The Kruser ---- dominates again at The PAS!

What do Cory Kruseman and Jeff Gordon have in common? They were both dominating this weekend. Does it end there? Well, the last three SCRA races have had the same Krusermainia flavor. Cory Kruseman bolted to the front each time, and was only a lap car tap away from a dominating sweep, ending up winning two out of three, convincingly. After last weeks near double, where he won the first night and led until the shocking incident where he spun to a stop in the 2nd race, the new SCRA "50/50 man" won his 7th of the 14 races run so far, and extended his point lead to 213 points ahead of defending champ, Richard Griffin. Cory, driving the Harlan Willis owned, Omni-Turn CNC Lathes, TCR, Del Mar Wire # 45, was as close to dominant as he can be. He won his heat then the JE Pistons Passing Masters Dash, to set up his pole position start in the 30-lap main. There, he merely stepped out and disappeared against a strong field, until a late charge by Mike Kirby made it interesting, to win his 44th SCRA race and 4 of the last 6.

Mrs Wags finally has her pics up now!

Cory leaves for the Shuman Productions 3rd annual Non-Wing World Championship Tour in a couple of days, where he hopes to take back the crown he surrendered to Richard Griffin last year. The tour starts at Eagle Raceway in Lincoln, NE for two days June 8 & 9, then heads to 81 Speedway on Tuesday the 12th, followed by Tri-City Raceway at Granite City, Ill on Thursday the 14th, then closes with two days at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, KS on June 15 & 16. Rumor has it he might take a shot at the Angel Park sprint/midget affair on the 12th. When he gets all that done, he has to scoot home for the birth of he and his wife Carrie's first child due June 28th. With all this action, it appears his Silver Crown schedule for this year just may be on hold.

Mike "Super K" Kirby had another great ride in his new Stinger this week. Driving the Geurin/Alexander, Geurin's Mobile Home Service, State Wide Towing, Barberie Mold, # 5 to the runner-up spot after starting 8th in the main event, Mike is real happy with this new car. He continues to be one of the top "bad boys" in SCRA. Mike had a pretty good look at the black # 45 until a late race yellow seemed to bother his traction on the right rear, and he had to fight off "Showtime" for the runner-up spot. He is ready for the tour and plans to have Tony Elliott in his back-up car. Rickie Gaunt, who has run the companion 5X car the last 4 races, will be in the Pratt # 12 on tour, with his own # 40 car a backup for it. Check out Rickie's new rig, which feature the skull and crossbones on the back and a jolly roger flag flying high when parked in the pits, it won't be hard to find.

Mike showed his versatility on a night when he and Super Rickie combined to win the Pascars special event after the sprint car main. Why two drivers in one car? This class uses some big old sedans and station wagons with a small change in the cockpit of the bulky machines. The steering wheel is relocated to the passenger side, so one steers while the other gases and brakes. Interesting? Can you imagine Kirby and Rickie racing a car together? Well they won from the back of the field, so I guess they are still talking! No word on if they will defend this title anytime soon!

At least five other drivers had outstanding efforts this race. For one, Danny "Showtime" Sheridan, has been building up to this podium finish, with a number of best passing awards recently in the Tom & Laurie Sertich Moose car. "Showtime" battled Kirby for 2nd, and actually had Mike covered until the last corner, after coming from his 14th starting spot in a rush. He passed his heroes to get there and continued his Showtime antics to the approval of the crowd. Driving the Jans Health Bar, Costa Mesa Honda, Koehler Chiropractic # 92, Danny had his best finish with SCRA, and is improving rapidly each week.

Another sparkling performance was turned in by Adam "White Knight" Mitchell as he came from 12th to actually get into 2nd before losing the set-up slightly and finishing 4th. Adam, driving the Electro Tech Powder Coating, Temecula Valley Pipe & Supply, Composite Medical Equipment # 99, has had flashes of brilliance in recent races, but equipment problems have slowed him down. Not tonight, as he battled up front like he belonged until the very end. His car is perhaps one of the most recognizable on the track with white the dominant color. He's easy to see on the track, and made his mark this race,emphatically!

You might think that a winner from the pole, especially one that Cory actually predicted in his dash-winning interview, would be boring. Not so, he is just so focused right now, he is leading the passing exhibitions by lapping cars. Behind him, the fight for runner-up has been highly entertaining. In addition to Danny and Adam, there were three others who passed a ton of cars. Rip Williams came from 18th to 5th for a "Ripper at Perris" charge in his new Gambler that seems to be working just fine for the 45 year old veteran. Rip is breaking out of his slump and is charging as we go on tour. Jeremy Sherman made a rare visit in the Ellis house car and suffered the late qualifying problem, yet passed from the C Main to the main and started last. Jeremy played it smart and squiggled his way thru traffic to get the hard charger award coming from 22nd to 6th at the end. Steve Ostling might have done better if his tire hadn't gone south on his effort. After coming from his 15th starting spot to 4th, it betrayed him, leaving him struggling to get a strong 7th in the Fischer Motorsports entry. He said the tire lost two inches of tire size (?), remember I am not technical, and was amazed later when he explained it to me.

