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TEAMMATES WILLIAMS & ENGLISH ENJOY VENTURA RUN |
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VENTURA, CA, OCTOBER 26, 2002 - It was a big night for Rip Williams, Mike
English and the Sharon Jory / Tomarco Fasteners Team Saturday at Ventura
Raceway. Running one-two for the entire 30-lap distance, Williams beat his
teammate, English, to the checkered flag to score his second NAPA Auto Parts /
Auto Trader Magazines SCRA win of the year. "It doesn't really matter which one of us wins, just as long as somebody from our team wins," Williams modestly stated after the race. "We've been struggling here (at Ventura) the last couple of years, and I've been asking Mike questions about this place. He asks me questions about all the other places, and I think we've got this place figured out now." Team Jory also had things "figured out" in the JE Pistons Dash as well, with English beating Williams in that event to secure the front row for the two teammates. Williams put his Gambler chassis into the lead on the initial start only to have that start erased by a yellow flag for Rodney Argo, who clipped English's right rear tire before sliding to a stop in turn four. Argo restarted and went on to finish seventh. Argo's teammate, Josh Wise, who earlier won his second Sander Engineering Fast Time Award in only his third career SCRA start, negated the second attempt at a start after his Don Argo ride came to a stop in turn four. Like a carbon copy of the prior two starts, Williams took the lead coming down to accept the green and was followed back to the line at the end of the opening lap by English, Danny Sheridan, Tony Jones, and Damion Gardner. Cory Kruseman was on the move early and had the Harlan Willis / WorldGate Networks No. 1 TCR up to fourth by the end of the third circuit. Rickie Gaunt was also on the move. After starting tenth, Gaunt put the Alexander Trucking No 4. Stinger into the top-five on lap 11 after a nice move on Jones in turn two. Williams approached lapped traffic for the first time on lap 13, and might have had too close of a view when Jimmy Crawford lost his right rear wheel in turn one. Moments after the caution light appeared for Crawford, third place Sheridan spun to a stop in turn two. Knowing that he would be difficult to pass without the aid of lapped traffic, Williams later confessed that he was pleased to see what turned out to be a very timely yellow flag. "I saw lapped traffic up there, and I looked back and Mike was right behind me, so I slowed down a little bit hoping for a yellow (flag). Next thing I know, here come the yellows, so maybe my luck is changing." Maybe Williams luck has changed. An innocent victim of an incident in his heat race, Williams' crew made some quick repairs under caution that enabled him to return to make a last corner pass on the last lap of his heat race. That pass not only gave Williams a direct transfer to the main event, but, as it turned out, also gave him a front row starting spot for the dash. Conversely, Richard Griffin's luck in the fall has not been the best despite recently clinching his fourth SCRA Driving Title. Jones, whose recent luck hasn't been all that great either, ran into problems during the following restart and collected Griffin and Gardner. Bouncing to a stop in turn three, Jones' car actually re-fired after being struck by Gardner. Jones went on togather sixth place finish without being credited for a stop. Gardner and Griffin were not as fortunate and did come to a stop on the racing surface. Griffin, who originally started 