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RACING SCENE Column – (PAS Notes—MAY 24) – By Tim Kennedy
Los Angeles, CA. - California Lightning Sprints (CLS): Former La Verne and Chino Hills resident Jeff Dyer, from Fort Irwin in the Mohave Desert, drove his own No. 4 Dyer Motor-sports CLS 1,200cc winged mini sprint at Perris May 24. The father of two sons is sponsored by Glenn Sels Engineering and Frank Baldozier. His car had a patriotic wrap on the top wing for the Memorial Day weekend. The 31-year old veteran of four deployments to war zones in the Middle East has won two Bronze Stars. He was the subject of a weekly auto racing column 18-paragraph feature on May 22 by Louie Brewster in many area newspapers of the LA Newspaper Group.
Jeff is a sergeant and member of the US Army 759th Explosive Ordinance Disposal Company (EOD) bomb disposal squad. It is a brave group trained to remove planted Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in Iraq and Afghanistan. Jeff said IED blasts “cost the lives of a lot of real good friends and five were real close to me.” In tribute to his fallen friends, Jeff put the names of four of his fallen SSG fellow bomb disposal experts on his top wing. They were: Shane S. Barnard (KIA 5/19/10), Derek J. Farley (KIA 8/17/10), Kenneth W. Bennett (KIA 11/10/12) and Nicholas J. Reid (KIA 12/13/12).
Dyer had a new CLS car last season but struggled with it. This year he won the March 15 Perris Auto Speedway 20-lap CLS feature in a 21-car field. He flipped at Ventura on April 5, but then scored second and third place feature finishes to become a CLS 2014 championship contender along with 2013 CLS champion/2014 point leader Steve Limon. On May 24 Dyer won his six-lap heat race, and started third in the main event. He took the lead on lap 3 and led to lap 8 at turn two when he slowed suddenly leaving turn two without power. Despite finishing last (11th), Dyer took over the point lead from absent Limon, who slipped to third. Damon Arnett moved up to second, 36 points in back of Dyer with nine races remaining in the 17-race season.
Dyer, a former high school athlete, has two years remaining in his Army enlistment. His civilian occupational goal following his Army service is a career in law enforcement. Clearly, he is not deterred by danger. He stated that his racing goal is to race 410 cubic inch sprint cars. He almost had a deal to race a 410 sprinter part-time this season, but it fell through. He will continue seeking a sprint car ride.
Three-time CLS 2014 main event winner Bobby Michnowicz, a long-time CRA 410 sprint car driver at Ascot, was in the pits alone. His two-car Michnowicz team driver/teenage son Kevin was “doing non-racing stuff”with his buddies. Bobby's wife/crew member was home with broken vertebrae that she received during a ride along desert off-road vehicle flip.
Bobby, always a threat to win CLS features, did not race May 24 following a blown head gasket during hot laps. Bobby told me his three main event victories this season have come in two of his cars. He won the 20-lap El Centro March 8 season opener in his new No. 12m DLX chassis (it is half a Triple X midget chassis). It is built in the state of Washington and uses a 1,200 cc Kawasaki engine. Bobby won the May 3 PAS 20-lap main in his No. 21K Henchcraft chassis with a 1,000cc Honda. He used the 21kA car to win the CLS May 10 Bakersfield Speedway 20 in a 16-car field.
CLS FEMALE ROOKIE WINS: Personable CLS rookie Cori Andrews, 15 (DOB 9-9-98), made history May 24 at PAS. The Murrieta resident started fourth in her colorful black and florescent yellow No. 22 Henchcraft/1,000cc Honda and led laps 8-20. It was her first CLS main event victory in only her seventh CLS event. Cori ranks seventh in driver points despite missing the season opener in Perris. She has raced in off-road racing shows at Lake Elsinore and Glen Helen near San Bernardino.
After her victory, PAS infield announcer Chris Holt asked the diminutive driver with a strong throttle foot what her racing goals are. She replied, “To race sprint cars and World of Outlaws eventually.” She added, I love the half-mile. This was my first time on a half-mile. I never took my foot off. I didn't know where second place was. My car got sort of tight at the end.” She thanked her family, friends and her boyfriend for coming too. The tall teenage boy watched from her pit stall. Cori won by a full straightaway and had two lapped cars between her and the second place finisher. She didn't realize she had such a significant lead.
