PHOENIX, AZ, MARCH 16, 2002 - Unlike his Friday win
which had a significant
element of luck, Jeremy Sherman left little doubt that he was the class of the
field Saturday at Manzanita Speedway. Of his four consecutive NAPA Auto
Parts / Auto Trader Magazines Sprint Car Racing Association (SCRA) wins at
Manzanita, Sherman's Gary Sokola Classic victory was unquestionably his most
impressive.
"This is amazing, " Sherman said with a boyish grin. "Any
win here at Manzanita Speedway is special to me and to come here and win the
last four SCRA races is just awesome. Last night, we had a lot of luck
on our side. I'll take 'em any way I can get 'em, but tonight I think we
did it a little more convincingly."
Now a fixture in the Mark Priestley / Roy Miller Freightliners No. 7 Stealth,
Sherman started fifth for the 40 lap finale but had problems on the opening
lap. While JE Pistons Dash winner Cory Kruseman was busy pacing Richard
Griffin, Tony Jones, Damion Gardner and Rip Williams at the end of lap one,
Sherman promptly fell to seventh.
"I took a rock in the face coming off turn four on the first lap,"
Sherman explained. "It busted my helmet and put me a little dizzy for a
minute. Once I settled down, we started picking them off. Looking
back, it seemed easier now than it did at the time."
While Sherman tried to clear the cobwebs from his head, Jones moved the
Ferreira Dairy No. 87 Avenger into the second spot on lap two. Jones,
who was the defending Sokola Classic winner, quickly reeled-in Kruseman and
took the lead on the ninth circuit with a rarely seen turn one slide job.
Using the bottom and middle grooves, Sherman feverishly worked his way to the
front and was able to pass both Griffin and Gardner on lap 12 to move into the
third position. Three laps later, Sherman moved ahead of Kruseman for
second place. After his cushion riding win Friday, Sherman joked that
"it's no fun to run the bottom." Still, such a creed can
quickly be swayed, particularly during times of success or failure.
"Yeah, it was pretty fun," Sherman laughed. "I was kind
of loose on the top and I saw those guys fumbling around the top so I tried
the bottom. I didn't hit it real good the first time I tried it, but the
second time I tried it I passed a couple of guys and I knew it was the place
to be and that I had to go ahead and come down."
And "go ahead" is exactly what he did. Taking the lead from
Jones on the 16th lap, Sherman simply checked-out from the rest of the field
and went on to complete his 20 mile run in track record time (14:08.37).
Steve Ostling gave the Fischer Motorsports / Watt Enterprises No. 29 Okie a
tremendous ride from the 14th starting spot and might have had something for
Sherman if there had been a caution flag. Sherman's flawless work in
lapped traffic further sealed Ostling's fate as the first runner-up.
Ostling did, however, win the KSE Products Hard Charger Award.
Jones went on to finish third ahead of Sander Engineering fast qualifier Troy
Rutherford and Kruseman. After a hard flip Friday, Gardner returned to
finish one spot behind Griffin in seventh.
SCRA RACE #5 - GARY SOKOLA CLASSIC MANZANITA SPEEDWAY, PHOENIX, AZ
Date of Race: 03/16/02
SANDER ENGINEERING TIME TRIALS
1. Troy Rutherford, Gardner Jr 96, 19.725 2. Tony Elliott, Gardner Jr.
96X, 20.043 3. Rip Williams, Jory 3, 20.141 4. Tracy Hines, BWB
Racing 62, 20.399 5. Damion Gardner, Gardner 20X , 20.413 6. Mike
English, Jory 6, 20.425 7. Bob Ream, Jr., BRAT Racing 8, 20.567
8. Jerry Coons, Jr., Coons 12A, 20.616 9. Charles Davis, Jr., Davis 94,
20.639 10. Derek Davidson, BWB Racing 26, 20.697 11. Steve
Ostling, Fischer Mtrspts 29, 20.711 12. Rickie Gaunt, Alexander 4,
20.747 13. John Scott, Scott Mtrsprts 83, 20.763 14. Charlie
Ekiss, Ekiss 78, 20.793 15. Fred Bryan, Bryan 7AZ, 20.885
16. Bobby Graham, Lancaster 14, 20.919 17. Bud Kaeding, Witherill 61,
20.969 18. Levi Jones, Crossno 38, 21.041 19. Michael Hinrichsen,
Lake Mtrsprts.
16, 21.105 20. Mark Nation, Nation 3N, 21.130 21. Paul Norbury,
Carsten 91, 21.145 22. Cal Smith, Francis 65, 21.240 23. Jack
DeArmond, Jr., DeArmond, Jr. 24, 21.242 24. Mike Spencer, Engstrom 44 ,
21.253 25. Bobby Cody (R), Cody 41, 21.269 26. Paul Beregszaszy,
Berg Racing 11A, 21.342 27. J.J. Yeley, Smiley 2, 21.359 28. Kevin
Doty, Ellis 21, 21.431 29. Adam Mitchell, Mitchell 99, 21.513 30. Dan
Hillberg, Hillberg 82, 22.141 31. Glenn Crossno, Crossno 38X, 23.985 32.
Rodney Argo, Argo 19, No Time
HEDMAN HEDDERS HEAT 1
1. Rutherford, 2. Norbury, 3. Scott, 4. Gardner, 5. Kaeding, 6. Davis, 7.
Cody, 8. Mitchell,
SHAVER ENGINES HEAT 2
1. Smith, 2. English, 3. L. Jones, 4. Davidson, 5. Elliott, 6. Hillberg, 7.
Ekiss, 8. Beregszaszy,
SPIN TECH MUFFLERS HEAT 3
1. Yeley, 2. DeArmond, 3. Williams, 4. Hinrichsen, 5. Ostling, 6. Ream, 7.
Bryan, 8. Crossno,
STINGER CHASSIS HEAT 4
1. Doty, 2. Hines, 3. Coons, 4. Gaunt, 5. Spencer, 6. Nation, 7. Graham,
JE PISTONS DASH
1. Kruseman. 2. Griffin. 3. T. Jones. 4. Williams. 5. Sherman. 6. Gardner. 7.
Hines. 8. Rutherford.
B FEATURE
1. Elliott. 2. Ostling. 3. Ream. 4. Kaeding. 5. Davis. 6. Graham. 7. Ekiss. 8.
Bryan. 9. Spencer. 10. Hillberg. 11. Cody. 12. Nation. 13. Mitchell. 14.
Crossno.
A FEATURE (40 Laps)
1. Sherman. 2. Ostling. 3. T. Jones. 4. Rutherford. 5. Kruseman.
6. Griffin. 7. Gardner. 8. Ream. 9. Kaeding. 10. Elliott. 11. L. Jones. 12.
Gaunt. 13. Scott. 14. Yeley. 15. Coons. 16. Williams. 17. Davidson. 18.
DeArmond. 19. Doty. 20. Smith. 21. Hinrichsen, 22. Norbury. 23. English.
24. Hines
Laps Led: , Kruseman 1-8, T. Jones 9-15, Sherman 16-40
