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Traditional Sprint Car FanSite |
See You At The Races!!! |
| RACING
SCENE by Tim Kennedy |
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"NEW" NMRA RETURNS TO VENTURA |
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Ventura, CA, Apr. 5 - Jimmy May returned to his home track Saturday
and won the 25-lap NMRA-TQ Midget feature on Jim Naylor's
fifth-mile, banked clay Ventura Raceway. It marked the
first visit by the reborn NMRA organization to the scenic shoreline
track, which became the second new race site this year after the
season opener March 22 in Victorville. NMRA competed eight
times on three different tracks last year. May, a veteran of sprint car and midget racing, led only the final two laps in the Greg Edenholm Hart chassis with Hart/Honda power. May missed the opening race this season and became the 12th ranked driver in points after two of 14 scheduled NMRA races this season. Nineteen drivers have earned points so far this season. Walt Johnson, the Victorville main event winner last month and point leader by two points entering the Ventura race, left the track with a 15-point lead. He drove Guy Barber's Rick Stewart chassis with a Clerc Honda engine. Johnson led the first 23 laps, before May dropped him to second place. Steve Lambert finished third and now trails Johnson in points127-112. Barber now leads car owner points 133-118 over Dave Lambert. Chuck West, the 2002 NMRA driving champion, finished fourth in a West Evans car with Suzuki power. Jody Bandfield, Kenny Wiley, CRA sprint car veteran Bobby Michnowicz, car builder Dennis Hart, Ron Ahrendt and West Evans rounded out the top ten. Sixteen cars started the event. Michnowicz and Ahrendt won the pair of eight lap heat races. No dash or time trials were run. The next NMRA race will be held Saturday, April 26 in a return to the third-mile clay Santa Maria Speedway, site of two NMRA races last year. The Summary: (pick up agate) Heat 1 - Bobby Michnowicz, Walt Johnson, Steve Lambert, Jim Styer, Dennis Hart, Michael Bliffen, Chuck West. Heat 2 - Ron Ahrendt, Kenny Wiley, Jimmy May, Chris Hedge, Jody Bandfield, Marc Hart,West Evans, Steve Parke, Jake May. Main - May, Johnson, Lambert, Chuck West, Bandfield, Wiley, Michnowicz, D. Hart, Ahrendt, West Evans, Steve Parke, Michael Bliffen, Marc Hart, Hedge, Styer, Jake May. NMRA-TQ POINT STANDINGS (as of April 6) DRIVERS CAR OWNERS 127 - Walt Johnson 133 Guy Barber 112 Steve Lambert 118 Dave Lambert 105 Jody Bandfield 111 Jody Bandfield 101 Ron Ahrendt 107 Judi Ahrendt 86 Chris Hedge 92 Hedge & Hendrix 82 Kenny Wiley 88 Paul Lopiccolo 81 Chuck West 87 West Evans # 38 78 West Evans 85 Greg Edenholm 72 Steve Parke 84 West Evans # 36 63 Mike Cass 78 Steve Parke |
