WAGS "BIG DAWG" DASH IS COMING AND SCRA STRUGGLES CONTINUE.

After finishing second to visitor, Mike Kirby, in their heat earlier in the night, Clark Templeman, III, turned the tables on him later in the Ventura Raceway Association Main Event! With a week off, several USAC/CRA racers headed to the little bullring in Seaside Park and took on the "VRA" heroes on their home track. Following a week of constant cloud cover, the dad-blasted sun shined brightly in Ventura on this race day, along with gusty winds that made track prep difficult for racetrack proprietor, Jim Naylor. He got the job done, however, and an appreciative crowd watched five Main Events, topped by the VRA finale, all before the 10:00 p.m. curfew!

My pit walk was really brief, but here are a few pics click here.

There were some great battles among the sprinters throughout the night, but when Clark Templeman III lined up on the front row of the 30 lap Main Event, most were looking farther back for the winner. Perhaps Chris Wakum in the third row, or Tom Stansberry in the fourth row next to Mike Kirby, or maybe even as a longshot, Troy Rutherford, in a brand new car in the ninth row. Clark never wavered as he got up on the top of the cushion where Kirby likes to roam and hot footed it around for thirty laps in and out of constant traffic, getting a well-deserved win for him and his crew. Great job as the # 18 car was fast and he made it happen!

When USAC/CRA car owner, Glen Crossno, decided to come have some fun at Ventura, Mike "Super K" Kirby, who is currently 3rd in the USAC/CRA points chase, was ready to get at it. In his heat, he started in the back and worked his way up to Templeman and made a strong move to get around him at the flag, for the win. In the feature, Mike started 8th (having earned the most points and then pulling an "8" in the inversion pill pull) and was up to 4th in five laps. Another five laps, and he was right behind Templeman looking for a win! He followed the dancing Templeman through traffic for the rest of the race, never quite getting in a position to make a pass. He graciously accepted his second place trophy in the winners' circle after the race ended and headed off to the river to go play with Rickie Gaunt on the water. Wouldn't you just love to be there?

Mr. Nice Guy, Chris Wakim, gave the leaders chase for thirty laps, but came home third in his white number nine. He had won the opening heat and stayed out of trouble all night, to earn a spot on the podium. After his heat win, Chris announced he was running the race in honor of Will "the thrill" Perkins, because Will is in the hospital due to complications from a football injury. Anyone with current information on how Will is doing, let me know and I will post.

The horse barns were in use this week, by horses of course, so Mr. Ed probably got an earful as the night went on with Dwarf Cars, Modifieds and sprints racing around the nearby oval. Mike Sweeney was going for his 5th win in a row in the Senior Dwarf car division, but came up one short in his Main Event. Tom Stansberry, sometime USAC/CRA runner, won his heat and finished 4th in the family sprinter. Mike Knopf won the other heat as this very healthy driver continues to be one of the most fun "characters" in sprint car racing.

Chris Tramel didn't get any luck tonight with a high pill draw and missing the Main through his heat. He made it with some good driving and finished 2nd in the semi, but started 18th in the Main. He finished 9th or 10th, I didn't get the official finish, but he worked traffic very well moving smoothly forward. He also had great shiny tires, but I didn't come prepared to present the "Shiny Tire Award." Tramel's car wasn't the only one with shiny tires, but they did a bang up job for the fans!

USAC/CRA star, Troy Rutherford spent the night chasing new car problems. First, in hot laps he reported an engine miss. The team chased it around from one cylinder to another, then made a Magneto adjustment, but it wouldn't fire for his heat. They fixed it up for the Semi, where he started in the back, and won on the last lap. In the Main, he started way back and was about halfway up through the field when an oil line broke, and he was done.

Dwight Cheney, who returns to the driver's seat periodically when he doesn't have some hot shot in his 410 car, had a great night with a top ten finish. He plans to run with the Seniors here next week, while the USAC/CRA is not running. Ronnie Case also had a top ten finish this week, coming from near the back in his own "dayglow" orange car. Kevin Kierce was running in the top five when he got hooked on the infield on the last lap. In a Semi crash that bunched up a lot of cars in a pile, USAC/CRA driver, Dennis Rodriguez, was injured and had to be transported to the hospital. He was alert when loaded into the ambulance, and was released on Sunday afternoon. He had a concussion and will be fine in time.

My trip to Ventura this week was courtesy of DJ Everett and his brother-in-law, Johnny. D J flew in from North Carolina to visit with family and took in the USAC/CRA show at Perris last week and then Ventura this week, for a mighty double on this coast. He is originally from New Jersey, transplanted to California in about 1984 where he lived in the Ascot grandstands for about ten years, before getting married and moving to the other coast with Johnny's sister Monica. They are expecting their first baby later this year.

