December 1, 2009

The end of the racing season means plenty to most racers, but to Bryan Clauson it means he took everything away from the pack and stole the show in winning the 2nd annual Glenn Howard Memorial race. I think he took everything including the kitchen sink as he finished the year strong by running away with the 30 lap USAC/CRA event. As for the extra $30,000 added to the race purse, I am sure Glenn is proud of his son Steve for his outstanding efforts in this memorial to his dad.

Photo's of Wags pics Click here. For Mrs Wags pics Click here. For Doug Allen's best Click here.

Bryan Clauson came to Perris with the Turkey Night Grand Prix title in hand and was looking to add more. He timed in 10th and ran 2nd in his heat to start on the outside of row 1. If that wasn’t enough, on the Main Event green flag he took the outside and fastest line right into the lead that he never gave up. The only thing that slowed him down was a few yellow flags. Other than that, he zipped right up to the pay window and took home the major portion of the gold. And that included $5400 worth of lap money, so the young man done good. He also won the first night of the Oval Nationals, so his western trip was pretty good for a traveler. Don’t know what his plans are for next year, but I expect with his pavement expertise he might be looking at moving up to some better paying pavement ride.

Tony Jones was the pole sitter and with that came a decision he had to make concerning the $30,000 challenge that was up for his option only. There was a lot of talk around the pit area about who would or wouldn’t take the challenge during the day, but in the end, only The Cowboy had the choice. With 30 laps the distance, it would take some big time luck and great driving to make that $30,000 payday happen, so I think Tony made the right decision. The track was too fast and he probably would not have made it, say I. Not likely anyway as he ran second and got an extra $3400 of lap money himself. Nobody was catching Clauson, so it was a wise move not to go to the back. Tony held off a hard charging Damion Gardner at the end for his runner-up finish

The Demon, Damion Gardner , wanted to repeat his Ovals victory a few weeks ago at the PAS and was quick qualifier of the 33 cars to start his night. He was 2nd in his heat and started 8th in the main event. It was a hard path to the front and he battled with several before landing on the podium in third at the end. Another good performance for the California boy and his Pace sponsors.

With only 33 cars in the house, even though some predicted as many as 45, most of the big names that were in town for the big races either left or passed on the opportunity to try and spank the locals. Besides Clauson and Damion there weren’t many leftover to race that had rides. Dave Darland didn’t have his usual great results out west this year, but still is one of the best. He ran 14th even after having lost oil pressure in his heat. Cole Carter came by for another shot at the USAC/CRA boys and ran 18th. Charles Davis Jr jumped in David Miller’s # 66 and was 21st with some problems. Ronnie Gardner ran strong right up until he put dad’s # 96 in the wall in the main. The team received the $200 Wagsbucks collected from the fans for the crunched chassis that needs a lot of work.

Some little subtle changes were out there this week as Blake Miller was in dad’s beautiful red and yellow # 93 for the season ender. Rumor has it he has parted ways with the Gardner clan and will be doing his own thing next year. No word on where he will land, but with his talent, the sky is the limit. He ran 15th this week sorting out the car. He finished 4th in the championship points. Young Dennis Howell stuffed a 410 in his car, courtesy of the Kittle Krew, and qualified 21st with the extra horsepower. He got freight trained in his heat while running in a transfer spot, and came back to run strong in the semi, but tapped the wall and was done for the night. When asked about how he liked the 410 horsepower, his face lit up. Josh Ford was back in his own car this week, but only managed 19th in the main with his bum foot.

Garrett Hansen did a bang up job the last half of the season to get close to 2nd in points, but he and David Cardey were racing together all night and he ended up in 3rd in points as he finished 4th on the night. David was 6th this week as he protected his runner-up position in the standings and had himself a great year as well. Both drivers were running strong. Greg Braggfinished 2 positions ahead of Danny Sheridan and took over 5th place in the standings by 6 points. Bragging rights in the Camarillo family went to Brent as he ran 17th and his older brother Brian was 20th. They both won heat races as they came out firing. The Williams brothers were behind dad’s 11th this week in the feature as the younger Austin ran 13th and Cody 22nd in the end. Cody won the Victorville main event on Sunday. Jimmy Crawford set some kind of record for double wheelies when his car went into several quick double pump wheelies that stunted his progress. He still made the feature.

