FAN APRECIATION DAY AT THE PASS A WINNER!

The SCRA had a big day, Perris had a big day, The Gasman had a big day, and Cory Kruseman had a really big day this past weekend at The PAS. It all started in the afternoon with the first Fan Appreciation Day put on by the SCRA's home track in Perris, Ca. The highlight for the early arriving fans was the drivers and their cars were out front waiting to greet them! A local radio station had a booth handing out 500 cameras plus other goodies as music played and the fans were obviously overjoyed with the opportunity to be with their heroes. Autographs, photo op's, free pics and racing cards were doled out, and even some cool pops for the kids, made it a unique start of an awesome night that ended with the best race at the PAS this year! Who would believe that the top 7 starters finished in the top 7, but some serious shuffling went on before it ended.

Mrs Wags pics are up here now!

This race turned out to be another in the weekly series of what has become a classic battle that I'll call GKMania ( Gasman and Kruseman epic exploits) between two wingless warriors out to prove who is "The Man"! Starting the season off with the now famous "bump" at Manzanita, each race has featured the two non-wing giants trying to outdo each other. The reigning champion, Richard Griffin, is not about to let the "wanna be Champ", Cory Kruseman, take over his lofty perch after being on the receiving end of that "bump". Since that day, Cory has been on a monster high, winning 9 of 23 races and leading the point's chase with half the season gone. His Silver Crown adventure this season planned to coincided with his SCRA efforts has, up until now, been put aside with his best start ever, with the hopes he can bring home a championship for himself and car owner, Harlan Willis. To say he is on a roll would be the proverbial understatement.

On any other year, this might have been a runaway slam dunk for Cory with his amazing string of finishing in the top 5 in 20 of 23 races, but The Gasman is no pushover and is striking back. Richard has seven wins himself, as he seems to strike back when it looks like Cory is rising to a level above the rest. In fact, they both are on a level above the rest right now, and the fans get to see this unfold. This season might go down as the best chase in SCRA history as The Gasman strives to inch closer each week after being as far behind as 250 points in the race for the championship that he has won several years in a row.

So, what happened in this 30 lapper? Too much to really do it justice, but for starters, Tony Jones is back, even if only for one night. The Cowboy returned in a one shot deal and won the JE Pistons Passing Masters Dash to start next to the Gasman on the front row of the feature. There, Richard quickly swept into the lead as Cory came from his 2nd row starting spot directly behind Richard and wasted no time in passing the early leader before two laps were in. Cory, driving the Omni-Turn CNC Lathes, TCR, Del Mar Wire # 45, looked sharp as he utilized a mid to lower groove to move well ahead of the Gasman. Griffin then came back strong and retook the lead on lap 10 with a sweeping move around the Kruser, and the war was on!

The Gasman, driving the Arizona Race Mart, Circle C Marketing, Madera Produce # 50, then took charge and pulled out to a big lead that looked safe until a late race yellow closed the gap. On the restart, Cory changed lines to go up top and immediately stayed right with the fast leader. What happened next amazed everyone in the stands. It was looking mighty red in the upcoming victory circle, but black made a charge that changed everything in the blink of an eye. Cory made a low groove pass under Griffin coming out of turn four and took the white flag while the crowd stood not believing the pass, and then lap traffic sealed the deal for the point leader, as he pulled away on the last lap for his 46th lifetime SCRA win.

If that wasn't enough, and neither was your favorite driver, the Ripper, Rip Williams, was back and showing some of his best moves to thwart Danny "Showtime" Sheridan's bid for the podium two weeks in a row. These two had a similar battle like that of the two leaders the last half of the race, each passing the other until it ended with Rip grabbing third by less than a wheel at the checkered flag thrown out by flagman, Lee "the Cat" Jaskowiak. Showtime Sheridan was giving it his all, driving the Jans Health Bar, Costa Mesa Honda, Koehler Chiropractic # 92. Danny continues to improve in the Moose Racing Team entry. Rip, driving the Vista Paint, John Jory Corp, AMA Plastics # 3 sprinter, showed the youngster a few moves and his fans his best race at the PAS this year.