13th, was able to restart and went on to give the Ron Chaffin owned Arizona Race Mart No. 50 Jon Boy the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award after posting a hard-fought fifth place finish. Racing resumed, with Williams still setting the pace, until Adam Mitchell flipped along the backstraight on the 19th lap. Mitchell was not hurt. Without a serious challenge from English, Williams eventually went on to post his 57th career SCRA win, which moved him back into sole possession of the SCRA record for all-time main event wins. After the victory, Williams, who also has 30 career CRA wins in his 25-year sprint car career, revealed that his latest goal is to win 100 main events. English's second place finish was not as comfortable as Williams' win since he had to withstand heavy pressure from Kruseman. Gaunt's fourth place finish provided him with his eighth top-five finish of the year. After the SCRA main event, the 2002 Wagsdash took to the track. Sheridan, who started eleventh for Ken Wagner's invitational race, took the lead on lap three and went on to earn a $2,500 payday for 20-laps worth of work. Gary W. Howard finished second ahead of Casey Shuman (who started 19th). Brothers Brian and Steve Venard occupied the fourth and fifth positions, while Sean Buckley's sixth place run was the best finish for a VRA regular. SCRA RACE #36 - VENTURA RACEWAY, VENTURA, CA, 10/26/02 SANDER ENGINEERING TIME TRIALS 1. Josh Wise, Riverside CA, Argo. 19A, 11.968 2. Rodney Argo, Gardena CA, Argo 19, 12.094 3. Danny Sheridan, Santa Maria CA, DiDonato 57, 12.145 4. Mike Spencer, Temecula CA, Engstrom 44, 12.203 5. Rickie Gaunt, Torrance CA, Alexander 4, 12.203 6. Cory Kruseman, Ventura CA, Willis 1, 12.297 7. Casey Shuman, Tempe AZ, Pratt 12, 12.325 8. Rip Williams, Yorba Linda CA, Jory 3, 12.330 9. Mike English, Norwalk CA, Jory. 6 12.341 10. Tony Jones, Garden Grove CA, Vermeer/Jones 87 , 12.377 11. Dan Hillberg, Whittier CA, Hillberg 82, 12.424 12. Damion Gardner, Concord CA, Gardner 20, 12.424 13. Richard Griffin, Silver City NM, Chaffin 50, 12.448 14. Kevin Kierce, Reseda CA, Gilbert 2X, 12.468 15. Gary W. Howard, Fontana CA, Ruth 25, 12.494 16. Levi Jones, Olney IL.,Crossno 38, 12.519 17. Adam Mitchell, Escondido CA, Mitchell 99, 12.545 18. Bobby Cody, (R) Costa Mesa CA, Cody 41, 12.558 19. Greg Taylor, Ojai CA, Taylor 7T, 12.564 20. Steve Ostling, Corona CA, Fischer Mtrspts. 29, 12.564 21. Brian Venard, Tustin CA, Venard, 47, 12.589 22. Jack DeArmond, Jr, Corona CA, DeArmond, Jr. 24, 12.616 23. Brian Stanfill, Las Vegas NV, Lancaster 14, 12.618 24. Verne Sweeney, Lomita CA, Sweeney 98, 12.669 25. Cory Witherill, Santa Monica CA, Witherill 61, 12.686 26. Marc Hart, Ventura CA, Hart 15, 12.704 27. Rick Ziehl, Las Cruces NM, R&R Racing 35, 12.707 28. Jimmy Crawford, Ventura CA, Team NRG 17C, 12.722 29. Josh Ford, Camarillo CA, Ford 73J, 12.722 30. Chris Tramel, Ventura CA, Tramel 77X, 12.725 31. Jarrett Chaney, Clovis CA, Robison Mtrspts 42, 12.819 32. Dan Tedrick, Hesperia CA, Tedrick 88, 12.853 33. Clark Templeman III 18T, Santa Clarita CA, Templeman 18T, 12.875 34. Mel Murphy, Woodcrest CA, Murphy 62, 12.908 35. Steve DeMott, Santa Maria CA, DeMott 35X, 12.927 36. Steve Venard, Silverado CA, Glover 49, 12.931 37. Larry Lloyd, Temecula CA, Lloyd 52L, 13.010 38. Tom Downing, Lakewood CA, Downing 90, 13.058 39. Sean Buckley, Ventura CA, Movius 23C, 13.130 40. Ron Bach, Ventura CA, Bach 49K, 13.142 41. Cal Smith, Montclair CA, Pratt 39, 13.144 42. Alan Ballard, Bakersfield CA, Ballard 97, 13.192 43. Mark Heidenreich, (R) Upland CA, Heidenreich 22,13.218 44. Steve Gresham, Thousand Oaks CA, Gresham 07, 13.336 45. Dennis Rodriguez, Camarillo CA, Downing 9OX, 13.774 46. Max McNut, Ventura CA, Daniels 12M, 13.852 47. Tom Wilhelm, (R) Temecula CA, Wilhelm 64, 14.509 48. Shawn Torbert, Granada Hills CA, Kruseman 1C , 14.595 49. Mike Kirby, Torrance CA, Geurin 5, No Time 50. David Sinsley, Torrance CA, Sinsley 69X, No Time D FEATURE 1. Steve Gresham, 2. David Sinsley. 