By Ken Wagner
October 28, 2007

With smoke pouring off most right rears, and several leaders blowing tires, Darren Hagen paid attention to his car owners antics from the pit viewing area to win the shortened 20 lap USAC/CRA race at the Las Vegas drag strip raceway. Darren used patience and a smokeless pattern all the way around the black dirt oval to get his 3rd CRA victory. He also made an earlier comment to us in the pit grandstand, after finishing 2nd in the Midget main, something about slick track racing being his “meat”, come true. All this blue toned action was in front of a sparse crowd that was obviously less than the first trip here this season. Of course, when the NHRA is running right behind the pit area with more noise than a 100 casinos imploding, you don’t get much overflow. You know the 20,000 plus in their grandstands were too hot, too sun fried and too worn out to walk over to see our “show” in the evening. I’m not sure newcomers would have seen the value of our show anyway on this night.

Mrs Wags pics Click here. Mr Wags Click here. And add the Hawk's work click here.

Several up front had their chance to win early, but Brady Bacon and young Kevin Swindell both fried their tires and dropped out as did several others along the way. Cory Kruseman lined up on the front row of the main event and was surprisingly gone as soon as they roared into the 1st turn due to a spin into the wall. Damion Gardner had what sounded like his motor was missing something, and he was gone early as well. Tyler Brown got caught up in flip withJimmy Crawford and both were done. Tim Kaeding shed his wing and was impressive, but had his problems with tires and was also done early. His brother Bud Kaeding had his front axle break and “tweaked” his chassis like none other in a heat race crash that was violently ugly coming out of turn four, and ended in a bright flame fire that he quickly escaped from. That Maxim chassis might be going back to the factory for a look see, there was so much damage to it. Bud was a very lucky man.

Dave Darland was following Tony Jones in 8th place when I noticed him coming thru the pack late in the race. He made some very Darland like moves above and below the field as he surged to 2nd at the checkered flag. Yes, the national boys love this slick stuff! Tony was smooth and careful as he hung in there for 7th place and did his team proud. Robert Ballou set fast time, ran sixth in his heat and then didn’t come out for the semi in what was described as a tire situation of his choice?

The day was long as we arrived in the pits about 2 PM and walked slowly thru the pit areas of the 41 sprint car field, plus by the 37 midgets, until we had visited and I’d taken enough standing around, (I missed my Mule), so we headed for the pit grandstands and watched some of the drag race action that took place over there for a while. Noisy? Well I reckon! Any way, their action stalled our openwheeler’s getting on the dirt track, no make that the sandy based dirt, but not mud track. When finally the midgets started getting on it, there was some concern about getting mudded out up there. I just smiled as you have to have mud to splatter mud out of the track.

There were so many midget and sprint hot laps it got to be a little redundant as the same cars kept firing up and taking laps. I was unaware that the qualifying was over until they announced it and since there was no speaker in the pit grandstand, I found out from Ed Hollowell who was listening in on the USAC network. Looking back, they were qualifying about 8 or nine cars in a pack, and man we should do that at Perris. So the loooooonnnnnggg playtime was over and racing was ready to begin, finally!

Darren Hagen made a last lap pass on race long leader Rodney Argo to win the first heat as the blue smoke was fashionably flying off the right rear tires around the corners and down the long stretches. Bullet Blake Miller, the current Wagsdash Champion, ran away with the second heat, even with several yellows flying. He was hooked up and pulling away to the end of the 10 lapper. Car owner Cory Kruseman and his team car driver Michael Trimble won the last two heats as more smoke poured out on the track behind the thunder and lightning cars as they flew around the track.

The semi, easily won by Tony Jones, put six more in the main and four provisionary adds made it a 26 car field. The preferred lane was low and the passing was above that as the field shuffled and bled out their tires. Some saved em’ some didn’t and the result was Hagen’s calm victory with Darland coming fast at the end. Not my kind of race, but at Las Vegas, that is what you get on a very well built race plant with only one thing missing, the mud to make it really successful. With all the money spent here to make a first class race track, you would think they could afford a little mud face lift on the track!

The weather couldn’t have been better in my “home town” this weekend, but don’t get carried away, the weather changes here faster than you can shake a stick at the weatherman and the windless race day was pretty rare. The high clouds kept the low 80’s day very pleasant and didn’t prematurely dry out the track before the midgets could do that simple trick when they got on it.

The season is winding down now with only six more race days in long season. Coming up this week is one of the most successful sprint car events on the West Coast each year as three days of knock down, drag out action will be on us with nearly 70 of the top sprint car drivers in the country looking for Dave Darland’s title he has held two years, King of the Oval Nationals! Come on out and pack the stands, it will be great racing. Now let’s all pray the water truck works well so the local favorites can do their thing on the normally tacky track.

I will be there staying in the “camper crazies” area this year and will have what’s left of the Wagsdash t-shirts and sweatshirts available, plus a few non-wing 2008 calendars and Wagsdash posters. If you don’t catch me in the grandstands, check out the camping area to the left of the track entrance. Rumor has it I might have a brand new polka dot hat to signify my weird presence, do tell. There will be a Mrs Wags sighting on Friday, so all is well in our wonderful racing world.

FEATURE: (20 laps) 1. Darren Hagen 2. Dave Darland, 3. Levi Jones, 4. Mike Spencer, 5. Michael Trimble, 6. Scotty Weir, 7. Tony Jones, 8. Rickie Gaunt, 9. Rip Williams, 10. Brad Sweet, 11. Blake Miller, 12. Danny Sheridan, 13. David Cardey, 14. Jerry Coons Jr., 15. Rodney Argo, 16. Bret Mellenberndt, 17. Alan Ballard, 18. Jon Stanbrough, 19. Brady Bacon, 20. Kevin Swindell, 21. Tim Kaeding, 22. Tyler Brown, 23. Jimmy Crawford, 24. Damion Gardner, 25. Chris Bonneau, 26. Cory Kruseman. NT

NEW LUCAS OIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-T.Jones-1,779; 2-Spencer-1,729; 3-Sheridan-1,597; 4-Gaunt-1,550; 5-Weir-1,441; 6-Williams-1,352; 7-Cardey-1,168; 8-Kruseman-1,105; 9-Miller-1,040; 10-Brown-922.

NEXT LUCAS OIL USAC NATIONAL & USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: November 1-3 - Perris (CA) Auto Speedway - 12th Annual "Budweiser Oval Nationals"