Mr Goodbucks flew again this week. He gave us $600 with $100 each for five who missed the transfer to the main: Matthew Shedarowich, Billy Felts Jr, Royal Adderson, Jonny Bates and Cal Smith received the extra money that is designed to encourage them all to come back next time! The wild card Mr Goodbucks fin went to Dennis Howell after his Harvey wall banger. Thanks to the man who puts his money where his mouth is as he tries to help our racing. Wish there were more like him!!!!

When we arrived, I was doubting the possibility of racing because of the angry dark clouds that were overhead. You could see some nasty lightning off towards Hemet, but only some brief light sprinkles made their way down on the track early in the afternoon. And then they disappeared. Later as the Semi was lining up, rain was but a few miles away and surprisingly, we got none of it by the time we left the track.

The PAS announced their schedule of 16 races for next year, including a date for a possible Wagsdash. Only July, October and November have more than one event, so the three weeks each month away from Perris should have some other track trips. The PAS starts with a 2 day Sokola Shootout with Midgets and Sprints February 26/27. Then it’s March 27th, April 10th, May 29th, June 12th, July 3rd and 31st, August 28th, September 18th, October 9th and 23rd, and November 4/5/6 Oval Nationals and the Glenn Howard Memorial on the 28th with midgets and sprints. I know the CRA opener is Tucson on February 20/21 with one night at Las Vegas on the 25th which means an all night travel and car maintenance deal for 250 miles and then the Perris opener. Too bad that one couldn’t be moved back to Wednesday to make the travel back to the PAS easier.

Wags Mule got a new topper! Ray Stansberry is always doing something to help the Wags out like adding the horn to my buggy some time ago, and this week he brought a brand new top cover for the Mule that keeps the sun off me. This week there was the sprinkling rain, but whatever. Anyway I didn’t know what he was coming up with until he arrived and handed me a nicely wrapped box, done by his lovely wife Nellie. Upon opening said present, out came a red and white polka dot cover, imagine that! Thanks Ray, why didn’t I think of that!

I have enjoyed the last year, but not having a Wagsdash was upsetting,and hopefully we can do another one next year. I have a lot of people to thank for the success of what we do, but for 2010 I need to step up the Wagsbucks program and get back to advertising at the race tracks on what I am doing and introduce the new fans to Wagtimes and the goal of helping the low buck racers. That goal has not stopped and if I am going to make it a success again like the old days, people need to know what’s up. Maybe if we returned to awarding the shiney tire winner, and let the crowd know, it will give us a little exposure. Perhaps I can create a billboard with the Wagtimes word to give announcers and fans to get the ball rolling, I don’t know. It’s been nearly 20 years since we started the Wagsbucks and more than ever, that little bit of money each race is helpful to the recipient, even if it just buys a tire or a few pit passes. It’s important. This year will be the lowest Wagsbucks year in history with only $2000 raised for the little guys in 2009. Perhaps with help, I can make it grow again and be helpful once more to the little guy.

I am planning to do some B-ball watching, some Chili Bowl viewing, some Xmas holiday craziness and even some family visiting in the next three months before the 2010 season starts. I Have a lot of palavering to do before the year starts off, so keep me in mind and send me some ideas and thoughts.

11/21/09 FEATURE: (30 laps - With Starting Positions)

1. Bryan Clauson (2nd), 2. Tony Jones (1st), 3. Damion Gardner (8th), 4. Garrett Hansen (4th), 5. Mike Spencer (7th), 6. David Cardey (3rd), 7. Matt Mitchell (6th), 8. Cory Kruseman (9th), 9. Nic Faas (5th), 10. Greg Bragg (10th), 11. Rip Williams (18th), 12. Danny Sheridan (14th), 13. Austin Williams (12th), 14. Dave Darland (11th), 15. Blake Miller (13th), 16. Ludvig Solberg IV (22nd), 17. Brent Camarillo (20th), 18. Cole Carter (19th), 19. Josh Ford (24th), 20. Brian Camarillo (21st), 21. Charles Davis Jr. (17th), 22. Cody Williams (23rd), 23. Jimmy Crawford (16th), 24. Ronnie Gardner (15th). NT.

FINAL LUCAS OIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS:

1- Mike Spencer-1,056; 2- David Cardey-949; 3- Garrett Hansen-904; 4-Blake Miller-743; 5- Greg Bragg-738; 6- Danny Sheridan-732; 7- Matt Mitchell-687; 8-Rip Williams-640; 9- Cory Kruseman-608; 10- Damion Gardner-510. 2-

Next USAC/CRA race: Tucson, AZ - Feb 20/21 2010