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RACING SCENE Column – (Ventura All-Coast Sprints) – By Tim Kennedy
Los Angeles, CA. - Southern California has a new 410 sprint car classic event. It has become an instant “must see” race for open-wheel racing fans. The first USAC-CRA “All-Coast Challenge” took place Saturday, May 9 at Jim Naylor's Ventura Raceway, a fifth-mile banked clay oval at the Ventura County Fairgrounds, south of Santa Barbara. The raceway sits just across the street from the Pacific Ocean. It is one of the top scenic motor racing sites in the world. Calistoga (CA) Speedway, the Long Beach GP (Indy Cars), and the streets of Monte Carlo (F.1 Monaco Grand Prix) are other noteworthy scenic racing sites.
The initial “All-Coast Challenge” came to life because of one determined individual and got its name from his central coast custom home construction firm—All-Coast Construction. “Big” Mike Grosswendt is a 6'7” giant of a man in physical stature and devotion to sprint car racing advancement as well. Mike put his money where his heart is. Racers and fans alike are the beneficiaries. Grosswendt added money, incentives, and prizes to the race purse structure and made the race an instant classic.
The May 9 AMSOIL USAC-CRA sprint car race paid the 40-lap main event winner $5,000 (double the usual USAC-CRA winner's purse). It paid P. 2 $2,500, P. 3 $1,250 and $500 to all starters in the 24-car feature. Other special awards were made to fastest qualifier-$500 from Woodland Auto Display in Paso Robles and All-Coast Construction, and $500 to the main event hard charger from Jimbo McCoskey.
The main event trophy was a specially-constructed Roberts surfboard 6', white-diamond two tri-fin board personally shaped by Robert Weiner, 2011 Surfing Magazine “Shaper of the Year”. That trophy stands out among others because the winner could take it to the beach and go surfing with it. The distinctive blue Ventura surfboard trophy now joins grandfather clock trophies awarded to NASCAR race winners at Martinsville (VA) Speedway as coveted, unique auto racing trophies.
The added purse and special ambiance of this Ventura race attracted a 50-car field of 410 and 360 cu. in. sprint cars. It was the largest USAC-CRA sprint car field since the November 2014 PAS Oval Nationals. That traditional (since 1996) late season event for a king-size purse attracted 55 and 53 cars on Nov. 7-8, 2014. The 2013 PAS Oval Nationals had 53 and 51 sprint cars in the pits for the Thursday-Friday preliminary nights. The finales are held Saturday nights.
Fifteen 360 ci sprinters came out to join the fun on a perfect 60-degree evening with little or no wind. Promoter/announcer Jim Naylor groomed his seaside speedway throughout the evening. He gave racers and fans a racy, multi-groove track for the 40-lap main event. Jim brought in knowledgeable Perris Auto Speedway track announcer Scott Daloisio to handle the PA system mic. With PAS idle that night, Scott did so with his usual expertise and also handled track-side post-feature interviews with the top three drivers.
Drivers who joined USAC-CRA regulars and participated in the May 9 race came from various sources. Sixteen drivers were from Ventura Racing Assn. 360 ranks, plus four from Arizona, one from northern Cal and three from central Cal. Fans listened on the PA system to recorded Beatles music from the 1960s. A kids dance contest to the Beatles song “Twist and Shout” awarded the winner a special Trek 820 mountain bike provided by Michael's Bicycles in Newbury Park.
Everyone present hopes the “All-Coast Challenge” will become an annual tradition. With the racer and fan turnout surpassing preliminary expectations, a second annual “All-Coast Challenge” is all but assured. In fact, it should be inked in for the same weekend in 2016. Fans present enjoyed the sprint cars only program. Racing action ran from the 4:00-5:05 pm single car time trials to the main event checkered flag at 9:18 pm, well before the 10:00 pm track curfew.
All Coast Construction offered tow money to Arizona teams and free right rear Hoosier racing tires to some non-USAC-CRA entries. The first “All-Coast Challenge” lured Danny Sheridan out of a two-plus year retirement and enticed Nic Faas to make his first start of the 2015 season. Some teams ran their backup car with a second driver. Gift bags to all 50 racing teams increased the swag offered at this event. Harold Osmer donated his book about Saugus Speedway for the gift bags and all 50 bags for the entries received a copy of his Saugus book.
The Ventura Raceway 20-page printed program had a color cover with the No. 92 Jake Swanson Moose Racing sprint car on the cover. The four pages of pre-entered racing teams was almost 100% complete. Only three of 50 entries were write-ins. The printed program gave car number, driver/hometown, car owner, sponsors, chassis and engine and was accurate. Fourteen of the top 20 drivers and car owners in USAC-CRA point standings competed in the Ventura event. Two raced for points in Indiana and others in Arizona. The program also had stories featuring Mike Grosswendt and Damion Gardner's modified sprint car record run of 211 mph last year at the Bonneville Salt Flats.
The one-lap Ventura Raceway track record for USAC-CRA is 11.675 by Blake Miller on 10/28/08. The all-time one-lap 410 non-wing track record is 11.527 on 10/1/94 by Ron Shuman under SCRA sanction. The May 9 race was the 17th USAC-CRA race at Ventura since the sanction started in 2004. Hometown driver Cory Kruseman, who operates his race driving school at Ventura Raceway, leads with six USAC-CRA feature victories. Ventura's May 9 event was race six of 26 scheduled in 2015 by USAC-CRA. It became the third main event triumph for Richard VanderWeerd, 24, of Visalia.
