September 24, 2011

By Ken Wagner

If you closed your eyes, as the Alexander Silver Bullet raced to another big win, it might bring back memories of a famous retired Cowboy making moves on the track from the past. But no, Nic Faas has been making his own moves while riding the range at the PAS these days in the famous silver sprinter. His first season in the Alexander Brothers car just gets better. Even though he hadn’t won yet this year, this was a surgical demonstration of the talent this young man possesses as he won his 2nd CRA main event of his short history with CRA and he did it in style, no muss – no fuss- just fast racing and a rare sweep of the night!

Mrs Wags rare photo's Click here to view. For Wags stuff Click here to view. Doug Allens work is here as usual click here to view.

Nic set fast time at 16.466, nearly a half second quicker than everyone else. Then he won the first heat from the back and lined up in the 8th spot on the main event grid. In the main it took him but 7 laps to chase down early leader Greg Bragg, swept him out of the way, and took off for his first win of the year. Nic made special to be remembered moves roaring by cars as he picked them off until he was alone in the lead. Great effort by him and his team and it looks like he is fearless out there. “Fearless Faas” has kind of a nice ring to it!

The Glenn Howard Memorial is all about honoring a man who gave his time unselfishly over the years to our racing world and lost his life to Cancer 3 years ago. His direction was to make a better world for the racers, and couldn’t we use him about now! Glenn was honored by his sons Gary and Steve, his wife Pat and more of his family on a great racing night at the PAS. Past champion Richard Griffin came all the way from his home in New Mexico to be the Grand Marshal of the day and was welcomed by his many fans and the racers. He still looks like he could climb in the little red sucker and spin a few fast laps for more victories. It was a good night for the Howard family and memories.

Matt Mitchell continues to streak thru the crowd every race as his fast black n’ blue racer just goes forward. He had a problem on his qualifying lap and was only 9th quick, so was relegated to the 9th starting spot in the main. You can always tell when he is on, and that’s every race now, as his slide jobs come easy to him while he works to the front. He got into 2nd place after Nic had already checked out, but had one shot at the winner after a lap 27 yellow, but couldn’t get to him with the few laps remaining on the restart. In the last 5 races he has two 3rd’s, two 2nd’s and a big win, so I guess you could say he is getting very consistent with his up front antics.

Austin Williams was 5th quick this week, just a tick faster than his father Ripper and started on the 2nd row of the feature. He didn’t waver at all, just like when he won at Santa Maria a few weeks ago, so it was no surprise that he captured 3rd place this week as he continues to improve and impress everyone paying attention.

Danny “Showtime” Sheridan continued his strong string of top five finishes with a 4th this week, and he did it with a problem left rear tire leaking. He made some quick moves form his 10th starting spot as the track allowed some great passing this week. Greg Bragg took the Moosemobile to fifth on a good ride after leading the first 7 laps. Good job for the team as he is very consistently having fun.

The night started with a couple of fast laps on the track by Rickie Gaunt to honor his crewman , Mike Spivey, that passed away from cancer two weeks ago. The somber reminder of the hole he will leave for the racing community and his family.

A few no no’s along the way include flips by Randy Waitman in his heat, Matthew Shedarowich in the Semi and a real nasty looking rollover by Jay Waugh in the feature. Josh Ford brought his # 72 to the PAS tonight for his first visit in a while, and was doing fine in the main until one of those “encounters” knocked off an important bar on his front end and he was the first car out in the feature. Don’t know what happened to David Cardey but after running strong early in the front of the feature, he might have encountered something that made his front end look a little off as he raced around the ½ mile oval. His 9th place finish is not indicative to what we expect, but he held on to his trusty steed to finish.

A back to the future sighting happened when the red # 98 of Verne Sweeney showed up in the pits. The “new” never been driven 2006 DRC car is owned by Ken Tracy and Salvadore Cardenas. Verne came out and qualified 14th in the field after about 6 years of cooling his heels by driving a Lightning sprint car occasionally. Verne was happy to win the Semi on his return and running 15th in the main was probably more than he expected after all this time. No, Verne fully expected to win!

