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RACING SCENE Column - (PAS Indy 500 Salute-Part 1 of 2) – By Tim Kennedy
Los Angeles, CA.-- Perris Auto Speedway (PAS) presented a four series open-wheel “Salute to the Indy 500” Saturday, May 24 at the half-mile clay track in Riverside County. USAC-CRA (410 cu. in. engines) had 21 sprinters and were joined by 12 PAS Senior Sprints (with drivers 45+ driving 360 cu. in. engines), five PAS Young Guns (ages 14-21) in 360 sprint cars, and 15 winged California Lightning Sprints (CLS) powered by chain-driven 1,000-1,200cc motorcycle engines.
A large holiday crowd (an estimated 3 to 4,000) enjoyed the event. The new (debuted May 3) four main event scheduling order worked to perfection. As requested by many fans (especially those with children), PAS ran the featured USAC-CRA 410 sprints as the second main event following a 20-lap senior sprints main. The third main event was a 20-lap CLS mini-sprint race followed by a 15-lap young guns main as the closer. Promoter Don Kazarian listened to requests from spectators this year for the above main event scheduling and he obliged thankfully.
Fans watched the 20-lap seniors main from 8:46-8:56 pm. The USAC-CRA 40-lap primary attraction started at 9:10 and concluded at 9:40. Numerous fans, especially those with young children, departed for home at that point. Perhaps 35-40% of the spectators left. The CLS 20 lapper ran from 9:52-10:03 pm and the young guns 15-lap race ran from 10:11-10:18 pm. With spectators leaving at staggered times, the parking lot cleared out in waves without lines of cars exiting at the same time. That's another bonus in the new format. Of course, the gate to the pits was opened after the final race and many fans still went to the pits to speak to drivers and teams and get autographs and racing t-shirts.
USAC-CRA: There were 22 cars unloaded in the pits. Cory Kruseman was en-route to the PAS, but he reportedly became ill and threw-up so he returned home. His No. 7 Mark Priestley ride remained unloaded in the pits all night and did not race with another driver. The car count for this race last year was 23, so it appears some teams make non-racing plans for the first three-day holiday weekend of the year. The main grandstand seemed to be more populated than usual and hundreds more were in the pits. Cory was an excellent guest on Dave DeSpain's half-hour interview show on MAV-TV recently.
The 40-page PAS “Salute to Indy” $5.00 program , printed in color on premium paper, is a collectors' item. The cover had a shot of 2013 PAS “Salute to Indy” winner Matt Mitchell drinking from a bottle of chocolate milk with a victor's wreath draped over his shoulders and a photo of his No. 37 at speed. At the top were photos of the Dean Van Lines Indy 500 roadster, a shot of A. J. Foyt, a Penske Marlboro No. 6 Indy car, and a Kazarian No. 2 Gas Chem sprint car driven by Bubby Jones. A color page of PAS 2012 “Salute to Indy” winner Mike Spencer, wearing the victor's wreath, also depicted him drinking a bottle of chocolate milk. The pagoda at Indy's start/finish infield was part of the tributes to Indy as were the wreath and bottle of milk. Respected racing photographer Mike Arthur did the page design and layout. It is worthy of framing.
The two-page centerfold had Richard VanderWeerd (No. 10) at speed. He won the last 2014 USAC-CRA feature at Perris on May 3 for his initial PAS feature triumph. Another full page in color honored U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Dyer, a CLS driver and active duty bomb disposal specialist. He served four tours in the Middle East wars. Photos showed him in his Army full gear field uniform and in his blue racing fire-suit. Other pages showed color action shots with USAC-CRA, senior sprint and young gun drivers. As expected, the PAS program (on sale in the pits and at the novelty stand) sold out before racing commenced.
SALUTE TO INDY HISTORY: A page of sprint car “Salute to Indy” past winners at various So Cal tracks showed 39 different drivers have won these races. Some years were two-day shows and other years had twin 50-lap mains on the same night. The leading winner of these salute races is the late Dean Thompson with six. The late Billy Wilkerson and Bubby Jones are tied for second place with four victories. Six drivers who raced in the Indianapolis 500 Hoosier classic won a sprint car “Salute to Indy” in Southern California. They were: (with year they won the salute race in parenthesis)-Dempsey Wilson (1948), Art Bisch, Sr. (1956), Bruce Walkup (1966), Bobby Olivero (1979), Bubby Jones (1980, 82, 83 and 86), and J. J. Yeley (1996). Another PAS program page listed by race date all PAS “Salute to Indy” winners since the inaugural race in 1996. Cory Kruseman and 2014 winner Damion Gardner are tied with three PAS Indy salute triumphs. Mike Kirby and Blake Miller each won two. Solo winners were: Yeley, Troy Rutherford, Richard Griffin, Tony Jones (Bubby's son), David Cardey and Mike Spencer. The 2008 Indy salute race was rained out.
