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KRUSEMAN WINS TWO IN A ROW |
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GODFREY, IL, AUGUST 19, 2003 - Cory Kruseman stormed to his second 30-lap win on a quarter-mile track in as many nights when the NAPA Auto Parts / Auto Trader Magazines SCRA sprint car tour invaded Godfrey Speedway Tuesday for the latest Non-Wing World Championship (NWWC) tour stop. Like the night before at Highland Speedway, Kruseman wasn't the only driver running the low groove, he was just the best. "Both nights, the race track was very heavy and everyone had to wheel-pack the top, otherwise we'd end up in the infield. Naturally, the first groove that came in was the top, which means the first groove that gets wore out is the top. It was still a little greasy on the bottom in the main event, and unless I got in on the bottom perfect it pushed the nose pretty good. But, you have to go where the track is," Kruseman added. After a big wheelie coming down to accept the green flag, JE Pistons Dash winner Boston Reid led the field into the first turn. With outside front row starter Rip Williams having fallen into the second position on the opening lap, Damion Gardner found himself as the meat in a Tony Stewart Motorsports sandwich exiting turn two. Left with no options other than to back-off, Gardner was forced to watch Kruseman, who started fifth, dart by on the bottom and J.J. Yeley fly by on the top. Kruseman's Mopar powered Kunz chassis got a good run off the fourth corner on lap six and relieved Williams of the runner-up spot along the front straight. Two laps later, Yeley put his Twister car ahead of Williams. By this time, Reid had already begun lapping cars. Kruseman was instantly ready to pounce on Reid should an opportunity arise. When Reid's Lucas Oil #2 Maxim slipped off the bottom of turn two slightly on lap 13, Kruseman was there and vaulted ahead of the 20 year-old phenom only to see the yellow light turn on before the end of the lap. The yellow light was for Williams, who tangled with the lapped car of Randy Bateman in turn one. The caution flag waved again two laps later for Dave Darland, who spun entering turn-three after touching wheels with Gardner along the backstraight. Darland did a superb job of avoiding a tip-over, as Lance Gullo and Bateman were busy sliding to a stop trying to avoid Darland. Showing the discipline of a former SCRA and NWWC Champion, Kruseman remained patient despite having his pass for the lead negated. Having calmly waited for Reid to give him another opportunity, Kruseman seized the moment on the restart and took the lead with the same move he had used three laps earlier. "Boston was really good exiting the corners," Kruseman said. "Every once in a while he'd get in too low and he'd push (up the track). I had to time it just right, and the second time he did it I timed it right on the money. I just can't say enough about my crew chief Bobby Barth. He's willing to take chances and he does a great job, which gives me confidence every time I get in the car." Gardner's flat right rear tire five laps from the finish brought out the final caution period of the race and gave Reid one last chance to shake Kruseman's confidence. Instead, the restart helped Yeley, who drove around the outside of Reid for second place. Refusing to give up on the high groove, Yeley pounded the cushion in the closing laps, but was still no match for his smooth riding teammate. Yeley does, however, lead Kruseman in the NWWC point standings heading into the Lakeside Speedway (KS) event. Bud Kaeding started 12th and drove his BK Racing / High-Five Pizza #29K Maxim to a fourth place finish ahead of the Ron Chaffin #50 Jon Boy driven by SCRA point leader Richard Griffin. Alex Shanks sixth place run was tops for drivers representing the state of Illinois. Another home-state driver, Levi Jones, thrilled fans after he hit the wall coming down for the checkered flag. Jones crossed the finish line for an eighth-place finish with only his left front tire touching the ground. Earlier in the evening Jones won his first career Sander Engineering Fast Time Award. Mike English finished one spot ahead of Jones and won the KSE Products Hard Charger Award after his drive from the 19th starting position. ### SCRA SPRINT CAR RACE RESULTS: August 19, 2003 - Godfrey, Illinois - Godfrey Speedway SANDER ENGINEERING QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Levi Jones, 38, Crossno-13.548, 2. J.J. Yeley, 20, Stewart-13.575, 3. Mike Spencer, 44, Engstrom-13.666; 4. Damion Gardner, 45, Willis-13.776, 5. Richard Griffin, 50, Chaffin-13.792; 6. Boston Reid, 2B, Benic/Davis-13.793, 7. Rip Williams, 3, Jory-13.798, 8. Alex Shanks, 2C, Cravens-13.803, 9. Mike Hess, 63, K&D Motorsports-13.831, 10. Cory Kruseman, 21, Stewart-13.888, 11. Dave Darland, 5G, Goacher-13.923, 12. Bud Kaeding, 29k, BK Racing-14.210, 13. Mat Neely, 17N, Reinoehl-14.217; 14. Terry Babb 88, Babb-14.276, 15. Bryan Stanfill, 21X, Roberts-14.293, 16. Josh Ford, 54, Willis/Ford-14.294; 17. Troy Rutherford, 7, Priestley-14.379; 18. Randy Bateman, 51, Bateman- 14.454, 19. Mike English, 6, Jory-14.540, 20. Jimmy Crawford, 18X, Crawford-14.646, 21. Alan Ballard, 97, Ballard-14.783, 22. Vinne Sansones, 80, Sansones-14.991, 23. Tony Everhart, 55, Everhart-15.219, 24. Seth Wilson, 17, Racing Optics-15.228; 25. Craig Budde, 59, Budde-15.628; 26. Patrick Budde, 90, Budde-15.674, 27. Lance Gullo, 3X, Gullo-15.799, 28. Mel Murphy, 62, Murphy-No Time. SO-CAL PERFORMANCE FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Rutherford, 2. Hess, 3. Jones, 4. Ballard, 5.Neely, 6. C. Budde, 7. Griffin. SHAVER ENGINES SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Kruseman, 2. Yeley, 3. Reid, 4. Bateman, 5. Sansones, 6. Babb, 7. P. Budde. SPIN TECH MUFFLERS THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Stanfill, 2. Darland, 3. Williams, 4. Spencer, 5. English, 6. Gullo, 7. Everhart. STINGER CHASSIS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Kaeding, 2. Crawford, 3. Ford, 4. Gardner, 5. Shanks, 6. Wilson. JE PISTONS DASH: (6 laps) - 1. Reid, 2. Williams, 3. Gardner, 4. Yeley, 5. Kruseman, 6. Spencer, 7. Jones, 8. Hess. SIMPSON B-FEATURE: (12 laps) 1. Griffin, 2. Neely, 3. Shanks, 4. English, 5. Gullo, 6. Babb, 7. C. Budde, 8. Sansones, 9. P. Budde, 10. Wilson, 11. Everhart. NT. FEATURE: (30 laps) 1.Kruseman, 2. Yeley, 3. Reid, 4. Kaeding, 5. Griffin, 6. Shanks, 7. English, 8. Spencer, 9. Jones, 10. Neely, 11. Williams, 12.Rutherford, 13. Darland, 14. Stanfill, 15. Crawford, 16. Ford, 17. Gardner, 18. Ballard, 19. Gullo, 20. Bateman, 21. Hess, 22. Babb. NT ------------------ LAPS LED: Reid 1-15, Kruseman 16-30 |
