Rookie of the Year,
while posting six feature wins and becoming the youngest Main Event
Winner in the Non-Wing class. During
the next two years, Bernal added nineteen additional victories to
his achievements. For 2008, the Bernal team moved up to
the Wingless Spec Sprint class.
Many of the young sprint racers go fast quite soon and are
able to adapt to the increased horsepower from their previous racing
endeavors. Handling this newfound speed and realizing success entails
bringing the driver up to speed.
The Bernal team’s engine builder, S&S Automotive is
also Darrell Hanestad’s engine builder.
S&S introduced Ryan to the veteran of a quarter-century
of racing, in both winged and non-winged sprinters, from the
Wingless Spec Sprints to the World of Outlaws, who has assumed the
role of mentor to the very receptive Bernal.
Hanestad’s wisdom of using patience during an event and
guidance on how to read the track as it changes and find that sweet
spot that might provide a surge at a critical moment late in a race,
has been a great help. As the season progressed, Ryan was more
comfortable coming from the back of the pack, picking his spots to
move forward. He
avoided mishaps and improved his finishes enough to be crowned both
Rookie of the Year and Champion at Ocean Speedway.
Overall, Bernal scored a total of five feature victories,
while competing at Ocean, Petaluma, Antioch and Placerville
Speedways during the year. Ryan
was also named Rookie of the Year at Antioch. When queried about plans for the
future, Ryan will give you the accepted answer of all young racers,
“I want to go to NASCAR”, but his boyhood dream has always been
to become a fireman. Bernal
plans to take a public speaking class to help him open up to the
fans. Bernal hails from the central
California coastal hamlet of Hollister, California, which has
several claims to fame. First,
it sits atop the famed San Andreas earthquake fault, second, it was
the place taken over by the Hell’s Angels Motorcycle Gang in the
early sixties and chronicled in the movie, “The Wild Bunch”.
Today, you will see many teens and young adults clothed in
outerwear adorned with the word “Hollister”.
Ryan is a high school freshman, who
runs track and plays baseball, while enjoying skateboarding. Throughout his racing, Bernal’s parents have set a level of
achievement of a “B” average or the racecar gets parked.
Two older sisters are very supportive of their little
brother’s racing efforts. Bernal’s team consisting of Dad
(Rick), Dean Dealy and Todd Damron, matches up a Maxim Chassis with
an engine prepared by S&S Automotive.
Sponsorship comes from S&S Automotive (engine), Dennis
Body Shop (paint), Main Street Kickboxing (training), Pennzoil
(lubricants), Simpson Race Equipment, Anderson Door & Windows,
Livermore Iron Works, Firestine Tile & Stone, All Parts and Doty
Graphics from Morristown, Indiana. Competitors from the earlier years in
Quarter Midgets and Micro Sprints, Shane Golobic, Bryan Clauson and
Brady Bacon, still maintain friendships with Ryan.
Bernal named Ocean and Petaluma Speedways as his favorite
tracks and acknowledged veteran sprint racer, Rick Williams as
another who has helped him to become a better racedriver. In a few years, Ryan Bernal may be your
hero for accomplishing a distinguished victory at a major racing
event or maybe for saving your home from a devastating blaze. |
