WAGSDASH XI ABOUT TO HAPPEN!!!!

With the SCRA off this week, we took off to Ventura Raceway to see the VRA. Even with that, we still have time for reflections of 2001, as the year winds down. Already, it seems, the driver championship is in the clutches of the Kruser, Cory Kruseman, who has won 14 of the 35 events run so far this year. His 300-point lead over defending champ, Richard Griffin, is not likely to dissipate with only a few races to go. Nor is the car owner championship, which Harlan Willis leads Ron Chaffin by over 100 points. Though we don't have the drama for the championship for the first time in SCRA history, the exciting weekly racing is plenty to shout about! The purses go up now for the rest of the year, so everybody that was parked for R & R, should be ready to roll come next week.

For this week's Mrs Wags foggy pics Click here.

In the NWWC championship points, Richard Griffin has the lead by 129 and the Manzanita and Oval Nationals 3 day events could afford lots of points scrambling. Richard has 1511, Kruseman 1382, Mike Kirby 1243, Troy Rutherford 1223, and Rickie Gaunt 1081 to round out the top five. The question is: can Richard hold off the charging Kruseman, or will he win his second NWWC championship in a row? The big money will be up with $12,5000 and $25,000 going to the winner, or winners, of each three-day affair.

Back to the Ventura adventure! With two spots to the Wagsdash open, the winner of the VRA main event, and the driver who passed the most cars, would earn a spot in the Wagsdash for this year's race. The great weather made for a great track, but the rolling fog almost halted the proceeding before the checkers flashed at 11 pm on the dot! The VRA racers were racing for their regular points and money while still having one eye on next week's Wagsdash. Early leader, Clark Templeman III led the way thru the fog until he crashed, but it was eerie because I couldn't see it! No kidding, and the drivers reported they couldn't see well either! During the pause, the fog lifted enough to restart, with Clark on the tail.

On the restart, Richard McCormick took over and led until he did a slight sideways move that dropped him behind Steve Conrad. Chris Wakim moved thru the pack to grab second, and stayed on his bumper the rest of the way. Conrad held him off for his 2nd VRA win and was happy to be in the dash! As for the best passing driver, two drivers really did well right up to the very last corner, with one of them getting the brass ring. Josh Ford and Sheriff John Wright started side by side on the 8th row. John was ahead of Josh until the white flag. Josh prevailed and he and Steve will be in next weeks race.

They will join Jarrett Chaney, Ronnie Clark, Glenn Crossno, Charles Davis Jr, Jack Dearmond Jr, Greg DeCaries, Tom Downing, Jeremy Ellerston, Tony Everhart, Matt Felio, Jimmy Gardner Jr, Lance Gremett, Gary W Howard, Tony Lima, Adam Mitchell, Mel Murphy, Arie Prins, Danny Sheridan, Cal Smith, Dan Tedrick, Brian Venard, Steve Venard, Keith Williamson and Kevin White. Glenn Crossno was hurt last week, so may not be up to running the Wagsdash, but he has plans to build a new car and run at Manzanita.

The raffle for the 2011 Kawasaki 4 X 4 is going well. Thanks to Harlan Willis, Cory Kruseman and Jim Naylor for getting it to the track so I could ride around all night and sell tickets. The drawing will be at Perris on November 17 at the SCRA season ending Jack Kindoll Classic. Tickets are $10 each, or 6 for $50, or 13 for $100. get yours now!

This week will culminate the year long fund raising by the Wagtimer's to put on the 11th annual Wagsdash at Ventura Raceway. Along with our other efforts to support the SCRA in many events such as the Jack Kindoll Classic, the annual SCRA banquet, and the NWWC tour, we now are down to the week of the race and need to kick it up a notch. Hopefully we can reach the $20,000 goal we set for this race, but it will be a good event regardless.

