By Ken Wagner
November 5, 2007

After two nights of very engaging action with a few slide jobs gone wrong, a few major passes gone good, a bunch of fast guys mixing it up on the track and a few fisticuffs off it, it all came down to who wanted it most at the 12th annual Oval Nationals. With nearly 70 sprinters overflowing the PAS pits for the USAC/ CRA sanctioned event, it was three days of hard work and lots of awesome racing. The track held up fine, even with the extra burst of wind on Saturday evening, so the racing settled the crown, not the track. Many had their shot as the 40 lapper unfolded, but Bud Kaeding took the $30,000 purse on a last lap pass, coming methodically from ninth to get his third Ovals National title. The annual beautiful eagle trophies highlighted the podium presentations as usual.

For Mrs Wags pics Click here. For Wags Click here.

After finishing 8th and 15th the two previous nights, Bud’s starting spot in the A Main was cemented in the 9th slot and he took it from there. He quietly moved forward, picking them off until a lap 37 yellow flag put him in position to win his third Oval Nationals title

Brother Tim Kaeding had shown some flashes of speed in his wing use car with a 15th on Thursday and 2nd on Friday. He lined up 4th on Saturday night in the A Main and did some damage before the end. He led half the race and was still a threat when his brother Bud came by and without touching him, almost forced him into the fence late in the race. From there he was going backwards and finally spun out with three laps to go (?) and that gave Bud the chance he needed to pull up on the leader Casey Shuman and make the pass for the win. Was it brotherly love or just a racing mistake by wingman Tim?

Damion Gardner looked like he was ready to return to his dominating presence on the west coast after getting 10th and 5th in the prelims. He lined up on the front row and led 7 laps of the big main before a hole appeared in his block late in the race. Until then he was still in the game and looked like he was coming. Damion can’t seem to get the monkey off his back as he still can drive with the best of them, but can’t get to the brass ring.

Casey Shuman had amassed the most points in the two prelims with two third place finishes and would start in the third row of the “invert six” plan for Saturday night. He hung in there until lap 29 when he burst into the lead using the bottom groove and appeared set for his first Ovals win. He was still leading comfortably with Bud chasing him, when miraculously, brother Tim spun and Casey couldn’t hold off the high groove runner after a restart. Casey finished a strong second, but you know what they say, what coulda, woulda, it didn’t.

Brady Bacon is another of those young lions who came out west to get his name in the record book. After two lackluster nights, Brady ran third in the Semi to qualify for the A main and started 15th. Slowly he moved forward until he sat on the podium in third place. Good job by the youngster as he is doing very well.

The Modern Day Cowboy Daren Clayton was on a roll Thursday night. In his heat he looked too fast for the rest, but settled for fourth and a transfer to the main event where he started 6th. In that one he battled with Casey Shuman until he took over on lap 19 for good and rode home with the victory. It was his first CRA and Perris win. Jesse Hockett started 5th and cranked it into 2nd and inherited the lead when Cory Kruseman had problems on lap 17 after leading up to that point. Jesse wasn’t threatened from that point as he went on to win the 25 lap prelim.

The good, the bad and the ugly were present again as always in this prestigious race. The good being the awesome racing as the heroes put on a great show for three nights, especially Friday night when the heats and A main were really fun to watch, and entertained the packed house on Saturday. Bud Kaeding’s charge for $30,000 was good, Daren Clayton’s blowing away the Friday field was special and Jesse Hockett’s charge to win Saturday was all good. Running 5 heats of 8 the first two nights was great. Maybe that could be pumped to 50 next year if the big car counts continue. There were many other good things during the three days and I’ll try to cover some of them here later.

On top of the bad pile was an easy pick. Young Kevin Swindell came to town in a Casey Kahne Mopar car with a reputation for crashing, but running hard. He didn’t disappoint the crowd as the modern day “take out artist” whacked Rip Williams out of good finish on Thursday night, then got over a wheel and into the wall on the start of Friday’s main and crashed hard, and finally took out the Modern Day Cowboy Daron Clayton on Saturday with a Swindell bump and run. When Clayton walked the length of the front stretch to visit with Kevin after his crash, some UGLY things happened with some fisticuffs and Slammin’ Sammy Swindell becoming an embarrassment by defending his son, as if he couldn’t stand on his own. What resulted was Sammy got escorted out of the place and Kevin’s appearance became tainted. Kevin then restarted and got into the wall by himself, as the crowd roared it’s approval, and dropped out of the main shortly after. He was fast and used a few cars to bump his way around the corners, something that got him a reprimand, but he still kept on going.

Mike Spencer losing three motors during the weekend really dented his chance at his first championship, and is bad for the Ron Chaffin team. They changed one on Friday night very quickly to keep on racing. A rock started Saturday’s problem as it hit the motor and the smoking little red sucker finally pulled off, out of oil in the main. Danny Sheridan’s Friday crash in the main was bad, but the team put together two cars before Friday’s race and they went on to finish 6th in the big A Main on Saturday, which was good. Dave Darland crashed warming up before the “B” main and his team had to fix the car and take a provisional to get in the A Main. He finished 27th and that is bad for him.