Tony Jones got an opportunity to drive the Bill Lloyd # 34 this week and did very well for his first time in the car. He qualified 8th, finished third in his heat, won the dash and ran 5th in the feature, all that with no practice laps in the car. The one time shot was successful, but no word on what he is doing for the rest of the year. He thanked his fans for supporting him while he shopped for a permanent ride after splitting with Cowherd Racing before the NWWC Tour. He said he would be back stronger than ever.

Mike English finished his car number, 7th, as he and his Mark Priestly owned team prepare to head East for Indiana Sprint week that starts this coming Saturday night. He will join Kruseman, Rickie Gaunt and Jeremy Sherman, as four West Coast guys who will represent the SCRA back there on the traditionally dry-slick summer tracks, in the heat and humidity that is hard to beat, physically and mentally. This will be only the second Sprint week I've missed in the last seven years, so I will watch from afar and cheer them on. It's too bad the SCRA isn't there in mass to make it a better show, just like it would be if they all attended the NWWC. Enough said.

One of the worst crashes of the season, which was quick and very violent, happened when Adam Mitchell got his all white # 99 car up on one wheel before it exploded into the air wildly and crashed into the wall where it stopped suddenly before falling back on the track, on his qualifying lap. The car was pretty much destroyed, but Adam walked away from the smoky mess. Later, he had a very stiff neck when we presented him with the fans $150 worth of donated Wagsbucks collected on the night. Far too little to repair the damage, but he was still smiling and pleased he would be in this years Wagsdash. His sponsors, Electro Tech Powder Coating, Temecula Valley Pipe & Supply, and Composite Medical Supply will be working overtime to help him put the new pieces back together.

Steve Ostling commented his motor wasn't heating up early in the night when he had a relatively slow qualifying time in the Fischer Motorsports entry, even though he came out late. He was forced to run the Consi, where he ran third coming from the back, and then qualified for the main from the back of his heat with a third place finish. In the main event, he started last and worked up to 10th for the hard charger award of the week as he had heat in the motor then.

Jarrett Chaney, last years SCRA rookie of the year, continues to get better each week. His 11th place finish in the feature came after a strong semi run where he battled 10 laps with Mike Kirby before claiming 2nd place and a transfer to the main. He is looking like things will get better with more seat time. Heat wins by Hank Winter and Lance Gremett, and a 2nd by Keith Williamson was popular with the fans. These guys have their own fans and it's nice to have different winners for the crowd to enjoy.

I met another "rookie to be" this week in the pits after the races. Some might know John Aden as a former Speedway rider from trips to the Orange County Fair track in Costa Mesa. He is currently running a "Speedway Midget" out in Victorville in his spare time while his sprint car is getting built. Plans for John to try and get in a few races this year before he steps up to take a run at the rookie award next season with SCRA. He was walking around with great expectations in his eyes and is looking forward to the challenge. Anyone who has ridden those Speedway bikes already is very brave and should fit right in!

Shiny Tire winners for the week, after another drawing from the hat, was Hank Winter's crew and Rodney Argo's helpers. Great job by others including, Danny Sheridan, Tony Jones, Mike English, John Scott, Troy Rutherford, Michael Hinrichsen, and many more who spent the extra time looking good for their fans.

Check out the latest issue of MotoRacing, a monthly racing paper that covers many types of racing from California, and especially sprint cars, very well. In addition to my regular monthly article that appears under the heading of Wagsworld, there are a ton of pictures in this issue by my wife, Mrs Wags that cover the NWWC tour. Get your copy by calling 925-846-7728 or subscribe by sending $21 to MotoRacing, P.O. Box 1203, Pleasanton, Ca, 94566-0120. The July issue is worth reading.

With another week of downtime from SCRA racing, I would be normally headed back East, but this time I guess I'll pass on the Indiana non-wing highlight week of the year and stay home for maybe another Ventura run or a mass condo garage sale opportunity in the neighborhood. Whatever, the next SCRA event is at Perris on July 28th followed by Tulare, Perris, Santa Maria and Perris on following Saturdays in that order. Get a move on, the racing is heating up and the "GKmania" is happening now!