For those of you who are new to the Wagsdash, it is the race for the low buck racers with its ten-year life amazing. It was born on a long trip back from Manzanita with Pat & Norm Bogan when we didn't have anything better to talk about! The original Wagsdash was held at Bakersfield Speedway in 1991 with Ron Didonato winning the $2,000 1st place money. Gary W Howard was second ($800), Scott Sloan 3rd ($500), Steve Ostling 4th ($200) and the rest received starting money of $100 out of the $4,800 purse. That is how a great idea turned into a good deal for the racers. The event had been planned for Hanford the night before, but that night the USAC companion feature drug out too long and Jimmy Sills won the curfew shortened 8-lap race. It was held over until the night of the two-day year closing event. It was executed (?) before the heats started that night, and as painful as it was with all the restarts, it was still a success.

Over the decade we visited several tracks before finding a home for the Wagsdash. Steve Ostling won the second race that was held at Manzanita Speedway with a similar purse. The third year purse increased to almost $9,000 at Bakersfield and we had perhaps one of the most exciting finishes in Wagsdash history. Bobby Michnowicz and Gary W Howard both started on the tail of the 20-car field and Howard made it to the lead by lap 20, as I recall. Bobby was still working his way to the front and was a half lap behind with two laps to go. Somehow, Bobby was able to catch Gary coming around the last corner and nip him at the wire by less than a wheel! That was a race!

In the years that followed, we had more amazing races, some more painful because of the "pressure" on the aggressive young drivers trying to score big in their own race. At El Centro in '94, Rodney Argo won $2,000 from the $9,200 purse and became a very excited winner in front of a packed house of cheering fans. We went back to El Centro the next year and split up a $12,000 purse with $2,500 going to Troy Newsome, and over $300 to start. In '96 we saw a great battle from the back when Mike English held off future USAC star, Jay Drake, at the line for a $2,500 win. John Scott finished third and pulled in thinking he had won, but was disappointed to find the other two there! The purse was now at nearly $14,000 paying $400 to start. The runner-up Fischer Motorsports car took home $1,800, as the purse continued to increase with our fundraising efforts.

The next year saw us at our new home track in Perris, but our first curfew call got us after 7 laps and Jimmy Voitel (who?) was in the right place at the right time when the end gonged us! The purse was over $19,000 that year, so it paid well all the way down, to the $500 to start! We had added money for the shiny tire awards and other special things, but was forced to look for a new home after this one.

That story is a long one, but without a home for the Wagsdash, we were in trouble. Jim Naylor recoiled when I called to ask about the possibilities of bringing our road show there. After thinking it over, he succumbed and invited us to his "raciest little track by the sea". That was the best thing that ever happened to the dash, because it became an "event" under his guidance, and we continued on.

Now we were cooking the chili at the track the day before, making it much easier on the Wagtimer's, and we made it into a fun time for the workers as well. When we arrived at the track on the 14th day of November in '98, imagine the delight when we saw the red & white polka dot flags flying everywhere! That was the signal that not only would the dash be a great race and pay well, but also it was a legitimate event welcome in Ventura!

That night Marc Hart, a local driver, ran wild on the track and won his first of two Wagsdash's and took home the biggest payout yet of $3,000 from a $21,000 purse, totally fan donated! Runner-up again, Jay Drake, earned $2,100, as $500 to start was now a reality. The next year the purse went up another $1,000 and J Hicks emerged the champion of another curfew buster. The starts were becoming precarious at best as the drivers in the front were concentrating on the big money too much. This caused many highlighted incidents until the checkers fell many laps too early and J Hicks was smiling in victory circle. Cal Smith was 2nd for his best finish ever. My take on the two shortened events is simple. The race is designed for the low buck racer to achieve his best finish ever, and they did, regardless of the number of laps run!

Last year the purse reached an all time high of $23,000 before it was done and paid $650 to start. Marc Hart returned to win again and beat the Fischer Motorsports entry with Michael Smith up. It was the third runner-up finish in the dash for the team without a win. It signaled the end of Bobby Michnowicz career as he made this one his last race. I announced a cap on the race for the future of $20,000, with any excess going directly into other SCRA events like the Kindoll Classic and the SCRA Benevolent fund.