The May 9 race in Ventura brought out many people who do not attend road events these days. Author Harold Osmer and his wife Diane attended with several guests. NMRA-TQ Midget leader West Evans was in the pits. Retired CRA drivers John Redican and Dwight Cheney were present. Ken Hillberg, a WRA vintage car owner/driver, and his CLS winged sprint owner/driver son Darren and his family spectated. Gary Schroeder rode Amtrak north from Burbank to the Ventura train station. His wife Karen drove to Ventura earlier in the day to play golf and picked him up at the Ventura train stop next to the Ventura Fairgrounds. That's a unique and fun way to get to a race.
It was interesting to me to watch drivers such as Luke Boles, Tristan Guardino, David Taylor, Mike Colegrove, and Mike Trottochau race for the first time before my eyes. Talking to them in the pits was informative. Boles TCR chassis was probably the oldest car competing that night. It was built in 2000 or 2001 according to the team. Ronnie Gardner's competitive No. 93 Sled chassis is another oldie.
Four 10-lap heat races, with the first six starters inverted by qualifying times, resulted in wins by Mike Spencer (from 1st), Rickie “Super G” Gaunt (from 3rd), Jimmy Crawford (from 1st), and Tom Hendricks (from 1st). A 15-car, 8-lap “C” main advanced the top four finishers to the 12-lap “B” main. It started 19 cars and transferred the top six finishers to the 40-lap “A” feature. Point leader Damion Gardner and Jake Swanson (P. 5 in points) had to use the two available provisional berths to start from the back row of the feature. The short track even ran the traditional USAC-CRA four-abreast parade lap on the banked fifth-mile to salute fans.
It is rare to see multi-time USAC-CRA champions struggle. Time trial order was critical for success. If you were a late qualifier a quick time was almost impossible to attain with 50 drivers turning qualification laps. Spencer qualified 30th and was 21st FQ; D. Gardner qualified 42nd and was 35th FQ. In the feature, Spencer started 17th and finished in P. 7, while Gardner started 23rd and finished tenth. Only one driver (Austin Williams) qualified in the 12-second bracket after the 30th car had qualified. Fastest qualifier R. VanderWeerd (No. 10 Maxim) was 15th to qualify and turned a 12.351 best lap. Second quickest Brody Roa was 11th to qualify. Third FQ Nic Faas was eighth to qualify; fourth fastest Greg Taylor (in a 360) was the 13th driver to qualify.
FLIPS: Five drivers flipped during the competitive evening. Chris Gansen (H-2), Cody Williams (H-3), Tony Everhart (C-main), Nic Faas and Ryan Bernal (both in A-main) were the flippers. All emerged without serious injury. Faas' No. 73x ride was the highest altitude and most spectacular. Sheridan could have been the hard luck driver after leading so many laps and then spinning out in the third turn after contact. He drove the No. 9 Shawn McDonald-inspired racing community-built car that Gaunt raced initially in Perris.
The A-main had 24 starters and 16 finishers (all on the lead lap). P. 2 starter Danny Sheridan made his first start in two years and looked impressive as he led laps 1-35. P. 3 starter Matt Mitchell led laps 36-39. P. 2 Sheridan spun after contact on lap 37. R. VanderWeerd (most improved driver of 2015) made a sensational winning pass of Mitchell by cutting to the inside leaving turn four to beat Mitchell by a foot or two. As FQ, Richard started sixth. He was still in P. 6 on lap 28. He went to the outside in all four turns and passed two drivers (A. Williams and Roa) on lap 29 to take P. 4. He was third on lap 30 and second on lap 37 after Sheridan spun. His victory pass at the checkers may well be the most exciting finish all season.
AWARDS: Jake Swanson started 24th (last) and finished eighth for a position gain of +16. That earned the $500. hard charger award for him and his No. 92 “Moose” team. Jake dropped out of the fourth heat with “a broken rear end”, so his Ventura evening was anything but smooth. The team also fielded another Victory chassis (No. 92m) for ex-PAS Young Gun division driver Trent Williams to race for the team in the big Ventura event. That car ran the B-main and left on a wrecker hook after a lap 8 second turn crash with fellow PAS Young Gun grad Parker Colston. So the 92 Sertich team could have won both the hard charger and hard luck awards.
Ventura's “All-Coast Challenge” produced a first for me. A radio-controlled drone flew over the speedway during races and recorded each race for later airing on the Internet by Loud Pedal Productions. Jesse Hatcher controlled the drone, which had bright red and green lights on each side. It flew rapidly or stopped above the track and was interesting to watch. Jesse sat in the top row of the main grandstand near turn four. He told me he has used the drone to record races at Ventura for about a year and a half. It takes a week or two to process each race and post it to the Loud Pedal website. It should offer fans a most interesting perspective of racing. Who needs the Goodyear blimp?
POINTS: When racing concluded in Ventura, points were totaled and the USAC-CRA point lead changed hands. Gardner and Spencer swapped the top two spots, with Mike now the leader by 11 points over Damion after trailing him by six points prior to Ventura. Winner R. VanderWeerd jumped from sixth to fourth in points and now trails leader Spencer by 74 points. Richard's twin brother Jace now ranks tenth. A. Williams and Swanson each dropped one position and Roa dropped two spots from seventh to ninth. The USAC-CRA series returns to its home track in Perris on Saturday, May 23 for the annual 40-lap “Salute to Indy”. Senior Sprints, Young Guns and CLS cars race as well. Be there to see if Richard will continue his new found dominance and 2015 championship challenge to point leaders Spencer and Gardner.
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