I announced the big news for the Wagsdash this year when Jim Naylor interviewed me during one of the breaks. With this year's unfortunate split of the ranks in our sprint car racing, I knew something had to change. Over the thirteen-year life of the Wagsdash, I have maintained one thing for sure. It was always for the "little guy," and we have raised the money to support them each year. This year, it was obvious I had to either spice it up or let it go. I chose to make a dramatic change that includes everyone instead of just those who we deem "low buck"

Even in the toughest of economic times it was obvious that many sprint car owners had "some" money, by the mere fact they kept coming out each week to race. They were able keep finding the money it took to keep on racing. So, if we agreed that there are actually very few truly "low buck" racers left, then we can move on to my new format. Part of my thinking to make a change is that all of the racers have helped me raise Wagsdash money over the years by autographing pictures and other items, donating t-shirts, donating autographed car pieces and signing the annual helmet for our auctions, so why not include all of them?

The new Wags "BIG DAWG" Dash will now include the top ten in points in USAC/CRA racing. They will be inverted and put at the back. The remaining 10 positions will come from Wagsbuck recipients and/other hard luck drivers who race at least 5 times with USAC/CRA, including SCRA racers, to fill the field. They will be also inverted and put in the front. Should there be a need for a promoter's option entry, i.e., someone who doesn't make the initial 20 car field, he/she will start at the back.

As with all Wagsdash formats, this one will have some twists! The winner will get a projected $5,000. Then the highest finishing "Wagsbuck racer" will get $2,500, the normal Wagsdash winner's take home pay. If a Wagsbuck guy wins the race, the 2nd Wagsbuck finisher gets the $2,500. The point leader, if he wins the race from the back row, will receive a $5,000 bonus. The hard charger for the Wags guys gets the Lafond Jar of Change, which has been around $500 the last few years. The hard charger for the top ten, or promoter's option racer, will get at least $500. There will be significant shiny tire money and other special payouts for many. There will be a minimum of $500 to start, and the feature will run right after the USAC/CRA Main Event and will be officiated by the USAC.CRA officials. It should be a great race with two races in one! The rules and regs will be posted sometime in September.

Remember, the purse dollars listed here are all subject to me raising it, so by race day, the official purse will be announced, or sooner if we reach the goal of at least $30,000, or about twice what we have been raising for the annual Wagsdash. With all that said, I will require assistance from more than the regular Wagsdash supporters of the past who hopefully can step up a little. We will need new sources from both inside our racing world and outside, as well. You can become a sponsor of the race by donating from $50 to $5,000, or any product that can be awarded to the racers. If by some wonderful find, there is a $10,000 sponsor, the race will be named after them! That's my goal and now it's time to go to work! Call me at (949) 472-9247 home, (949) 981-5497 home or e-mail me at winglesswarriors@aol.com to be part of this history making event - let's get involved for all the racers!

The racy little track at Tulare continues to try to draw the crowds for SCRA visits. This week, Damion Gardner showed up and took the money home to Concord, CA with Mike Spencer 2nd, followed by Danny Sheridan, Jason York and Ronnie Clark. With 21 cars in the house, the car count and attendance were not as high as they needed to be.

All is obviously not well in the SCRA world, as their home track Barona has ended running the 410's there due to lack of fans. After this weeks' Tulare race, sans the Extreme twins Super Rickie Gaunt and Charles Davis Jr, it was announced the next SCRA race there has been postponed until after the SCRA tour. Sources say only 6 cars have signed up for the trip, with two of those maybe not going, as of this writing. Some official word on what's happening next can be found on the SCRA website.

I am on my way to Indiana for Sprint Week, but don't know if I will be" internet enabled" at this point, because my brand new PC died last Tuesday and only a little luck will have it fixed before takeoff Wednesday morning. Come visit with me at each race and talk to me about the new format of the Wagsdash. USAC/CRA will be off until the Skagit trip on July 30/31st, so check Perris for their schedule and Ventura, as well. Rumor has it Kirby will run at Hanford, so that's a possibility, too!

Terry and I say thanks to all who prayed, worried, e-mailed and called us during our lost dog scenario. Thankfully, Dubya jumped into a car full of some nice people watching fireworks, and was taken home with them. A call to the animal shelter in Mission Viejo (the number was on his tag) on Monday alerted us to quit crying and go get him. Now both dogs sport collars with their names and phone number, plus new tags with home phone and cell phone numbers, so we did learn something. A special thanks to Adam Mitchell, who drove out to Perris on Sunday afternoon, put his mind in "dachshund" mode, and looked for our beloved dog. Adam and his family have Dubya's brother, Maverick, and could feel our pain. Adam later quipped he was glad to be able to help in our search, and didn't even feel bad to have been outsmarted by a dachshund! Thanks, Adam!

More from Indiana next, as Terry may have to be my web scribe back there.

SCRA A Main Results from Tulare, July 10
1st Damion Gardner, 2nd Mike Spencer, 3rd Danny Sheridan, 4th Jason York, 5th Ronnie Clark, 6th Tony Jones, 7th Dwayne Marcum, 8th Seth Wilson, 9th Jimmy Crawford, 10th Mike Martin, 11th Alan Ballard, 12th Mel Murphy, 13th Brad Evett, 14th Mark Nation, 15th Sean Jackson, 16th Colby Solomon, 17th Casey Shuman, 18th Jonathan Logan, 19th Arron Chaney, 20th Verne Sweeney.