Kyle Bates came all the way from Canada to try his luck in a 410 sprinter for the first time, but had a motor problem, then had problems getting a borrowed motor to fit. He ran 16th in the “D” main on Saturday and will go home with some tall tales. The modified driver was excited to be here and compete.

Daron Clayton came to town to win the big money. He was unstoppable in the Thursday main as he went to the front quickly and won pulling away at the end. He won his heat on Friday and went on to start third in the big show on Saturday. He was running up front when the Swindell slap came and turned him over, to end his quest that was well within his reach, he was flat fast! Ricky Stenhouse had one of “those” crashes on Friday night. He was soooo high when he went over a wheel; it was a nasty landing that destroyed the car. He did go to the hospital to get checked out and returned on Saturday to take a provisional and run 12th! Brian Venard had his weekend come to an abrupt end when he got over the cushion in turn one and popped up in the air headed for the fence. It didn’t move as he came to complete stop with major front end damage that ended their year. Their motor was put into the Kyle Bates car to help him out the next day.

Brad Sweet drove his heart out this weekend with a fourth on Friday and earned a transfer spot in the Semi to the big show on Saturday. But when teammate Darren Hagen missed the “A” with a 11th in the “C” main, Sweet was pushed out of his cockpit because Darren is 2nd in USAC national points with a chance to catch points leader Levi Jones. It is understandable, but a tough break for the young 20 year old who out qualified his teammate both nights. But good news is coming for the youngster, as it looks like he will be replacing Slammin’ Sammy Jr next year in the Mopar car.

The ugly was a slam dunk with Slammin’ Sammy fighting, and that is enough about that. Watching Rip Williams getting banged around, and then every time he looked like he was going somewhere, something stopped him. He made the main but was out early. Some might consider the pit meeting ugly as it was held behind the main grandstands for the fans to hear something they never have before. Some interesting questions and answers concerning official decisions was the highlight, but nothing was settled as some competitors suggested they worry about “changing” rules when National and CRA run together.

Tony Jones had a cowboy type weekend at the Ovals. Thursday was normal, but he could only get up to 7th from his 6th row starting spot. It got worse on Friday as he was one tick from qualifying for the heats, man it was close 24/1000’s of a second. He was forced to run the “C” and then started the semi from near the back. After a few laps of no progress on a tricky track, he pulled in and they took a provisional, choosing not to chance tearing up the car. He started 27th in the main next to his championship points competitor, Mike Spencer and rode the high line to 12th, four spots ahead of Spencer. On Saturday he transferred to the main from the semi and started next to Spencer again in 17th spot. At the end he was 9th and Spencer was forced to drop out, sending his 53 point lead up to 85 with three race days left.

Blake Miller had quick time on the opening night and was running very well leading his heat when the death smoke appeared from his red charger. He missed the main Friday, but came back on Saturday to run 12th in the “C” main. They took a provisional in the big show and he came from 28th up to 13th for the hard charger of the event.

Chris Wakim put on a show in his 360 motored car as he won the $2000 bonus put up for 360’s for the highest finishing 360 at the Oval Nationals. He managed to run into the “C” Main and was a happy camper when interviewed about his success. He figures more 360’s will come in the future if the money is put up next time. He said he had a great time.

The Father of Gardner Sprint Car Racing and his bride, Jack and Mary Ann Gardner, were honored in front of the big crowd on Saturday night. They were the Grand Marshals of this prestigious event in its 12th season. Jack and his three sons are responsible for the two CRA championships that Brad Noffsinger earned in 1986 and 1987 and a lot of victories over many years of racing. Congratulations to them and their racing family.

It was one of the most fun weekend’s for me and my bride as we camped out and were fed gloriously for three days by our gracious host. Hanging out with the Kittle Motrosports Team was a blast. Not having to leave the track was very restful. Even though Super Rickie’s “camper” was nearby, I slept soundly for three nights, much to my surprise. Maybe the portable bar was a juice bar? The huge Wagtimes crowd was also very nice as my friends got together in the grandstands like old times, and we had fun. Congratulations to the Don Kazarian, Kim Donner, Tanner Watson and all the PAS personnel for the best one yet!

Since my brick died a few weeks ago, I was not able to update my website each day like in the past. I will resolve that soon, but probably not before the last race. No idea if we’ll be in Phoenix this weekend, but stay tuned. If not, the Trophy Cup will be our last race of the year as we visit with our friend Trophy Dave and wife Muriel in their long time “Make a Wish” event in it’s 14th year. They collect big money for the Make a Wish Foundation in addition to the large racing purse that is paid out. The event is a two day show on November 16th and 17th at Tulare Raceway, so should be fun, even if it is a 360 wing show.

The Wagsdash payout is complete with $18, 580 received and paid out to the competitors. Thanks to all who participated as it was one of the best of the 17 years we have been doing it. The Grand Marshal for next years event will have us honoring two people for the first time. Dean Thompson and Bruce Bromme Sr will be remembered for their great years of racing together. I still have about five 2008 calendars, and a handful of Wagsdash t-shirt’s and sweatshirts. E-mail me if you are interested.