Ronnie Gardner came to the track with a refreshed motor this week and promptly went 4th quick in qualifying and won the “dash” getting $400 for his empty coffers. He came back to run 2nd in his heat and 7th in the main for a good night. Brody Roa continues to collect the $700 put up for the highest finishing 360 each race and got 11th this week as he and his dad Brett work hard to secure a 410 motor, for him as it’s time to step up, he is ready!

KYLE LARSON is already a big name, but his amazing list of major wins this year just keeps on going. There is no limit to where he will go and how soon, but I hope we get to see him around the dirt track more than just this year. His abilities remind me of Parnelli Jones who never met a race car he couldn’t win in.

Scott Burns and his wife April and family showed up for the evening. Young son A J is keeping dad’s attention with his motocross exploits and Scott says a move to open wheel cars might be in his future. Scott raced with us for a number of years and it’s nice to see him come back around. He’s not too old to drive himself, but doesn’t appear to want that as A J is getting his help.

A reminder here for you of the special Legends dash at the Ovals this year. Don Weaver with Bobby Michnowicz and his mom Belita are working diligently to collect the money to make this happen and like the many other “special” events on the USAC trail, it involves help from others who have the extra cash to make it work. Get involved and call Don Weaver to help. 310-549-3562 or e-mail him at legendsofascot@aol.com. You can sponsor a race for $1000, you can sponsor the event for $5000. And in addition, any donations will be accepted and all monies will make the purse. Don Weaver would like to thank the many people for their generous support as of today. Woodland Auto Display in Paso Robles, Ca, All Sprint Ranch, The Agajanian Family, Decore Plating, La Villa Restaurant, Tom Roberts, Sander Engineering, Bondio Fabrication, an anonymous fan, Ed Iskenderian. This race is for the fans, and for the drivers, so get everybody involved sayeth Don Weaver.

A quick note here about Don Blair who is in a recovery facility after recent re-surgery for knee replacement. Yes, he had the knee that was replaced some time ago, replaced because it wasn’t healing properly. He has not been doing well for some time and this week is his 90th birthday, so everyone sing out for him and celebrate the very special racing personality’s achievement of life to his age of 90. Don is the owner of the # 12 sprinter driven by Matthew Shedarowich most recently under Jim Blakesly’s direction. Remember him in your prayers.

There is now $2010.00 WAG$CA$H money in the till so far for our event. I am looking for more as we gear up for this unique Sudo-Wagsdash event coming up on November 12th at Hanford California. It’s going to be fun as the race is really an event within the CRA race that night. So far we have 6 eligible drivers that can participate. I will add up to 6 more by the end of the Oval Nationals. Depending on what the purse is, we will pay all of those who appear from the collected money. There will be another list for other low buck teams to be added to the eligible list if someone doesn’t show or can’t race that night. If the purse grows above what the 12 will earn, teams from a secondary list will be added after the totals are complete and paid until all money is in the hands of the low buck car owners. That night you can keep track of the drivers who are in the WAG$CA$H event as they go thru qualifying, the heats and the main. They will be paid according to how far up in the final results they achieve. There will be some additional monies to be earned by the competitors like all Wagsdash events.

The Lafond Jar of Change hard charger award will be up for grabs for everyone except the top WAG$CA$H winner. It was over $1000 last year. Other awards like the shiney tire award, the best appearing, the sexiest driver, the hard luck driver and the usual typical Wagtimes payouts. The object has always been to put as much money in their hands based on their performance and special achievements. We will have 2012 calendars for sale, there will be a 50/50 raffle, a small Wagtimes auction and some framed photo’s will be available for purchase and maybe a surprise or two. If you have supported the annual Wagsdash over the years, please consider getting involved with this event and show up to watch! Hanford is a great race track with many historical races over the years and we should all have fun. It is a regular CRA race with probably some of the Midwest visitors expected to stick around.

I had a special feeling going to the PAS this week, one that was more positive than usual. First of all my Bride made her first appearance there this year, and that was special for me. I am unaccustomed to going anywhere without her and I feel her lack of presence whenever I am without her. She works full time and it is hard to wear herself out on the road on her weekends off, so I understand. Also on my mind like normal, is the current state of affairs in our racing and for a change I had a good feeling for a good night when we arrived. With 32 cars in the pits, it was comforting and it did feel different for some reason. A returning racer in Verne Sweeney gives me hope that other drivers and cars parked might follow that example.

