Even though the annual July 4th firecracker 50 lap race at Perris is just a few days away, the SCRA break after the NWWC Tour has been too long for me! With two Saturdays free, most of us don't do well with the unstructured time off from racing. A VRA sprint race at Ventura took care of one of the off days, but this past weekend it was grandkids and MLB. Hot dogs and baseball isn't quite like what it was when I was a kid, but they don't know any better, so it was fun. We took in an American league game at Anaheim Stadium and a Dodger game in San Diego, and lo and behold, I saw the Dodgers win! Whatever, reading about The Gasman, Rad Rutherford and Cowboy Jones back East is not enough for us race fans, we want to be there!

The season is about half over here in the Southland, and coming up after the holiday race will be the first trip to Santa Maria Speedway of three scheduled there this year. The scenic beauty of the way the track sits alongside the 101 Highway, makes it a place to relax until the action on the racy 1/3 mile oval begins. Then, anything can happen. This track has made winners out of many drivers who didn't score anywhere else. John Andretti, Kim Craft and Bobby George come to mind. To say anyone can win here, just makes it that much more fun to be there. Although the track is pretty wide, it can be very narrow when the lead car wishes it be that way.

When I saw my first CRA race there, way back in the late 70's, I was hooked. In those days, you could perch up on the dirt hill behind the main grandstands and see it all from your short beach chairs. That view is unequalled anywhere, but the "cheap dirt seats" up there are gone with a cyclone fence keeping you away. Concrete pads have replaced the lower dirt seating area where many took old army shovels to dig a slot to place the folding chairs on. The race-car haulers were a sight to watch as they came from the North past the track to the off ramp and returned back towards the track on the surface road. The crowd streaming in below you on the long up hill walk let you see who was arriving and where they sat. In between was the track with the pits neatly placed inside the oval with non-stop action all night. Still today, this landscape scene is really breathtaking. You were entertained from the moment you came in, until the walk out of the pits was completed after the race. Today the pits are outside turn three/four taking away some of the action we used to watch with interest.

Doug Fort, the man who made it the great venue it still is, is gone, but his wife Netti is carrying on, thank goodness. Fans are glad to make the trip up the coast from SCRA country and the racing is still very entertaining. The sound of the sprinters as they barely burp the motors going around the track sideways is about ready to happen again, this coming Saturday the 7th, we'll see you there!

No news from Tony Jones and his plans for the rest of the year after he split with Cowherd Racing, but something good will happen for the man I call the Cowboy. He can drive these beasts, so where is his next ride? It's difficult to jump in a car for a night or two, as he did in the Witherill Racing car normally driven by Jimmy May. He seems to turn over his car to other driver's with ease, as evidenced by Cory Kruseman borrowing it at Lakeside on the recent tour. Wherever Tony lands, look for his return to the winners circle.

Troy Rutherford hasn't let any grass grow under his feet since the Gardner team let teammate Rickie Gaunt go in May. All the young man has done is win the biggest paying race of his young career, $10,000 at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas, and stepped up his results on a weekly basis. He had good USAC results at Eldora and the Fremont, Ohio experience, then ran 2nd at the wild Kokomo track in Indiana on the way home. Perhaps he has turned the corner to being one of the best in the West, as the talent pool in SCRA continues to shine.

Our hats off to occasional SCRA driver, J J Yeley, the guy who fans on the "left" coast miss tremendously. This season so far has been a big improvement over last year with several big wins, including the most recent at Eldora. He won the Silver Crown event at Knoxville and seems to be back in "his" groove that somehow deserted him last season for a while. His IRL aspirations haven't panned out as they should, since he doesn't own a Brinks truck, but perhaps one of the big investors will pay attention to his talent and step up for him. In the meantime, he continues to run the USAC world trying both dirt and pavement while waiting for the big break, again. Of course, us selfish sprint fans want to see more of him, but in good time! His GT Racing team is top notch and David Waltemath, of ABC Sand & Rock, gets my vote as sponsor of the year for the young lion. Will we see J J win Indy? Stay tuned and don't count him out!

What is Cory Kruseman going to do as an encore after his wife Carri gave birth to their new quarter midget driver, Casie Leeann this past week? Probably more of the same, as he still has something going for him and his Harlan Willis owned team. The young lady came into Kruserland at 10:49 PM on June 26. She weighed 8 pounds and 8 ounces and was 20-3/4 inches long! Click here to see!. Cory has been on a roll this season, winning 7 of the 20 SCRA events. It is even more amazing when you consider, once again, the talent he runs against. Richard Griffin has won 6 races and chases Cory in the points race pulling closer after the tour at 180 points behind. With 7 different winners so far this year, that number is expected to increase. Mike Kirby, Troy Rutherford, Tony Jones, John Scott and Steve Ostling have felt the thrill of victory with some scintillating action packed wins. Perhaps the two Eagle races on tour can summarize the first half of the year. With Cory on the bottom groove and Richard on the top groove, they raced side by side for what seemed like hours, pitting their skills against each other corner after corner. The year has been that way, with first Cory getting hot, then Richard and the results very entertaining. No predictions here from this corner as to who will win the championship, but don't count out either as the race to the banquet podium heats up like the weather.

Coming up on the road after Santa Maria, and plenty more Perris home track feedings, is Tulare looming August 4th. Lets get our traveling duds on and support this place, it is just crying for spectators to see the great racing the SCRA puts on there. Great little race track that needs you there to watch. Additional dates are Perris the 4th, 14th and 28th in July, then 11th and 25th in August with a second Santa Maria date the 18th of August. Lets get on the road as we begin to start working on the 11th annual Wagsdash at Ventura Raceway, October 20th! Get involved and lets make this one the best one yet!