This note from Chris Holt about the Kindoll Classic Dash. This will be the 4 fastest cars for 3 laps. I would like to thank everyone for their support and am still undecided about whom to dedicate the "title" to, but am leaning towards Glenn Howard. To date, the following sponsors of the Kindoll Classic Trophy Dash are as follows...$250 Wilda Kindoll, $250 John Redican/Kathy Simpson, $200.00 Gaunt Construction, $100.00 Speedlox (from Scott Sloan & Vickie James), $100.00 ITI/Glenn Crossno , $100.00 Scott Deloisio, $100.00 Chris Holt, $100.00 Wagtimes, $100.00 Scotty Stallmo Trucking (Sponsor of Alexander #4), $20.00 Anonymous, $20Tear Off Haven Photos, $20 Rich “C”, $20.00 Mike Clark. Total so far...............$1,380. In addition whoever starts last gets an additional $250.00 for fast time.

Oh, and about that streaker. He rode bare down the front stretch and out to the turn two exit. Before exiting, he did a rolling handstand before he left. How big time is that? Oh yes, he was male.

Thursday night Oval Nationals results:
FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Daron Clayton, 2. Kevin Swindell, 3. Casey Shuman, 4. Rickie Gaunt, 5. David Cardey, 6. Scotty Weir, 7. Tony Jones, 8. Bud Kaeding, 9. Mike Spencer, 10. Damion Gardner, 11. Cory Kruseman, 12. Jesse Hockett, 13. Darren Hagen, 14. Levi Jones, 15. Tim Kaeding, 16. Brady Bacon, 17. R.J. Johnson, 18. Troy Rutherford, 19. Dave Darland, 20. Jerry Coons, Jr., 21. Michael Trimble, 22. Garrett Hansen, 23. Charles Davis, Jr., 24. Brad Sweet, 25. Shane Golobic, 26. Shane Cottle, 27. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., 28. Danny Sheridan. NT

Friday night:
FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Jesse Hockett, 2. Tim Kaeding, 3. Casey Shuman, 4. Brad Sweet, 5. Damion Gardner, 6. Dave Darland, 7. Levi Jones, 8. Brady Short, 9. Danny Sheridan, 10. Josh Ford, 11. Charles Davis, Jr., 12. Tony Jones, 13. Rip Williams, 14. Jon Stanbrough, 15. Bud Kaeding, 16. Mike Spencer, 17. Daron Clayton, 18. Thomas Meseraull, 19. Darren Hagen, 20. Cory Kruseman, 21. Scotty Weir, 22. Mike Leslie, 23. Rodney Argo, 24. Rickie Gaunt, 25. Brady Bacon, 26. David Cardey, 27. Kevin Swindell, 28. Jerry Coons Jr. NT

Saturday night:
FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Bud Kaeding (#29 BK), 2. Casey Shuman (#2az Massey), 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Jesse Hockett (#75 VKCC), 5. Scotty Weir (#38 Crossno), 6. Danny Sheridan, 7. Cory Kruseman (#21k Kruseman), 8. Jerry Coons Jr., 9. Tony Jones, 10. Cole Whitt, 11. Darren Hagen (#67), 12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 13. Blake Miller, 14. Charles Davis Jr., 15. Dustin Morgan, 16. Levi Jones (#20 Stewart), 17. David Cardey (#83 Crossno), 18. Josh Ford, 19. R.J. Johnson, 20. Tim Kaeding (#10x Rolfe), 21. Damion Gardner (#71 Leffler), 22. Rip Williams, 23. Kevin Swindell (#9 Kahne), 24. Mike Spencer, 25. Rickie Gaunt (#94 Gardner), 26. Daron Clayton (#10 R & B), 27. Dave Darland, 28. Troy Rutherford. NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-12 T.Kaeding, Laps 13-19 D.Gardner, Laps 20-28 T.Kaeding, Laps 29-39 Shuman, Lap 40 B.Kaeding.

NEW LUCAS OIL USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR STANDINGS: 1-L.Jones-1,331; 2-Hagen-1,242; 3-Darland-1,154; 4-Bacon-1,030; 5-Hockett-993; 6-K.Swindell-952; 7-Stenhouse-916; 8-Short-872; 9-D.Gardner-832; 10-Coons-778.

NEW LUCAS OIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR STANDINGS: 1-T.Jones-1,895; 2-Spencer-1,807; 3-Sheridan-1,711; 4-Gaunt-1,642; 5-Weir-1,557; 6-Williams-1,400; 7-Cardey-1,260; 8-Kruseman-1,206; 9-Miller-1,075; 10-Johnson-949.

NEXT LUCAS OIL USAC NATIONAL & USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACES: November 9-10 - Phoenix, AZ - Manzanita Speedway - 40th Checker Auto Parts/Budweiser/Parker Store "Western World Championships"