3. Max McNut. 4. Tom Wilhelm. 5, Shawn Torbert, C FEATURE 1. Clark Templeman III. 2. Mel Murphy. 3. Ron Bach. 4. Cal Smith. 5. Alan Ballard. 6. Steve Demott. 7. Mark Heidenreich. 8. Steve Venard. 9. Steve Gresham. 10. David Sinsley. 11. Tom Downing. HEDMAN HEDDERS HEAT 1 1. Mike English, 2. Richard Griffin, 3. Adam Mitchell, 4. Josh Wise, 5. Rickie Gaunt, 6. Brian Venard, 7. Clark Templeman III, 8. Cory Witherill, 9. Josh Ford, SHAVER ENGINES HEAT 2 1. Rodney Argo, 2. Cory Kruseman, 3. Tony Jones, 4. Chris Tramel, 5. Marc Hart, 6. Jack DeArmond, Jr., 7. Bobby Cody, 8. Kevin Kierce, 9. Mel Murphy, SPIN TECH MUFFLERS HEAT 3 1. Greg Taylor, 2. Brian Stanfill, 3. Danny Sheridan, 4. Gary W. Howard, 5. Dan Hillberg, 6. Jarrett Chaney, 7. Ron Bach, 8. Casey Shuman, 9. Rick Ziehl, STINGER CHASSIS HEAT 4 1. Damion Gardner, 2. Jimmy Crawford, 3. Steve Ostling, 4. Rip Williams, 5. Verne Sweeney, 6. Mike Spencer, 7. Cal Smith, 8. Dan Tedrick, 9. Levi Jones, JE PISTONS DASH 1. Mike English, 2, Rip Williams, 3. Danny Sheridan. 4. Rodney Argo. 5. Cory Kruseman. 6. Tony Jones. 7. Josh Wise. 8. Damion Gardner. B FEATURE 1. Mike Spencer. 2. Rickie Gaunt. 3. Casey Shuman. 4. Dan Hillberg. 5. Levi Jones. 6. Bobby Cody. 7. Brian Venard. 8. Jack DeArmond, Jr.. 9. Jarrett Chaney. 10. Rick Ziehl. 11. Cory Witherill. 12, Marc Hart, 13. Mel Murphy. 14. Cal Smith. 15. Clark Templeman III. 16. Verne Sweeney. 17. Josh Ford. 18. Ron Bach. 19. Dan Tedrick. 20. Kevin Kierce. A FEATURE (30 Laps) 1. Rip Williams. 2. Mike English. 3. Cory Kruseman, 4. Rickie Gaunt, 5. Richard Griffin, 6. Tony Jones, 7. Rodney Argo, 8. Dan Hillberg, 9. Casey Shuman, 10. Brian Stanfill. 11. Damion Gardner. 12. Mike Spencer. 13. Chris Tramel. 14. Danny Sheridan, 15. Steve Ostling. 16. Adam Mitchell. 17. Greg Taylor, 18. Gary W. Howard, 19. Jimmy Crawford. 20. Josh Wise, Laps Led: Williams 1-30 WAGSDASH 2002 (20 Laps) 1. Danny Sheridan. 2. Gary W. Howard. 3. Casey Shuman. 4. Brian Venard. 5. Steve Venard. 6. Sean Buckley. 7. Verne Sweeney. 8. Jack DeArmond, Jr. 9. Cal Smith. 10. Nick Lima. 11. Mark Heidenreich. 12. Dan Hillberg. 13. Bobby Cody. 14. Jarrett Chaney. 15. Dan Tedrick. 16. Rick Ziehl. 17. Mel Murphy. 18. Kevin Kierce. 19. David Sinsley. 20. Brian Stanfill. SCRA POINTS as of 10/26/02 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CAR NAME HOMETOWN STARTS POINTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. 50 Richard Griffin Silver City NM 36 2193 2. 20 Damion Gardner Concord CA 34 1793 3. 87 Tony Jones Garden Grove CA 36 1785 4. 1 Cory Kruseman Ventura CA 32 1738 5. 3 Rip Williams Yorba Linda CA 36 1733 6. 4 Rickie Gaunt Torrance CA 36 1594 7. 5 Mike Kirby Torrance CA 33 1564 8. 29 Steve Ostling Corona CA 28 1552 9. 6 Mike English Norwalk CA 36 1519 10. 83 John Scott Hesperia CA 33 1502 11. 38 Bobby Graham Riverside CA 30 1103 12. 7 Troy Rutherford Ojai CA 25 1064 13. 21 Jeremy Sherman Phoenix AZ 20 1032 14. 94 Charles Davis, Jr Buckeye AZ 29 913 15. 44 Mike Spencer Temecula CA 35 814 16. 38 Levi Jones Olney IL 19 770 17. 19 Rodney Argo Gardena CA 26 748 18. 99 Adam Mitchell Escondido CA 29 707 19. 25 Gary W. Howard Fontana CA 22 679 20. 41 Bobby Cody (R) Costa Mesa CA 35 639 |