What made the May 24 CLS main event even more amazing was the fact that another 15-year old CLS rookie finished second. Corey Hoover, a Santiago High sophomore in Corona, started seventh and finished a career-best second in only his eighth CLS event. Corey (DOB 6/19/98) and Cori are friends and pitted alongside each other. His dad Todd Hoover owns his TCR chassis, which is powered by a 1,000cc Honda 2X10. He was named the race “hard charger” for gaining the most positions. Corey ranks fourth in points. His racing experience is in water-cooled, non-shifter kart racing at tracks in Perris and at the California Speedway parking lot in Fontana.
The last female to win a CLS main event was about 15-years ago. Denise Sczymczak won at PAS in 1996 or 97 when she and her brother Rob both raced CLS cars. In fact, her brother Rob won the 1996 CLS driving championship. Denise is the mother of current 18-year old USAC National Midget and NASCAR K & N East stock car driver Nick Drake, whose father is long-time TQs, midgets, sprints, Silver Crown and Indy Lights driver Jay Drake, from Val Verde. Nick's step-father is Troy Cline, a former SCRA sprint car driver at PAS and other western speedways and a NASCAR West stock car driver. They now live and race out of Mooresville, N.C and Troy works for a NASCAR team.
Nick (DOB 12/22/95) was born into racing. He was the 2009 Quarter Midget Assn Grand National Champion. He claimed the 2010-11 USAC Ford Focus Midget National Championships, and was named 2012 National Sprint Car Hall of Fame rookie of the year. He raced at PAS in the 2013 USAC Turkey Night Midget GP last November in the No. 55 Haas Automation Spike/Esslinger. He started tenth and finished on the lead lap in P. 16 with 33 cars in the 98-lap feature. It was only his third midget race.
Currently Nick is a front-running stock car driver who eventually will wind up in a NASCAR national series ride. Racing in NASCAR's regional touring K & N East Series, Nick drives the No. 15 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota for Nor Cal's Bill McAnally. Through seven K&N East races Nick has won a pole with fast time at Richmond, VA. He also finished features in P. 10 at Bowman-Gray Speedway and has three top five finishes of second (at Iowa Speedway), third (at Richmond, VA) and fourth (at Daytona International Speedway). Fields average about 30 cars. Nick ranks seventh out of 48 drivers with K &N East points. He is the third highest rookie in 2014 K & N East standings. Nick also raced in the 2/27/14 K & N West opener on the Phoenix mile in McAnally's NAPA Toyota. He qualified seventh fastest in a 29 car field and finished third in the 80-lap race.
YOUNG GUNS: The five car 360 cu. in. PAS Young Guns (drivers from ages 14-21) race for experience and trophies. Three YGs raced 15-laps May 24 after Parker Coulson (No. 64) scratched with a steering box problem. On lap 1 George Morris (No. 3K) broke a RF torsion arm stop and turned right into the crash-wall leaving turn two,ending his race. Trent Williams (No. 52) led all the way in his dad's Victory chassis. When asked by the pit announcer if other drivers are ever going to win against him the confident youngster said, “It's not going to happen.” He added, “The Young Gun series is great because we can run anywhere on the track, not just low and out of the way if we raced with the USAC-CRA 410s.”
Mikael “Mikey” Lovas, from Menifee, is now 16 and in his second year as a 360 sprint car young gun. He raced Briggs & Stratton-powered Bandolero cars at Irwindale Speedway in 2011. He drove his No. 0 to second place, half a lap back. He told spectators, “Trent is really good and a fast driver. It's tough to keep up with him. I need better handling a better driving from me.” Mitch Collins (No 04) placed third, a straightaway behind P. 2. Over the PA Collins said, “My brakes stuck. This is a great track. If I was racing with USAC I'd get lapped every five laps and have to run low. I can learn more in the Young Guns.” The son of Senior Division driver “Hubcap Mike” lives in Lake Forest in southern Orange County. Earlier in the evening, Mitch, 17, told me he will be moving to San Luis Obispo this summer to attend Cal Poly University, SLO. He said he will major in statistics. His occupational goal is to become an actuary in the insurance industry.
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