Looking back there are many people and some significant changes that molded the Wagtimes efforts and made this event so successful for the low buck racers. Perhaps the most popular and important change was when I quit giving the Wagsbucks to the driver and instead handed it to the owner to fix his busted racecar. Popular for the owner's because my assumption of driver's sharing with them was wrong.

So many people have championed our goals over the years and fueled the results with their help, their money and sometimes, even their work! Every Wagtimes trophy has come from my friend Trophy Dave of Trophy City in San Jose. Every Wagsdash trophy has been fabulous and a worthy remembrance for the winner. His work makes us proud, and I can't thank him enough! Steve LaFond, of Tear Off Heaven Fotos, has supplied great pics for the auctions, but his starting of the Lafond Jar of change has been the best passing award for many years. Last year is was over $500 and went to Michael Smith. The jar is a culmination of his pocket change all year, and then is boosted at the dash each year by fans that empty their pockets of their change.

The annual event t-shirt became a money raiser a few years ago when I decided to sell 'billboards" on it to racing friends, and it now creates over $5,000 annually for the race! This years shirt is very different with a "special flag version" also going to be available that is awesome!

We added the Legends of Ascot a few years ago to get the Ascot history and some of the great drivers involved. They would come to do autograph signing, and the first two years, they drove Pinto stocks in a 12-lap race. The first race was won by Lealand McSpadden and the last one, by Rick Goudy. They were fun to watch, but a little too much sheet metal rubbing ended their fun this year. Those legends included Jimmy Oskie, Bubby Jones, Eddie Wirth, Tony Simon, Gary G Howard, Buster Venard, Lealand, Goudy, Ron Shuman, and a few more. They all will be at the Wagsdash this week.

The Grand Marshall for the event was added a few years ago and Jimmy Oskie was the first to pace the race and preside over the festivities. Lealand McSpadden, Bubby Jones and now this year's choice, Buster Venard, will be "the man" at the event. Buster won a lot of races in his short career and now has his two sons, Brian and Steve, racing together in a race for the first time. Buster's smile and thankful attitude is family oriented and he is a joy to have around at the races every week. I will announce next year's celebrity as soon as he agrees.

In addition to my friend Lafond, many other photographers have graced the Wagtimes auctions with awesome photos. Mike & Nan Arthur, DJ Renwick, Jim Fargo, Stan Junior, Stan Hanson, Grey Wolf photos, Doug Allen and many more have added great pics for our auction that help to make the purse build. Add Dale Frye's artist renderings of Cory Kruseman, Ron Shuman and this years treat, the Gasman and the Kruser at speed, so get your checkbooks out.

The supporter, and now my friend, who really makes a difference, and doesn't want to talk about it, is Jim Naylor himself. Not only does the gregarious "one armed paper hanger" run his racetrack and business very well, he drives the Wagsdash up another notch. He creates many of the special items we need for the race including the winners big check, the winner's jacket, the winners hat, the Wags workers shirts, the SCRA party favors and more, making the race the big event we all have worked so hard for. Jim has made the Wagsdash an event that we can all be proud of!

The annual bake sale, run by Julie Shiosaki and Teri Bliss, raises big bucks while feeding the sweet tooth of Mrs Wags chili feed visitors. The different "cooks" who provide these treats are bringing great stuff for the "fun lovin' twins" to sell for money into the purse. Julie and Teri also run the 50/50 each week that has added to the dash, the tour and more over the last few years. The extra work put in by Timeless T's, aka Bobby & Wendy Michnowicz, on our sponsored, and difficult to make, event shirt makes it a winner each year. Every driver in the race gets one as part of his participation in the race. After the money's gone, it's a great memento they can keep.

All of the kudos above are well deserved. However, without the "core" group of Wagtimer's, this event would never happen! It's the Wagtimer's who work hard and often, who make the event happen every year. I owe them tremendous thanks because the ideas I have, and those I receive, don't happen without my friends, the Wagtime's workers! Pat & Norm Bogan, Willie, Sonia and Krista Bandy, Judy & Stephen Pettegrew, Jim & Fran Herdrich, Mike & Evelyn Clark, Julie & Teri, and our grandson Tory. These people have become our dearest friends (they actually still like me after all I put them through!). They are the Wagsdash.