Rodney Argo debuted a brand new TCR and gave us some scintillating three wide passes that made the Ford powered sprinter stand out. He made the dash and finished 9th on the night, but the team will relax while the gang goes on tour. Rumor has it Rodney might be driving another car on tour, but nothing official has been released. Kevin White deserves a mention here after his 3rd quick time in the 360-powered sprinter. The man from New Zealand, who is best known by me for his motor breaking parties he and his friends used to throw. You know, where they run an old motor a hard as they can until it breaks? He ran 14th in the main as he continues to do well after a two year layoff in driving. He drove with the old CRA and then went on to Ventura until it got too expensive, causing a break in his action. A very friendly guy, and the question is, who knows what would happen if he got a 410?

There are a million stories in the naked city, as the old TV crime program used to relate, but the SCRA is turning into a regular "soap" edition each week. You find love, drama, excitement, great racing and the silly season at work almost at any time. Tony Jones split with Cowherd Racing follows the recent surprising move by Rickie Gaunt from the Gardner household. Two top drivers changing mounts is not really news, but both decisions were quick and final. Suddenly, after rumors of weekly firings by car owner Gene Cowherd, this one finally stuck, when Tony gave up his turnkey G C Aero # 48 car for one night in a Gardner Sled and a hope and a prayer for better things. Qualifying last on a track-gone south was not a lucky break for the Cowboy, but he ran the C Main to get a chance at the back of a heat, where he made the main and started 21st. Although this Cinderella story didn't end with a "soap" scripted dramatic win, Tony still had a good ride in the sled with 15th at the checkers. He is weighing his options at this moment, of which he should have plenty, and will announce his plans for the tour and the future, this week. No, the Gardner's are not adding him in a third car, and no word on Gene Cowherd's plans, or the rumored possibility of JJ Ercse in the # 48 car.

Some other highlights of the night included Lance Gremett's passing of Rutherford and Kirby, before settling for third in his heat, and a transfer to the main where he finished a credible 16th. Jordan Hermansader's 2nd in his heat to make the main and his 18th in the feature driving the # 12 Pratt car. Brian Venard's strong heat race performance and 19th in the main showed us his steady improvement in the Mopar powered # 47 beauty. Rookie Mike Spencer's great moves from near the back of the semi to grab the last transfer to the main where he finished 21st. Marc Hart winning his heat, beating out a fast Kirby, made his day before finishing 20th in the main. Keith Williamson running strong in the semi only to have a yellow hurt his chances to transfer. It was a racy night on the track that gave up a lot more than it looked like it could. If you like passing for position, watch these boys on tour!

Some sad news to report about is the passing of a former CRA driver, Jim Edwards, on May 27th. Jim was 56 years old and recently was a Technical advisor for Total Seal Piston Rings. Jim raced with the CRA for his first 5 racing years, then went to Pennsylvania for 12 years where he won a lot of races and championships, and then on to Phoenix where he won 3 SCOA championships before retiring. I remember him winning a Fair race at El Centro in the blue Corky Chumbley # 51 car some years ago. His many friends will miss him. Donations can be made to the American Cancer Society. Condolences can be sent to the Edward's Family, 5251 Maui Lane, Glendale, AZ 85306. A memorial service is scheduled at the All Saints Episcopal Church, 6300 N. Central Avenue in Phoenix, AZ at 11:00 AM on June 9th.

Mike Arthur of US Photographics, gave us an unbelievable picture of Dale Earnhardt to earn a little more tow money for the tour this week. A great photo of the # 3 car with Dale superimposed in the frame was very popular out front. Keith Murray ended up outbidding everyone, to the tune of $340, for the collectible and our thanks go out to Mike and Keith for the help.

Wilda Kindoll, a "young" women who spends a lot of time in the pits these days helping others, and wife of the late Jack Kindoll for whom the Kindoll Classic will be run on November 17th at the PAS, has done it again! After Ron Shuman announced the SCRA tow money collected by Wagtimes for the NWWC would be near $6000, she added $1000 to the pot. The total, as of today (and I can still take more), is over $6200! Thanks to all who contributed, the racers all thank you!

This week's Shiny Tire awards went to Verne Sweeney's crew as the "pink Lady" # 98 took the BOBO, and the weenie went to Tony Jones driven # 4X of the Gardner's done by Ronnie Gardner. Great job by all as the night had some real sharp looking cars under the lights. The Wagsbucks for the week collected was $175. Since it was a real clean night without the usual crashes, we put the money into the tour and added Jimmy Gardner Jr, as a "promoter's option", to the Wagsdash field. More about the 11th annual Wagsdash at Ventura Raceway on October 20th after we get home from the tour!

Racing is good, life is fun and the tour has begun! See you all there and remember the tow money. Look for the red and white polka dot hat.