By Ken Wagner
May 19, 2007

Jeremy Sherman took another chunk out of the CRA heroes this weekend when he passed Danny Sheridan a few laps from the end of the USAC/CRA 30 lapper at Manzanita Speedway and racked up his 2nd USAC.CRA win and 10th lifetime against the 410 runners. Jeremy was only 13th quick in a field of 22, but that didn’t bother the friendly driver from Phoenix as he won his heat and started 13th in the main event. Tires were a big worry as several in front of him were forced to change and he saved his.

The pics are here for Mrs Wags and Bethany Thrasher Click here. For Wags stuff Clcik here. and for the McSpadden Night stuff Click here.

Jeremy had cruised into second with plenty of laps to go. He followed Showtime for a while then slipped by and went on to win on a big night when Lealand McSpadden, one of his heroes, was being honored. Jeremy has been the local driver to beat whenever the CRA visits, so for him it was a special night.

Danny Sheridan almost had his second win of the year when he lead 14 laps of the main event. His tires held up till the very end, but he drove the Scott Sales Co., K-C Insurance Agency, Pick’s Racing Engines # 18 for all it was worth. Showtime was putting on a show as the restarts continued and his tires held on. It was the 5th podium visit by him and bodes well for the future of this team.

Mike Spencer continues his patient was with another great outing this week. It was also his 5th podium as he improves every week and fills the shoes of Damion Gardner who is back east giving the Indiana boys fits. Driving the Temecula Valley Pipe & Supply, Shaver Specialties, Weld Wheels # 50 car, Mike is coming to the front very fast.

Tony Jones came out fast with quick time at 19.077 and never let up. He didn’t win like he planned, but things happen at Manzy. The track was very fast and narrow so the three heats were freight trains with only the bold passing. Tony was one of the bold ones and patiently moved from the back into a transfer with some fast action he can supply. He started 8th in the main and moved into second to harass the leader, but a crash caused a red on lap 19 and his right rear was gone. He restarted on the tail with 11 laps to go and moved to 4th at the finish line. His tire took a beating in that short burst or it might have been better. He was glad to get that far.

Charles Davis Jr also changed a tire on that last red, so his 6th place finish could have been better too. Charlie was in 2nd when he had to go to the back. Scotty Weir was changing his tire due to an incident on the track and fifth was a good finish for him. Rickie Gaunt was the lone Black Widow/Gardner entry and came in 7th. Seth Wilson made the long tow work for him with an 8th place finish, his best this year. Bob Ream Jr got a ride in the Stanberry # 75 this week and was 9th. Keith Williamson made one of his rare CRA starts a 12th place finish, a good deal for him.

David Cardey wasted what looked like a great night for him when his car came unglued. After last weeks nasty high flying crash, the motor was gone over like always to make sure it looked good. When David blasted into the lead on a mighty surge in his heat, the next thing he saw was a speedometer dropping. A push rod let go and it’s another of those things that have plagued his career, when he looks like dynamite, sometimes something goes wrong. His luck, if you dare call it that, will surely change and that potential we have been talking about for two years will come out! He was fast!

The track did not go dry slick, and the feature was pretty racy. Still passing was hard and those that did scored well, ie Jeremy Sherman’s win. The track still needs new clay and rumors are that is in the plans after the Indians quit finding historical items in the chosen area on their land. The car count of 22 was sad as excuses of travel costs and indeed racing costs, continue to circulate. Yes the cost of racing continues to go up, but the racing rewards stay locked in the 80’s. You better love racing these sprinters, because there is no money in them, just fun and excitement.

Davey Pombo won the VRA race at Ventura by beating local hero Cory Kruseman, who now that he owns his own team, doesn’t travel far from home. He was in a red # 38 of Glenn Crosso’s, so Glenn had a smile on his face in the pits after the races.

The Lealand McSpadden night was greeted with happy fans and racers. The fans swarmed him in the Manzy Midway and the racers couldn’t stop talking about him being one of their heroes all night. Lealand was, and still is actually, one of the all time best drivers and people persons you could ever hope to meet. It was his night at his home track and they made a great event t-shirt and program that are keepers. He was just like normal greeting the fans and autographing anything they threw at him. In a ceremony at intermission, they named the Manzanita Grandstand “B” the Lealand McSpadden Grandstand. It was a fitting tribute to an outstanding personality in our sport of sprint car racing.

The weekend coming is a Perris/ Tulare double header, so get ready for some heat on and off the track on the three day holiday weekend.

FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jeremy Sherman, 2. Danny Sheridan, 3. Mike Spencer, 4. Tony Jones, 5. Scotty Weir, 6. Charles Davis Jr., 7. Rickie Gaunt, 8. Seth Wilson, 9. Bob Ream Jr., 10. Matt Rossi, 11. R.J. Johnson, 12. Keith Williamson, 13. Troy Rutherford, 14. Jason York, 15. Tom Ogle, 16. J.T. Imperial, 17. Ryan Devitt, 18. Casey Shuman, 19. Rip Williams, 20. Andrew Reinbold. NT

**Reinbold flipped during the second heat. Devitt, Imperial and York flipped during the feature. FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-12 Ogle, Laps 13-26 Sheridan, Laps 27-30 Sherman.

NEW LUCAS OIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Jones-818; 2-Spencer-736; 3-Sheridan-648; 4-Gaunt-638; 5-Weir-614; 6-Williams-537; 7-Johnson-510; 8-Darren Hagen-460; 9-Cory Kruseman-428; 10-Garrett Hansen-388