Most of all I have to thank my best friend who has become a great photographer and picture story teller, a graphics arts designer, a willing listener, my confidant and lover, Mrs Wags and my wife, Terry. Without her support and help, we couldn't do this Wagtimes thing.

So what do we have in store for you at the 11th annual? It all starts Friday when the Wagtimers cook Mrs Wags Chili and she goes shopping at the antique stores in Ventura! Then Friday Night starting around 7 pm, a gathering of fans and racers will happen at the Shakey's Pizza on Santa Clara between Oak and California in downtown Ventura, very near the track. Then, at Noon on Saturday, the Wagsdash event begins with the 15th annual serving of Mrs Wags Chili! The annual Auction starts then, to be concluded during intermission. More? The WRA will be on hand with their finest antique race cars for you viewing pleasure. The legends of Ascot listed above will begin signing autographs, as will the stars of SCRA, throughout the afternoon. The Pit Stop contest will see who can do a few maintenance items on their racecar the quickest. The sexiest driver contest will be fun to watch as the ladies vote for their favorite driver with their dollars! That's about it, no, the best part starts at dark, the racing! Over 50 sprinters will vie for SCRA points and money in the heats, semi, and main event before the BIG ONE, (well, to us!) starts. The 30 lap Wagsdash will entertain and amaze you, don't miss it. In fact, you have to come early to get a seat in the grandstands, it will be packed!

This is soooo long, I wonder if you read it all? AND PS: Look for the new Wagsdash t-shirt and sweatshirts this week at the Wagsdash and a new "dothead" hatpin for your collection. Remember…. When it's RACETIME ……it's WAGTIME!!!!!

SCRA points as of 10/7/01 1) #45 ....Cory Kruseman - Ventura, CA, 2374 (2) #50 ....Richard Griffin - Silver City, NM 2064 (3) #4 ......Troy Rutherford - Ojai, CA 2019 - (4) #5 ......Mike Kirby - Lomita, CA 1798 - (5) #83 ....John Scott - Hesperia, CA 1730 - (6) #5x ....Rickie Gaunt - Torrance, CA 1629 - (7) #3 ... . Rip Williams - Yorba Linda, CA 1601 - (8) #29 ....Steve Ostling - Corona, CA 1476 - (9) #29 ... Mike English - Norwalk, CA 1305 (10) #94....Charles Davis Jr. - Chandler, AZ 1228 (11) #92 ...Danny Sheridan - Santa Maria, CA 1086 (12) #4x ... Tony Jones - Corona, CA 921 (13) #19....Rodney Argo - Gardena, CA 870 (14) #21J . Troy Cline - Santa Clarita, CA 712 (15) #85 ...Lance Gremett - San Marcos, CA 704 (16) #99 ...Adam Mitchell - Escondido, CA 635 (17) #16 ...Michael Hinrichsen - Lakeside, CA 571 (18) #69 ....Jarrett Chaney - Clovis, CA 555 (19) #17 ...Greg DeCaires - Elk Grove 527 (20) #14 ...Bobby Graham - Riverside, CA 523 (21) #44 ...Mike Spencer - Temecula, CA 499 (22) #138..Ronnie Clark - Tucson, AZ 460 (23) #27 ...Jeremy Sherman - Phoenix, AZ 430 (24) #47 ...Brian Venard - Tustin, 430 (25) #9 .....George Gervais - Mira Loma, CA 426 (26) #8 .....Bob Ream Jr. - Glendale, AZ 419 (27) #12....Casey Shuman - La Mesa, CA 419 (28) #59 ...Hank Winter - Tucson, AZ 360 (29) #98 ...Verne Sweeney - Lomita, CA 359 (30) #12 ...Jordan Hermansader-Long Beach, CA 354