I also felt good even in the warm weather, that the track always has water in it and two grooves to race on, so it makes me forget about the Lawrenceburg dusty, dry slick, Indiana Speed Week experience. We are very lucky to have people who work their butt off to give us a racy track at Perris. Get well quick to Ray Sheetz as he went home not feeling well Saturday morning and he is one of those dedicated ones who does the extra out there to make it happen.

I can’t really tell you how I feel or where it is comes from, but if you have ever been at a race that lit you up inside and the feeling grew as the night went on ending in a crescendo of excitement, then maybe you can understand where I am coming from. I have been in the dumps with recent low car counts and fan attendance with my brain twisting itself all around trying to find the answer. That feeling has kept me on a downer for quite a while. It was distracting me so much, I finally settled down and realized it is what it is, and nothing I personally can do will change anything, so I say let’s get on with the show. Let’s do what we can do including attend the races, support them with what you can help with, and just be there with a positive attitude and rejoice in the racing that is all about our entertainment.

This week was eye opening as I have often said we have lost many of our heroes and are not growing them very fast. Nic Faas is one of our new heroes and his performance last night is among the best there ever. We are lucky that some generally have what they need in the trailer and can acquire what they need at the time. Others bring the best they can put together, arriving prepared to win when they can afford to show up. Some have spares and some do not. With our national economic problems, especially in the trades where many of our racers work, it is sad to know some cars are parked because they can’t afford to fill up the hauler gas tanks to go racing. Watching what the Danny Sheridan race team have accomplished with next to nothing this year, has inspired me. If they can go racing every week with that puny budget, I can surely find a way to support them all. There are way too many others who are sacrificing as we speak, just to race. WAG$CA$H 2011!

Anyway, I feel something different happening and I am willing to watch it grow. Other associations are fighting for the almighty dollar and fan support, while we have far less races than in the past and still Perris continues to draw cars. From my uneducated crowd counting skills, it looks like we are gaining crowds at the PAS and I know the racing is getting better as are the drivers. As much as I hate the Fair race next up on October 8th, uuuugggh, and even though I announced I probably wouldn’t come, I will buck up and show up, but no rides for me during the intermission. I have spent over 25 years supporting my thunder and lightning CRA cars and racers, and I won’t stop now. It is not the end of the 410’s it is only the beginning, and we are all part of it! Get off your butt and go get some caramel corn, or candied apples, a hot dog and a lemonade, and pack the grandstands because it’s the cheapest awesome show you will ever see! You pay for the fair ($5 ??) and get into the races free!!! Come on down, I’ll be waiting for you. Bring your neighbors, fill up the van, it’s all good. Whew! I am out of control!

A week off to ponder and then it’s back at it to Perris, then a trip to Canyon Raceway North of Phoenix, home to the Oval Nationals and the final race of the year on November 12th at Hanford. Jump on board, there is plenty of room! As my wife’s license plate holder says “to the track, Jack and don't Look back!”

9/24/11 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Nic Faas, 2. Matt Mitchell, 3. Austin Williams, 4. Danny Sheridan, 5. Greg Bragg, 6. Mike Spencer, 7. Ronnie Gardner, 8. Rickie Gaunt, 9. David Cardey, 10. Cody Williams, 11. Brody Roa, 12. Kenny Perkins, 13. Donnie Gansen, 14. David Bezio, 15. Verne Sweeney, 16. Corey Ballard, 17. Jay Waugh, 18. Brandon Thompson, 19. Rip Williams, 20. John Aden, 21. Bobby Bender, 22. Josh Ford. NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-7 Bragg, Laps 8-30 Faas.

NEW AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT POINTS: 1-Spencer-867; 2-Mitchell-837; 3-Faas-828; 4-A.Williams-631; 5-Bragg-562; 6-C.Williams-504; 7-Sheridan-471; 8-Gardner-422; 9-Cardey-421; 10-R.Williams-409.

NEXT AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT RACE: October 8 – Perris (CA) Auto Speedway