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BANDIT/VRA SPRINT CAR SERIES NEXT AT VENTURA RACEWAY |
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VENTURA, Calif. (March 31, 2009) – It’s one of the events that make a season at Ventura Raceway special and it happens Saturday, April 4. It’s race one of the 2009 Bandit/VRA Grand Slam series, matching sprint car drivers from around California against the Raceway’s sprint car stars. The Bandit/VRA series rotates through three tracks: Ventura, Bakersfield Speedway and Santa Maria Speedway. Saturday’s event is a regular points race for the Ventura Sprint Car division regulars. Also on the card are the VRA Senior Dwarf cars, IMCA Modifieds and VRA Sport Compacts. Kevin Kierce and Bruce Douglas, the leaders of the Raceway’s two Sprint Car divisions, look forward to the chance to race against the touring regulars but they had different thoughts about the timing. The Ventura stop has been the last of the three races in other seasons. “It might help the car count to hold it here first,” Kierce said. The defending VRA Sprint Car champ, Kierce, who lives in Reseda, leads the standings again after three races this season and he won the March 28 race at Ventura. Thinking about the weather, Douglas said, “I’d rather get there (to the other tracks) earlier in the year. In Ventura you get 70 degrees all the time.” Douglas, of Ventura, leads the VRA Senior Sprint standings with a win in the first event of the season. He also has a top 10 finish in the Sprint Car division. The Ventura Sprint Car class has attracted more than 30 entries for every race this season, bucking the national trend. The VRA Sprint Car class is as competitive as any on the West Coast. “And we’re running on the harder tire this year in the Grand Slam races,” Douglas said. “It’s our tire,” meaning the tire used at Ventura every week. “Last year the tracks took rubber and that rarely happens at Ventura.” So does that mean the Ventura regulars will have the advantage in Saturday’s race? Kierce said no. “The fast guys are fast,” he said. For example, “(Danny) Faria comes here and runs our tire and does well. (Peter) Murphy, (Albert) Pombo, anyone that’s winning at home can go anywhere and be competitive.” The second race in the Bandit/VRA Grand Slam will be held April 25 at Bakersfield and the third is scheduled at Santa Maria Speedway on Aug. 8. More information on Ventura Raceway can be found at www.venturaraceway.com. Raceway notes: The first three nights of the 2009 season at Ventura attracted an average of 134.66 entrants…Brent Underwood (Camarillo) is undefeated in the Sport Compacts Rear Wheel Drive class…Chris Olson (Chino Hills), driver of the number 88 Dwarf Car, has joined the United States Air Force…Jeff Fillingame (Santa Paula), driver of the number 88 Dwarf Car, is the subject of a video documentary now being produced by students at the Brooks Photography Institute. |