PRELIMS: Following the invocation and singing of the National Anthem by Bobbi as usual, the PAS PA system played a taped version of Indy's traditional “Back Home Again in Indiana” by Jim Nabors. Announcer Scott Daloisio announced that popular, long-time CRA driver Jay East, 86, had succumbed at home on May 12 after a lengthy battle with cancer. The long-time Grand Terrace resident is survived by wife Donna, and daughters Vickie, and Robin, who worked for decades at the East Crane & Equipment Rental firm in Colton with her parents. Vickie is married to long-time racing announcer Bruce Flanders. Their son Michael, 35, is the I-95 Speedway announcer in Lake Havasu, AZ; their daughter Megan plays taped music at Bruce's announcing jobs. Jay also is survived by Robins's son Cody Lague.
Spectators at PAS stood for a few moments of silence to honor Jay. Two USAC-CRA sprint cars made several slow laps around the half-mile in honor of Jay. Drivers who raced at Ascot Park in Jay's era were the drivers. Five-time CRA champion Jimmy Oskie, 68, drove Brett Roa's No. 91R 2014 Maxim and Rickie Gaunt, 45, drove his No. 9 McDonald Chevy slowly around the track together. Then they peeled off and turned several hot laps together in Jay's memory. His body was cremated and a memorial service date has not been announced at this time.
Jay, a great guy and friend of everyone in CRA, won eight CRA main events at five speedways from 1965 to 1976 for seven different car owners. His victories in order were: 5/29/65-Hanford 50 in No. 1 Leonard Surdam Chevy; 6/19/65-Orange Show, San Bernardino 30 in Kimball-Carter No. 50; 9/13/69-Speedway 605, Irwindale 30 in Don Blair's No. 68; 11/8/69-Ascot 30 in same Blair No. 68; 2/28/71- El Centro 20 in Ruth Kasenberg No. 6; 5/20/72-Ascot 30 in Bill Baffa's No. 20, 6/30/73-Ascot 50 in the Jim Schultz No. 66, and 5/16/76-Speedway 605 in Jack Austin's No. 39. Jay finished in the top ten in final CRA driver point standings three times—eighth in 1969, sixth in 1970 and seventh in 1971. His other final position from 1968 until he cut back his schedule in the mid-1970s were: 15, 17, 14, 11 and 23. Jay set fastest qualifying times eight times--seven at Ascot and once at Saugus.
Jay suffered three serious injuries and hospital-time after CRA flips. On August 30, 1975 he received a compressed vertebrae, fractured neck and broken wrist during a flip at Ascot and spent almost a week in Loma Linda University Hospital. On August 10, 1979 he flipped at Speedway 117 and lost the tip of his right index finger in a two hour surgery that night. On July 26, 1980 Jay drove his own No. 21 and was in P. 2 on lap 2 of his heat race when struck by another car. Jay flipped high in the air, landed hard and rolled at least four times. He was unconscious and rushed to Gardena Memorial Hospital. His serious eye injury caused him to retire from dirt track racing. Eye problems also prevented him from driving on the street in his later years.
PURSE: The USAC-CRA 40-lap main purse was $3,000 plus an extra $500 ($3,500 total) from AMA Plastics Inc.. Then just before the feature AMA Plastics again upped the ante by $3,000 if the winner was a resident of Yorba Linda. That made it a potential $6,500 payday for three drivers who reside in the Orange County city. Mitchell started second, Austin Williams fourth and his brother Logan 16th. Rip Williams' oldest son Cody, 23, moved from Yorba Linda to Corona after he married 360 sprint car driver Heidi Tressler, of Victorville last October. So Cody was not eligible for the $3,000 YL-resident bonus. Cody finished third, and his fast-improving brother Logan placed eighth, last driver on the lead lap. Austin and Matt dropped out.
WRA Vintage Racing Cars from the 1930s-70s decades participated at PAS during the “Salute to Indy” event May 24. There were five midgets (Nos. 14, 19, 27, 51 and 107) and four sprint cars (Nos. 3, 55, 59 and the caged No. 1s CAE of Jim Culbert that Jim Wood drove to numerous victories, including the 9/3/71 CRA feature at El Cajon. It was announced that WRA now allows caged open-wheel cars to participate in their “moving museum of racing” events.
At intermission drivers went through the PAS grandstands with their helmets and spectators put cash into the helmets to help fight cancer. My folding money went into Chris Gansen's (No. 4G) helmet. He said his brother Donnie Gansen (No.7G) has not been racing this year because he will be getting married soon. This was the second of three scheduled “Fight Cancer” collections authorized by PAS promoter Don Kazarian. Over the years PAS management and racing fans have contributed $92,826 to the anti-cancer fund. Kazarian is trying to surpass his $100,000 PAS goal for cancer research ASAP.
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