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Los Angeles, CA. - The paths of Chuck
Gurney and Bob East were supposed to cross again this year in the
next generation-the third racing generation for both families. Chuck
Gurney, Jr, 23, has moved from California to Indiana (open-wheel
race central). He left his budding California sprint car career
behind him. His mother Debbie, from the racing Laycock clan, hails
from Indiana so Chuck, Jr. has maternal-side relatives in Indiana.
Chuck, Jr. was slated to work for Bob East's Beast Race Cars in
Indianapolis, not far from the Indy Motor Speedway. However, Chuck
did not work for Beast after he relocated to Indiana. He is working
for a carbon fiber company in Brownsburg, IN., just west of
Indianapolis. Chuck, Jr. is currently seeking a sprint car and/or
midget ride in
Indiana to further his racing career.
I remember seeing Chuck and Bob and their wives
dining at famous Grasso's Italian Restaurant in El Centro, CA after
day one of the Saturday-Sunday March 5-6, 1983 CRA sprint car
doubleheader. Two-month old Chuck, Jr., born on 1-14-83, was present
with his parents. Bobby East had not been born yet. Bobby, the USAC
open-wheel multiple series champion now racing in NASCAR's Craftsman
Truck Series, joined the world on 12-17-84. Chuck, Jr. appeared in
his first trophy dash photo when his dad Chuck won a CRA trophy dash
at the Imperial County Fairgrounds that weekend. Chuck, Jr. came up
through the racing ranks, including 600cc cars, and made the USAC
Thanksgiving Night Midget Grand Prix 100-lap feature as a rookie on
11/25/99 at Irwindale Speedway. He drove the Fred James No. 74 but
did not finish. Chuck Jr. has been racing winged sprint cars in
Northern California and is adept at wingless and winged racing.
Two young drivers from California driving for
Keith Kunz have been advancing their USAC careers in spectacular
fashion. Last year Darren Hagen, from Riverside, became the first
driver in the 50-year history of USAC to win rookie of the year in
both the National Sprint Car and Midget Series in the same season.
The youngest Kunz driver-Bryan Clauson, from Northern California,
won a USAC National Sprint 30-lap feature Sunday, April, 23 on the
Winchester, IN Speedway high-banks. At age 16 Clauson became the
youngest USAC National feature winner ever. Two Daves (Darland
and Steele) have reunited this season with Bob East and Steve Lewis'
Team Nine Racing. They will drive the No. 9 and 91 midgets on the
USAC National Midget circuit. Darland will compete in all
races-paved and dirt-while paved track expert Steele will drive only
paved tracks in the Toyota powered midgets.
The new 118-page, 8 ½" X 11" Irwindale
Speedway Official Rule Book for Three Years 2006-08 has just been
printed on glossy paper (some 2,000 copies). It has eight ads and
color front and back covers. It covers in order these eight
divisions-Super Late Models, Late Models, Super Stocks, Super
Trucks, Grand American Modifieds, Mini Stocks, Pure Stocks and Crash
Cars. The latter division is not yet active. Rules for Legend Cars
and Bandoleros are governed by the independent 600 Racing, Inc.
TV TIME: On Sunday, April 23 red-head Erin
Crocker, 25, was the subject of a four to five minute feature on the
NBC Network "George Michael Sports Machine" show. Reporter
Lindsey Cznaraki did the piece that showed Erin's involvement with
car owner Ray Evernham Racing in NASCAR trucks and stock cars. On
Monday, April 24 jovial Helio Castroneves appeared as a guest on the
Fox Sports Net "Best Damn Sports Show" with the regular
host and three sports star panelists. Helio was fresh from victory
in the IRL Motegi, Japan 300 April 21and a personal jet trip with
his boss, Roger Penske, and teammate Sam Hornish, to watch Penske's
two-car Nextel Cup team race in the April 22 PIR-Phoenix 312 lap
race. Helio held his own with the show's regulars, approved of Tony
Stewart's fence-climbing that Helio started after his victories, and
promoted the upcoming
Indianapolis 500.
Pioneer NASCAR driver Louise Smith, 89, died
April 15 from cancer as a rest home. The Los Angeles Times obituary
page on April 18 ran a 17 paragraph story about Louise and even
included a 1998 photo of her surrounded by her trophies and
memorabilia from her racing career. She retired from racing in 1956
but returned as a sponsor. She raced a 1939 Ford coupe hardtop No.
94 and won 38 races in various modified classes during an 11-year
period. In 1999 Louise was the first female inducted into the
International Motorsports Hall of Fame in Talladega, Alabama.
During February a National Transportation Safety
Board official accident report for the October 24, 2004 Rick
Hendrick Motorsports private jet crash placed blame on errors by the
flight crew. Specifically, the NTSB officials said the crew did not
use proper procedures and failed to use all navigational aids to
confirm and monitor the jets' position during approach for landing.
The crash into a mountain near Martinsville, VA occurred under foggy
conditions. All ten persons on board the company jet were killed.
They included the son, brother, twin neices of Hendrick, other team
members and persons heading to the NASCAR race weekend in
Martinsville. Widows of Randy Dorton, chief engine builder at
Hendrick, and the widow of the helicopter pilot for driver Tony
Stewart
have sued Hendrick Motorsports for negligence.
NASCAR Nextel Cup 2004 champion Kurt Busch, 27,
was ordered to perform 50
hours of community service after his plea agreement following his
well-publicized reckless driving incident during November, 2005 near
Phoenix Int'l Raceway and subsequent conviction. Hopefully, other
drivers in all racing divisions will learn from this incident. It's
too bad that all the good deeds and charitable contributions by
racing drivers are not reported as extensively by the media as are
their infrequent missteps. Last week brother Kyle Busch, 20, also
got into trouble with police for reckless driving-chirping his
tires. He has a mid-May date with a judge. Local restaurant
employee and NASCAR fan (Donna
Kaye) calls the Busch brothers the current day Bodine brothers.
The FIA Formula One Belgian GP at Spa-Francorchamps
was dropped from the 2006 F.1 schedule. Too bad, that is the best
pure F.1 race circuit as far as racing challenge for drivers and for
historical significance in this era of new, unremarkable circuits,
such as Bahrain. The Belgian GP might return to the F.1 schedule in
2007 if course improvements are completed. Speaking about F.1
circuits, the 2006 F.1 race July 2 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is
the final race of the current F.1-IMS agreement. I predict it will
be the final F.1 race at IMS, especially after the tire-related
fiasco of a six-car GP last year
and discontent by USA fans with the F.1 circus. Some F.1 drivers
complained about the recent San Marino GP Imola circuit as being too
narrow and too hard on which to pass. That led one caller to a Speed
Channel TV show to say the Imola race was not exciting because
" racing is not chasing, racing is passing." Amen.
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